The Phœnician origin of Britons, Scots & Anglo-Saxons : discovered by Phœnician & Sumerian inscriptions in Britain, by preroman Briton coins & a mass of new history : with over one hundred illustrations and maps

390 PH@NICIAN ORIGIN OF BRITONS & SCOTS

the vertical stroke | remains,’ and which they suppose was an L and read the word as ‘‘ Fil,’ which would represent the Latin Filius. ‘‘a son.’’ But this incomplete end-word has also been read “‘ Fir ’’ ;? and so uncertain is its reading as “’ Fil,” that even the numismatists who use that reading admit that “ we have to wait for better specimens of this type before the reading “ Tasc. Fil” can be regarded as absolutely and indisputably proved.”* Yet they nevertheless systematically use it as it it were established, and everywhere call Cuncbelin ‘‘ the son of Tascio-vanus.”’ But “ Tascio-vani,’’ as the word is really written, has, as we have seen, quite another and a divine significance.

This supposititious king ‘‘ Tascio-vanus ”’ is attempted to be supported by the fact that a final F occurring on a few of the later coins of the sons of Commius as “Com. F.,’’ clearly designate them in Roman fashion as “The Son of Commius.’”’ But both Commius and his sons were nonBritons. They were Gallic chiefs and latinized protégés of Cesar imported by the latter into South Britain and established there for the political purpose of breaking up the power and resistance of Cassivellaunus and the Britons. On the other hand Cunobelin was also doubtless romanized to a considerable extent, as he is referred to in the British Chronicles as having been “ brought up by Augustus Czsar,”* and the Roman influence on the designs of his later coins is obvious. But it by no means follows that the addition of F or Fi on three of his very numerous coins designates him as the son of a human king named “ Tascio-vanus,” wholly unknown to history.

Further, this “ Tascio-vanus’’ is assumed to be the equivalent of “ Tenuantis ’’ (No. 7o on list), who, in the Chronicle, was the father of Cunobelin, and whose name is also variously spelt as Tenantius and Theomantius, as if “‘Ten’’ or ““ Theom”’ could ever become “ Tascic.” Then, altogether disregarding the Chronicle records, this Tascio-vanus is arbitrarily made to be not only the father of Cunobelin, but also the son of Cassibellan or Cassi-vellaunos, instead of the latter’s brother King Lud (No. 68 on list), as is recorded in all versions of the Chronicles. In accordance with this forced identification all the numerous different mintages of coins inscribed Tascio, Tasc, Tas, Tasciov, Dias, etc. (28 in number) although not bearing Cunobelin’s name are then thmist on to this supposititious “‘ Tasciovanus.”’ the supposed father of Cunobelin, and the supposed son of Cassivellaunus.

But the Chronicles, in their different versions, are quite clear upon the point that Cassibellan was the cle, and not the father, of Cunobelin (see List, Nos. 69 to 71). Moreover, as a fact, the very numerous coins stamped Tascio, Tasc, Tas, Taxiand Tascia, which are widely distributed, are all of the Catti type, and nearly all of them contain the Corn or Ear of Barley which is sometimes arranged in the form of the Cross as the St. Andrew's Cross of the Corn Spirit, whom we have found to be Tascio, with numerous superadded small Crosses and also circles, symbolizing, as we have seen, the Sun. This Corn also appears in many or perhaps most of the “ Tascio’’ coins of Cunobelin, and in several is figured the warrior Hercules, who, we have seen, is Tascio, and the winged Sun horse or horseman. And we have seen that Tascio was the Corn Spirit and archangel of the Barat Britons. No doubt the divine name “ Tascio,”’ like that of Bel, was piously taken by some kings and men of the Sun-cult as a personal name. And, as we have seen, it was a common practice with the early Hittite Barat Aryans, as the “ discoverers ’’ of the idea of God, to call themselves, as the chosen people, the “Sons of God.” Thus, even should it be found that the doubtful letter on the solitary Cuncbelin coin makes the reading “‘ Tasc. Fil” or ‘ Son of Tase”’ or “‘ Tascio,”’ it will merely show that Cunobelin called himself

1 Evans, Pl. r2, 4 and p. 33r. 2 Poste, Coins of Cunobelin, 214. + Evans, Coins, 331. ‘ Geoffrey, 4, 11.