The Setantii were the ancient British inhabitants of the north west littoral of what is now modern-day Lancashire. Mentioned by Ptolemy in his second century geography of Britain (the earliest written record of their existence), they are thought to have been a sept or clan of the Brigantes tribe which dominated northern England throughout the Roman period. Later commentators also talk of the Segantii, a name referring it is claimed to "the dwellers in the country of water". The tribe was defeated by the Romans in AD 71.
Historical linguists suggest the nt element in Setantii confirms the tribe were indeed Brythonic Celts descended from the Iberian "beaker folk". Certainly, the tribe appears to have been linked to Sétanta, the birth name of the British/Irish hero Cúchulain and meaning "he who knows the way". His tribal centre was at Teamhair (Tara) in present-day County Louth. This in turn suggests that the Setantii may have been present on both the Ulster and Lancastrian seaboards of the Irish Sea and were a seafaring group ("dwellers in the country of water").
This assumption is supported by Ptolemy's observation that the tribe possessed the only pre-Roman port on the western coast of Britain at Portus Setantiorum. This port is now generally thought to have been situated off Rossall Point near present-day Fleetwood at the mouth of the River Wyre. The southernmost boundary of the Setantii tribal lands was Seteia, the Mersey River. Their territory is thought to have reached as far north as Borrow Beck, just south of Tebay, in southern Cumbria. A form of their Celtic tongue survived in this area until the twelfth century.
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The discovery of the Carleton Elk, a 12,000-year-old animal skeleton with a hunting barb in one of its leg bones, near Poulton-le-Fylde in 1970, confirms a long history of human habitation
in the Fylde reaching back to Palaeolithic times. However, any direct link to the much later Iron Age Setantii is uncertain.
Inset: An ancient Celtic roundhouse |
The ancient Irish epic Tain Bo Cuailnge records the history of Sétanta, son of the God Lug. At the age of seven, Sétanta inadvertently killed the watchdog of the smith Culann. He offered to take the dog's place for a time and
became known as Cúchulain, the Hound of Culann, ever after. Described as short and dark, his battle-frenzy was legendary. In his final battle, Cúchulain had himself strapped to a pillar so that he might die standing. Afterwards, his blood was scattered over the soil of Ireland.
There are also links to Welsh epic and Arthurian legend. In the Welsh epic of
Culhwch and Olwen, Seithennin, the bard, is grandfather to Gwenwynwyn, generally identified as Gawain, Arthur's First Fighter. Historians suggest this may indicate that the Setantii were among the first to resist the English invaders in the fifth century and that Gawain was the name under which the mediaeval descendants of the Setantii in England kept alive their collective tribal memory.
The involvement of the Setantii seems to be implied in Nennius' account of the twelve battles of King Arthur. He points out that four of these battles took place on the banks of the River Dubglas, now identified as the Douglas, a tributary of the Ribble, in southern Lancashire.
Surely, it can only be coincidence that the Douglas runs through Standish and that Jolly Milne, home of the Jolly family since the fourteenth century, sits on its
banks?
For further information, see:
| Shotter, D | Romans and Britons in North West England (2nd Edition, CNWRS, University of Lancaster, 1997) |
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| Higham, N | The Northern Counties to AD 1000 (Longman, London 1986) | |
| Newman, R, ed., | The Archaeology of Lancashire (1997) | |
| Nevell, M, ed., | Living on the Edge of Empire (University of Manchester 1999) | |
| Cowell, RW & Philpott, RA |
Prehistoric, Romano-British and Medieval Settlement in Lowland North-West England (University of Liverpool 2000) |
