Noviomagus Reginorum

21:57 Apr 6, 2014
Latin to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - History / Roman Britain
Latin term or phrase: Noviomagus Reginorum
Have just found out how to add this language pair, so am re-posting this question in the correct place.

I understand that this was the Latin name for the modern day town of Chichester in West Sussex, England - but I wondered what the literal translation from Latin would be? Something new, something to do with kings…?

Many thanks in advance for an answer!
French2English
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:09


Summary of answers provided
3 +1Regenses/Reg(i)ni market town
David Hollywood


  

Answers


4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Regenses/Reg(i)ni market town


Explanation:
Noviomagus Reg(i)norum is, like most Romano-British placenames, a Latinised Brythonic name, which couldn't be analysed purely as Latin even if you were a Latin scholar. "Reg(i)norum" is instantly recognisable as a Latin genitive plural - in this case, of the Reg(i)ni, who are well known to be a local population group (although thanks to idiosyncracies in the transmission of ancient documents, the correct form of their name is not known, and the Wikipedia article is given under another variant, the Regnenses)

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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-04-07 02:05:48 GMT)
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Noviomagus Reg(i)norum, meaning 'new field' or new clearing of the Reg(i)ni,[1] was first established as a winter fort in the friendly territory of the Atrebates tribe, shortly after the Roman conquest in AD 43. It was the home of the Legio II Augusta commanded by the future Emperor Vespasian [2] and their timber barrack blocks, supply stores and military equipment have been excavated. The army only stayed for a couple of years and the site was soon developed as a civilian settlement and capital of the Civitas Reginorum, a client kingdom ruled by Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus.

The Regnenses were either a sub-tribe of the Atrebates or simply the local people designated the 'people of the Kingdom' by the Roman administration. Cogidubnus almost certainly lived at the nearby Palace of Fishbourne. He is mentioned on the dedication stone of the temple to Neptune and Minerva found in Chichester. Other public buildings were also present: the public baths are beneath West Street, the amphitheatre under the cattle market and the basilica is thought to be beneath the cathedral.


Inscription discovered at Chichester in 1723. From a temple dedicated to Neptune and Minerva, erected on the authority of Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus.The town became an important residential, market and industrial centre, producing both fine tableware and enamelwork. In the 2nd century the town was surrounded by a bank and timber pallisade which was later rebuilt in stone. Bastions were added in the early 4th century and the town was generally improved with much rebuilding, road surfacing and a new sewerage system. There were cemeteries outside the east, north and south gates.[3]



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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-04-07 02:06:45 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noviomagus_Reginorum

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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-04-07 02:07:11 GMT)
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fascinating stuff to be sure

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By the 380s, Noviomagus appears to have been largely abandoned, perhaps because of Saxon raids along the south coast. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the town was eventually captured towards the close of the 5th century by Aelle of the South Saxons. It was renamed after his son, Cissa, and probably retained as a royal residence.



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Cissa was part of an Anglo-Saxon invasion force that landed in three ships at a place called Cymensora in 477AD. The invasion was led by Cissa's father Ælle and included his two brothers. They are said to have fought against the local Britons. Their conquest of what became Sussex, England continued when they fought a battle on the margins of Mecredesburne in 485 and Pevensey in 491 where they are said to have slaughtered their opponents to the last man.

The main source for this story is the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, a series of annals written in the vernacular Old English. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle was commissioned in the reign of Alfred the Great some 400 years after the landing at Cymenshore. One of the purposes of the chronicle was to provide genealogies of the West Saxon kings. Although a lot of the facts provided by the chronicle can be verified, the foundation story of Sussex involving Ælle and his three sons can not. It is known that Anglo-Saxons did settle in eastern Sussex during the fifth century, but not in the west where Cymensora was probably situated.

The city of Chichester, whose placename is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, of 895 AD, is supposedly named after Cissa.



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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-04-07 02:12:35 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissa_of_Sussex

David Hollywood
Local time: 09:09
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Sandra Mouton: "New market" and "market town" aren't exactly the same.
8 hrs
  -> take your point and thanks Sandra :)

agree  Joseph Brazauskas
8 days
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