The
Celtic
tribe of the Cornovii had no obvious tribal centre, inhabiting Shropshire
in the West Midlands and extending into Staffordshire, Herefordshire,
Cheshire, Clwyd, and the eastern part of Powys. They were bordered to the
east by the Corieltavi and
Catuvellauni, to the
south by the Dobunni, to the
west by the Ordovices and
Deceangli, and to the north
by the Brigantes across the
wide barrier of Seteia Aestuarium (the River Mersey). (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.)
The
root of the tribe's name generally means 'of the horn', signifying a
peninsula, and was relatively common with Celtic tribes in similar areas.
The Cornovii clearly were not peninsula dwellers, though. The root of their
name is more obscure, perhaps referring to a god. An educated guess would
be that they were worshippers of the 'Horned One', Cernunnos (note that
this is the Gaulish pronunciation; the British one may have been different).
The root is 'corn', meaning 'horn', just as it does for the peninsula-dwelling
Cornovii. Despite the Anglo-Saxon conquest, the deity survived in legend as
Herne the Hunter. Possibly this survival happened in the Midlands itself, as
the later kingdom of Mercia
seems to have been very
British in many of
its core elements (see feature link, right).
The tribe's territory contained a great many hill forts, one of the highest
number in the country. The people also appear to have possessed very little
in the way of showy jewellery (and pottery), lending the idea that this was
a tribe of poor, in-fighting warriors. Their wealth may have been based on
other resources, however, such as their salt exports, along with some
probable trade in agricultural goods. The wealth would have made it possible
to built additional hill forts, an idea supported by at least one expert, so
perhaps these were the tribe's true symbol of prosperity.
Their distance from the
Belgic
south-east of Britain
makes it unlikely that the Cornovii were amongst the more recent, third wave
of Celtic settlers. More likely they were part of the second wave, and had
been in the country since as early as the sixth century BC. The tribe may
have a connection with the Cornavii of second century
Pictland, although this has
largely been discounted by modern scholars. They may also have a connection
to the identically-named
Cornovii tribe of Cornwall,
but this is harder to prove or discount either way (although it seems
unlikely as the Cornish tribe built no hill forts, while the Midlands tribe
were apparently mad about them).
By the time of the
Roman
invasion, a centre of sorts could be found adjacent to the hill fort of the
Wrekin and it seems to have derived its name from the fort, although whether
it was a recently-formed tribal capital is still uncertain. One suggestion
is that it was a seasonal animal enclosure. Another important site was Old
Oswesty (Caer Ogyrfan), which seems to have been a more likely candidate for
a tribal centre, with the other significant sites being Breiddin (Powys),
Bury Walls (near Weston-under-Redcastle), Chesterton Walls (near Romsley),
and Titterstone Clee (near Bitterley, with all three of the latter being
in Shropshire).
(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward
Dawson, 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 Roman Britain: A New History,
Guy de la Bédoyère.)
? - AD 47?
Viroco / Virico?
Possible Cornovian noble.
The
only means by which Viroco can be identified at all is through the grave of
his daughter. Her tombstone at the Roman settlement of Verbeia (modern
Ilkley in Yorkshire) states that she is thirty years old and the daughter
of Viroco of the Cornovii. Although the stone does not specifically state
that her father is (or had been) a chieftain, he is probably someone of
importance. If the chieftain supposition is correct, he may be a leader at
the time of the
Roman
invasion.
The name Viroco could be taken as the root of Viroconium, the Latinisation
of the Brythonic name for the tribal centre overlooked by the Wrekin hill
fort. However, 'Viroconium' contains the common
Gaulish
word for a man, 'wiros' (its combining form is 'wiro-'). The second part
might be the word for 'together' ('com', the same as in Latin) pushed
together along with the plural '-on'. The result would mean 'the (place of)
men together', in the sense of 'the comrades', or combrogi, a word
which leads to the native name for the
Welsh - Cymru.
AD 47
The
invading
Romans under Governor
Aulus Plautius reach the Cornovii in this year, and one battle is fought, at
the Wrekin, in which the tribe is defeated. This is the only major conflict
between the tribe and the invaders, suggesting either that the Cornovii are
not a very warlike people or they lack the tribal cohesiveness to put up an
organised resistance. Either option raises the question of why the powerful
Catuvellauni had not
simply marched in and taken over during their progressive expansion across
the south-east of
Britain.
However, there is the possibility that not all of the tribe's people are
welcoming of the invaders. The existence of the Cornavii tribe is recorded
in Pictland by around AD 140,
suggesting a possible migration northwards of Cornovii people to find a new
homeland that is free of the invaders. A tribe lacking cohesiveness would
certainly be more prone to divisions such as this.
The heart of Viroconium Cornoviorum, in this case the
frigidarium (cold bath) and palaestra (exercise
hall) of the town baths, survives two thousand years after
its construction as the tribal capital of the Cornovii in
Roman Britain
49 - 52
The
Cornovii territory is probably used as a supply base for at least some of
Rome's
subsequent operations against the
Silures and limited fighting
against the Ordovices to
the west, led by Roman
Governor Aulus Didius
Gallus.
c.58 - 88
Roman
influence is never particularly strong in the region, but a fort is
established at Viroconium Cornoviorum, overlooked by the Wrekin hill fort,
initially for the Fourteenth Legion for a short period, and then for the
Twentieth Legion for an equally short period.
2nd century
With
the legions having left Viroconium Cornoviorum the former fort is gradually
converted into the fourth largest city in
Britiain.
The levels of habitation when set against the estimated population size for
the city are inconsistently low, suggesting that many live in timber dwellings
without stone foundations, making such places harder to find by archaeologists.
A forum, basilica and baths are probably begun under Emperor Hadrian in the
120s but are not completed until the 150s, after a period of suspension. Some
of them survive today as impressive ruins. The city becomes very prosperous
and retains that prosperity into the third century.
4th century
Early
decline appears to set in at Viroconium Cornoviorum, earlier than with many
British
cities which retain their prosperity until the time of the great barbarian
attack of 367. Late in the same century, the only known British military
unit, the First Cohort of Cornovii (Cohors Primae Cornoviorum), can be found
serving at the Pons Aelius (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) garrison at the eastern end
of Hadrian's Wall. By this time the five hundred-or-so men of the unit are
probably under the command of Coel Hen of the 'kingdom' of
Northern Britain.
c.409 - 425
By
the time
Roman
authority has been ejected at the start of the fifth century, much of the
former Cornovii territory appears to form the heartland of the territory of
the Pagensis, which is under the
control of Vortigern. Viroconium Cornoviorum apparently remains the region's
capital, surviving into the sixth century as Caer Guricon. Vortigern quickly
becomes the main figure in
British politics,
forming the head of whatever central authority governs much of the south
and east in this century.
c.430
A theory by Dr John Morris, not fully accepted by modern scholars, is that
there are two periods in this century in which elements of the Cornovii are
moved into the south-west of
Britain. According
to the theory, around this time, the leading nobles of Viroconium move to
Dumnonia,
transplanting their Cornovian name to the western peninsula
(Cornubia) and
ruling over the Dumnonians.
While this theory has many detractors, there does seem to be a tradition of
the Cornovii nobility joining that of the Dumnonians, and there is not
nearly enough evidence to prove that this nobility is from Cornubia. Perhaps
instead it represents a unification of two major and fairly powerful tribes
in a location in Britain that offers more safety and better protection than
the vulnerable West Midlands (a concern that would be borne out within just
sixty years when the Middil
Engle migrate into the East Midlands, beginning a wave of advancement in
the region).
Modern Leicestershire formed the heartland of the territory
of the Middle Angles by AD 500, but Angles may have been
infiltrating the region for up to forty years before that
c.460
As a continuation of the theory by Dr John Morris, he suggests that at this
time the majority of the Cornovii migrate from the Midlands, now within the
territory known as the Pagensis,
and settle in Cornubia.
While in general this seems unlikely, it could take place as part of the
general migration of people in southern
Britain towards
the comparative safety of the south-west and possible migration onwards to
Armorica.
