Selgovae
Encyclopedia
The Selgovae were a people of the late 2nd century 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 Geography
, and there is no other historical record of them. Their cultural and ethnic affinity is commonly assumed to have been Brittonic
.
Assertions that the Solway Firth
preserves the name of the Selgovae are without foundation. 'Solway' is Anglo-Saxon from the thirteenth century (sol = 'mud', wæth = 'ford'), and this was the name of the main crossing at Eskmouth at that time. The firth has been known by various names in the past, and this one happened to be the survivor.
as 'Segloes', but the document here is taken to be an imperfect copy of classical sources such as Ptolemy, and not an independent historical reference.
The Novantae
are unique among the peoples that Ptolemy names in that their location is reliably known to have been in Galloway due to the way he named several readily identifiable physical features. Since the Selgovae were adjacent to them, their homeland is similarly known.
Ptolemy said that the towns of the Selgovae were Carbantorigum, Uxellum, Corda, and Trimontium. However, there were no towns as such in the area at that time, so he was probably referring to Roman military camps and native strong points such as dun
s. In the Ravenna Cosmography the town names appear as Carbantium, Uxela, Corda, and Trimuntium, resp., and the towns are given in a list that does not associate any of the towns with any particular people.
Efforts have been made to determine the locations of the towns, but there is not enough information available to reach any degree of certainty, and the locations suggested are little more than guesswork.
Carbantorigum was at the Moat of Urr according to Skene
, and Rhys
thought the name derived from Carbantorion (chariot town). Uxellum was at Wardlaw Hill at Caerlaverock
according to Skene and Horsley; it is noticed that the name sounds like Welsh uchel (high) or Gaelic uas, uasal. Corda was at Sanquhar
, according to Skene. Trimontium was at Birrenswark Hill, according to Skene, who says its name probably represents Brittonic Tref mynydd (Town on the Mountain).
Rhys
, agreeing with Wyntoun, thought that 'Selgovae' means 'the hunters' .
(governor 78 – 84), Tacitus
says that after a combination of force and diplomacy quieted discontent among the Britons who had been conquered previously, Agricola built forts in their territories in 79. In 80 he marched to the Firth of Tay
, campaigning against the peoples there. He did not return until 81, at which time he consolidated his gains in the lands that he had conquered.
The territory of the Selgovae was substantially planted with Roman forts at this time, at Broomholm, Birrens, Ward Law, Milton, Drumlanrig, Dalswinton
, and at Glenlochar
on the eastern bank of the River Dee
, which was perhaps the boundary between the Selgovae and the neighboring Novantae
. This suggests (but does not confirm) that the Selgovae were among the British peoples who had strongly resisted Roman occupation. This is in contrast to the neighboring Novantae, where there were no signs of Roman occupation save the fortlet at Gatehouse of Fleet
, in the southeast of their territory.
Following the reorganisation of northern Roman Britain and the construction of Hadrian's Wall
(c. 122), the only Roman forts in Selgovae territory were at Birrens and Netherby. However, with the construction of the Antonine Wall
and the re-occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall (c. 142), Selgovae territory was again heavily planted with Roman forts, at Netherby, Broomholm, Birrens, Burnswark, Raeburnfoot, Shieldhill, Milton, Drumlanrig, Dalswinton, Carzield, Lantonside, and Glenlochar. There were no Roman forts planted in the territory of the neighboring Novantae.
When Rome largely abandoned its occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall under the reorganisation of Marcus Aurelius (c. 175), they nevertheless retained forts at Birrens and Netherby, though there would never again be a large-scale military occupation of Selgovae territory. Rome had permanently abandoned Selgovae territory by 370.
.
Archaeological evidence is scant, but it includes a Roman-era figure and inscription found at Birrens that was dedicated to 'Brigantia', similar to dedications found in known Brigantian territory in Cumbria
and Yorkshire
. Tacitus
says that the Brigantes were a large tribe, and their territory was more extensive than is commonly shown on maps of Roman Britain, which approximately restricts them to northwestern England
south of Hadrian's Wall
. Artifacts associated with the Brigantes have been found across the region just north of Hadrian's Wall, both in England and in Scottish Dumfriesshire
and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
. They are also known to have been present in southern Ireland
.
The Brigantes were troublesome to Roman rule, strongly resisting initial Roman occupation and frequently rising in efforts to throw off Roman rule. The Roman response was overwhelming force and the subsequent heavy plantation of forts of occupation. The heavy plantation of forts in Selgovae territory is similar to the Roman occupation of the Brigantes and unlike Roman treatment of other neighboring peoples such as the Novantae
and Votadini
, who were never known to be at war with the Romans, and who were not heavily occupied.
Much later history, better recorded, shows that the territory of the Selgovae was continually associated with Cumbria
(homeland of the Brigantes) and Alt Clud
(homeland of the Damnonii
), both of which are known to have been Britonnic in culture and language.
(1726 – 1790) placed it far to the east at Eildon Hills, near Newstead
. Roy was trying to follow an itinerary given in the 1757 De Situ Britanniae
, and moving Ptolemy's Trimontium made the itinerary seem more logical according to his historical work, Military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain (1790, published postumously in 1793). Roy did not alter Ptolemy's placement of the Selgovae in southern Scotland, but chose to assign Trimontium to a different people who were described in De Situ Britanniae.
When De Situ Britanniae was debunked as a fraud in 1845, Roy's misguided placement of Trimontium was retained by some historians, though he was no longer cited for his contribution. Furthermore, some historians not only accepted Roy's placement of Trimontium, but also returned the town to the Selgovae by moving their territory such that they would be near Eildon Hills. Ptolemy's placement of the Novantae in Galloway was retained, and since Ptolemy said that they were adjacent to the Selgovae, Novantae territory was greatly expanded beyond Galloway to be consistent with this thesis, which survives in a number of modern histories.
The result is that an 'error correction' to the sole legitimate historical reference (Ptolemy), made so that a fictional itinerary in De Situ Britanniae would seem more logical, is retained; and the sole legitimate historical reference is further 'corrected' by moving the Selgovae far from their only known location.
While Roy's historical work is largely ignored due to his unknowing reliance on a fraudulent source, his maps and drawings are untainted, and continue to be held in the highest regard.
Kirkcudbrightshire
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire....
and Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, on the southern coast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's Geography
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
, and there is no other historical record of them. Their cultural and ethnic affinity is commonly assumed to have been Brittonic
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...
.
Assertions that the Solway Firth
Solway Firth
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very...
preserves the name of the Selgovae are without foundation. 'Solway' is Anglo-Saxon from the thirteenth century (sol = 'mud', wæth = 'ford'), and this was the name of the main crossing at Eskmouth at that time. The firth has been known by various names in the past, and this one happened to be the survivor.
Ptolemy
The sole record of the Selgovae and their towns is their mention by Ptolemy in c. 150. Their name appears in the 8th century Ravenna CosmographyRavenna Cosmography
The Ravenna Cosmography was compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around AD 700. It consists of a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland. Textual evidence indicates that the author frequently used maps as his source....
as 'Segloes', but the document here is taken to be an imperfect copy of classical sources such as Ptolemy, and not an independent historical reference.
The Novantae
Novantae
The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwestern-most Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwestern-most...
are unique among the peoples that Ptolemy names in that their location is reliably known to have been in Galloway due to the way he named several readily identifiable physical features. Since the Selgovae were adjacent to them, their homeland is similarly known.
Ptolemy said that the towns of the Selgovae were Carbantorigum, Uxellum, Corda, and Trimontium. However, there were no towns as such in the area at that time, so he was probably referring to Roman military camps and native strong points such as dun
Dun
Dun is now used both as a generic term for a fort and also for a specific variety of Atlantic roundhouse...
s. In the Ravenna Cosmography the town names appear as Carbantium, Uxela, Corda, and Trimuntium, resp., and the towns are given in a list that does not associate any of the towns with any particular people.
Efforts have been made to determine the locations of the towns, but there is not enough information available to reach any degree of certainty, and the locations suggested are little more than guesswork.
Carbantorigum was at the Moat of Urr according to Skene
William Forbes Skene
William Forbes Skene , Scottish historian and antiquary, was the second son of Sir Walter Scott's friend, James Skene , of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen....
, and Rhys
John Rhys
Sir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
thought the name derived from Carbantorion (chariot town). Uxellum was at Wardlaw Hill at Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock is an area to the south of Dumfries and to the west of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.Caerlaverock NNR is a National Nature Reserve in the care of Scottish Natural Heritage....
according to Skene and Horsley; it is noticed that the name sounds like Welsh uchel (high) or Gaelic uas, uasal. Corda was at Sanquhar
Sanquhar
Sanquhar is a town on the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies north of Thornhill and west of Moffat. It is a Royal Burgh.Sanquhar is notable for its tiny post office , claimed to be the oldest working post office in the world...
, according to Skene. Trimontium was at Birrenswark Hill, according to Skene, who says its name probably represents Brittonic Tref mynydd (Town on the Mountain).
Rhys
John Rhys
Sir John Rhys was a Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.-Early years and education:...
, agreeing with Wyntoun, thought that 'Selgovae' means 'the hunters' .
Roman Era
In his account of the campaigns of Gnaeus Julius AgricolaGnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.Born to a noted...
(governor 78 – 84), Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
says that after a combination of force and diplomacy quieted discontent among the Britons who had been conquered previously, Agricola built forts in their territories in 79. In 80 he marched to the Firth of Tay
Firth of Tay
The Firth of Tay is a firth in Scotland between the council areas of Fife, Perth and Kinross, the City of Dundee and Angus, into which Scotland's largest river in terms of flow, the River Tay, empties....
, campaigning against the peoples there. He did not return until 81, at which time he consolidated his gains in the lands that he had conquered.
The territory of the Selgovae was substantially planted with Roman forts at this time, at Broomholm, Birrens, Ward Law, Milton, Drumlanrig, Dalswinton
Dalswinton
Dalswinton is a small village in Dumfries and Galloway in the south of Scotland. It is located about 6 miles north-north-west of Dumfries. To the east of the village a wind farm has been built...
, and at Glenlochar
Glenlochar
Glenlochar is a small hamlet on the western bank of the River Dee in the parish of Balmaghie, Dumfries and Galloway. Glenlochar is located one and a half miles south of Balmaghie Kirk and three miles north of Castle Douglas....
on the eastern bank of the River Dee
River Dee, Galloway
The River Dee, in south-west Scotland, flows from its source in Loch Dee amongst the Galloway Hills, firstly to Clatteringshaws Loch, then in to Loch Ken, where it joins the Water of Ken. From there, the Dee flows southwards to Kirkcudbright, and into Kirkcudbright Bay to reach the Solway. The...
, which was perhaps the boundary between the Selgovae and the neighboring Novantae
Novantae
The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwestern-most Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwestern-most...
. This suggests (but does not confirm) that the Selgovae were among the British peoples who had strongly resisted Roman occupation. This is in contrast to the neighboring Novantae, where there were no signs of Roman occupation save the fortlet at Gatehouse of Fleet
Gatehouse of Fleet
Gatehouse of Fleet is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, which has existed since the mid-18th century, although the area has been inhabited since much earlier...
, in the southeast of their territory.
Following the reorganisation of northern Roman Britain and the construction of Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
(c. 122), the only Roman forts in Selgovae territory were at Birrens and Netherby. However, with the construction of the Antonine Wall
Antonine Wall
The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt of Scotland, between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. Representing the northernmost frontier barrier of the Roman Empire, it spanned approximately 39 miles and was about ten feet ...
and the re-occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall (c. 142), Selgovae territory was again heavily planted with Roman forts, at Netherby, Broomholm, Birrens, Burnswark, Raeburnfoot, Shieldhill, Milton, Drumlanrig, Dalswinton, Carzield, Lantonside, and Glenlochar. There were no Roman forts planted in the territory of the neighboring Novantae.
When Rome largely abandoned its occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall under the reorganisation of Marcus Aurelius (c. 175), they nevertheless retained forts at Birrens and Netherby, though there would never again be a large-scale military occupation of Selgovae territory. Rome had permanently abandoned Selgovae territory by 370.
Cultural affinity
The ethnic and cultural affinity of the Selgovae is assumed to have been Brittonic, and there is no evidence to dispute the suggestion that they were an integral part of the tribal BrigantesBrigantes
The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
.
Archaeological evidence is scant, but it includes a Roman-era figure and inscription found at Birrens that was dedicated to 'Brigantia', similar to dedications found in known Brigantian territory in 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...
and Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
says that the Brigantes were a large tribe, and their territory was more extensive than is commonly shown on maps of Roman Britain, which approximately restricts them to northwestern England
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...
south of Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
. Artifacts associated with the Brigantes have been found across the region just north of Hadrian's Wall, both in England and in Scottish Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbrightshire
The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire....
. They are also known to have been present in southern Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
The Brigantes were troublesome to Roman rule, strongly resisting initial Roman occupation and frequently rising in efforts to throw off Roman rule. The Roman response was overwhelming force and the subsequent heavy plantation of forts of occupation. The heavy plantation of forts in Selgovae territory is similar to the Roman occupation of the Brigantes and unlike Roman treatment of other neighboring peoples such as the Novantae
Novantae
The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwestern-most Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography The Novantae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now Galloway and Carrick, in southwestern-most...
and Votadini
Votadini
The Votadini were a people of the Iron Age in Great Britain, and their territory was briefly part of the Roman province Britannia...
, who were never known to be at war with the Romans, and who were not heavily occupied.
Much later history, better recorded, shows that the territory of the Selgovae was continually associated with 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...
(homeland of the Brigantes) and Alt Clud
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
(homeland of the Damnonii
Damnonii
The Damnonii were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now southern Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography, where he uses both of the terms "Damnonii" and "Damnii" to describe them, and there is no other historical record of them. Their cultural and...
), both of which are known to have been Britonnic in culture and language.
Contradicting Ptolemy
Ptolemy's placement of the Selgovae town of Trimontium was accepted to be somewhere along the southern coast of Scotland until William RoyWilliam Roy
Major-General William Roy FRS was a Scottish military engineer, surveyor, and antiquarian. He was an innovator who applied new scientific discoveries and newly emerging technologies to the accurate geodetic mapping of Great Britain....
(1726 – 1790) placed it far to the east at Eildon Hills, near Newstead
Newstead, Scottish Borders
Newstead is a village in the Scottish Borders, just east of Melrose, coordinates 55.599704, -2.691987. It has a population of approximately 260, according to the 2001 census.It is reputedly the oldest continually inhabited settlement in Scotland...
. Roy was trying to follow an itinerary given in the 1757 De Situ Britanniae
De Situ Britanniae
De Situ Britanniae is a fictional description of the peoples and places of ancient Britain. Purported to contain the account of a Roman general preserved in the manuscript of a fourteenth century English monk, it was considered the premier source of information on Roman Britain for more than a...
, and moving Ptolemy's Trimontium made the itinerary seem more logical according to his historical work, Military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain (1790, published postumously in 1793). Roy did not alter Ptolemy's placement of the Selgovae in southern Scotland, but chose to assign Trimontium to a different people who were described in De Situ Britanniae.
When De Situ Britanniae was debunked as a fraud in 1845, Roy's misguided placement of Trimontium was retained by some historians, though he was no longer cited for his contribution. Furthermore, some historians not only accepted Roy's placement of Trimontium, but also returned the town to the Selgovae by moving their territory such that they would be near Eildon Hills. Ptolemy's placement of the Novantae in Galloway was retained, and since Ptolemy said that they were adjacent to the Selgovae, Novantae territory was greatly expanded beyond Galloway to be consistent with this thesis, which survives in a number of modern histories.
The result is that an 'error correction' to the sole legitimate historical reference (Ptolemy), made so that a fictional itinerary in De Situ Britanniae would seem more logical, is retained; and the sole legitimate historical reference is further 'corrected' by moving the Selgovae far from their only known location.
While Roy's historical work is largely ignored due to his unknowing reliance on a fraudulent source, his maps and drawings are untainted, and continue to be held in the highest regard.
See also
- Ptolemy's GeographyGeographia (Ptolemy)The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
- Roman BritainRoman BritainRoman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
- Scotland during the Roman EmpireScotland during the Roman EmpireScotland during the Roman Empire encompasses a period of protohistory from the arrival of Roman legions in c. AD 71 to their departure in 213. The history of the period is complex: the Roman empire influenced every part of Scotland during the period, however the occupation was neither complete nor...