Dumnonii

views updated

Dumnonii. British tribe and civitas. The Dumnonii seem to have occupied the whole of the south-west peninsula, and parts of southern Somerset. They issued no coinage, they had no large nucleated settlements which acted as political focuses, and there is no evidence of a dynasty of Dumnonian kings. They were therefore probably a loose confederation of small tribal groups with a common ancestry. They appear to have accepted the Roman conquest without resistance and as a result few garrison forts were placed in their territory. The Romans granted them civitas status, and the town of Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) became their administrative centre.

Keith Branigan

More From encyclopedia.com