C is for Cerialis

C is for Quintus Petilius Cerialis.

And who was he? Yesterday’s post finished with the rescue of Queen Cartimandua of the Brigantes and the short reign of her ex-husband Venutius which started in AD 69. Roll forward a little to AD 70/71. The Roman Empire had been battling with the hostile Brigante tribes for a good while under Governor, Marcus Vettius Bolanus when the governorship was changed yet again.

The newly appointed governor, Quintus Petilius Cerialis, had been in Britannia before but had not distinguished himself at all well as the Legate of Legio IX Hispana the during the AD 60/61 revolt of Queen Bouddica of the Iceni- the ‘Massacre of the IX Legion’ becoming infamous through the writings of Tacitus.

 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boadicea_haranguing2.png

However, subsequent successful experience in other parts of the Roman Empire, notably the defeat of the Batavians, led to him gaining honours from the Emperor Vespasian, who appointed him as Governor of Britannia in AD 71. Being a relative of Vespasian might have helped, too, since Cerialis had survived being taken hostage as a supporter of Vespasian during the political upheaval of AD 69. His subsequent escape and triumphal equestrian entry to conquer Rome in advance of the arrival of Vespasian was given due honours.

( photo:  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A._Tempesta_Cerialis_1612.jpg

Description:  Antonio Tempesta (possibly after Otto van Veen). Cerialis grants mercy to soldiers that went over to the enemy, 69-70 [from the Revolt of the Batavi series]. 1612. Etching. 165 × 210 mm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (inv.nr. RP-P-OB-77.933).)

As governor of Britannia, Cerialis aggressively campaigned against the Brigantes who had ceased to be of ‘client tribal status’ and who were constantly repelling the forces of Rome in localised skirmishes. Cerialis' aim was to subdue every last tribe, and he set to releasing the resources needed for this. While his forces of the IX Legion, and later those of the II Adiutrix (auxiliary) Legion, moved northwards from a base at Lindum (Lincoln), he was supported by Agricola and the XX Legion who advanced up the west side of Brigantia.

Mid-Brigantia was smothered. 

After the defeat of Venutius in AD 73 (most likely near the Celtic hillfort at Stanwick) Cerialis set to policing the areas already subdued by building many small forts in northern Britain, and it is now thought that at least some of his advancing subduing forces may have moved into present day Scotland- the dating of Roman marching camps and small forts possibly matching his tenure as governor.

  

Since my writing in progress, the sequel to THE BELTANE CHOICE, begins in AD71 it is no real surprise that Cerialis is mentioned quite frequently in it!

Slainthe!

Brigantes!

B is for BRIGANTES

Many of my main characters in The Beltane Choice, and in the sequel, are Brigantes. But who were they?

In AD 43, Roman Emperor Claudius sent some 40,000 Roman troops to capture Britannia and extend the Roman Empire to every part of the island. After the initial triumph of Claudius against the Catuvellauni in the south-east of Britannia, some of the Celtic tribes preferred to become ‘client kingdoms’ of Rome rather than continue to battle against the superior Roman fighting machine. This process created buffer zones between the tribes. For a ‘price’ the Romans largely left the ‘client kingdoms’ to rule themselves and focused on subduing those tribes who constantly refused to submit to Rome.

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The Brigantes - named for the Celtic goddess Brigantia - was a large federation of Celtic tribes who occupied a large tract of territory in what is now the north of England, and were mainly farmers. They had few large hill-forts across their territory; more commonly lived in smaller settlements and roundhouse villages. Before the arrival of the Roman Empire, any battles fought tended to be for localised territorial reasons and as such they had never formed a huge disciplined army. Warrior against warrior combat was usual during any Brigante tribal skirmishes. 

When faced with thousands of severely drilled Roman soldiers, who worked together as a fighting unit, the bravery of the Celtic people was repeatedly tested.

Queen Cartimandua and her husband Venutius who co-ruled from AD 43-69 are probably the best known Brigante rulers. They took on the mantle of ‘client-kingdom’ status and made treaties with Rome. In Roman terms this was highly favourable since the huge area of land to the north didn’t require to be ‘policed’ by Rome.

However, the marriage had its problems and around AD 51 Cartimandua handed over the High King Caractacus to the Romans after his defeat against the Ordovices. Not all of her subjects were in favour of betraying fellow Celts, and this was a move probably not condoned by her husband. In AD 57 Venutius gathered forces to rebel against Cartimandua but was thwarted by the armies of Rome. Though they appear to have temporarily reconciled their marriage did not last, Cartimandua divorcing Venutius in favour of Vellocatus - his shield bearer. Whatever her reasons for that, her life makes interesting fiction that’s been written by quite a few authors already!

wikimedia commons

If the king and queen can’t manage to work together cohesively, then what can be said about the rest of the federation? The different factions within the Brigantes who disagreed with each other, during the years following, weren’t conducive to the unity of the whole federation -the result being Cartimandua had to be rescued by the Romans in AD 69 when she was under attack from Venutius and her own people. Cartimandua subsequently disappeared from history and Venutius became the Brigantian king. The tenure didn’t last long since Venutius suffered a large scale defeat probably somewhere near the Celtic hill fort at Stanwick in AD 73. From that point on the Brigantes appeared to be leaderless.

Cartimandua doesn’t feature in my work in progress but Venutius has a truly ‘cameo’ role! My main characters are, however, true Brigantians who will not yield to the yoke of Rome!

(The photo is a Romanised version of Brigitte/ Brigantia -Celtic goddess)

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April A-Z Challenge

A...is all down to… Agricola

It's A for AGRICOLA

It's also for Arlee Bird, the founder of this blog hop, without whom I wouldn't be starting this fantastic challenge. Thank you so much ARlee/Lee for making this possible.

My A-Z Challenge has a particular theme which you may have guessed from today’s blog title. I'm currently writing a novel set in Celtic/Roman Britain AD 71-84 so it seems natural to me to centre my blog posts for this exciting challenge around the research I've been doing on that period.

Though my title doesn’t indicate it there's a sub-challenge of History versus Archaeology. What has been the best for me to use? Facts gleaned from historical sources? Or facts as are deduced from archaeological evidence recently uncovered? Both have disputable elements, and both have provided me with interesting information. I hope that you enjoy some of the research I'm sharing with you in the April posts.

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I'm no expert so, please bear with the fact that information I include here is my interpretation of it as a writer!

In my current novel in progress Gnaeus Julius Agricola plays no starring role, but what happens to my characters is very dependent on Agricola’s movements during the period of approximately AD 71-84 in what the Romans termed the island of Britannia.  

The knowledge of Agricola’s involvement comes from conjectural sources since there are few surviving references to him, and those that do exist - like the works of Tacitus - are somewhat biased in his favour. From those references, it appears that Agricola spent quite some time during his military career in Britannia, employed in varying roles.

           

Around AD 58, approximately aged 18, he served as a tribune on the staff of the current Governor of Britannia – Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. It’s likely he sharpened his military teeth to fine points during the uprisings of the famous Celtic Queen Bouddica, and no doubt learned a good deal about the Celtic tribes of southern Britain during the years AD 58-62.

 

Having distinguished himself elsewhere in Rome, and in the Empire, during the years following AD 62, Agricola was awarded the post of Legate, in command of the XX Valeria Victrix Legion based in Britannia, by the Emperor Vespasian in AD 69. By AD 71 the governorship of Britannia was changed, Quintus Petilius Cerialis having replaced the weaker Marcus Vettius Bolanus. This change of governor seems to have given Agricola leave to be even more aggressive as Legion commander.  

I’m writing a novel therefore it’s my interpretation of the events of the time. I like the idea that my Celtic characters are battling against a leader, Agricola, who’s not only charismatic but tactically powerful. Agricola was instrumental in destroying the Celtic tribes of the west during his time as Legate of the XX which lasted till AD 74; a man feared by many.

My characters, Brigantes of northern Britain, breathe a small sigh of relief when Agricola is recalled to Rome in AD 74 - only to find he returns again in AD 77/78 as the newly appointed Governor of Britannia in full charge of the destiny of thousands of Celtic men, women and children. His relentless subjugation from AD 78 through to AD 84, as he strides his way to the Moray Coast of Scotland, puts fear into the very core of my characters.  

(Image from:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_baths_julius_agricola_01.JPG?uselang=en-gb)

My research has been extensive, and I like to make my settings as believable and as realistic as possible, but the dates appropriated from historical sources don’t quite seem to match the most recent archaeological evidence that’s now uncovered on an almost daily basis. Till very recently, the advance of the Roman Army into northern England, and then over the border hills into Scotland was mostly attributed to the campaigns of Agricola during AD 78-84. Yet, as a novelist, it suits me to accept the very recent archaeological theories that many of the marching camps and small auxiliary forts in the lands of the Brigantes were established some years earlier, perhaps by Cerialis.

During this month of the A-Z challenge I hope to enlighten you a little more about Roman Britain during the period AD 71-84- but what you will get will be my interpretation of history versus archaeology!

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Link for list of participants in A-Z

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