Catalauni

The Catalauni (Gaulish "war-chiefs") were a Belgic tribe, dwelling in the modern Champagne region during the Roman period.[1]

The Catalauni probably belonged to the Remi tribe in the north, or to the Lingones in the south.[2] The Catuvellauni, who migrated to southern Britain, are probably part of the same tribal group.[1]

Name

They are mentioned as Catalaunos by Eutropius (4th c. AD),[3] as (Cat)alaunorum in the Notitia Dignitatum (5th c. AD).[4][5]

The name Catalauni most likely stems from Gaulish Catu-uellauni ('war-chiefs, chiefs-of-war', from catu- 'combat' attached to uellauni 'chief, commandants').[2][6][1] The name Catuvellauni, borne by a Celtic tribe of southern Britain, is probably related.[1][7]

The city of Châlons-sur-Marne, attested as Durocatelaunos in the 4th century (civitas Catalaunorum 'civitas of the Catalauni' in the early 5th c., Cathalaunum in 1185), is named after the Belgic tribe.[8]

Geography

They probably originally settled in the area of the Remi.[1]

Their capital, civitas Catalaunorum (modern-day Châlons-sur-Marne), is not mentioned before the 4th century AD.[8][1]

References
  1. Schön 2006.
  2. Wightman 1985, p. 29.
  3. Eutropius. Breviarium Historiae Romanae, IX:9:13
  4. Notitia Dignitatum. oc XLII.68
  5. Falileyev 2010, p. entry 1936.
  6. Delamarre 2003, p. 311.
  7. Busse 2006, pp. 197–198.
  8. Nègre 1990, p. 153.

Bibliography
  • Busse, Peter E. (2006). "Belgae". In Koch, John T. (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 195–200. ISBN 978-1-85109-440-0.
  • Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental (in French). Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
  • Nègre, Ernest (1990). Toponymie générale de la France (in French). Librairie Droz. ISBN 978-2-600-02883-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Schön, Franz (2006). "Catalauni". Brill’s New Pauly.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wightman, Edith M. (1985). Gallia Belgica. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05297-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.