Cunobelinus (also written
Kynobellinus,
Κυνοβελλίνος in Greek, sometimes abbreviated to
Cunobelin) (late 1st century BC - 40s AD) was a historical king in pre-Roman Britain, known from passing mentions by classical historians
SuetoniusGaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was an equestrian and a historian during the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum...
and
Dio CassiusLucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...
, and from his many inscribed coins. He appears to have controlled a substantial portion of south-eastern England, and is called "
Britannorum rex" ("
king of the BritonsThe Britons or Brythons were the Celtic-speaking people of what is now England, Wales and southern Scotland, whose ethnic identity is today maintained by the Welsh, Cornish and Bretons...
") by Suetonius. He also appears in British legend as
Cynfelyn (Welsh),
Kymbelinus (Medieval Brito-Latin) or
Cymbeline (Shakespeare, et al.), in which form he is the subject of a
playCymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance. Like Othello, Measure for Measure, and The Winter's Tale, it deals with the...
by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. His name is a compound made up of
cuno- "hound" and "Belenos" (the
godA deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
)
BelenusIn Celtic mythology, Belenus was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain and Celtic areas of Austria and Spain. He had shrines from Aquileia on the Adriatic to Kirkby Lonsdale in England. His name means "shining one" or "henbane god" and he is associated with heat and healing...
".
History
From numismatic evidence Cunobelinus appears to have taken power around AD 9, minting coins from both
CamulodunumCamulodunum is the Roman name for the ancient settlement which is today's Colchester, a town in Essex, England. Camulodunum is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain as recorded by the Romans, existing as a Celtic settlement before the Roman conquest, when it became the first Roman town, and...
(
ColchesterColchester is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001 it had a population of 104,390...
, capital of the
TrinovantesThe Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the tribes that lived in pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London...
) and
VerlamionVerlamion, or Verlamio , was the tribal capital of the Catuvellauni tribe in Iron Age Britain from approximately 20 BC until shortly after the Roman invasion of 43 AD....
(later the Roman town of
VerulamiumVerulamium was an ancient town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the modern city of St Albans in Hertfordshire, Great Britain. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, though much has been built upon...
, now modern
St AlbansSt Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It was a settlement of pre-Roman origin named Verlamion by the Ancient British, Catuvellauni tribe...
), capital of the
CatuvellauniThe Catuvellauni were a Belgic tribe or state of south-eastern Britain before the Roman conquest.The fortunes of the Catuvellauni and their kings before the conquest can be traced through numismatic evidence and scattered references in classical histories. They are mentioned by Dio Cassius, who...
. Some of the Verulamium coins name him as the son of
TasciovanusTasciovanus was a historical king of the Catuvellauni tribe before the Roman conquest of Britain.-History:Tasciovanus is known only through numismatic evidence. He appears to have become king of the Catuvellauni ca. 20 BC, ruling from Verlamion...
, a previous king of the Catuvellauni; unlike his father's, his coins name no co-rulers. However his earliest issues are from Camulodunum, indicating that he took power there first, and some have a palm or laurel wreath design, a motif borrowed from the Romans indicating a military victory. He may have been emboldened to act against the Trinovantes by the Roman defeat in the
Battle of the Teutoburg ForestThe Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in A.D. 9 when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius , the son of Segimer of the Cherusci, ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.The...
in
GermaniaGermania was the Latin exonym for a geographical area of land on the east bank of the River Rhine , which included regions of Sarmatia as well as an area under Roman control on the west bank of the Rhine...
in AD 9. The Trinovantes were a Roman ally whose independence was protected by a treaty made by
Julius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar , , was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in 54 BC, but problems in Germania severely discouraged
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
's territorial ambitions and ability to defend allies in Britain.
Cunobelinus appears to have maintained quite good relations with the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
. He used the title
Rex (Latin "king") and classical motifs on his coins, and his reign saw an increase in trade with the continent.
ArchaeologyArchaeology or archeology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material culture and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, and landscapes...
shows an increase in luxury goods imported from the continent, including Italian wine and drinking vessels, olive oil and fish sauces from
HispaniaHispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior...
, glassware, jewellery and Gallo-Belgic tableware, which from their distribution appear to have entered Britain via the port of Camulodunum. He was probably one of the British kings that
StraboStrabo was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born in a wealthy family from Amaseia in Pontus , which had recently become part of the Roman Empire.. He studied under various geographers and philosophers; first in Nysa, later in Rome...
says sent embassies to Augustus. Strabo reports Rome's lucrative trade with Britain: the island's exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs.
Cunobelinus had three sons,
AdminiusAdminius, Amminius or Amminus was a son of Cunobelinus, ruler of the Catuvellauni, a tribe of Iron Age Britain. His name can be interpreted as Celtic *ad-mindios, "to be crowned"....
,
TogodumnusTogodumnus was a historical king of the British Catuvellauni tribe at the time of the Roman conquest. He can probably be identified with the legendary British king Guiderius....
and
CaratacusCaratacus was a historical British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest...
, and a brother,
EpaticcusEpaticcus or Epaticcu was a brother of Cunobelinus, king of the Catuvellauni, a tribe of Iron Age Britain.Coins bearing his name begin to appear in the northern lands of the neighbouring Atrebates tribe and their capital, Calleva Atrebatum , probably fell to him around AD 25...
, known to history. Epaticcus expanded his influence into the territory of the
AtrebatesThe Atrebates were a Belgic tribe of Gaul and Britain before the Roman conquests. According to Alexander MacBain, the name Attrebates is related to the Irish aitreibh, ‘building,’ Early Irish aittreb, ‘building,’ and Welsh adref, ‘homewards,’ going on to state that the Celtic root treb corresponds...
in the early 20s AD, taking the Atrebatan capital Calleva (
SilchesterSilchester is a village and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. It is best known for the adjacent archaeological site and Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, which was first occupied by the Romans in about AD 45 and includes what is thought to be the best-preserved Roman wall in...
) by about 25. He continued to expand his territory until his death in about 35, when Caratacus took over from him and the Atrebates recovered some of their territory.
Adminius, judging by his coins, had control of
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
by this time. Suetonius tells us that in ca. 40 he was banished from Britain by his father and sought refuge with the emperor
CaligulaGaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41...
; Caligula treated this as if the entire island had submitted to him. Caligula prepared an invasion of Britain, but abandoned it in farcical circumstances, ordering his soldiers to attack the waves and gather seashells as the spoils of victory.
Cunobelinus died some time before 43. Caratacus completed the conquest of the Atrebates, and their king,
VericaVerica was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD.From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. He succeeded his elder brother Eppillus as king in about 15 AD, reigning at Calleva Atrebatum,...
, fled to Rome, providing the new emperor,
ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
, with a pretext for the
conquest of BritainBy AD 43, the time of the main Roman invasion of Britain, Great Britain had already frequently been the target of invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire...
. Caratacus and Togodumnus led the initial resistance to the invasion.
Dio CassiusLucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus , known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was a Roman consul and a noted historian writing in Greek...
tells us that the "Bodunni", a tribe who were tributary to the Catuvellauni, changed sides and supported the Romans. This is probably a misspelling of the
DobunniThe Dobunni were one of the Celtic tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion of Britain.-Territory:The tribe lived in the part of southwestern Britain that today broadly coincides with the English counties of North Somerset, Bristol and Gloucestershire although at times their...
of
GloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, indicating that Cunobelinus's hegemony extended as far as the West Country.
It is possible, based on epigraphic evidence, that
Sallustius LucullusSallustius Lucullus was a governor of Roman Britain during the late 1st century, holding office after Gnaeus Julius Agricola although it is unclear whether he directly inherited the post or if there was another unknown governor in between...
, Roman governor of Britain in the late 1st century, was his grandson.
Legend and literature
Cunobelinus's memory was preserved in British legend and beyond. A
genealogy preserved in the medieval Welsh manuscript Harleian 3859The Harleian genealogies are a collection of Old Welsh genealogies preserved in British Library, Harleian MS 3859. Part of the Harleian Collection, the manuscript, which also contains the Annales Cambriae and a version of the Historia Brittonum, has been dated to c. 1100...
contains three generations which read "Caratauc map Cinbelin map Teuhant". This is the equivalent of "Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, son of Tasciovanus", putting the three historical figures in the correct order, although the wrong historical context, the degree of linguistic change suggesting a long period of oral transmission. The remainder of the genealogy contains the names of a sequence of Roman emperors, and two
Welsh mythologicalWelsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
figures, Guidgen (
GwydionIn Welsh mythology, Gwydion is a magician appearing prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi and the ancient poem Cad Goddeu. He is the brother of Gilfaethwy and Arianrhod, and the nephew of Math fab Mathonwy. In the Mabinogion he is called the son of the goddess Dôn, making it likely he is...
) and Lou (
LleuLleu Llaw Gyffes is a figure of Welsh mythology. He appears in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy...
).
In
Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouth was a British clergyman and one of the major figures in the development of British history and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
's
Historia Regum BritanniaeThe Historia Regum Britanniae is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written c. 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons in a chronological narrative spanning a time of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation...
(1136) he appears as Kymbelinus, son of Tenvantius, a powerful warrior who was raised in the courts of
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
. He was very friendly with the Roman court: his country was equipped with Roman weapons, and all tributes to Rome were paid out of respect, not out of requirement. He had two sons,
GuideriusGuiderius is a legendary British king according Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae and related texts. He can probably be identified as deriving from the historical Togodumnus....
and
ArvirargusArvirargus was a legendary, and possibly historical, British king of the 1st century AD. A shadowy historical Arviragus is known only from a cryptic reference in a satirical poem by Juvenal, in which a giant turbot presented to the Roman emperor Domitian is said to be an omen that "you will...
. Guiderius succeeded him, but died in the early stages of
ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
's invasion, leaving Arvirargus to carry on the fight.
Geoffrey's story was incorporated into
Raphael HolinshedRaphael Holinshed was an English chronicler, whose work, commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles, was one of the major sources used by William Shakespeare for a number of his plays....
's
Chronicles in 1577, where it was found by
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and used as the basis of his
romanceThe late romances, often simply called the romances, are a grouping of what many scholars believe to be William Shakespeare's later plays, including Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Cymbeline; The Winter's Tale; and The Tempest. The Two Noble Kinsmen is sometimes included in this grouping...
,
CymbelineCymbeline is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance. Like Othello, Measure for Measure, and The Winter's Tale, it deals with the...
. Beyond the name there is virtually nothing in common between the figure of Cymbeline and the historical Cunobelinus. The king, under the influence of his wicked second wife, forbids his daughter Imogen to marry Posthumus Leonatus, a low-born but worthy man, preferring that she marry his boorish stepson Cloten, leading to mistaken identity, jealousy caused by false accusations of infidelity and a war with Rome provoked by the withholding of tribute, again at the instigation of the queen. In the end peace between Britain and Rome is re-established, Cymbeline is reunited with his two sons, Guiderius and Arviragus, who were abducted in childhood by Belarius, a wrongly-banished nobleman. Imogen is reconciled with Postumus, and Cloten and the queen get their just deserts.
Cunobelinus's name lives on in England today: the group of villages in
BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury and the largest town in ceremonial Buckinghamshire is Milton Keynes....
called the
KimblesThe Kimbles are a group of English villages to the south of Aylesbury in the county of Buckinghamshire, sitting at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. The three villages are called Great Kimble, Little Kimble and Kimble Wick. The three villages are respectively named after "The Greater village of...
are said to be named after him. Above them sits the iconic Beacon Hill and the mysterious earth mound of Cymbeline's Mount or Cymbeline's Castle. Local legend and folk tales tell of a great battle fought on its slopes by the king and his sons against the oncoming Roman hordes.
External links