Cunobelinus

Cunobelinus (Common Brittonic: *Cunobelinos, "Dog-Strong"), sometimes anglicized Cunobeline or Cunobelin, was a king in pre-Roman Britain from about AD 9 to about AD 40. He is mentioned in passing by the classical historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and many coins bearing his inscription have been found. He controlled a substantial portion of southeastern Britain, including the territories of the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes, and he was called "King of the Britons" (Britannorum rex) by Suetonius. Cunobelinus may have been a client king of Rome, based on the images and legends appearing on his coins. Cunobelinus appears in British legend as Cynfelyn (Welsh), Kymbelinus (medieval Latin) or Cymbeline, as in the play by William Shakespeare. His name is a compound composed of the Common Brittonic *cuno- "dog" and *belino- "strong", meaning "strong as a dog" or "strong dog". From numismatic evidence, Cunobelinus appears to have taken power around AD 9 after the death of his father Tasciovanus, minting coins from both Camulodunum (Colchester, capital of the Trinovantes) and Verlamion (later the Roman town of Verulamium, now modern St Albans), capital of the Catuvellauni. Some Verulamium coins call him the son of Tasciovanus, a previous king of the Catuvellauni. Some of Tasciovanus' coins bear the title rigonos, a derivative of the Brittonic root *rīgo- meaning "king". Unlike his father's, Cunobelinus' coins name no co-rulers.