Download Celtic Connections with the Colchester Area

 - Buadhach or Buideac from the
Irish language (pronounced Boo-Ock and
Boudica (British Iceni Celtic queen) are
all equivalent to Victor stemming from
the root "victorious".
  - O’Ceallachain is the
Irish for Callaghan. A possible derivation
is the Gaelic word ceallach meaning
strife (in the sense of fight or contention
for superiority!).
Hereditary surnames came into being in Ireland about the year 1000
initially being formed by prefixing "Mac" to the fathers Christian name
(or "O" to that of a grandfather or earlier ancestor).
The Callaghans are the descendants of Ceallachain, Chief of the
Eoghanact tribe and King of Munster (d.952). Supposedly, Dublin's
Genealogical Office has traced the progenitors of the Callaghans back as
far as 1300bc! The sept was centred in Co. Cork until the 17th century
when its members were transported to Clare, and dispersed to Europe,
during the Cromwellian regime.
The motif translates as “Faithful
and Bold”.
The official description of the arms
is “Argent in base a mount vert, on
the dexter side a hurts of oak trees,
therefrom issuant a wolf passant
towards the sinister all proper”
Celtic Connections with the Colchester Area
1. Celtic Beginnings:
1.1 Background:
Colchester (Essex, England) was arguably the most important centre of Celtic power
in ancient Britain and was home to a Celtic tribe known as the Trinovantes (possibly
meaning "The Vigorous People" [Col 96]). The Romans referred to Colchester as
Camulodunum which was based on the original British name Camulodunon meaning
Fortress of Camulos (the Celtic god of war) [Cooper 94]. At the height of Colchester's
Celtic power, in the early part of the first century, the area based around what is now
Essex, South Suffolk, Hertfordshire & Kent was ruled over by a Colchester based
King called Cunobelin (Shakespeare's inspiration for Cymbeline) [Edwards 94].
Colchester was opposite the Rhine and offered good communications to the rest of
Britain, making it a strategic site. It was heavily fortified by means of a series of
massive dykes (24Km), the largest of their kind in Britain bearing physical testament
to the importance of Colchester. Such was the importance of Colchester in the Celtic
world that the it was the prime objective of the Roman Invasion of A.D. 43 [Dunnett
75] which in turn led to Colchester becoming the Roman provincial capital & colonia
(a chartered town enjoying special rights and privileges under Roman law). Cunobelin
was referred to as Rex Britannorum (King of the Britans) [Col 96] by the Romans, a
title that further reinforces the importance of this kingdom at the time of the invasion.
1.2 Battles:
The Celtic people of this region were involved in two major battles with Rome, the
first being the 43 invasion of Britain (which occurred shortly after Cunobelin's death
in 42) [Caesar] resulting in the death of one of Cunobelin's sons, Togodumnus, whilst
another son, Caratacus, fled with a number of fellow Celts to join the Silures in
Wales. The second major battle was the Boudiccan revolt of 61 [Webster 78] in which
the Iceni queen, Boudica (from the Celtic word meaning Victor or Victorious) led
both the Inceni (from the Norfolk area) and Trinovantes against the Romans
destroying Colchester, London & St Albans before being defeated somewhere near
the junction of the Foss-Way and Watling Street (although it should be added that the
lack of proof leaves the placement of this battle open to much discussion). It is
conjectured by some that both of these incidents must have greatly depleted the
Trinovante population and put them in serious disfavour with Rome!!! In addition,
had the Trinovantes somehow survived the Romans, another potential threat would
have been the massive influx of Germanic Tribes which occurred around the time of
the cessation of Roman government in Britain (AD 410). This Saxon infusion led to
land of the Trinovantes becoming known as the Kingdom of the East Saxons (in
abbreviated form; Essex) and Camulodunum assuming a Saxon name, Colchester
(possibly meaning Colne Stronghold/Fortress or perhaps Colonia Fortress) [Martin
58].
1.3 A Remaining Mystery:
Rosalind Niblett (formerly Dunnett) raises an interesting question regarding the fate
of the Trinovantes [Dunnett 75]. She notes that after the Boudiccan revolt there was
no further historical reference to the Trinovantes. Also, so far, and as an exception to
all other known Celtic tribes of Britain, no cantonal capital has been identified for the
Trinovantes in Roman Britain. She points out that the Trinovantes seem to have
disappeared so completely that the Celtic language has left fewer traces here than
anywhere in Britain. She even raises the question as to whether the Trinovantes
survived at all; were they driven out, did they flee or were they exterminated ?
Whatever the Trinovantes fate, their impressive fortifications, graves and trinkets
remain as a reminder of their past domination of this region.
2. Celts in Modern Colchester:
Whilst in the period described above there was a movement of Celts from East to
West, more recent history has witnessed a small flow in the opposite direction.
Circa 1860 approximately one third of the British Army was raised in Ireland.
Colchester was home to the Munster & Leinster Regiments who were barracked here
before going on to various military campaigns. Records show that in the early 19th
century large numbers of Irish soldiers arrived in Colchester as part of the Napoleonic
and Crimean campaigns [Cooper 94], many settling in the town after these wars
(figures for 1856 show as many as 800 soldiers and members of their family in
Colchester barracks). St James the Less church in Priory Street
(www.colchestercc.co.uk) bears testament to this in that during 1861 the church was
modified to accommodate up to 100 soldiers. A "Pieta" was also presented to the
church after the Irish Regiments were disbanded (circa 1917). More recently the
University of Essex has welcomed Irish students who come to study at the University
of Essex.
3. Nostalgic Reflections:
Although we know the names the Greeks and Romans used to refer to the Celts
(Keltoi & Galli, respectively [Eluere 92]); what did the collection of tribes history
labels Celts use any name to describe themselves; amongst the extremely diverse
replies to this question is the rather charming, if wishful, suggestion based on the
Welsh Celtic word "Cymru" meaning "The Companions" (or more simply "The
People"). An ancient Celtic dream was that of Inisfallen, the Island of Destiny. Some
have undoubtedly found their island and companions; for others the journey is far
from over as Celtic descendants have down the years in significant numbers found
themselves forging out new lives far from their birthplace, family and friends (the
Irish Diaspora was estimated at some 85 million people in 1998!). For many Celts,
though separated from their roots by numerous generations, an intangible feeling of
belonging to a Celtic family haunts them, forming a seemingly indestructible bond to
the past and an allegiance to distant and unknown Celtic cousins.
Until the centuries bring all "Companions" together in their own Inisfallen; slainte !
Acknowledgements:
The following people have contributed information to the above: Victor Callaghan ,
Denis Collins & Gillian Kearney.
Further Reading:
[Caesar] Julius Caesar “Gallic Wars” Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn
see http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/
[Cooper 94] Janet COOPER, "The Borough of Colchester" A History of the County
of Essex - Vol. 9, Oxford University Press, 1994
[Col 96] Colchester Castle Museum, "Celtic Era Display", Colchester Borough
Council
[Crummy 97] Philip Crummy, "City of Victory", Colchester Archaeological Trust,
1997
[Dunnett 75] Rosalind DUNNETT, "The Trinovantes", Duckworth, 1975
[ECS 96] Essex County Standard, "£10M Will Bring History to Life", Essex County
Standard, 13th Dec 1996, p10
[Eluere 92] Christiane ELUERE, "The Celts, First Masters of Europe", Thames &
Hudson, 1992
[Edwards 94] A EDWARDS, "A History of Essex" (5th Edition), Phillimore & Co.
Ltd, 1994
[Martin 58] Geoffrey MARTIN, "A Guide To Colchester", Benham Newspapers Ltd,
1958
[Webster 78] Graham WEBSTER, "Boudica", BT Batsford Ltd, 1978
Further Information:
If the above information has induced a curiosity to know more about this intriguing
era and area, then one of the best places to start looking for more information is by
emailing the Colchester Archaeological Trust (CAT) (or contacting them at:
Colchester Archaeological Trust, 12 Lexden Road, Colchester, CO3 3NF, UK - Tel:
+44 1206 541051). They produce regular publications, give presentations and offer
the opportunity to participate in their "digs". The CAT Web Site contains more
information. If you are in the Colchester area we strongly recommend you visit
Colchester Castle Museum where there are a number of interesting displays from this
period. Understandably, the sparseness of reliable and detailed historical records for
the period described results in marked differences of interpretation by historians. In
this respect, we wish to point out that the authors of this web page are only interested
amateurs; thus for those with a serious interest in this topic you should refer to the
work of professional historians and archaeologists (such as the Colchester
Archaeological Trust and those publications listed above).
Keywords: Callaghan Colchester Essex England Celtic Celts History Irish Ireland
Shakespeare Kings Queens Boudica Boadicea Battles Roman Cunobelin Trinovantes
Date Created: June 1996, Last Modified: Jan 2002