The
CelticBelgae
were centred on Venta Belgarum (modern Winchester) in the county of
Hampshire, and perhaps extending into Somerset and Avon. They were
neighboured to the north-east by the
Atrebates, to the
south-east by the Regninses,
and to the west by the
Durotriges and
Dobunni. Like their
Atrebatean neighbours, they were probably a Belgic tribe from the
North Sea or Baltics, part of the third wave of Celtic settlers in
Britain. The name
Venta Belgarum came from 'venta', meaning main market or market town, which
was used to denote a tribal capital, and 'belgarum', meaning 'of the Belgae'.
(See the map of most of Europe's tribes around the first centuries BC and AD
to view the tribe's location in relation to all other Celts.)
It is likely that the Belgae formed part of the tribal domains of Atrebates
from at least 20 BC, and may have done so from the latter's probable founding
as a kingdom by Commius. It also seems possible that the Belgae were not a
tribe at all, and may not even have been Belgic before the Roman conquest.
There is the possibility that they were the leftovers of previous Celtic
settlers who had not migrated farther west or north when the Atrebates and
their kin arrived. Given the very scant evidence, it is hard to draw any
definite conclusion either way. If they were Belgic, they may have been formed
of odds and ends of various Belgic tribes that had migrated from Gaul to escape
Roman
occupation. A large amount of middle second century BC coinage (Gallo-Belgic
A) that has been attributed to the
Ambiani
tribe has been discovered in parts of southern Britain. While this may be
due only to trading connections, it may also be due to Ambiani settlers in
the territory.
When it comes to determining the meaning of the name Belgae (pronounced
bel-jay), Pokorny gives these roots in Gaulish from a
proto-Indo-European
base, with the latter's 'bhelg̑h-' and 'bhelg̑h-' descending into
Gaulish as 'bolg-' and 'bulga'. 'Bhelg̑h-' means to swell up. But the
crucial word from this root does not seem to come from Gaulish. Instead it
seems to stem from the Anglo-Saxon verb, 'belgan', meaning to swell up, or be
angry This supports the contention that the Belgae were a
Celtic-Germanic
mix. The Irish description
of Cucullaine when his madness is on him comes to mind, swelling up with rage,
transforming from a normal man to a monster... apparently borrowed from the
Irish for use in the Incredible Hulk.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson,
from Geography, Ptolemy, from The Oxford History of England: Roman
Britain, Peter Salway, from Atlas of British History, G S P
Freeman-Grenville (Rex Collins, London, 1979), and from External Link:
Indo-European
Etymological Dictionary, J Pokorny.)
mid-200s BC
A
large number of
Gallo-Belgic
A coins are to be found in southern
Britain at this
time or soon afterwards. This suggests heavy trade with the
Ambiani
tribe in northern Gaul, but also the probability that Ambiani have settled
in Hampshire, possible as the earliest representatives of the Belgae
themselves.
c.90 - 60 BC
Gallo-Belgic
C coins, less than previously, can be found which are tentatively identified
with Diviciacus of the
Suessiones.
Finds are concentrated amongst the Cantii,
but can be found as far west as the Sussex coast, on the borders with the
Belgae lands.
Shown here is a gold Gallo-Belgic quarter stater of the C-type,
which can be dated between 80-60 BC, at least a couple of
decades before the first of Julius Caesar's expeditions to
Britain
51 BC
Commius of the
GaulishAtrebates
arrives in Britain,
bringing with him just his own retainers, survivors of a heavy defeat in Gaul.
The size and strength of the Atrebates
tribe he joins in Britain is unknown. They certainly occupy their own
territory in this period, and govern the Belgae and
Regninses, who may
all be constituent parts of the same tribe, but how much significance
they hold is unclear. They may not even be formed into a single tribal
kingdom until Commius becomes their king, although it does seem likely that
many Belgic refugees find their way here during this period.
AD 43
Still a subsidiary part of the kingdom of the
Atrebates, the
Belgae appear not to possess a single tribal cohesion. This probably
makes them an easy conquest by the
Romans
under the command of Governor
Aulus Plautius. Part of the territory of the Atrebates is reorganised into
the Roman client kingdom of the
Regninses (which possibly
includes the Belgae). It is ruled by Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, who may
be the son of the last native Atrebatean king, Verica.
Vectis Insula (the Isle of Wight) may be a Belgae possession, although this
cannot be confirmed. Now it is conquered by
Roman
troops under the command of Vespasian.
c.80?
Direct rule under the
Romans
follows the death of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus, client ruler of the
Regninses, and perhaps
the Belgae too. The tribal territory is later organised into the
civitates (administrative districts within a Roman province) of the
Atrebates, Regninses and,
again, possibly the Belgae. The latter are governed from Venta Belgarum
(Winchester).
It has been suggested (by Vivien Swan and Anthony King) that the Belgae
may have strong anti-Roman sentiments (not surprising if they have been
chased out of
Gaul
by Roman conquests), and that their lands may be resettled by
Belgic
peoples soon after the conquest of
Britain.
The immediate post-Conquest pottery of the Oare/Savernake area is made by
Belgic potters who follow the Roman army as it moves westwards. It raises
the possibility that the whole of the 'Belgae' population is moved in from
somewhere further east, with the indigenous people being resettled.
c.140s
Ptolemy confirms the location of the Belgae, and ascribes
to them the towns of Aquae Calidae ('The Hot Waters' otherwise known as
Aquae Sulis, modern Bath in Somerset), Iscalis (location uncertain, but
placed by Ptolemy at the mouth of the River Axe, near Bawdrip in Somerset),
and Venta Belgarum. The last is the principal tribal centre but is given no
special attribution. A bank and ditch is built around it during this
century.
Other settlements include Abona (Sea Mills, Avon) a port which serves Aquae
Sulis and which is located on the Severn Estuary, and Sorviodunum (Old
Sarum in Hampshire), an Iron Age hill fort which has been re-used by the
Romans
as a posting station.
3rd century
A stone wall is added to the defensive bank and ditch
around Venta Belgarum. By this period the city contains many fine
Roman
buildings, including temples and a forum, and is the fifth largest city by
area in Roman
Britain.
Two cemeteries exist, one outside the northern gate and one to the east.
It is
probably in this century that Aquae Sulis gains defensive walls, in common
with many cities in Britain. The road junction to the north of the temple
complex is left outside the walls, and the area within them is progressively
developed, suggesting occupation is concentrated behind the defences.
However, there is some development along the roadside to the north, along
with a cemetery which continues to be used. The baths begin to decline in
the late fourth century, but the springs continue to be used.
4th century
By this period another settlement can be found at
Clavsentum (Bitterne in Hampshire). It is a fortified port which serves
Venta Belgarum. By the 340s, development work comes to a halt in Venta, part
of a general decline in
Roman
cities at this time, and bastions are added to the town wall as the defences
are beefed up. At the same time there is evidence of alien elements in the
population which grave goods and burial rites suggest are of South German
origin. These may be laeti, barbarians settled in the area of the
city to aid in its defence.
The Roman city of Venta Belgarum was apparently prosperous and
well-sited - and also extremely well built as parts of it still
stand almost two thousand years later
5th century
By the fifth century the Romano-British Belgae have regained
some level of independent control in the form of the postulated territory of
Caer Gwinntguic. The
territory may only be an administrative one at first, perhaps developing later
into an independent entity as central authority in
Britain fades.
The city of Aquae Sulis emerged as
Caer Baddan, but it now falls
under the administrative control of
Caer Gloui, not Venta
Belgarum.
Caer
Gwinntguic (Venta Belgarum)
From
its regional capital at the Roman town of Venta Belgarum (Winchester
in Hampshire), the
British
territory of the Belgae
reasserted some form of independence in the early fifth century (if not
before). The territory shared a long northern border with
Caer Celemion,
and also bordered
Rhegin to the
south-east, Inis Vectis to the south,
Dumnonia to the
west, and Caer Baddan
to the north-west.
The region was tasked with defending the westernmost section of the
Saxon Shore in the fifth century, and
Saxonlaeti
were probably hired and settled on the south coast for this very reason,
arriving in the first half of the fifth century (archaeology confirms
this). Their role may have become important in the territory's later
years, either as a key part of its defence or as its later enemy (either
way, it seems that they may have played a role in forming the name used
here, Caer Gwinntguic). In the mid-fifth century the political situation
suddenly changed. The British central authority was locked in civil war,
and the country was struck by plague and subjected to a barbarian sacking
from coast to coast. Sacking swiftly turned to conquest, and parts of the
south coast were settled by
Jutes
who called themselves the
Meonware.
Edward
Dawson breaks down the origins of the Gwinntguic name as follows, pointing
out that 'gwinnt' (or more usually 'gwent') is a typical late pronunciation
of 'venta'. As for 'guic', there was a strong
Celtic
habit of transforming a 'w' into a 'gw' (or 'gu'). One very well known example
of this is the Votadini tribe.
That name underwent a fairly standard alteration from 'v' (or sometimes 'w')
to 'gu' and then to 'g'. In the case of '-guic', this starts with 'gu'. Take
off the older 'g' sound and it becomes 'wic', which was well known in
Anglo-Saxon English as
a trading centre (such as Ipswich, Norwich, Lundenwic, and Hamptonwic - now
Southampton). Saxons were often settled just outside the walls of the city
they were being hired to protect. They would have obtained their food and
goods from the city's traders and, in the case of Venta Belgarum, and
perhaps only speaking a little Latin, could have pronounced 'Gwent' or
'Gwinnt' as 'Wentawic'.
Extending the hypothesis a little further, the locals could have picked
up on the Saxon variation of the city's name and adopted it, perhaps in
the later days when virtually all communication from outside had been cut
off and the Romano-Britons and Saxons were now brothers-in-arms on an equal
footing. The recycled name could have been rendered by the Romano-British
as 'wenta wic', or 'gwent gwic'. The Historia Brittonum labels the
city Caer Guin Truis.
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson,
from The Oxford History of England: The English Settlements, J N L
Meyers, from The Oxford History of England: Anglo-Saxon England, Sir
Frank Stenton, from the Historia Brittonum (The History of the
Britons), Nennius (J A Giles, Ed & Trans, 1841, published as part of
Six Old English Chronicles (Henry G Bohn, London, 1848)), and from
the Life of St Germanus of Auxerre, Constantius of Lyon.)
c.420s - 430s
In the
first half of the century there is a second settlement of barbarians in or
around the civitas. Again they are probably laeti who are added to the
city's defensive forces now that the presence of
Roman
troops is a thing of the past (although ex-Roman army troops almost certainly
remain in places, dedicated to defending their homes and families rather than
owing any loyalty to the now-distant empire). This time the new arrivals are
from northern Germany, almost certainly
Saxons. Their pottery in the city antedates the arrival of the general
wave of Saxon invaders by over a century.
A wall painting in the Roman palace of Venta Belgarum as
reconstructed by Sean A MacKenna (1932-20120), an expert
in excavation, conservation, structure, and restoration
fl 440s
Elafius / Elaf?
Recorded by St Germanus.
446
St
Germanus' second visit to
Britain
sees off the last of the Pelagians and confirms Elafius' subjects in the
Catholic faith of the
Roman Church.
Elafius himself is clearly a Pelagian supporter until the visit, and by
inference may be a supporter of Vortigern's
pro-Celtic
faction in Britain. Germanus goes on to restore Cadell Ddyrnllwg to the
throne of the Pagenses in the
West Midlands.
c.450 - 455
Jutes from
the Cantware group of invaders,
or related to them, settle to the west of modern Southampton, while the
Meonware (more Jutes)
settle to the immediate east of Southampton Water, possibly threatening
the territory's southern border. They absorb, or are absorbed by, elements
of the
Saxonlaeti who have been there since the beginning of the century
and perhaps because of this integration with settled Saxons and indigenous
Britons,
they establish peaceful relations with Venta Belgarum.
Further settlements are established on Inis Vectis, which may have been a
possession of the Belgae before the
Roman
invasion and may still be a possession of their descendants.
477
Newly
arrived
Saxons
under Ælle land at Selsey on the south coast (modern West Sussex) and beat
off the Britons
of Rhegin who oppose
their landing, driving them to take refuge in the great forest called
Andredesleag (The Weald). Suddenly, the southern Saxon Shore has been breached
in a far more major way than the arrival of the
Meonware had threatened and
Venta Belgarum is mainly cut off from the southern coast. By this time the
economic basis for the city's existence has disappeared. Its population has
dwindled and the remaining inhabitants are developing a siege mentality in
the face of increasing Saxon encroachment from the east.
480s - 490s
This
is the probable period in which the traditional twelve victorious battles
of Arthur are fought. In reality, although many of the battles seem to
reflect actual events, it is likely that they are spaced out over a greater
length of time, and are undertaken by multiple
British leaders
(most especially Ambrosius Aurelianus). One of those battles takes place
at the fort of Guinnion (Venta Belgarum). If invading Saxons have managed
to penetrate this far inland then it may be a shocking occurrence.
Alternatively it could instead be a revolt by Germanic laeti
who are already settled in the region... or possibly an early effort
by Cerdic.
? - 495?
Cerdic (Caraticos)?
Possible Belgae
magistrate before conquering
West Seaxe?
c.495 - c.525
The south
gate of Venta is blocked in two stages, possibly in response to the settlement
of the Meonware or more probably
due to the founding of Cerdic's kingdom which eventually becomes that of the
West Seaxe. The territory's
defences force the West Seaxe to advance instead towards the less well-defended
west country, but the settlement at Clavsentum (Bitterne), close to the Solent,
has been lost. In fact, given the reasonable probability that Cerdic himself
is of noble British
birth and may hold a position of authority in the country, he could well be
a magistrate of the Belgae before his rebellion in 495.
The medieval King's Gate in Wincheter (Venta) was built over the
site of the Roman south gate around the year 1300, eight hundred
years after the original was blocked up
By
this time the city has become isolated from
Dumnonia in the
west, and Rhegin
to the south-east has already fallen, so Venta's world is narrowing. The
Romano-British population is much reduced from a century before, with many
probably having migrated west while they still could. The core population
that remains could well be balanced equally between Romano-British warriors
and their families and the Saxon laeti and their families (given that
at least some of the latter have been there for up to six generations). It
is probably in this period that the territory's name of Gwinntguic replaces
the city's name of Venta, as explained above.
Cerdic's
West Seaxe defeat Natanlaod's
Britons in the
area of Southampton Water. Could Natanleod be a rival British chieftain or
Roman-style
official (perhaps of Caer Gwinntguic) who is vying for power with Cerdic or
attempting to defend Britain's shores? Having established a beachhead and
killed the (possibly) legitimate governor or ruler, Cerdic may be the only
hope in the region for strong governance, with the result that Britons,
Saxons and
Jutes
join him. The victory probably completes Gwinntguic's isolation from the
very south coast that it had been expected to protect at the start of the
century.
552
Caer
Gwinntguic falls to the West Seaxe,
making its northern neighbour,
Caer Celemion,
very vulnerable on its less well-defended southern border. The city is not fully
abandoned. The Saxons who have lived there since the early fifth century and
even before that probably remain, perhaps even with the surviving Romano-Britons,
who are virtually kin by now, and certainly closer in relation than the new
conquerors. In time the city becomes Wintanceastre (Winchester), capital of the
West Seaxe kingdom from 590 and
the seat of the bishop of Wessex from 676.