(Redirected from Canninefates)The 'Cananefates' - also referred to as ''Canninefates'', ''Caninefates'', or ''Canenefatae''; meaning ''
leek masters''
[1] - were a
Germanic tribe that lived in the
Rhine delta, on the western part of the
Batavian Island (province of
Germania Inferior, currently the western part of the
Netherlands), in the
Roman era, before and during the Roman conquest. They lived on the sandy grounds which is excellent soil to grow onions and, nowadays, to grow tulips. At the beginning of the
Batavian rebellion under
Gaius Julius Civilis in the anarchic year AD
69, the Batavians sent envoys to the Canninefates to urge a common policy. "This is a tribe," says
Tacitus (''Histories'' Book iv
[1]) which inhabits part of the island, and closely resembles the Batavians in their origin, their language, and their courageous character, but is inferior in numbers." In the failed uprising that followed, the Canninefates were led by their chieftain Brinno, the son of a chief who had faced down
Caligula.
The capital of the
civitas of the Cananefates was
Forum Hadriani
Notes
1. Lauran Toorians, ''De Cananefaten in taalkundig perspectief''. In: W. de Jonge, J. Bazelmans and D.H. de Jager (eds.), ''Forum Hadriani. Van Romeinse stad tot monument''. Utrecht, 2006