---
title: Caratacus, Chieftain of the Catuvellauni
author: William Callis Roffe
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21747/caratacus-chieftain-of-the-catuvellauni/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2026-04-17
---

# Caratacus, Chieftain of the Catuvellauni

_Authored by William Callis Roffe_

## Image File

[![Caratacus, Chieftain of the Catuvellauni](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/21747.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/21747.jpg)

## Image Caption

*[Caractacus](https://www.worldhistory.org/caratacus/)*, illustration by William Callis Roffe after the statue by John Henry Foley, 1860.

Roffe's illustration captures Foley's heroic representation of [Caratacus](https://www.worldhistory.org/caratacus/) (or Caractacus), the [Briton](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ancient_Britain/) chieftain who made [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) against the invading legions of the [Roman emperor](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Emperor/) [Claudius](https://www.worldhistory.org/claudius/). A betrayal by a neighbouring tribe led to his ultimate capture, and he was brought to the capital to be paraded in [Rome](https://www.worldhistory.org/Rome/)'s ritual procession, the [triumph](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Triumph/). A defiant speech in the presence of the emperor won Caratacus and his family clemency, and the chieftain was permitted to live out his days freely in the heart of the [empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/) that had conquered his home.

British Museum, London.

## Cite This Work

### APA
Roffe, W. C. (2026, April 17). Caratacus, Chieftain of the Catuvellauni. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21747/caratacus-chieftain-of-the-catuvellauni/>
### Chicago
Roffe, William Callis. "Caratacus, Chieftain of the Catuvellauni." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 17, 2026. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21747/caratacus-chieftain-of-the-catuvellauni/>.
### MLA
Roffe, William Callis. "Caratacus, Chieftain of the Catuvellauni." *World History Encyclopedia*, 17 Apr 2026, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/21747/caratacus-chieftain-of-the-catuvellauni/>.

## License & Copyright

The British Museum has released this image under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International ([CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)) license. You can read more about the British Museum and Creative Commons [here](https://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use/copyright_and_permissions.aspx). [Original image](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1872-1012-2386) by [**William Callis Roffe**](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1872-1012-2386). Submitted by [Zachary Kay](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/zacharykay/ "User Page: Zachary Kay"), published on 17 April 2026. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.