Tasciovanus

Coin of Tasciovanus, king of the Catuvellauni.

Tasciovanus (died c. 9 AD) was a king of the Catuvellauni tribe in Britain before the Roman invasion. Our knowledge of him comes mainly from coins he issued.

Tasciovanus likely became king around 20 BC. He ruled from Verlamion, which is where St Albans is today. It is thought he moved the tribe's capital there from a settlement near modern Wheathampstead. Evidence suggests this earlier settlement existed from the early 1st century BC.

For a short time (c. 15–10 BC), Tasciovanus made coins in Camulodunum (Colchester). This suggests he may have taken over from Addedomarus of the Trinovantes tribe. Later, he made coins again from Verlamion, with the inscription "RICON". This likely stood for *Rigonos, a Brythonic word meaning "great king". Some coins also have abbreviated names like "DIAS", "SEGO", and "ANDOCO". These might be the names of co-rulers or mint marks.

Tasciovanus died around 9 AD. His son, Cunobeline, took over, ruling mainly from Camulodunum. Another son, Epaticcus, expanded their territory westward into the lands of the Atrebates.

Tasciovanus also appears in Welsh legends. A medieval Welsh manuscript gives a genealogy listing "Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus, son of Tasciovanus". Geoffrey of Monmouth's fictional Historia Regum Britanniae portrays him as the legendary King Tenvantius.

Sources

• Philip de Jersey (1996), Celtic Coinage in Britain, Shire Archaeology; John Creighton (2000), Coins and power in Late Iron Age Britain, Cambridge University Press
• Harleian Genealogies 16; The Heirs of Caratacus - Cunobelinus and his relatives in medieval Welsh genealogies
• Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia Regum Britanniae 3.20, 4.1-11
• Acton Griscom (1929), The Historiae Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth