The Brigantes: From Clientage to Conquest

Abstract

It is generally assumed that the Brigantes under Queen Cartimandua had been formally recognised as Roman allies at some stage not long after the Roman invasion, though nowhere does Tacitus or any other ancient author make a direct statement to that effect. Cartimandua's reliance on Roman arms on more than one occasion, however, and her handing over of the fugitive Caratacus to the Roman authorities in A.D. 51 provide sufficiently strong hints that some such arrangement was in force. In modern parlance, she is characterised as a ‘client’ queen, although it is unlikely that this would have been the contemporary term applied. Precisely how long before A.D. 51 such a relationship had come into existence and whether with Cartimandua from the beginning is uncertain. She may have been placed on the throne after the Brigantian uprising of c. A.D. 48, although the scale of the problem, apparently dealt with quickly with only a few executions, seems more likely to reflect minor factional disagreement than a major revolt requiring a change of ruler.

The impact of the Romans on the environment of northern England: pollen data from three sites close to Hadrian's Wall

“…AD 215, SRR-4530). Woodland regeneration is perhaps the result of the Roman invasion of northern Britain in that the north was in a state of widespread rebellion, that Brigantian resistance was strong, with land being abandoned as the tribe attempted to resist the Roman presence (Breeze, 1985;Hanson and Campbell, 1986;Figure 7 Age-depth curve for Fozy Moss. Higham, 1986;1987;Cunliffe, 1991: 207).…”

Traprain Law: native and Roman on the northern frontier

“…In this case the material exchange should be seen as one of the various forms of unilateral or bilateral diplomatic contacts with favoured native groups, such as the Brigantes (Hanson & Campbell 1986) or the Batavians ( Willems 1981;1984). Indeed, the importance of such contacts cannot be over-stressed.…”

Theorising northernness and northern culture: the north of England, northern Englishness, and sympathetic magic

“…To the Romans, all of Britain was marginal, a fable island far across the ocean, a source of tin, slaves, dogs (Mattingly, 2008). When the Romans invaded they established themselves in the corner nearest to the mainland, and from here, according to historical sources, the Brigantes and the other northern British tribes were viewed as troublesome neighbours (Hanson & Campbell, 1986). Rebellions and invasions left their mark on the landscape and on the psyche of the Romans, who left much of northern Britain under military occupation.…”