notes Musgrave 1717

	Research Notes Map Group MUSGRAVE 1717

Musgrave 1717
	Map, Tabula Belgii Britannici Chorographica, the Land of the Belgae in Britain, scale about 22 miles to 1 inch, drawn by George Musgrave, 1717, for his brother William Musgrave's book, Antiquitates Britanno-Belgae, published London, 1719.
	A copy of this book is in the library of Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, Devizes Museum, Wiltshire - to whom I am grateful. Latin translation has been done by Andrew Pierssene (but then typed by MN).
	The map is in the first of three volumes:- De Belgio Britannico
	These notes are biased to Hampshire interest and may not notice everything there is to see. The map size is: wxh, map = 21x18.5cm.

	MAP FEATURES
	WILLIAM MUSGRAVE & HIS BOOK
	HAMPSHIRE TEXT - BELGAE
	HOUSEHOLD GODS
	REFERENCES
	ITEMS in the Collection
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MAP FEATURES
title cartouche map maker	Printed lower left is a plain cartouche:- BELGII nostri Tabulam hanc Chorographicam, GEORGIUS MUSGRAVE J.C. Frater carrissimus, ab Charlton Musgrave in Com: Somerset Oriandus Reipub. Literariae D.C.Q. MDCCXVII. translation:- This chorographical map of our belgium is made by George Musgrave JC, dearest brother, of Charlton Musgrave in the county of Somerset, of the Literary Republic DCQ, 1717. JC is perhaps Jeseus College; DCQ unknown. printed at the top is:- TABULA BELGII BRITANNICI CHOROGRAPHICA or:- Chorographical Map of British Belgium The word:- BELGIUM is spread right across middle of the map.
coat of arms	Above the title cartouche is coat of arms, with crest and mantling, and motto:- SPES ALTERA GENTIS translation like:- The other hope of our race The blazon is probably:- azure, 6 annulets 3,2,1 or for the Musgraves. There is a small thistle upper left, the mark of difference for a sixth son.
table of symbols	Printed lower right is a table:- Notarum Explicat[io ] [infinity sign?] Denotat Ogonem [island with coast shaded] Insulam [circle] Urbem vel Pagum [square] Castrum [tall rectangle, dark below, light above] Tropaeum Claudianum [double line] Viam Militarem [dotted line] Belgii Limites [cross (+)] Locum inquo Nummi[ ] Pavimenta fuere Detecta translating roughly:- Explanation of notes: indicates an ogo ? ; island; town or village; fort or camp; Claudian monument; military road, boundary of 'Belgium'; place where coins or mosaic floors have been found.
orientation labelled borders up is N	To be inserted in the book the map has been trimmed close. One border is labelled:- Occidens The map is printed with North at the top.
scale	The map has no indication of scale. From the positions of a dozen or so towns the scale has been estimated by comparing their distances from each other on the map with their known distances, using DISTTAB.exe software. The map scale is about:- 1 to 1400000 22.5 miles to 1 inch with a large error.
sea area sea plain	The sea is plain; some sea areas are labelled, relevant to Hampshire are:- Trisanton Aestuar [= Southampton Water] OCEANUS BRITANNICUS [greek = Magnus Portus]
coast line coast shaded harbours	The coast line shaded for emphasis. The islands and harbour areas at Portsmouth etc are fairly well drawn, enough to recognize each.
rivers	Rivers are shown by a double, tapering to a single, line. THe estuary may be shaded as like coast line. A river might be labelled, for Hampshire:- Itching flu Avona flu The Test and (perhaps) the Loddon are also shown in Hampshire.
relief	No relief is indicated.
tribal areas	The boundary of the Belgii is a dotted line. Very crudely it includes Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset; labelled:- BELGIUM The bordering tribal areas are labelled, eg:- ATREBATES [to the north, Gloucestershire and Berkshire?] DUROTRIGES [to the South, Dorset] DOBUNI [to the north west, partly Gloucestershire] REGNUM [to the east, Sussex]
settlements	Settlements are marked by a circle, for a town or village, or a square for a camp. Places are labelled, mostly, twice; in Latin with an ancient name, in English with a modern, 18th century, name. Thus, relevent to Hampshire and round about:-
Winchester	Venta Belgaru~

Southampton	Clausentu~ now distinguished from Southampton itself

Broughton	Brige crossing of Test, but location not now accepted.

Silchester	Vindomis now usually Calleva Atrebatum

---	Old Winchester shown as a camp

Ringwood	Regnum Vetus

antiquities roman roads	A netword of roman military roads is drawn by double lines. The routes shown in Hampshire are:- from Calleva - Henley, Berkshire; through Vindomis - Silchester, Venta Belgarum - Winchester, Clausentum - Southampton, to Regnum Vetum - Ringwood, Hampshire. branch from Venta Belgarum - Winchester, Hampshire; to Sorbiodunum - Salisbury, Wiltshire, whence south and west.
miscellaneous
antiquities henges	The whole map is a map of antiquities, it includes one ancient place especially worth noting:- Stonehenge
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WILLIAM	MUSGRAVE & HIS BOOK
	William Musgrave was born 4 November 1655 (perhaps 1657), son of Richard of Nettlecombe, Somerset, at Charlton Musgrove. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, and became a physician and antiquary. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society 1683-34, and was Secretary and editor of its Philosophical Transactions. He was elected a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 1692; in 1691 he had settled in Exeter, Devon, where he was in general practice. He married Philippa Speke of White Lackington, Somerset. And died 1721, being buried in a vault at St Leonard's Church, Exeter.
	The title page of Musgrave's book reads:-
	ANTIQUITATES BRITANNO-BELGAE, Praecipue Romanae, ... ... AUCTORE GUILH. MUSGRAVE, BELGA, Reg. Societ. utriusque Socio. ... ISCAE DUMNONORUM: Typis GEO. BISHOP: prostat [venale apud] JOH: MARCH, bibliopolam EXONIENSIEM; GUIL. TAYLOR, & JOH. [SPRINT, LONDINENSES.] M.DCC.XIX.
	translated:-
	The Antiquities of the British Belgae, in particular Roman ... by Willm. Musgrave, Belgan, Fellow of both Royal Societies ... Exeter: George Bishop printer: sold by John March, bookseller, Exeter; William Taylor and John Sprint, London, 1719.
	There are three volumes: 1. De Belgio Britannico, from which these notes come; 2. De Geta Britannico; 3. De Julii Vitalis Epitaphio
	From advertisements in the London Gazette (Tyacke, ed) William Taylor was a mapseller at The Ship, St Paul's Churchyard, London, 1709-10, and at The Ship, Pater Noster Row, London, 1715-18. John Sprint was a mapseller at the Bell, London, 1705.
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HAMPSHIRE TEXT	- BELGAE
	In the chapter to which the map is inserted is:-
	De Belgii nostri Limitibus.
	Section II:-
	BELGIUM nostrum ea pars Britanniae est, quae a Belgis, huc e Gallia demigrantibus, Superata, ab iis nomen adscivit, Limitesque longe lateque praetentos hunc in modum acceptit.
	QUA ad Mare Britannicum patet, ab Occidente, Durotrigum Promontorio, in Purbeck Insula, terminabatur; ab Oriente, Portu, qui a Ptolemaeo [greek = Magnus Portus] appelatur: Hae Extremitates quadraginta circiter Leucas a se invicem distant, & in eis Promontoria sinum faciunt, qui Vectim Ins. sibi Objectam habet, quam, velut ambabus ulnis, amplecti nititur.
	AB hac ora, versus Septentrionem, & deinde procul Occidentum versus, Belgium exporrectum est; forma digiti Indicis, curvati; latitudinem habens summam quadraginta milliarium.
	AD mare, ubi incipit, hinc Durotrigum terra; illinc, in oriente, Rhegno intercluditur. Paulo altius Segontiacis; tum, ad laevam, Atrebatiis, & eos proxime Dobunis, ad Fretum usque Sabrinianum, adjacet. Quod reliquum est, eius quasi dimidium, a meridie & occasu hic Durotriges, illic Dunmonios a Septentrione Fretum isthoc interjacet.
	Section III:-
	HOSCE Belgarum Limites, ut, quam possim, accurate persequar, a Durotrigibus eos separavit, ita mihi videtur, Avona fl. ex adverso Vecti Ins. Promontorio, se in mare Britannicum exonerans. Neque enim [footnote Vide Atlantis Geograph. N. I.] Tabulis Britanniae Romanae, Camdeno, vernacula lingua edito, annexis, aliique recentiori, quae Belgium ultra Alaunum in occidentum extendi facit, adhibere possum sidem; cum ita positi Nationium harum Limites, nullo probabili argumento fulciantur: e contrario, longe satius, & Antiquitati convenientius est, a Fluviis & Montibus, terminis scil. a Natura fixis, hos & huiusmode Limites statuere.
	NEQUE uno isthoc nomine Belgium justo latius exhibitum: In eo Tabula porro corrigenda, quod Vindogladium, (Winborn) Durotrigum Urbem, contra Camdeni sententiam, ipsiusque rei probabilitatem, (est enim a mare non plus quatuor vel quinque milliaria) in Belgio locari faciat.
	etc ...
	which translates as:-
	Concerning the boundaries of our Belgium.
	Our Belgium is that part of Britain that was conquered by the Belgae who migrated hither from Gaul, and has taken its names from them; and usually is given boundaries that extend far and wide in the following way.
	Insofar as it faces the British Sea, to the west it is bounded by the promontory of the Durotriges, in the Isle of Purbeck; to the east by the port which Ptolemy calls the Great Port. These extremes are about forty leagues apart, and the two promontories form a bay containing within it the Isle of Wight, which, as if enfolded by both arms. rests in its embrace.
	From this shore northwards, and eventually far towards the west, stretches 'Belgium': in shape like a bent index finger; with a maximum breadth of forty miles.
	From the sea where it begins, it is bounded at one point by the land of the Durotriges; then, to the east, by Regnum. A little higher it lies enclosed by the Segontiaci; then, to the left, by the Atrebates, and next to them the Dobuni as far as the estuary of the Severn. As for the rest, comprising about half of it [Belgium] lies, first to the south and west, between the Durotriges and the estuary, then northwards, between the estuary and the Dumnonii.
	Tracing these bounds of the Belgae as accurately as I am able, it seems to me that they are separated from the Durotriges by the river Avon, which empties itself into the British Sea opposite the promontory of the Isle of Wight. Nor can I accept in the maps of Roman Britain appended to Camden in the vernacular tongue and in other more recent editions the positioning that makes Belgium extend westwards beyond the Alaunus; for by no sound argument can the bounds of these nations be positioned thus: on the contrary, it is far preferable and more in conformity with antiquity to establish these and similar boundaries by rivers and mountains - bounds fixed, indeed, by Nature.
	Nor can a more extensive region justly be included under the single name 'Belgium': in this respect the map [with Camden ?1610 edn] needs further correction; that it causes Vindogladium, the city of the Durotriges, contrary to the opinion of Camden and all probability (for it is no more than five miles from the sea) to be located in 'Belgium'.
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HOUSEHOLD	GODS
	In his text Musgrave describes a group of 19 figurines found at Southbroom, Devizes, Wiltshire, 1714. Although these are Wiltshire finds, illustrations of them are used by Herman Moll to decorate his map of Hampshire, 1724.
	Musgrave illustrates the finds by a series of clearly engraved plates, and provides interpretations of who the figures represent. William Stukely saw the figurines and stated that the illustrations were 'not at all mended':-
1. Venus	Prima Venerum repraesentat ...
2. Jupiter Ammon.	Jovi inter varia eius cognomina (de quibus assatim Havrechus) nonnunquam 1. Ammonio datum est appellari: ...
3. Neptunus	Neptunem ostendit, eius Insignae Tridens ...
4. Hercules
5.Vulcanus
6. Bacchus	Sexta videtur esse Bacchi quid enim in sinistra Discus ille, nisi qui Horo Aegyptiorum Baccho, ... Dextera Poculum, vino forte plenum habet ...
7. Pallas	Pallas haec omino est. ... Fortis, Strenua, Martialis ... dextera tenentem Hastam, sinistra Aegidem, capite Galeam: ...
8. Virgo Vestalis Maxima	Vastae haec Sacerdos, velata & stolata, ut Mysterium Religionis Sanctitatemque significet, dextra Pateram habet, qua se ad Sacrificia facienda paratum oftendat; sinistra Librum, ut opinor, Ritualem, veterum more, convolutum: ...
9. Mercurius	Ad Mercurio accedo; ...
	but the list is incomplete. And, besides, the interpretations are doubtful.
	The figurines were found with a number of coins of severus Alexander, who rules 222-235, providing some sort of date for the figurines. Eight of the figurines survive, now in the British Museum; the others are lost, perhaps lurking in a country house attic? The BM described them, 1951, as a 'Barbaric group of classical deities'. George Boon, 1972, describes the figurines (using Musgraves numbers) as celtic versions of roman deities, etc:-
	1. Venus
	2. perhaps Mars, the crest of his helmet mismade; in BM
	3. Jupiter, with part of a thunderbolt; in BM
	4. ? two serpents with rams heads twined round legs and arms, a ?raven on the head; in BM
	5. Vulcan
	6. Mercury, patera in left hand, purse in right hand; in BM
	7. ? female, perhaps clasping a pregnant womb? in BM
	8. Minerva; in BM
	9. genius familiaris
	10. Mars
	11. ? holes for ?reins in hands
	12. dog
	13. ? holes for attributes in clenched hands; in BM
	14. ?
	15. three horned bull
	16. ?
	17. horse
	18. Bacchus
	19. steelyard weight, Venus
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REFERENCES
	Boon, George C: 1972: Genius and Lar in Celtic Britain: Jahrbuch des Roemisch-Germanuschen Zentralmuseums (Mainz, Germany):: pp.265-269 and plates Musgrave, William: 1719: Antiquitates Britanno-Belgae & Belgio Britannico, De (vol.1): (Exeter, Devon): vol.1: pp.123-152 and plates Stukely, William: 1724: Itinerarium Curiosum::: p.137 Brailsford, J W: 1951: Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain: British Museum:: p.54 and plate 17; BM registration numbers 11.3-9 (which is 7 items?) :: Wiltshire Archaeological Magazine: vol.1: p.214
also see:-
	Roman Roads in Hampshire -- Stukeley 1723

ITEMS	in HMCMS Map Collection and Private Collections (scanned item in bold)
	private collection (19) -- map
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