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Selgovae

TheSelgovae(Common Brittonic:*Selgowī) were aCeltictribe of the late 2nd century AD who lived in what is nowKirkcudbrightshireandDumfriesshire,on the southern coast ofScotland.They are mentioned briefly inPtolemy'sGeography,and there is no other historical record of them. Their cultural and ethnic affinity is commonly assumed to have beenBrittonic.

Assertions that theSolway Firthpreserves 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.[1]The firth has been known by various names in the past, and this one happened to be the survivor.

The historical record

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Ptolemy

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The sole record of the Selgovae and their towns is their mention by Ptolemy in c. AD 150. Their name appears in the 8th centuryRavenna Cosmographyas 'Segloes',[2][broken footnote]but the document here is taken to be an imperfect copy of classical sources such as Ptolemy, and not an independent historical reference.

TheNovantaeare 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 wereCarbantorigum,Uxellum,Corda,andTrimontium.However, there were no towns as such in the area at that time, so he was probably referring toRoman militarycamps and native strong points such asduns.In theRavenna Cosmographythe town names appear asCarbantium,Uxela,Corda,andTrimuntium,respectively, and the towns are given in a list that does not associate any of the towns with any particular people.[3][broken footnote]

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. In the 19th century,Carbantorigumwas thought to be theMotte of UrrbySkene,andRhysthought the name derived fromCarbantorion(chariot town).Uxellumwas at Wardlaw Hill atCaerlaverockaccording to Skene and Horsley; it was noted that the name sounds like Welshuchel(high) or Gaelicuas,uasal.Cordawas atSanquhar,according to Skene.Trimontiumwas at Birrenswark Hill, according to Skene, who says its name probably represents WelshTref mynydd(Town on a Mountain).[4]

Rhys,agreeing withWyntoun,thought that 'Selgovae' means 'the hunters' (Old Irish:selg,modernIrish:sealg;Old Welsh:selg,modernWelsh:hela'hunting').[5]

Roman Era

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Archaeological evidence indicates that the Selgovae lived in two principal settlement types: stone-built huts and so-called "scooped enclosures", some of which were abandoned in the 1st century AD while others were established in the 2nd century and developed intomultivallatestructures. They had possibly lived in the area since theBronze Age,and certainly during the pre-RomanIron Age.The pattern of forts subsequently established in the area by the Romans suggests that the Selgovae lived in a number of distinct communities and probably had some degree of tribal and political organisation, perhaps influenced by individuals who had fled the Roman advance further south. They are thought to have had a tribal centre at Eildon Hill North nearMelrose.They built a significant number ofhillforts,more so than their neighbours, which may explain why the Romans targeted them before the relatively less organised and therefore less threatening tribes to the west and north.[6]

Inhis accountof the campaigns ofGnaeus Julius Agricola(governor 78–84),Tacitussays 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 theFirth 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.[7][broken footnote]

The territory of the Selgovae was substantially planted with Roman forts at this time, at Broomholm,Blatobulgium(Birrens), Ward Law, Milton, Drumlanrig,Dalswinton,andGlenlocharon the eastern bank of theRiver Dee,which was perhaps the boundary between the Selgovae and the neighbouringNovantae.[8]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 neighbouring Novantae, where there are no signs of Roman occupation save the fortlet atGatehouse of Fleet,in the southeast of their territory.

Following the reorganisation of northern Roman Britain and the construction ofHadrian's Wall(c. 122), the only Roman forts among the Selgovae were at Birrens and Netherby.[9]However, with the construction of theAntonine Walland the re-occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall (c. 142), the territory of the Selgovae was again heavily planted with Roman forts, at Netherby, Broomholm,Birrens,Burnswark, Raeburnfoot, Shieldhill, Milton, Drumlanrig, Dalswinton, Carzield, Lantonside, and Glenlochar.[10]There were no Roman forts planted in the territory of the neighbouring Novantae.

When Rome largely abandoned its occupation of territory north of Hadrian's Wall under the reorganisation ofMarcus Aurelius(c. 175), they nevertheless retained forts atBirrensand Netherby,[11]though there would never again be a large-scale military occupation of the territory of the Selgovae. Rome permanently abandoned the area by 370.[12]

Cultural affinity

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The ethnic and cultural affinity of the Selgovae is assumed to have been Brittonic and there have been suggestions that they were an integral part of the tribe of theBrigantes.[citation needed]

Archaeological evidence is scant, but it includes a Roman-era figure and inscription found atBirrens(the RomanBlatobulgium) that was dedicated to 'Brigantia', similar to dedications found in known Brigantian territory inCumbriaandYorkshire.[13]Tacitussays that the Brigantes were a large tribe,[14]and artefacts associated with the Brigantes have been found across the region just north of Hadrian's Wall, both in England and in ScottishDumfriesshireandKirkcudbrightshire.[13]

The Brigantes were troublesome to Roman rule, strongly resisting initial Roman occupation[14]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 the territory of the Selgovae is similar to the Roman occupation of the Brigantes and unlike Roman treatment of other neighbouring peoples such as theNovantaeandVotadini,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 withCumbria(homeland of the Brigantes)[citation needed]andAlt Clud(homeland of theDamnonii), both of which are known to have been Britonnic in culture and language.

Contradicting Ptolemy

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Ptolemy's placement of the Selgovaean town of Trimontium was accepted to be somewhere along the southern coast of Scotland untilWilliam Roy(1726–1790) placed it far to the east atEildon Hills,nearNewstead.Roy was trying to follow an itinerary given in the 1757De 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 posthumously 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 inDe Situ Britanniae.[15]

Location of the Selgovae town of Trimontium according to Roy, who was trying to reconcile problems with the spuriousDe Situ Britanniae.

WhenDe Situ Britanniaewas 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.[16]

The result is that an 'error correction' to the sole legitimate historical reference (Ptolemy), made so that a fictional itinerary inDe Situ Britanniaewould 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. Roy's work is highly supported by the town ofSelkirk.[citation needed]

See also

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Citations

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  1. ^Neilsen, George (1899), "Annals of Solway – Until A.D. 1307", in Forbes, Peter (ed.),Transactions of the Glasgow Archaeological Society,New Series, vol. III, Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons, pp. 245–308
  2. ^Pinder & Parthey 1860:436–437,Ravenna Cosmography
  3. ^Pinder & Parthey 1860:432–434,Ravenna Cosmography
  4. ^Skene 1886:72,Celtic Scotland,Vol. I
  5. ^Rhys 1904:72Celtic Britain
  6. ^Sassin, Anne (2008). Snyder, Christopher A. (ed.).Early People of Britain and Ireland: An Encyclopedia, Volume II.Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 476.ISBN978-1-84645-029-7.
  7. ^Tacitus & 98:364–368,Life of Agricola,Chapters 19–23.
  8. ^Frere 1987:88–89,Britannia
  9. ^Frere 1987:112–113,Britannia
  10. ^Frere 1987:130–131,Britannia
  11. ^Frere 1987:142–143,Britannia
  12. ^Frere 1987:347–348,Britannia
  13. ^abHaverfield, F. (1904),"On Julius Verus, a Roman Governor of Britain",Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland,vol. XXXVIII, Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, p. 456
  14. ^abTacitus & 98:362–363,Life of Agricola,Chapter 17
  15. ^Roy 1790:115–119,Military Antiquities,Book IV, Chapter III
  16. ^Cunliffe 1971:216 – see, for example, the influentialIron Age Communities in Britain,map of the tribes of Northern Britain, attributed to "various sources"

References

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