They inculcated reverence for law and fortitude under suffering. They taught their disciples to observe the stars and to investigate the secret powers of nature. A term of twenty years was commonly devoted to the acquisition of the knowledge which they imparted.' They chose their own high-priest, but the election was not unfrequently decided by arms. In some countries, human sacrifices formed one of the most sanguinary features of Druidical worship. The victims were generally criminals, or prisoners of war, but, in default of these, innocent persons were sometimes immolated; and in the larger sacrifices immense figures made of plaited osiers were filled with human beings and then set on fire. The spoils of war were often devoted by the Druids to their divinities; and they punished with horrible tortures all those who dared to secrete any portion of the consecrated offering. These treasures, kept in woods and forests, were secured by no other guard than the terrors of religion; and this conquest over human cupidity may be regarded as more extraordinary than any acts of courage and self-devotion to which men were prompted by their exhortations. No idolatrous worship ever obtained such an ascendancy over mankind as that of the ancient Gauls and Britons; and the Romans, finding it impossible after their conquest to reconcile these nations to the laws and institutions of their masters, so long as Druidism maintained its authority, were at last obliged to abolish it by military force; a violence which had never in any other instance been practised by these tolerating conquerors. § 4. The British bards were a sacred order next to the Druids. They sung the genealogies of their princes, and composed lyric as well as epic and didactic poetry, accompanying their songs with an instrument called the chrotta or crowder. Next to the Druids, the chief authority was possessed by their chieftains, or heads of their clans-the equites, as Cæsar calls them.* § 5. Already, before the arrival of Cæsar, the south-eastern parts of Britain had made the first and most requisite step towards a civil settlement; and the Belgic Britons, by tillage and agriculture, had greatly increased. Other inhabitants of the island still maintained themselves by pasture: they were clothed with skins of beasts: they dwelt in round huts constructed of wood or reeds, reared in the forests and marshes with which the country abounded. They easily shifted their habitations, actuated either by half, henge, probably signifies the impost, which is suspended on two uprights, and consequently the word might be used in any case in which one stone was sus pended on two or more others.-Guest in Proceedings of Philological Society, vol. vi. p. 33. * De Bell, Gall. vi. 13-17. the hopes of plunder or the fear of an enemy. Even the convenience of feeding their cattle was a sufficient motive for removing; and as they were ignorant of all the refinements of life, their wants and their possessions were equally scanty and limited. The Britons tattooed their bodies, staining them blue and green with woad, as a sort of "war-paint;" a custom long retained by the Picts. They wore checkered mantles like the Gaul or Scottish Highlander; their waists were circled with a girdle, and metal chains adorned the breast. The hair and moustache were suffered to grow, and a ring was worn on the middle finger, after the fashion of the Gauls. Their arms were a small shield, javelins, and a pointless sword. They fought from chariots (essěda, covini) having scythes affixed to the axles. The warrior drove the chariot, and was attended by a servant who carried his weapons. The dexterity of the driver excited the admiration of the Romans. He would urge his horses at full speed down the steepest hills or along the edge of a precipice, and check and turn them in full career. Sometimes he would run along the pole, or seat himself on the yoke, and instantly, if necessary, regain the chariot. Frequently after breaking the enemy's ranks he would leap down and fight on foot; meanwhile the chariot was withdrawn from the fray, and posted in such a manner as to afford a secure retreat in case of need. Thus the Britons were enabled to combine the rapid evolutions of cavalry with the steady firmness of infantry. Cæsai describes the British towns as mere clusters of huts, defended by their position in the centre of almost impenetrable forests. They were secured by a deep ditch, and a fence or wall of felled trees.* § 6. The Britons were divided into many small nations or tribes As their chief property consisted in their arms and their cattle, it was impossible, after they had acquired a relish for liberty, for their princes or chieftains to establish despotic authority over them. Their governments, though monarchical, were free, like those of other Celtic nations; and the common people seem to have enjoyed more freedom than among the nations of Gaul from whom they were descended. Each state was divided into factions it was agitated with jealousy or animosity against its neighbour: and while the arts of peace were yet unknown, war was the main occupation, and formed the chief object of ambition, among the people.† But Cæsar's observation was limited, and British earthworks, enclosing permanent habitations, are found in open situations, and especially on hill-tops. The British tribes with whom the Romans became acquainted by Cæsar's : invasion were mainly the following:- 2. The Trinobantes were seated to the north of the Thames, and between that § 7. At the close of the fourth campaign in his Gallic wars, CESAR invaded Britain with two legions in the end of August, B.C. 55. Aware of his intention, the natives were sensible of the unequal contest, and endeavoured in vain to appease him by submission. After some resistance, he landed, with two legions (about 8000 men), either at or near Deal,* obtained some advantage over the Britons, obliged them to promise hostages for their future obedience, but was constrained by the necessity of his affairs and the approach of winter, to withdraw his forces into Gaul. Relieved from the terror of his arms, the Britons neglected the performance of their stipulations; and Cæsar resolved next summer (B.c. 54) to chastise them for their perfidy. He landed unopposed, apparently at the same spot, with five legions, numbering above 20,000 men; and though he found a more regular resistance from the Britons, who were now united under Cassivelaunus,† one of their petty princes, he discomfited them in every action. Advancing into the country, he passed the Thames in the face of the enemy at a ford, probably Cowey Stakes, just above Walton, in spite of the piles which the Britons had driven into the bed of the river.‡ The valiant defence of Cassivellaun was frustrated by the submission of the Trinobantes and other tribes. Cæsar took and burned the forest fortress at Verulamium, the modern St. Albans; restored his own ally, Mandubratius, to the sovereignty of the Trinobantes; and having compelled the inhabitants to fresh submission, he returned with his army into Gaul. § 8. The civil wars which ensued prepared the way for the establishment of imperialism in Rome, and saved the Britons from the impending yoke. Augustus was content with levying duties on British commerce in the ports of Gaul, and with embassies sent from the island. Apprehensive lest the same unlimited extent of dominion, which had subverted the republic, might also overwhelm the empire, he recommended his successors never to enlarge the territories of the Romans. Tiberius, jealous of the fame which might be acquired by his generals, made the advice of Augustus a pretext for inactivity. Almost a century elapsed before another Roman force appeared in Britain; but the natives during this river and the Stour, in the present counties of Middlesex and Essex. 3. The Cenimagni, perhaps the same as the Iceni of Tacitus, dwelt in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. 4. The Segontiaci inhabited parts of Hants and Berks. 5. The Ancalites and Bibroci inhabited parts of Berks and Wilts. 6. The Cassii appear to have been the tribe of which Cassivelaunus was the The historian Bede mentions the remains of these piles as existing in his own. time, in the eighth century. period kept up an intercourse with Rome. By this means, as Iwell as from their commerce with Gaul, where the Roman power had been completely established, they derived some tincture of Roman civilization; and the coins of Cunobelin, the Cymbeline of ASUMY. CVNO Gold Coin of Cunobelin or Cunobelinus. Obverse: (C)AMV (Camulodunum); ear of corn. Reverse: CVNO (Cunobelinus); horse to right. Shakespeare, who ruled at Camulodunum (Colches ter), as well as those of Tasciovanus, probably his father, display the influence of Roman art,* and a knowledge of the Latin alphabet. The mad sallies of Caligula, in which he menaced Britain with invasion, served only to expose himself and the empire to ridicule. At length a British exile named Bericus instigated the emperor CLAUDIUS to undertake the reduction of the island, and AULUS PLAUTIUS was despatched thither (A.D. 43) at the head of four legions, augmented with Gallic auxiliaries. He marched through the southern counties to the Thames, which he crossed, probably at Wallingford, gaining a great battle over the sons of Cunobelin, and pursued the Britons to the marshes about London.† Claudius himself, finding matters sufficiently prepared for his reception, took a journey into Britain and received the submission of several British states, the Cantii, Atrebates, Regni, and Trinobantes, who were induced by their possessions and more cultivated manner of life to purchase peace at the expense of liberty. Claudius took the city of Camulodunum (Colchester), where a colony of veterans was subsequently established; and the south-eastern parts of Britain were formed into a Roman province. In this invasion Vespasian, the future emperor, distinguished himself, and at the head of the Second Legion fought thirty battles, stormed twenty towns, and subdued the Isle of Wight. § 9. The other Britons, under the command of Caractacus, a son of Cunobelin, still maintained an obstinate resistance, and the *There are many other coins, inscribed with names of British princes, furnishing materials for a conjectural account of the political state of various tribes. Others, the rudeness of which shows native workmanship, confirm Cæsar's statement that the Britons used money before his invasion. (Bell. Gall. v. 12, where nummo aure, is the genuine reading.) Their types, borrowed from Greek coins, seem to prove that the art was derived from the Greek colonies in Southern Gaul.-See Evans's Ancient British Coins. + There is some reason to suppose that London (Londinium, "the hill of the marsh") had its origin from the camp which Claudius pitched on the high ground of the present city, which then rose above the marshes formed by the unembanked Thames. Of course the emperor claimed all Britain as belonging to this province. * Romans now made little progress till OSTORIUS SCAPULA was sent over (A.D. 50). Under SCAPULA a line of Roman camps was drawn across the island, from the Severn to the marshes of the Nen. The Iceni were reduced after a desperate and brilliant struggle; the league of the Brigantes † was surprised and dispersed by the rapid march of the Roman general, and the Roman eagles dominated over the greater part of Britain. But the Silures and Ordovices ‡ still held out, and it was not till after nine years of warfare that the camp of Caractacus was stormed, and his residence was captured by the Romans, and with it his wife and family.§ Caractacus himself sought shelter at the court of Cartismandua, queen of the Brigantes, whom he had formerly befriended, but by whom he was treacherously surrendered to the conquerors (A.D. 50). He was conveyed to Rome, where his magnanimous behaviour procured him better treatment than the Romans usually bestowed on captive princes. But even after the capture of their leader the Silures still held out, and offered so determined a resistance that Ostorius is said to have died of vexation. § 10. The Romans did little towards the further subjugation of the island till the appointment of SUETONIUS PAULINUS, in the reign of Nero, A.D. 58. After three years of successful warfare, he resolved on reducing the island of Mona, or Anglesey, the chief seat of the Druids, which afforded a shelter to the disaffected Britons. The infantry crossed the strait in shallow vessels, taking the cavalry in tow where the water was too deep to afford a footing for the horses. The Britons endeavoured to obstruct their landing by force of arms and the terrors of religion. Women intermingled with the soldiers ran up and down with flaming torches in their hands, and, tossing their dishevelled hair, struck no less terror into the astonished Romans by their howlings and their cries, than did the solemn array of the Druids, with uplifted arms, uttering prayers and imprecations on the invaders. But Suetonius, exhorting his troops to disregard the menaces of a superstition they despised, impelled them to the attack, drove the Britons off the field, burned the Druids in the fires they had prepared for their enemies, destroyed the consecrated groves and altars; and having thus triumphed over the religion of the Britons, he thought his future progress would be easy in reducing the people to subjection. But the Britons, taking advantage of his absence, rose in arms; and, headed by Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, whose daughters had been *Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. + Between the Humber and the Tyne. The Silures inhabited South Wales; the Ordovices North Wales. Perhaps Caer Caradoc, situated on a hill in Shropshire near the confluence of the Clun and Teme. |