place
Britain
also: Britannia, Britanniam
The island beyond Gaul, brought to Roman notice by Caesar's expeditions of 55 and 54 BC; not yet a province in Cicero's day. The correspondence around the British expedition runs through the letters of summer 54 (Ad Familiares 7.7 and following).
Reading notes
- Ad Atticum 4.17 §6 the British war
Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC; Cicero's brother Quintus was serving on Caesar's staff and sent eyewitness reports.
- Ad Familiares 7.8 §2 I await your British letters
Vestras Britannicas litteras: Cicero awaits news from Caesar's army, then poised for or returning from the second British expedition of 54 BC, in which Trebatius declined to take part.
- Ad Quintum Fratrem 2.15 §4 your letter about Britain
Quintus was serving with Caesar on the second expedition to Britain in 54 BC; Cicero had dreaded the crossing of the Ocean but now relishes the literary subject the campaign offers his brother.