The names of the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

Iron Age tribes in Britain were recorded by

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

historians and geographers, especially

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

. Information from the distribution of Celtic coins has also shed light on the extents of the territories of the various groups that occupied the island.

Historiography

The following ethnic names were recorded in the

2nd century The 2nd century is the period from 101 ( CI) through 200 ( CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest ex ...

CE at the earliest. Technically, the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

had ended by this date, having transitioned into the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. These tribes were not necessarily the same tribes that had been living in the same area during the Iron Age. Available evidence seems to indicate that the tribes of the Middle Iron Age tended to group together into larger tribal kingdoms during the Late Iron Age. The Belgae and Atrebates share their names with tribes in France and Belgium, which, together with Caesar's note that Diviciacus of the

Suessiones The Suessiones were a Belgic tribe, dwelling in the modern Aisne and Oise regions during the La Tène and Roman periods. During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), their oppidum Noviodunum ( Pommiers) was besieged and conquered by Caesar. Following th ...

had ruled territory in Britain, suggests that this part of the country might have been conquered and ruled from abroad. The Parisii have also been suggested as having been an immigrant group. Some historians have suggested that it might be possible to distinguish the distributions of different tribes from their pottery assemblages for the Middle Iron Age. However, no names are available for these tribes (except perhaps "Pretanoi"), and most of the tribes apart from in the South did not use pottery to a significant enough extent for this methodology to be applied to them.Cunliffe, Barry (2005). Iron Age Communities in Britain. These are also not necessarily the names by which the tribes knew themselves; for instance, "Durotriges" can mean "hillfort-dwellers", referring to the fact that

hillforts A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Rom ...

continued to be occupied in this area after they were abandoned elsewhere in Southern Britain. It is unlikely that the Durotriges themselves considered this their defining characteristic. Further, "Regnenses" is a Latin name meaning "inhabitants of the (client) kingdom".

Southern Britain

Atrebates The Atrebates (Gaulish: *''Atrebatis'', 'dwellers, land-owners, possessors of the soil') were a Belgic tribe of the Iron Age and the Roman period, originally dwelling in the Artois region. After the tribes of Gallia Belgica were defeated by Caes ...

Belgae The Belgae () were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Ju ...

Cantiaci The Cantiaci or Cantii were an Iron Age Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a '' civitas'' of Roman Britain. They lived in the area now called Kent, in south-eastern England. Their capital was ''Dur ...

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 their k ...

Dobunni The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman conquest of Britain. There are seven known references to the tribe in Roman histories and inscriptions. Various historians and archaeologists have examined ...

Dumnonii The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a British tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Devon and Cornwall (and some areas of present-day Dorset and Somerset) in the further parts of the South West peninsula of Britain, from at least the Ir ...

, and sub-tribe

Cornovii The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, tribes were known in Roman Britain. One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably one in Cornwall. The name has ...

Durotriges The Durotriges were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain prior to the Roman invasion. The tribe lived in modern Dorset, south Wiltshire, south Somerset and Devon east of the River Axe and the discovery of an Iron Age hoard in 2009 at Shalfle ...

* Regnenses *

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 lan ...

Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...

Middle of Britain

Carvetii The Carvetii (Common Brittonic: *''Carwetī'') were a Brittonic Celtic tribe living in what is now Cumbria, in North-West England during the Iron Age, and were subsequently identified as a ''civitas'' (canton) of Roman Britain. Etymology The ...

Corieltauvi The Corieltauvi (also the Coritani, and the Corieltavi) were a tribe of people living in Britain prior to the Roman conquest, and thereafter a ''civitas'' of Roman Britain. Their territory was in what is now the English East Midlands. They were b ...

* Parisi

Northern Britain

Brigantes The Brigantes were Ancient Britons who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England. Their territory, often referred to as Brigantia, was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire. The Greek geogr ...

Caledonii The Caledonians (; la, Caledones or '; grc-gre, Καληδῶνες, ''Kalēdōnes'') or the Caledonian Confederacy were a Brittonic-speaking ( Celtic) tribal confederacy in what is now Scotland during the Iron Age and Roman eras. The Gre ...

Caereni The Caereni were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural envir ...

* Carnonacae *

Corionototae The Corionototae were a group of Ancient Britons apparently inhabiting what is now Northern England about whom very little is known. They were recorded in one Roman votary inscription (now lost) from Corbridge, of uncertain date, which commemorate ...

Creones The Creones were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. From his general description and the approximate locations of their neighbors, their territory was along the western coast of ...

Damnonii The Damnonii (also referred to as Damnii) were a Brittonic people of the late 2nd century who lived in what became the Kingdom of Strathclyde by the Early Middle Ages, and is now southern Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's ''Geo ...

Decantae The Decantae were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. From his general description and the approximate locations of their neighbors, their territory was along the western coast of ...

Epidii The Epidii (Greek: Επίδιοι) were a people of ancient Britain, known from a mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. ''Epidion'' has been identified as the island of Islay in modern Argyll. Ptolemy does not list a town for the Epid ...

Lopocares The Lopocares were a conjectural group of Ancient Britons inhabiting the area around Corbridge in Northumberland, Northeast England. They may have been a sub-tribe or sept of the Brigantes. The Lopocares are not directly attested in any records: t ...

Lugi The Lugi were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. from his general description and the approximate locations of their neighbors their territory was along the western coast of the ...

Novantae The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwesternmost Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's ''Geography'' (written c. 150), and there is no other historical record of th ...

Selgovae The Selgovae (Common Brittonic: *''Selgowī'') were a Celtic tribe of the late 2nd century AD who lived in what is now the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Dumfriesshire, on the southern coast of Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's ' ...

* Smertae *

Setantii The Setantii (sometimes read as ''Segantii'') were a possible pre-Roman British people who apparently lived in the western and southern littoral of Lancashire in England. It is thought likely they were a sept or sub-tribe of the Brigantes, who, at ...

Taexali The Taexali (or Taezali) were a people of ancient Scotland, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. From his general description and the approximate location of their town or principal place that he called 'Dev ...

* Textoverdi * Vacomagi *

Venicones The Venicones were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150 AD. He recorded that their town was 'Orrea'. This has been identified as the Roman fort of Horrea Classis, located by Rivet a ...

Votadini The Votadini, also known as the ''Uotadini'', ''Wotādīni'', ''Votādīni'', or ''Otadini'' were a Brittonic people of the Iron Age in Great Britain. Their territory was in what is now south-east Scotland and north-east England, extending fro ...

Western Britain

Deceangli The Deceangli or Deceangi (Welsh: Tegeingl) were one of the Celtic tribes living in Britain, prior to the Roman invasion of the island. The tribe lived in the region near the modern city of Chester but it is uncertain whether their territory co ...

Demetae The Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age and Roman period, who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, and gave their name to the county of Dyfed. Classical references They are mentioned in Ptolemy's ''Geograp ...

Gangani The Gangani (Γαγγανοι) were a people of ancient Ireland who are referred to in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the south-west of the island, probably near the mouth of the River Shannon, between the Auteini to the north an ...

Ordovices The Ordovīcēs (Common Brittonic: *''Ordowīcī'') were one of the Celtic tribes living in Great Britain before the Roman invasion. Their tribal lands were located in present-day North Wales and England, between the Silures to the south and the D ...

Silures The Silures ( , ) were a powerful and warlike tribe or tribal confederation of ancient Britain, occupying what is now south east Wales and perhaps some adjoining areas. They were bordered to the north by the Ordovices; to the east by the Dobunn ...

Miscellaneous (unknown)

Ancalites The Ancalites were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "four ...

Attacotti The Attacotti (variously spelled ''Atticoti'', ''Attacoti'', ''Atecotti'', ''Atticotti'', ''Atecutti'', etc.) were a people who despoiled Roman Britain between 364 and 368, along with the Scoti, Picts, Saxons, Roman military deserters and the i ...

Bibroci The Bibroci were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "four k ...

Cassi CAS (formerly Chemical Abstracts Service) is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information. CAS is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Print periodicals ''Chemical Abstracts'' is a periodical index tha ...

Cenimagni The Cenimagni were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. It has been suggested that the name is a variant of ''Iceni'' with the Latin adjective ''magni'', m ...

?) * Pretanoi (= Britons, or refers to a single tribe?) *

Segontiaci The Segontiaci were a tribe of Iron Age Britain in the first century BCE. They are known only from a brief mention in the writings of Julius Caesar. They may have been one of the four tribes of Kent, represented in Caesar by references to the "fou ...

References

Bibliography

*Anon (1994). ''Historical Map and Guide Roman Britain'' (map).

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, Fourth Edition (Revised). *Frere, S. (1987). ''Britannia''. Routledge, London.

External links

{{Iron Age tribes in Britain *

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...