Brinno

Family: Canninefates · Role: tribal leader · First appears: Histories IV.14-16

Life events

• Brinno was elected leader of the Canninefates.(Histories IV.14-16)
  • “He was accordingly placed on a shield, swung up on the shoulders of his friends, and thus elected leader after the fashion of the tribe.”
• Brinno and the Frisii captured and looted an auxiliary camp.(Histories IV.14-16)
  • “Summoning to his aid the Frisii--a tribe from beyond the Rhine--he fell upon two cohorts of auxiliaries whose camp lay close to the neighbouring shore. The attack was unexpected, and the troops, even if they had foreseen it, were not strong enough to offer resistance: so the camp was taken and looted.”
• Civilis’s deception failed, revealing that he—not Brinno—led the war.(Histories IV.14-16)
  • With: Civilis
  • “However, it was plain that some treachery underlay his advice--it would be easier to crush the cohorts if they were separated--and also that Civilis, not Brinno, was at the head of this war.”

Histories IV.14-16

• enemies with Aquilius (Brinno led an attack against Roman forces, while Aquilius led the Roman withdrawal.) “One of the Canninefates, Brinno by name, was a man of distinguished family and stubborn courage. His father had often ventured acts of hostility, and had with complete impunity shown his contempt for Caligula's farcical expedition. To belong to such a family of rebels was in itself a recommendation. He was accordingly placed on a shield, swung up on the shoulders of his friends, and thus elected leader after the fashion of the tribe. Summoning to his aid the Frisii--a tribe from beyond the Rhine--he fell upon two cohorts of auxiliaries whose camp lay close to the neighbouring shore. The attack was unexpected, and the troops, even if they had foreseen it, were not strong enough to offer resistance: so the camp was taken and looted. They then fell on the Roman camp-followers and traders, who had gone off in all directions as if peace were assured. Finding the forts now threatened with destruction, the Roman officers set fire to them, as they had no means of defence. All the troops with their standards and colours retired in a body to the upper end of the island, led by Aquilius, a senior centurion.”
• with Civilis (Civilis and Brinno were both associated with leadership of the revolt, but the text states that Civilis, rather than Brinno, was at its head.) “Finding his artifice unsuccessful, Civilis tried force instead, forming the Canninefates, Frisii and Batavi into three separate columns. The Roman line faced them in position near the Rhine bank.”

Also listed in Other Figures — Minor Figures

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Extracted from the original text of Tacitus — The Histories & The Annals (Books I-VI) & Agricola. Made with Rho MD.