I. The Roman Invasion of Britain 43 CE

Before the Roman Invasion of Britain, the Bretons were the prominent people of southern Britain and Wales. The Picts were the peoples of the north. But, their world changed in 56 - 55 BCE when Julius Caesar began the expansion of Roman influence over Britain. Caesar's two incursions were a foretaste of what was to come. Although not posting his legions on British soil, Rome and her allies began expanding their hegemony across the British Channel, subsuming the many northern Gaulish tribes and controlling the seas. But, Rome would always need another war of expansion.

The new emperor, Claudius, needed a successful military campaign to gain the support of the Senate and People of Rome [SPQR].

To lead the invasion, [Emperor] Claudius appointed the seasoned general Aulus Plautius. . .Now for the invasion force, Plautius was assigned four legions as well as the usual allotment of cavalry and auxiliaries. In all, some 40,000 men assembled, probably at Boulogne in the shadow of Gaius' [Caligula/ Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus'] lighthouse. . . .

    Moorhead, Sam and David Stuttard, The Romans who Shaped Britain, Thomas and Hudson, Ltd, London, 2012, p. 44.

Initially, Plautius took the 2nd Legion Augusta, 9th Hispania, 14th Gemina, and 20th Valeria along with their cavalry and auxiliaries across the Channel to Britain.
-The IX Legio Hispaña was most probably formed in central Italy, as they first fought at Asculum during the "Social War" for total Romanization of Italy (c. 90 BCE).
-This precludes the Legion being composed of Celt-Iberians.
-The Legion was retired in central Italy near where it was initially formed (c. 46 BCE).
-The Legion was recalled from retirement and fought in the many battles after the death of Caesar (44 BCE).
-The Legion was sent to Iberia where they fought in a war of extermination against the Cantabri, our Celtic cousins, in what is now northwestern Spain (29 - 19 BCE).
-That's where the Legion received the nickname "Hispaña"; as they had been stationed in Spain.

Note. To retain control over the Legionaries who were recruited from the disparate tribes of the Empire, a Legion from location A would be assigned to location B where they wouldn't be tempted to side with the locals against the will of Rome. Thus, a recruit from the newer provinces in Iberia would not have served in the 9th Hispania.

The 9th Hispania participated in the invasion of Britain (43 CE).
-The Legion was nearly destroyed by Boudica at the Battle of Camulodunum (61 CE).
-With reinforcements from the Rhine, the Legion participated in Agricola's invasion of Caledonia (82 CE).
-Detachments from the Legion are recorded on the Rhine (c. 104 - 120 CE). 

As we, the Lewis family, carry the yDNA markers from Gallaecia on the Iberian Peninsula, could our direct Lewis ancestor have been one of the Legionnaires who crossed the Channel with Plautius? Some of my Lewis cousins think so.

II. Conquering Britain

And, the young sons of Cunobelin, king of the Catuvellauni tribe, provided a reason for Rome to intervene in the internal affairs of the Island of Britain.

Yet the necessity for an invasion, or at least the pretext for one, was becoming more and more apparent. By this time, Cunobelin, king of the Catuvellauni tribe was dead. His two sons, Togodumnus and Caratacus, had inherited his kingdom -- but not his diplomatic skills. Keen to assert their independence, they soon swept south and west into the lands of the Atrebates and Regini, tribes that had been well disposed to Rome. (Ibid, p. 42)

According to Dio, the forces of Togodumnus and Caratacus took refuge in swamps and forests. . .hoping to use guerrilla tactics to wear out the Roman army. . .Caught on the wrong foot, the Catuvellaunian warlords may simply have been unable to gather their men in sufficient numbers to meet the Romans head-on. . .Dio tells us that two skirmishes saw off first Caratacus, then Togodumnus, as the men of the Catuvellauni struggled to come together in one united force. . .But just when momentum was in danger of being lost, the Roman high command received a piece of welcome news. Togodumnus was dead. (Ibid, pp. 45-48)

And eight years after he had left the island, Claudius could admire the legend engraved on his new triumphal arches, dedicated:

. . .by the Roman Senate and People [SPQR] because he had received the surrender of eleven British Kings, defeated without loss, and for the first time had brought barbarian peoples from beyond the Ocean under Roman rule. . .

Given the timing of the inscription on the triumphal arch (AD 51/52), another of the kings well may have been Caratacus. For, having rallied the renegade tribesmen and harried the legions from his fastnesses deep within the mountains of the Ordovices in Wales, Caratacus had eventually met the Roman army in pitched battle, where he was defeated. Fleeing north to the lands of the Brigantes, he had thrown himself on the mercy of their queen, Cartimandua, who had become a client ruler of Rome. She had already nailed her colours to the mast of Rome, and she gave him up to the Romans, a prized prisoner. By now, the name of Caratacus was well known everywhere. He was, after all, at the top of Rome's 'most wanted' list. . . . (Ibid, pp. 61-62)

III. Subjugation of the Bretons

Wherever the Romans went, they brought their version of civilization. If you were a pacified, taxpaying subject, you could potentially earn Roman citizenship. If you rebelled, you faced retribution from the Legion.

His [Agricola's] object was to accustom them [the Britons] to a life of peace and quiet by the provision of amenities. He therefore gave official assistance to the building of temples, public squares and good houses. He educated the sons of the chiefs in the liberal arts, and expressed a preference for British ability as compared to the trained skills of the Gauls. The result was that instead of loathing the Latin language they became eager to speak it effectively. In the same way, our national dress came into favour and the toga was everywhere to be seen. And so the population was gradually led into the demoralizing temptation of arcades, baths and sumptuous banquets. The unsuspecting Britons spoke of such novelties as 'civilization', when in fact they were only a feature of their enslavement.

    Tacitus Agricola chapter 21, translated by H. Mattingly, Penguin 1948, 1973.

In 60 or 61 CE, Decianus Catus, the Procurator of Roman Britain, demanded land, money, and tribute (slaves) from the Icini after the death of their king, Prasutagus; Queen Boudica refused. The kingdom was pillaged. Boudica was lashed, and her daughters were raped. This didn't go over well with the ethnic Bretons. And, insurrection erupted. A rag-tag army of Bretons burned the Roman administrative center at Camulodunum (Colchester), killing all the citizens. The newly reinforced Breton army then marched south to Londinium (London), and burned it to the ground. Their next target was Verulamium (St Albans). Same result.

Roman governor Gaius Seutonius Paulinus turned from his intended destruction of the Druid "fastness" on the Isle of Mona to face Boudica and the Breton Army. Collecting whatever soldiers and auxiliaries available, the Romans headed south. Somewhere along Watling Street, the armies met. And, the disciplined Roman army of only 10,000 exterminated the army of the Bretons, which has been estimated as high as 250,000 fighters. Why?

Celtic warriors, male and female, would continue to rush into the fight without regard to casualties. Believing in reincarnation, for the Celts, casualties were of no consequence. Most times the Celtic force simply overwhelmed their opponents. But when the tactic failed, Celtic casualties were astronomical. So much the better for the Romans. Eliminate the Bretons; eliminate the problem. Next, the Romans crossed the Menai Strait to destroy the Druidic stronghold on the Isle of Mona, now Anglesey. Destroy the physical center of the Breton religion; bring the Bretons into the pantheon of Roman religions including the Cult of the Emperor; pacify the populous. Voila!. C'est la Pax Romanum.

By July 122 CE, the many Legions began building Hadrian's Wall to split the Island of Britain in two: Roman Britain in the south and the Caledonii and the wild Picts to the north.

It is entirely in character that with a sweep of his [Hadrian's] stylus, he drew a line 80 miles in length from the Tyne Estuary to the Solway Firth, just north of an existing road, the Stanegate, along which the the wall would be laid out.

    Moorhead, Sam and David Stuttard, The Romans who Shaped Britain, Thomas and Hudson, Ltd, London, 2012, pp. 127-128.

And, there were Legionnaire posts in Wales.

IV. Roman Organization of Britain

. . .At a later time, towards the close of the period of Roman dominion, the supreme governor of Britain had the title of Vicarius, and was himself subject to the præfect of Gaul. We learn these and other particulars from the ‘Notitia Imperii,' a work which probably dates from the early part of the fifth century. At that time the Roman province of Britain included five divisions, distinguished by the names of Britannia Prima, Britannia Secunda, Flavia Cæsariensis, Maxima Cæsariensis, and Valentia. The governors of the two last-named divisions were of consular rank (consulares): the three others were governed by presidents (præsides).

1. BRITANNIA PRIMA is supposed to have comprehended the country lying south of the Thames and the Bristol Channel.
2. BRITANNIA SECUNDA corresponded to the modern principality of Wales, with the adjacent country on the east, as far as the Severn and the lower course of the Dee.
3. FLAVIA CÆSARIENSIS comprised all the middle and eastern portions of England, from the Severn to the North Sea, and from the Thames to the Humber and the Mersey .
4. MAXIMA CÆSARIENSIS embraced the country extending north from the last-named division to the line of Hadrian's Wall corresponding, that is, to the six northern counties, with the exception of part of Northumberland.
5. VALENTIA included the tract of country lying between the two walls that is, the lowland portion of Scotland, as far north as the isthmus of the Clyde and Forth, with the larger part of Northumberland.*

* The limits of these divisions, as stated above, are commonly marked on maps, but they rest only on exceedingly doubtful authority. The names of the divisions themselves are given in the work entitled Notitia Imperii, a document of high value. The assumed limits between these divisions are derived from the work attributed to Richard of Cirencester, and stated to have been compiled by a monk of that name, in the fourteenth century, from the papers of a Roman general. The same authority states that the country lying north of the Wall of Antoninus formed a sixth division, under the name of Vespasiana. There are good reasons for doubting the authenticity of this document as a whole; yet the coincidence between many of its statements (as to particular localities) and the modern discoveries of Roman sites, seems to show that it must have been compiled from materials of some real value, now no longer extant.

    Hughes, William. The Geography of the British Islands, Spottiswoode and Co., London, 1863, pp. 87-88.

V. The Irish Kingdom of Gwynedd (150 to 470 CE)

Studying History, we first learn about the inhabitants of northern Iberia in the 2nd century BCE from their interaction with Rome and the Roman Legion. The same is true about the tribes of Britain. As the Roman invaders spread across Britain, they encountered more and more of the tribes inhabiting the island. But, those tribes had a history from before the Romans. The question is "When did the Irish arrive in northern Wales?"

As early as the 2nd century AD there may have been an Irish presence in the region as Ptolemy marks the Llyn Peninsula as the Promontory of the Gangani which is also a name he recorded in Ireland. In the late and post-Roman eras, Irish from Leinster are said to have arrived in Ynys Môn (Anglesey) and elsewhere in Northwest Wales, with the name derived from Laigin, or Leinster. The region became known as Venedotia in Latin. The name was initially attributed to a specific Irish colony on Môn [Mona], but broadened to refer to Irish settlers as a whole in north Wales by the 5th century. . .

Research Note: Here the history of Gwynedd is conflated.
-The History of Wales wasn't written down until the Roman Invasion. Ptolemy wrote about what the Romans saw at the time of their occupation of Britain.
-Sometime in the Iron Age (c. 650 BCE), the Gaugani, probably the Ordovices and others from Ireland invaded/ migrated to Northern Wales.
-In the 5th-century CE, a thousand plus years later, other folks from Ireland invaded Romano-British Wales.

According to 9th century monk and chronicler Nennius, North Wales was left defenceless by the Roman withdrawal and subject to increasing raids by mauraders from Man and Ireland, a situation which led Cunedda, his sons and their entourage, to migrate in the mid-5th century [c. 450 CE] from Manaw Gododdin (Lothian, in modern Scotland) to settle and defend north Wales against the raiders and bring the region within Romano-British control. . .

Undoubtedly a Brythonic leader of substance established himself in north Wales, and he and his descendants defeated any remaining Irish Gaelic presence and incorporated the settlements into their domain and reoriented the whole of Gwynedd into a Romano-British and "Welsh" outlook. The Welsh of Gwynedd remained conscious of their Romano-British heritage and an affinity with Rome survived long after the Empire retreated from Britain, particularly with the use of Latin in writing and sustaining the Christian religion. . .

Other evidence support Nennius' claim of a leader who came to north Wales and brought the region a measure of stability, though an Irish Gaelic element remained until the mid-5th century.

    "Kingdom of Gwynedd" <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Gwynedd> 9 August 2015.

Rome did not abandon Britain. Upon command of the many Caesars, the Roman Legions did. In 382 CE, Magnus Maximus was proclaimed Emperor by the Legion in Britain. He promptly took the majority of the Legions across the Channel to Gaul to pursue a civil war. With the departure of Magnus Maximus and the Legions to the Continent, a Breton war-chief, Coel Hen, was appointed to command the remaining garrisons to hold back the barbarians of the North.

Following the narrative of the Red-Headed Tribe, it would seem a non-sequitur to trace the few survivors of the Roman extermination campaign against the Ordovices to a time when their descendants became the defacto High Kings of Northern Britain. But, time heals many wounds.
-Ordovice survivors escaped into southern Scotland, north of Hadrian's Wall.
-Living as far north as Manaw Gododdin below the Antonine Wall, they were still Cymry/ Welsh from Yr Hen Ogledd.
-In the Old North, they would have spoken Cumbric, a Brythonic language akin to Welsh.
-Even though there were Roman forts and patrols and even excursions north of the Antonine Wall, the Picts were never subsumed into Roman Britain.
-The lands between the Antonine Wall to the north and Hadrian's Wall to the south were, at times, part of Roman Britain and, at times, the land of the Caledonii barbarians.
-But over the centuries, we, the barbarians, became somewhat Romanized.

In 402 CE, the last remaining full legion was recalled to fight Alaric at Pollentia. In 407 CE, the last remaining Roman Legionaries, totaling perhaps as few as 6,000, were recalled to the continent when about one million ethnic Germans crossed the frozen Rhine River and entered Roman Gaul.

    Moorhead, Sam and David Stuttard, The Romans who Shaped Britain, Thomas and Hudson, Ltd, London, 2012, pp. 230 - 237.

The departure of the dragon standards of the Roman army in AD 407, accompanied as it was by the fast disintegration of the last vestiges of security and order, must have sent Britain into rapid freefall. (Ibid, p. 240)

There are a multitude of stories where the local Roman administrators corresponded with Rome or the current Roman "Augustas" for instructions, expecting the return of their Roman overlords. Overtime, Roman society in Britain fell to its knees. And, an ethnic Breton society rose in its place.

VI. The Welsh Kingdom of Gwynedd (c. 450 to 1277)

The pedigree for this Lewis family states that we descend from the Kings of Gwynedd who originally came from Yr Hen Ogledd, the "Old North" of Welsh antiquity.

Though Manaw Gododdin was located within the territory of modern Scotland, as a part of Yr Hen Ogledd (English: The Old North) it is also an intrinsic part of Welsh history, as both the Welsh and the Men of the North (Welsh: Gwyr y Gogledd) were self-perceived as a single people, collectively referred to as Cymry. The arrival in Wales of Cunedda of Manaw Gododdin in c. 450 is traditionally considered to be the beginning of the history of modern Wales.

    "Manaw Gododdin" <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manaw_Gododdin> 9 August 2015.

• Cunedda of Manaw Gododdin, first King of Gwynedd, Wales.
• According to the history of Wales, Rhodri "the Great" descends from Cunedda, the first King of Gwynedd.
• According to the history of Wales, Owain Gwynedd, King of Wales, was a member of the House of Aberffraw, the senior branch of the dynasty of Rhodri "the Great."
• According to the Lewis family pedigree, Sir John Lewis, Knight, of Abernant Bychan descends from the granddaughter of Owain Gwynedd and the male line of Cunedda.
• Cunedda, the first King of Gwynedd, married Gwawl, the daughter of Coel Hen, a progenitor of the Lewys Family.
• Thus, all of the Kings of Gwynedd and most of the Kings of Wales descend from the forefathers of the House of Lewys.

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