The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, tribes were known in Roman Britain.[1] One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably one in Cornwall. The name has appeared in ancient sources in various forms, such as Cornavii, Cornabii, and Curnavii.[2]
The three tribes were:
- The Cornovii (Midlands), who were based in the area around modern Shropshire. Ptolemy's 2nd century Geography names two of their towns: Deva Victrix (Chester), and Viroconium Cornoviorum (Wroxeter) which was their capital and probably the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain.
- The Cornovii (Caithness), at the northern tip of Britain. This tribe is only known from one mention in Ptolemy's Geography.
- The Cornovii (Cornwall), part of the Dumnonii tribe in South West Britain. The existence of this sub-tribe, clan, or sept is not mentioned by Ptolemy, but has been inferred from a place-name listed in the Ravenna Cosmography of c.700 AD as purocoronavis, which is considered to be a scribal error for durocornavis (or durocornovium[3]), meaning "the fortress of the Cornovii".[1]
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- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
W19was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Rivet, A. L. F.; Smith, Colin (1979). The Place-names of Roman Britain. London: Batsford Ltd. pp. 324–5. ISBN 0-7134-2077-4.
- ^ Todd, Malcolm (1987). The South West to AD 1000. A Regional History of England. Longman. pp. 203, 217. ISBN 0-582-49274-2.