Selgovae
The Selgovae (
Assertions that the Solway Firth preserves the name of the Selgovae are without foundation. 'Solway' is Anglo-Saxon from the thirteenth century (sol = 'mud', wæth = 'ford'), and this was the name of the main crossing at Eskmouth at that time.[1] The firth has been known by various names in the past, and this one happened to be the survivor.
The historical record
Ptolemy
The sole record of the Selgovae and their towns is their mention by Ptolemy in c. AD 150. Their name appears in the 8th century Ravenna Cosmography as 'Segloes',[2][broken footnote] but the document here is taken to be an imperfect copy of classical sources such as Ptolemy, and not an independent historical reference.
The Novantae are unique among the peoples that Ptolemy names in that their location is reliably known to have been in Galloway due to the way he named several readily identifiable physical features. Since the Selgovae were adjacent to them, their homeland is similarly known.
Ptolemy said that the towns of the Selgovae were Carbantorigum, Uxellum, Corda, and Trimontium. However, there were no towns as such in the area at that time, so he was probably referring to
Efforts have been made to determine the locations of the towns, but there is not enough information available to reach any degree of certainty, and the locations suggested are little more than guesswork. In the 19th century, Carbantorigum was thought to be the
Roman Era
Archaeological evidence indicates that the Selgovae lived in two principal settlement types: stone-built huts and so-called "scooped enclosures", some of which were abandoned in the 1st century AD while others were established in the 2nd century and developed into
In his account of the campaigns of Gnaeus Julius Agricola (governor 78–84), Tacitus says that after a combination of force and diplomacy quieted discontent among the Britons who had been conquered previously, Agricola built forts in their territories in 79. In 80 he marched to the Firth of Tay, campaigning against the peoples there. He did not return until 81, at which time he consolidated his gains in the lands that he had conquered.[7][broken footnote]
The territory of the Selgovae was substantially planted with Roman forts at this time, at Broomholm,
Following the reorganisation of northern Roman Britain and the construction of Hadrian's Wall (c. 122), the only Roman forts among the Selgovae were at Birrens and Netherby.[9] However, with the construction of the Antonine Wall and the re-occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall (c. 142), the territory of the Selgovae was again heavily planted with Roman forts, at Netherby, Broomholm, Birrens, Burnswark, Raeburnfoot, Shieldhill, Milton, Drumlanrig, Dalswinton, Carzield, Lantonside, and Glenlochar.[10] There were no Roman forts planted in the territory of the neighbouring Novantae.
When Rome largely abandoned its occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall under the reorganisation of Marcus Aurelius (c. 175), they nevertheless retained forts at Birrens and Netherby,[11] though there would never again be a large-scale military occupation of the territory of the Selgovae. Rome permanently abandoned the area by 370.[12]
Cultural affinity
The ethnic and cultural affinity of the Selgovae is assumed to have been Brittonic and there have been suggestions that they were an integral part of the tribe of the Brigantes.[citation needed]
Archaeological evidence is scant, but it includes a Roman-era figure and inscription found at
The Brigantes were troublesome to Roman rule, strongly resisting initial Roman occupation[14] and frequently rising in efforts to throw off Roman rule. The Roman response was overwhelming force and the subsequent heavy plantation of forts of occupation. The heavy plantation of forts in the territory of the Selgovae is similar to the Roman occupation of the Brigantes and unlike Roman treatment of other neighbouring peoples such as the Novantae and Votadini, who were never known to be at war with the Romans, and who were not heavily occupied.
Much later history, better recorded, shows that the territory of the Selgovae was continually associated with Cumbria (homeland of the Brigantes)[citation needed] and Alt Clud (homeland of the Damnonii), both of which are known to have been Britonnic in culture and language.
Contradicting Ptolemy
Ptolemy's placement of the Selgovaean town of Trimontium was accepted to be somewhere along the southern coast of Scotland until
When De Situ Britanniae was debunked as a fraud in 1845, Roy's misguided placement of Trimontium was retained by some historians, though he was no longer cited for his contribution. Furthermore, some historians not only accepted Roy's placement of Trimontium, but also returned the town to the Selgovae by moving their territory such that they would be near Eildon Hills. Ptolemy's placement of the Novantae in Galloway was retained, and since Ptolemy said that they were adjacent to the Selgovae, Novantae territory was greatly expanded beyond Galloway to be consistent with this thesis, which survives in a number of modern histories.[16]
The result is that an 'error correction' to the sole legitimate historical reference (Ptolemy), made so that a fictional itinerary in De Situ Britanniae would seem more logical, is retained; and the sole legitimate historical reference is further 'corrected' by moving the Selgovae far from their only known location.
While Roy's historical work is largely ignored due to his unknowing reliance on a fraudulent source, his maps and drawings are untainted, and continue to be held in the highest regard. Roy's work is highly supported by the town of Selkirk.[citation needed]
See also
- Ptolemy's Geography
- Roman Britain
- Scotland during the Roman Empire
Citations
- ^ Neilsen, George (1899), "Annals of Solway – Until A.D. 1307", in Forbes, Peter (ed.), Transactions of the Glasgow Archaeological Society, New Series, vol. III, Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons, pp. 245–308
- ^ Pinder & Parthey 1860:436–437, Ravenna Cosmography
- ^ Pinder & Parthey 1860:432–434, Ravenna Cosmography
- ^ Skene 1886:72, Celtic Scotland, Vol. I
- ^ Rhys 1904:72 Celtic Britain
- ISBN 978-1-84645-029-7.
- ^ Tacitus & 98:364–368, Life of Agricola, Chapters 19–23.
- ^ Frere 1987:88–89, Britannia
- ^ Frere 1987:112–113, Britannia
- ^ Frere 1987:130–131, Britannia
- ^ Frere 1987:142–143, Britannia
- ^ Frere 1987:347–348, Britannia
- ^ a b Haverfield, F. (1904), "On Julius Verus, a Roman Governor of Britain", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. XXXVIII, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, p. 456
- ^ a b Tacitus & 98:362–363, Life of Agricola, Chapter 17
- ^ Roy 1790:115–119, Military Antiquities, Book IV, Chapter III
- ^ Cunliffe 1971:216 – see, for example, the influential Iron Age Communities in Britain, map of the tribes of Northern Britain, attributed to "various sources"
References
- Bertram, Charles (1757), Hatcher, Henry (ed.), The Description of Britain, Translated from Richard of Cirencester, London: J. White and Co (published 1809)
- ISBN 0-415-34779-3
- ISBN 0-7102-1215-1
- Harding, Dennis William (2004), "The Borders and southern Scotland", The Iron Age in northern Britain: Celts and Romans, natives and invaders, Routledge, p. 62, ISBN 0-415-30149-1
- Maxwell, Herbert (1891), A History of Dumfries and Galloway, Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons (published 1896)
- M'Kerlie, Peter Handyside (1877), "General History", in M'Kerlie, Immeline M. H. (ed.), History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway With Historical Sketches of the District, vol. I (New ed.), Paisley: Alexander Gardner (published 1906)
- Pinder, Moritz; Parthey, Gustav, eds. (1860), Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia et Gvidonis Geographica, Berolini
- Ptolemy (c. 140), Thayer, Bill (ed.), Geographia, Book 2, Chapter 2: Albion island of Britannia, LacusCurtius website at the University of Chicago (published 2008), retrieved 26 April 2008
- Rhys, John (1904), Celtic Britain(3rd ed.), London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
- Roy, William (1790), "Military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain", Digital Library, National Library of Scotland (published 2007)
- ISBN 9780836949766
- Tacitus, Cornelius (1854) [98], "The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola", The Works of Tacitus (The Oxford Translation, Revised), vol. II, London: Henry G. Bohn, pp. 343–389