Branogenium
Attested: Ptolemy 2,3,18 Βραννογενιον, a πολις of the Ορδουικες; Branogenium at position 58 in the Ravenna Cosmography
Where: Caersws Roman forts, at SO028919, by the confluence that gives birth to the river Severn, from the rivers Carno, Trannon and Cerist, plus the upper Severn. This area of rich agricultural land also has hill forts at Cefn Carnedd and Pen y Gaer.
Name origin: From PIE *bhren- ‘to bulge, to stick out’ plus PIE *genə- ‘to give birth’.
Notes: Rivet & Smith placed Branogenium at Leintwardine, which is clearly wrong, because Ptolemy's coordinates point further north. Kleineberg et al. (2102) suggested the Roman fort at Caer Gai but Caersws seems more likely. Ptolemy's πολις fits a high native population. The last battle of Caratacus probably took place some way east, as discussed here. The modern name Caersws (not attested before the 1400s) is usually guessed unsatisfactorily as ending with a personal name *Swys, but would make much better sense being essentially the same as English ‘source’, which probably came via French from Latin surgo ‘to rise’.
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Last edited 18 February 2023 To main Menu