Selgovae

The Selgovae were a people of the late 2nd century who lived in what is now the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and Dumfriesshire, on the southern coast of Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's Geography, and there is no other historical record of them. Their cultural and ethnic affinity is commonly assumed to have been Brittonic.

Assertions that the Solway Firth preserves the name of the Selgovae are without foundation. 'Solway' is Anglo-Saxon from the thirteenth century (sol = 'mud', wæth = 'ford'), and this was the name of the main crossing at Eskmouth at that time. The firth has been known by various names in the past, and this one happened to be the survivor.

The sole record of the Selgovae and their towns is their mention by Ptolemy in c. 150. Their name appears in the 8th century Ravenna Cosmography as 'Segloes', but the document here is taken to be an imperfect copy of classical sources such as Ptolemy, and not an independent historical reference.

The Novantae are unique among the peoples that Ptolemy names in that their location is reliably known to have been in Galloway due to the way he named several readily identifiable physical features. Since the Selgovae were adjacent to them, their homeland is similarly known.

Ptolemy said that the towns of the Selgovae were Carbantorigum, Uxellum, Corda, and Trimontium. However, there were no towns as such in the area at that time, so he was probably referring to Roman military camps and native strong points such as duns. In the Ravenna Cosmography the town names appear as Carbantium, Uxela, Corda, and Trimuntium, resp., and the towns are given in a list that does not associate any of the towns with any particular people.

Efforts have been made to determine the locations of the towns, but there is not enough information available to reach any degree of certainty, and the locations suggested are little more than guesswork. In the 19th Century, Carbantorigum was thought to be the Moat of Urr by Skene, and Rhys thought the name derived from Carbantorion (chariot town). Uxellum was at Wardlaw Hill at Caerlaverock according to Skene and Horsley; it was noted that the name sounds like Welsh uchel (high) or Gaelic uas, uasal. Corda was at Sanquhar, according to Skene. Trimontium was at Birrenswark Hill, according to Skene, who says its name probably represents Welsh Tref mynydd (Town on a Mountain).

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