Pre-Roman England has always interested me. It wasn’t until I saw a video series on the tribes that my interest in the mapping of pre-Roman England was peaked.
Credit where credit is due, check out Cambrian Chronicles’ 2-part video series, ANCIENT CELTIC BRITAIN on YouTube.
This post is a continuation of my previous post one Celtic Ireland. The majority of the research behind this post is reliant on Cambrian Chronicles’ research and mapping.
The video series breaks down England into Southern and Northern maps and is full of interesting info. I include some as trivia, but I implore you to check out Cambrian Chronicles for more.
Point of This Post: Mapping The Pre-Roman England
This is a recreation the maps presented by Cambrian Chronicles. Combining the two smaller into one big map. Following his borders, I redrew them against a topographical map of England. Subsequently, This results in some minor differences.
The outlaying Islands are included to improve the aesthetics of the picture, but there was no mention of them in Cambrian Chronicles’ videos.
They are given to their respective territories based on modern county borders of England.
As in my last post, Ptolemy’s Ireland: Better Visualize His 16 Celtic Tribes, the main drive behind these projects is to add to the visual media available for ancient England / Ireland.
Trivia
What’s The Difference Between The Catuvellauni And The Trinovantes?
Thanks Ptolemy’s maps, we know there was a tribe called the Trinovantes, meaning “very rigorous ones”, living to the east of the Catuvellauni. Otherwise, it is very likely we wouldn’t know.
This is because their archeological traces are very similar to the Catuvellauni, and around AD 30, the Catuvellauni are said to have expanded their territory significantly, likely overtaking these eastern neighbors.
Color (Colour) Theory: What Do The Colors Mean?
RED
While the culture of Pre-Roman England is hard to pinpoint, it seems there was some variations. The Romans notted that the British of the south were more similar to the Gauls of main land, northern France, with the Catuvellauni, Trinovantes, and Cantii being the most “civilized“.
Blue
I used this color to represent the rest of southern Britain’s Brythonic / proto-Welsh culture. Not many of these tribes used coins, the one who did bordered on RED, (More Gaulish) lands. Such as the Dobunii, Iceni, and Durotiges.
Green
By the time of Ptolemy’s writting, the Briganti ruled from coast to coast. This preeminence is called into question by the recognition of the Carvetii, namesake for modern day Carlisle, only after Roman occupation.
As their distinction from the Briganti was under Roman rule, it is likely that this tribe was conquered by the Briganti Roman interference, or by the Romans and latter separated from the Briganti for administrative purposes.
Yellow
This represents a disagreement in where the north and south split.
Most people split Engalnd at the Yellow northernmost border, the fullest extent of Roman Britain at Antonine’s Wall, while the more historical border is at the Yellow southernmost border, at Hadrian’s Wall.
This is also happens to be a rough area of the medieval brythonic language, Cumbric.
It is a personal opinion that this hints at Cumbric being a bridge language or dialect between Welsh/Old Brythonic, and the enigmatic Pict. The Carvetii, noted on the map in green with yellow stripes, live in the heartland of what would become Cumbria, the southern portions of the dark age kingdom of Strathclyde.
Purple
This color represent the Pictish lands.
It is hard to say who the Picts are/were. The Picts, their language, and late appearance in historical records seems to imply that they and the Old Britons were more closely related in pre-Roman england.
Only after the conquest, did they diverge significantly from their southern cousins, then brothers. Or perhaps they stayed the same and it was the Brito-Romans that changed.
Vacomagi, North Or South Coast?
Ptolemy’s coordinates stretches the Vacomagi of Eastern Scotland across the region, straddling the Grampian Mts.
Historians disagree, preferring to place them either north coast or southeastern coastal regions. A general lack of info means any opinion might be correct.
Dotted red line and Caledonii polka dots are there to reference the S.E theroy.
