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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Romans in Britain
| Celtic names as used by Caesar in his war reports underwent phonetic and orthographic changes in the course of history. What is e.g. the usual Shakespearean spelling of the name: Cunobelinus? | The Romans In Britain
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Cymbeline. Play by Shakespeare with, apart from Cymbeline himself, Caius Lucius, Cloten, Cornelius, Belarius, Posthumus Leonatus, Guiderius, Ardviragus, Philario and Iachimo as some of the male characters. Cymbeline's wife,the Queen and their daughter Imogen are the main female characters. Helen is a Lady attending on Imogen.
| During his second expedition Caesar met opponents who he had not mentioned in the report of his first trip: the Catuvellauni.They had hidden in Bigbury Wood near Canterbury. Their purpose was to prevent Caesar from crossing the Thames north of which they had their territory. Who was their famous leader? | The Romans In Britain
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Cassivellaunus. The Catuvellauni ruled from Wheathammpstead over a large area which now comprises Hertfordshire and Essex. They were clearly oppressing some of their neighbours such as the Cantiaci, and the Trinovantes. Their meeting Caesar near Canterbury was already an illustration of their tendency to send their troops 'off-limits' as Canterbury - as the name indicates - was clearly Cantiaci territory. Cunobelinus belongs to a later period of history. He was the famous King of the Catuvellauni, who in AD 10 established himself at Camulodunum, present-day Colchester. Dumnorix was the Burgundian who Caesar had tried to use as a kind of mediator. Dumnorix was so reluctant to do this, that in the end Caesar had simply killed him. Mandubracius was a prince of the Trinovantes whose father had been murdered by Cassivelanus and his Catuvellaunians. For that reason he became an ally of Caesar's.
| One of the fighting-techniques of the Romans was the 'testudo' (tortoise-technique). What did it come down to? | The Romans In Britain
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the legionaries used a special formation which allowed them to have not only their sides and fronts protected but also their heads. Testudo refers to the head-protection of a tortoise. The other techniques were used by the Romans indeed, but are not a 'testudo'.
| Caesar was familiar with some of the aspects of the Celtic way of life. One of them was the way in which warriors stain-patterned their faces. What was the plant that was used to produce those dyes? | The Romans In Britain
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woad. Weld or dyers rocket is reseda luteola, which does not give the indigo colour produced by woad. Logwood,sanderswood etc. are other natural dying stuffs. So are sumach tree leaves. See {www.net-link.net;rowan;crafts;woad;woadpage.html} {;} stand sfor {slash;} rowan should be preceded by a tilde.
| When Caesar 'visited' Britain in 55 BC , he probably only wanted to teach the Celtic Tribes a lesson rather than to occupy the whole island. How long did he stay ? | The Romans In Britain
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till before winter.. He had first sent an explorer one Caius Volusenus. He then decided to send in two legions ( about 10,000 men). A fleet of warships sailed from Portus Itius (modern Boulogne) to near the cliffs of Dover. Transport ships with the cavalry were to follow some days later. Commius, an agent of Caesar's, a leader of the Atrebates, had been forced to negotiate for him with the locals. A storm caused damage to the warships that had been beached. Some of the transport ships that were still riding at anchor, were dashed one against another.The VIIth legion was attacked by surprise. Because the equinox was at hand Caesar decided to return and settle for a 'nominal peace treaty' with some of the British tribes. The treaty was sealed with the taking of hostages. In his own words: 'The ill condition of our ships made it inadvisable to postpone the return voyage until winter. Taking advantage of fair weather, we set sail a little after midnight, and the whole fleet reached the mainland in safety.'
| Military victories may be one thing, victories within the family circle can occasionally be quite another pair of shoes. Anyway, Claudius was not too lucky with his wives. How did his fourth wife Agrippina finally put an end to his imperial career? | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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she gave him a meal with poisoned mushrooms. Claudius had been married already to an Etruscan, Plautia Urgulanilla, to Aelia Pactina and then to Valeria Messalina, whom he married when she was only 14. Her licentious behaviour was so shameless that in the end Claudius 'invited' her to commit suicide. His number four was not a success story either. By poisoning her hubby, Julia Agrippina prepared the way for her son Nero to take over the throne. And what an Emperor that one was, we all know only too well. Note: Nero's real name was L. Domitius Ahenobarbus. He was Agrippina's son from a previous marriage. Not to be confused with Enobarbus, a character in Antony and Cleopatra.
| The conquest of Britain gave Claudius the prestige he needed to consolidate his position as Emperor.The Senate gave him and his son the nickname Britannicus. How did Claudius reward Aulus Plautius? | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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when returning to Rome Claudius let his general enter with him at the head of an honorary procession. Such an honorary procession for a non-member of the Imperial family was very exceptional.It was called an 'ovatio'. Golden crowns and triumphal arches were normally for Emperors only. Plautius was weary of war and trouble, and did not want to continue bearing the hardship of the British climate and the hostility of some of the non- subjected tribes. Caratacus for one had escaped and was certainly not going to give up his attempts to re-organise Celtic resistance. As a loyal soldier, Plautius seems to have been happy enough with the sincere gratitude of his boss, the Roman Emperor. Claudius himself was amply celebrated for his victory by poems of commemoration, specially minted coins, the building of two triumphal arches, a solemn procession in which he and his wife Messalina had the places of honour. The Senate even did something quite unheard of in giving her a seat on the Senate. Messalina's later behaviour may have made them regret this generosity.
Cambria. It was only late in 47 that the ROmans began their attack against the tribes of Cambria.Especially in south-east Wales they met with heavy resistance by the Silures.
Caratacus who had retreated to Wales was forced to flee to the Pennine area where he was not received well however by the locals whose Queen Cartmandua had made her own truce with the Romans and was unwilling to run any risks by protecting an archenemy of the Roman generals.
| True or false? The Roman general who took a substantial Roman force westward subduing tribes and capturing oppida going at least as far as Exeter was nobody else but Vespasian, the later Emperor of Rome. | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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True . Vespasian's Legion II Augusta moved South West through Britain taking land as they went.They fought some 30 {battles;} defeated two hostile tribes, took 20 oppida and the 'Insula Vectis' (Isle of Wight). Vespasian went as far as Devon but stopped short here as there was no need to continue: the tribes further west had already become allies of Rome. Titus Flavius Vespasianus was born AD 9, became an Emperor in 69 AD and died in AD 79.
| Strangely enough, the Romans made a pause and did not pursue the Celts immediately. Some believe they wanted to spare the Celtic leader Caratacus and to create some good-will for later negotiations. Where did Caratacus find a refuge? | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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Wales. The Romans had already won over some Celtic tribes to their cause. Among them the Brigantes, and their leader Cartimandua. The hill-folk of Wales however felt invulnerable and were confident that, in case of real need, they still could withdraw to what was, then, still an island unconnected to the main part of Britain: Anglesey.
| What was the name of the "British" capital of the Catavellauni, for the siege of which the Roman Emperor Claudius not only personally took command of the troops but also brought up 38 war elephants? | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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Camulodunum or present-day Colchester. Other important towns in Roman Britain were: Portus Lemanis (now Lympne) {;} Rutupiae {(Richborough);} Noviomagus {(Chichester);} and further inland: Deva {(Chester);} Eburacum (York). Londinium became the Roman capital a lot later.
| True or false? This time there was no fighting on the beaches. The Romans landed south of the Thames and marched unopposed towards what is now Rochester.When it came to crossing the Medway, Plautius used eight cohorts of Batavian (Dutch) elite swimmers who were expert in stealthily getting to the other side of rivers even when having to wear full battle gear. | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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True . The tactics was for the Batavians to cross the river at a spot where they could not be noticed, and then to attack behind enemy lines. They slashed at the legs of the horses intending to wound them sufficiently so they would no longer be able to pull the Celtic chariots. While the Celts were engaged beating off the Batavians, there were more legionaries who managed to cross over and they opened a second front.
| Claudius had been born in Lugdunum in Gallia (10 BC), not in Rome. What modern French town developed out of Lugdunum? | Romans In Britain: Claudius
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Lyon. Lugdunum is now the French town of Lyon. Lug was the name of a Celtic deity. Claudius was born there in 10 BC. He became Emperor in 41 AD. He died in 54 AD.
Caledonia. They called it "Caledonia." At the time the Romans ruled "Britain" there were no Scots in Scotland, they still lived in Ireland (which at that time was called "Hibernia"). Caledonia was mainly inhabited by a group of people that the Romans called "Picts." After approximately the fifth century AD, a number of Scots crossed to the west coast of Caledonia and settled there. After a number of centuries it is thought that the Scots and the Picts basically amalgamated or that the Scots basically absorbed the Picts.
| The origins of the word for Wales comes from the term the English used for the Britons, "Welsh." The derivative definition of the word "Welsh" means _________? | Early Britain after the Romans
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Foreigners. This is a term that the English used for the early Britons.
| In and around the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the remaining British that did not move across the channel to Armorica were eventually pushed into which areas? | Early Britain after the Romans
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Cornwall, Strathclyde, Cumbria and Wales. After a while Cornwall was assimilated into England, and Strathclyde was split between England and Scotland. Wales was eventually subdued as well, but has to this day retained a separate identity.
| After the departure of the Roman forces, which ethnic groups took advantage of the evacuation and started settling in the East and South-East of the island? | Early Britain after the Romans
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Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Although the Saxons seem to have appeared first, eventually it was all three groups. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes came from modern day Denmark and surrounding area of the south shores of the North sea area. They spoke similar languages, which were related to modern German. By around 880 AD these languages were being regarded as a single language called Old English or Anglo-Saxon.
The Goths attacked Rome. In 410 AD, Rome pulled its remaining legions back to Rome in an attempt to repel the assault on Rome by the Goths, led by Alaric. Emperor Honorius told the British to attend to their own affairs and thus they could not rely on assistance from Rome.
410 AD. It was 410 AD, that the people of Britain were told by the emperor Honorius that they would have to defend themselves, from 410 AD, Britain in essence discontinued to be part of the empire. The British were forced to defend and rule themselves without the military or monetary support of Rome from then on out. It is likely that for some time afterwards a form of "Roman" government under Roman civilians continued in Britain.
| During the period of Roman dominance, Roman armies proved to be consistently vulnerable to one type of assault. What tactic proved most effective for the ancient Britons fighting against the Romans in the 1st century AD? | An Ancient Battle for Britain
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Ambush. The Romans under Augustus suffered one of their most crushing defeats when Germanic fighters ambushed troops under the command of Quinctilius Varus. The demoralized Augustus revised Rome's long policy of expansion, never following through on plans to invade Britain. When Claudius, seeking to establish his leadership through the time-honored means of military conquest, did invade Britain, ambush again proved the most effective tactic against the Romans.
| Roman legions included variously equipped soldiers. The success in battle of the Roman army depended particularly on one group. Which component of the 1st century Roman army was most effective? | An Ancient Battle for Britain
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Armored infantry with short swords and javelins. Calvary or infantry charges against Roman infantry were subjected first to a withering barrage of javelins. As previously mentioned, short swords, armor and disciplined, tightly packed lines strongly favored the Romans once combatants closed with one another.
| The Roman army enjoyed a tactical advantage in most circumstances. Celtic Britons relied heavily on their elite warriors. What was the favored weapon of the Celtic aristocrat-warrior of the 1st century AD? | An Ancient Battle for Britain
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A chariot. The Celtic charioteers were probably too small in number to inflict major damage on the well-disciplined Roman army even at times when the terrain favored their use.
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