| Setantii | |
| Geography | |
| Capital | Portus Setantiorum (exact location not known) |
|---|---|
| Location | Lancashire - Cumbria - Merseyside |
| Rulers | None known |
The Setantii (also Segantii or Sistuntii) were a pre-Roman British tribe who apparently lived in the western and southern littoral of Lancashire in England. It is likely the tribe were a sept or sub-tribe of the Brigantes, who, at the time of the Roman invasion, dominated much of what is now northern England.[1]
Background
The setantii name is known from a single source only, the 2nd century Geographia of Claudius Ptolemaeus. Recorded there is the placename Portus Setantiorum (Port of the Setantii).[2] It could have long since been inundated by the sea. However, because of the pattern of Roman roads in the area, is widely believed to have been located near the modern port of Fleetwood off Rossall Point at the mouth of the River Wyre.[1] The tribe may also be remembered in the hydronym of Seteia, also recorded by Ptolemy and assumed by its position in his text to refer to the River Mersey.
The name of the tribe has been interpreted as meaning 'dwellers in the water country'[citation needed] and may be associated with the Irish hero Cúchulainn, whose birthname, Sétanta, bears clear similarities to it.[1] Welsh scholar, fellow of the British Academy, celticist and the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University, Sir John Rhys, also suggested an association between these two and Seithenyn, a Welsh character known from the Black Book of Carmarthen.[3]
The extent of the Setantii territory is unknown, but it has been suggested that the southernmost boundary was the Mersey itself, with the northern reaches perhaps stretching as far as Borrow Beck, just south of Tebay, in Westmorland (now southern Cumbria).[1]
In 2007 an iron age settlement was discovered on Bourne Hill on the Fylde, located between Fleetwood and Thornton near to the River Wyre, with evidence of roundhouses, an embankment, an ancient cobbled trackway and defensive embankments. Bourne Hill is one possibility for the location of Portus Setantiorum.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d "Who were the Setantii?". amounderness.com. http://www.amounderness.com/site/setantii.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ "PORTVS SETANTIORVM: The Seaport of the Setantii". roman-britain.org. http://www.roman-britain.org/places/portus_setantiorum.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ Rhys, John (26 July 2004). Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx. University Press of the Pacific. Chapter VI: The Folklore of the Wells. ISBN 1410215199. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/cfwm/index.htm.
- ^ Halstead, Tom (12 November 2008). "Unearthing secret of Fylde's iron age". Blackpool Gazette. http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Unearthing-secret-of-Fylde39s-iron.4683485.jp. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
Further reading
- Rivet, A.L.F.; Colin Smith (26 November 1979). Place Names of Roman Britain. Batsford Ltd. ISBN 0713420774.
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