The Venicones were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150 AD. He recorded that their town was 'Orrea'.[1] This has been identified as the Roman fort of Horrea Classis, located by Rivet and Smith as Monifieth, six miles east of Dundee.[2] Therefore, they are presumed to have lived between the Tay and the Mounth, south of Aberdeen. Andrew Breeze has suggested that the tribal name probably means "hunting hounds".[3] A slightly differing etymology, "kindred hounds", identifies the name with Maen Gwyngwn, a region mentioned in the Gododdin.[4]

References

  1. ^ Ptolemy (150), Thayer, Bill (ed.), Geographia, Book 2, Chapter 2: Albion island of Britannia, LacusCurtius website at the University of Chicago (published 2008), retrieved 26 April 2008
  2. ^ A.L.F. Rivet and C. Smith, The Place-Names of Roman Britain (1979), pp. 372-3,491.
  3. ^ "Three Celtic names: Venicones, Tuesis and Soutra?", Scottish Language, 2006
  4. ^ J. T. Koch, The Stone of the Wenicones, in: Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 29, 1982, p. 87ff.
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