Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gundestrupkedlen-_00054_(cropped).jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
What Ryan Reynolds Doesn’t Say About Wrexham… The Cornovii Celtic Tribe
One of the most interesting sporting stories over the last few years has been the acquisition of Wrexham by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, with Wrexham recently getting promoted to League 2.
But did you know that Wrexham was part of the territory of an ancient Celtic tribe called the Cornovii, who went on to form a Roman military unit amongst other things.
This is the ancient Celtic and Gallo-Roman god Cernunnos, Carnonos, which the Cornovii potentially gets its name from. Cernunnos is a god that is usually depicted with antlers and sitting crossed legged, associated with stags, horned serpents, dogs and bulls. In Gaulish, the name Cernunnos is rooted in the word karnon which means "horn" or "antler." He is often depicted as wearing a torc, a neck ring associated with ancient Celtic cultures. The Cornovii thus may mean People of the Horn, and they potentially could have worshipped this horned god as amongst many other.
The first reference to the Cornovii was from the Roman geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century A.D, although they were likely much older than that. Large amounts of very coarse pottery, associated with the production and storage of salt has been found in Poulton, Cheshire, just north east of Wrexham.
One of the main strongholds of the Cornovii was a hillfort in the Wrekin, a hill in Shropshire, western England. Confusingly, Cornovii is also the name of ancient tribes in Cornwall and the north east of Scotland, but they seem to be separate groups.
According to some sources, a Roman military unit that was made up of the Cornovii tribe and recruited from the Cornovii tribe was known as the Cohors Primae Cornoviorum. Although the sources are a little thin, this unit was apparently the only recorded native British unit known to have served in Britannia. Their name Cornoviorum means “of the Cornovii.” This unit is thought to have served at the Pons Aelius, or Newcastle Roman Fort, at the east of Hadrian’s wall.
Wrexham AFC isn’t just a fascinating sporting story, it’s the latest in a history of stories.
Sources:
Wrexham en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrexham
Cornovii (Midlands) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornovii_(Midlands)
Pons Aelius en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pons_Aelius
Cernunnos en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cernunnos
History of the Celtic tribes englishmonarchs.co.uk/celts_6.html
Deadpool -Car fight HD youtube.com/watch?v=YI-yMivF9X0
Ryan Reynolds, Happy Birthday, Rob McElhenney youtube.com/watch?v=vCKgewLdK9w
BT Sport - Wrexham v Boreham Wood (3-1) | Paul Mullin's double sends Wrexham up as National League Champions youtube.com/watch?v=Ls4LIWfcPN0
Ptolemy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy
The Wrekin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrekin
#wrexham #ryanreynolds #robmcelhenney
Please Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/CelticHistory
Please support this channel on Patreon and get ad-free videos and other benefits: patreon.com/historydecoded
Please donate through PayPal using this link: paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QFB9ZECHZJDF6 – chdecoded@gmail.com
Subscribe to Celtic History Decoded: youtube.com/channel/UCCS3M_uNHH2iOJkpGhkO2SA?sub_confirmation=1
Follow Celtic History Decoded on Instagram - instagram.com/celtichistorydecoded
Subscribe to World History Decoded – youtube.com/@worldhistorydecoded
Creative Commons:
Nationalmuseet, Roberto Fortuna og Kira Ursem commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gundestrupkedlen-_00054_(cropped).jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
What Ryan Reynolds Doesn’t Say About Wrexham… The Cornovii Celtic Tribe
One of the most interesting sporting stories over the last few years has been the acquisition of Wrexham by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, with Wrexham recently getting promoted to League 2.
But did you know that Wrexham was part of the territory of an ancient Celtic tribe called the Cornovii, who went on to form a Roman military unit amongst other things.
This is the ancient Celtic and Gallo-Roman god Cernunnos, Carnonos, which the Cornovii potentially gets its name from. Cernunnos is a god that is usually depicted with antlers and sitting crossed legged, associated with stags, horned serpents, dogs and bulls. In Gaulish, the name Cernunnos is rooted in the word karnon which means "horn" or "antler." He is often depicted as wearing a torc, a neck ring associated with ancient Celtic cultures. The Cornovii thus may mean People of the Horn, and they potentially could have worshipped this horned god as amongst many other.
The first reference to the Cornovii was from the Roman geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century A.D, although they were likely much older than that. Large amounts of very coarse pottery, associated with the production and storage of salt has been found in Poulton, Cheshire, just north east of Wrexham.
One of the main strongholds of the Cornovii was a hillfort in the Wrekin, a hill in Shropshire, western England. Confusingly, Cornovii is also the name of ancient tribes in Cornwall and the north east of Scotland, but they seem to be separate groups.
According to some sources, a Roman military unit that was made up of the Cornovii tribe and recruited from the Cornovii tribe was known as the Cohors Primae Cornoviorum. Although the sources are a little thin, this unit was apparently the only recorded native British unit known to have served in Britannia. Their name Cornoviorum means “of the Cornovii.” This unit is thought to have served at the Pons Aelius, or Newcastle Roman Fort, at the east of Hadrian’s wall.
Wrexham AFC isn’t just a fascinating sporting story, it’s the latest in a history of stories.
Sources:
Wrexham en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrexham
Cornovii (Midlands) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornovii_(Midlands)
Pons Aelius en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pons_Aelius
Cernunnos en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cernunnos
History of the Celtic tribes englishmonarchs.co.uk/celts_6.html
Deadpool -Car fight HD youtube.com/watch?v=YI-yMivF9X0
Ryan Reynolds, Happy Birthday, Rob McElhenney youtube.com/watch?v=vCKgewLdK9w
BT Sport - Wrexham v Boreham Wood (3-1) | Paul Mullin's double sends Wrexham up as National League Champions youtube.com/watch?v=Ls4LIWfcPN0
Ptolemy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy
The Wrekin en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrekin
#wrexham #ryanreynolds #robmcelhenney
