Luguvalium
Encyclopedia
Luguvalium was a town
in the Roman province
of Britannia
. Today it is known as Carlisle, located in the English
county of Cumbria
(formerly in Cumberland
).
occupation of the site presumably represents the Brython
ic settlement of Luguvalion. The name means 'the strong place of Luguwalos' (Luguwalos is believed to be the personal name derived from the Celt
ic deity, Lugus
). Or a proper name of a Celtic noble of the local Carvetii tribe. Luguvalium is the Latin
form.
built a timber fort on the site. Following its demolition around AD 103, a second timber fort was built. About AD 165 the fort was replaced by a stone fort. Timber structures further to the south-east were probably associated military buildings. These were later replaced in stone. When the civilian settlement in this area was enclosed by a stone wall is unknown, but it is generally assumed to have followed the line of the later medieval wall. The town probably became the civitas
capital of the Carvetii
tribe some time in the 2nd century. A single large stone building has been located which may have been for administrative use. Industry included copper working and tanning
, while merchant traders were also in evidence. Inscriptions show there was a Mithraeum
in the town and possibly a temple
to Mars
.
occupation of Luguvalium seems to have been unbroken. It became known as Caer Ligualid in Old Welsh
and possible 5th century buildings have been identified during excavation. Saint Cuthbert
visited the town in the 7th century and described the high stone walls and an impressive fountain, presumably fed by a still functioning aqueduct. The place was under the control of a 'praepositus civitatis'.
called their settlement at what is today Carlisle, Luguvalium, originally thought to mean 'wall[ed town] of the god Lugus
' (compare Welsh
Lleu
, Irish
Lugh
) but since explained as a British
location name *Luguwaljon deriving from a personal name *Luguwalos meaning 'strength of the god Lugus'.
The name apparently continued in use among Brythonic speakers in the Old North
and Wales
and it was during that time that the initial element caer 'fort' was added. The place is mentioned in Welsh sources such as Nennius
, who calls it Caer Ligualid, and the Llyfr Taliesin where it is rendered caer liwelyd. The modern Welsh Caer Liwelydd has been shown to be a regular Welsh development from the earlier British *Luguwaljon.
The earliest English record is Luel (c. 1050) and later medieval forms include Cardeol, Karlioli, Cærleoil. These appear to suggest that the northern form of the name did not have the final -ydd (compare the River Derwent
in Cumbria with Derwenydd in Wales, both < Brythonic *Derwentjū).
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
. Today it is known as Carlisle, located in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
(formerly in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
).
Pre-Roman
Limited Iron AgeBritish Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
occupation of the site presumably represents the Brython
Brython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
ic settlement of Luguvalion. The name means 'the strong place of Luguwalos' (Luguwalos is believed to be the personal name derived from the Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic deity, Lugus
Lugus
Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from placenames and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed...
). Or a proper name of a Celtic noble of the local Carvetii tribe. Luguvalium is the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
form.
Roman
Around AD 72, the RomansRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
built a timber fort on the site. Following its demolition around AD 103, a second timber fort was built. About AD 165 the fort was replaced by a stone fort. Timber structures further to the south-east were probably associated military buildings. These were later replaced in stone. When the civilian settlement in this area was enclosed by a stone wall is unknown, but it is generally assumed to have followed the line of the later medieval wall. The town probably became the civitas
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
capital of the Carvetii
Carvetii
The Carvetii were a people and civitas of Roman Britain living in what is now Cumbria and North Lancashire in north-west England. They are not mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography or in any other classical text, and are known only from inscriptions found in Penrith and Temple Sowerby in Cumbria...
tribe some time in the 2nd century. A single large stone building has been located which may have been for administrative use. Industry included copper working and tanning
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, while merchant traders were also in evidence. Inscriptions show there was a Mithraeum
Mithraeum
A Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the mystery religion of Mithraism.The Mithraeum was either an adapted natural cave or cavern or an artificial building imitating a cavern. Mithraea were dark and windowless, even if they were not actually in a subterranean space or in a natural...
in the town and possibly a temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
to Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
.
Post-Roman
Romano-BritishRomano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
occupation of Luguvalium seems to have been unbroken. It became known as Caer Ligualid in Old Welsh
Old Welsh language
Old Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from the British language around 550, has been called "Primitive Welsh".Many poems and some prose...
and possible 5th century buildings have been identified during excavation. Saint Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
Saint Cuthbert was an Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop and hermit associated with the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, at that time including, in modern terms, northern England as well as south-eastern Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth...
visited the town in the 7th century and described the high stone walls and an impressive fountain, presumably fed by a still functioning aqueduct. The place was under the control of a 'praepositus civitatis'.
Toponymy
The RomansRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
called their settlement at what is today Carlisle, Luguvalium, originally thought to mean 'wall[ed town] of the god Lugus
Lugus
Lugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from placenames and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed...
' (compare Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
Lleu
Lleu Llaw Gyffes
Lleu Llaw Gyffes is a hero of Welsh mythology. He appears most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of Math fab Mathonwy, which tells the tale of his birth, his marriage, his death, his resurrection and his accession to the throne of Gwynedd...
, Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
Lugh
Lugh
Lug or Lugh is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. He is known by the epithets Lámhfhada , for his skill with a spear or sling, Ildánach , Samhildánach , Lonnbeimnech and Macnia , and by the...
) but since explained as a British
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
location name *Luguwaljon deriving from a personal name *Luguwalos meaning 'strength of the god Lugus'.
The name apparently continued in use among Brythonic speakers in the Old North
Old North
Old North may refer to:*Hen Ogledd, the Welsh-speaking areas of northern England and southern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages*Viking Age Scandinavia*Old North Church, also known as Christ Church , Salem Street, Boston, Massachusetts...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and it was during that time that the initial element caer 'fort' was added. The place is mentioned in Welsh sources such as Nennius
Nennius
Nennius was a Welsh monk of the 9th century.He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the Historia Brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work, This attribution is widely considered a secondary tradition....
, who calls it Caer Ligualid, and the Llyfr Taliesin where it is rendered caer liwelyd. The modern Welsh Caer Liwelydd has been shown to be a regular Welsh development from the earlier British *Luguwaljon.
The earliest English record is Luel (c. 1050) and later medieval forms include Cardeol, Karlioli, Cærleoil. These appear to suggest that the northern form of the name did not have the final -ydd (compare the River Derwent
River Derwent
River Derwent is the name of several rivers in England:*River Derwent, Derbyshire*River Derwent, North East England on the border between County Durham and Northumberland*River Derwent, Cumbria in the Lake District*River Derwent, Yorkshire in Yorkshire...
in Cumbria with Derwenydd in Wales, both < Brythonic *Derwentjū).