Celtic gold stater Catuvellauni Tasciovanus

Tasciovanus (died c. 9 AD) was a historical king of the

Catuvellauni The Catuvellauni (Common Brittonic: *''Catu-wellaunī'', "war-chiefs") were a Celtic tribe or state of southeastern Britain before the Roman conquest, attested by inscriptions into the 4th century. The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and thei ...

tribe before the

Roman conquest of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain was the Roman Empire's conquest of most of the island of Great Britain, Britain, which was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the ...

History

Tasciovanus is known only through

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

evidence. He appears to have become king of the

c. 20 BC, ruling from

Verlamion Verlamion, or Verlamio, was a settlement in Iron Age Britain. It was a major centre of the Catuvellauni tribe from about 20 BC until shortly after the Roman Empire, Roman invasion of AD 43. It is associated with a particular king, Tasciovanus. ...

(the site of modern-day

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

). He is believed to have moved the tribal capital to that site from an earlier settlement, near modern-day Wheathampstead. (recent excavations on the southern plateau of the ver valley revealed evidence of occupation, including sherds of mid-first century Roman pottery plus several republican denari minted in Rome between 100 and 80 BC, indicating an established settlement existed from the early first century BC. For a brief period (c. 15–10 BC) he issued coins from

Camulodunum Camulodunum ( ; ), the Roman Empire, Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important Castra, castrum and city in Roman Britain, and the first capital of the province. A temporary "wikt:strapline, strapline" in the 1960s ...

(

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

), apparently supplanting Addedomarus of the

Trinovantes The Trinovantēs (Common Brittonic: *''Trinowantī'') or Trinobantes were one of the Celtic tribes of Pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex, Hertfordshire and Suffolk, and included land ...

. After this, he once again issued his coins from Verlamion, now bearing the legend RICON, for *''Rigonos'',

Common Brittonic Common Brittonic (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages. It is a form of Insular Cel ...

for "great/divine/legitimate king". Some of his coins bear other abbreviated names such as "DIAS", "SEGO" and "ANDOCO": these are generally considered to be the names of co-rulers or subordinate kings, but may instead be mint-marks. He died c. AD 9, succeeded by his son

Cunobeline Cunobeline or Cunobelin (Common Brittonic: *''Cunobelinos'', "Dog-Strong"), also known by his name's Latin form , was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about to about Malcolm Todd (2004)"Cunobelinus ymbeline/nowiki> (d. ''c''. AD 40), king in ...

, who ruled primarily from Camulodunum. Another son, Epaticcus, expanded his territory westwards into the lands of the Atrebates.

Medieval traditions

A genealogy preserved in the medieval Welsh manuscript British Library Harley MS 3859 (see Harleian genealogies) contains three generations which read "Caratauc map Cinbelin map Teuhant". This is the equivalent of "

Caratacus Caratacus was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who resisted the Roman conquest of Britain. Before the Roman invasion, Caratacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe's territory. His apparent success led ...

, son of

Cunobelinus Cunobeline or Cunobelin (Common Brittonic: *''Cunobelinos'', "Dog-Strong"), also known by his name's Latin form , was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about to about Malcolm Todd (2004)"Cunobelinus Welsh mythological figures, Guidgen ( Welsh mythology">Welsh mythological figures, Guidgen (Gwydion) and Lou (Lleu Llaw Gyffes">Lleu). He appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth">Gwydion">Welsh mythology">Welsh mythological figures, Guidgen (Gwydion) and Lou (Lleu Llaw Gyffes">Lleu). He appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's fictional ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' (1136) as the legendary king Tenvantius, son of Lud son of Heli, Lud. When his father died, he and his older brother Mandubracius, Androgeus were still minors, so the kingship of Britain was given to their uncle Cassibelanus. Tenvantius was made Duke of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and participated in his uncle's defence of Britain against

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

. Androgeus went to Rome with Caesar, so when Cassibelanus died, Tenvantius succeeded him as king. He was in turn succeeded by his son Kimbelinus (Cunobeline), who had been brought up at the court of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. In

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh (, ) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh (). Literature and history Middle Welsh is ...

versions of Geoffrey's ''Historia,'' his name appears as Teneufan and Trahayant.Acton Griscom (1929), ''The Historiae Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth'' Under the name of Tenewan ap Lludd (Geoffrey of Monmouth's Tenvantius Welshified), he is claimed as a paternal ancestor in the Mostyn Ms. 117 by the Mathrafal Dynasty (The Lleision Tribal Princes) and therefore subsequently the Kings of Rhwng Gwy Y Hafren (The Iorwerthion Tribal Princes) also.

References

External links

Catuvellauni
a
Roman-Britain.co.uk
a
Romans in Britain
*http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/mostyn117.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Tasciovanus 0s deaths Year of death uncertain Year of birth unknown Briton monarchs Traditional history of Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain Briton kings involved in Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain 1st-century BC monarchs in Europe