Gallic people

The term of Gaulois designates the protohistoric populations of Celtes which resided in Gaulle, ( Latin Gallia in ), i.e. roughly on the current territories of the France, of the Belgium, the Suisse and the Italy of North, probably starting from the first Bronze Age (thousand-year-old IIe front J. - C.).

The Gallic ones were divided into many people which included themselves/understood between them, which thought of descending all from the same stock and which knew the genealogy of it. With these bonds of filiation, realities or mytic, which created obligations of solidarity to them, were added alliances which put some of them in the customers of another to form federations like those of Arvernes and Éduens. Each one of these people was divided into " civitas" identified by a chief town and a territory called in Latin " pagus" , even subdivided to him in " vicus" corresponding about to our cantons.

Gallic civilizations are attached in Archéologie to the Celtic civilization of Tène (of the name of a site discovered at the edge of the Neuchâtel Lake, in Switzerland). The civilization of Tène opens out on the continent with the second age of iron and disappeared in Ireland during the top Moyen-âge.

The name

The Germain S called these Celts *Walχisk “foreign” become in German modern Welsch , an often pejorative term by which the Germans designate today the populations of Romance Langue.

The Latin name of Galli , plural of Gallus , inhabitants of the Gallia “Gaulle”, was associated with the Rebirth with its Homonyme gallus “cock”, become thus the animal emblematic of France.

As for the Greek S, they named Gallic Κελτοι ( Celtæ , dixit Jules César) or Γαλάται, plural of Γαλάτης, Galátai / Galátēs , which one can return in French by Galates . Gallus --> is also clear through Wala , in Sanskrit, which represents the Man. | Quite hazardeux; essential reference! -->

Chronological and geographical limits

Origins

The Gallic ones are Celts who initially populated the Central Europe, then which started to migrate into -1500 towards the North-West to constitute an important part of the population of the various areas of Gaulle. The Celts appear during Protohistoire, i.e. the period being located between the Préhistoire and the Histoire, corresponding to the age of copper, the Bronze Age and the age of iron.

The beginnings of the Gallic time are difficult to date and vary according to the areas considered. Like shows it Henri Hubert, the process lasted several centuries during which several people coexisted. It neither suddenly was done by a kind of war of general invasion, nor in mass by the migration of a multitude of isolated individuals, but by the arrival of goupes organized in tribes very few, in the middle of the other people which granted hospitality to them, of the rights defined by treaties and a territory.

It is commonly allowed that Celtic civilization opens out in Gaules with Tène, i.e. at the second age of iron, about fifth century BC. The town of Marseilles had already been before founded into -600 by the colony of people from Greece, the Phocéen S.

Archaeological and historical testimonys

Certain archeologists make however go up Gallic civilization at eighth century BC or seventh century BC (time of the Celtic civilization of Hallstatt): the archaeological sources of this time, the such tomb of the princess of Vix (Coast-in Or)), dated from the beginning of fifth century BC, attest existence of princes making use of the tank and the long sword.

In the Greek sources, in particular of the time Macedonian, many mentions of Celts, undoubtedly belonging to Gallic people, appear: it is especially refers to their courage and their warlike value. That corresponds to the period of the greatest Celtic expansion (fourth century BC and third century BC).

In the posterior Latin sources, the Gallic ones of second century BC and first century BC are clearly distinguished from the Cimbres, of the Teutons (germano-Celtic tribes), of the Bretons and the Helvètes (Celtic tribes of Great Britain and Suisse).

End of independence

The whole of Gaulle is divided into three parts: one is inhabited by the Belgians, the other by the Aquitanian ones, the third by the people which, in his language, name Celte, and, in ours, Gaulois. All these people differ between them by the language, the habits, the laws. The Gallic ones are separated from Aquitanian by the Garonne, the Belgians by the Marne and the Seine| Comments on the War of Gaules I-1| Jules César
Independent without being for as much unified, Gaulle was militarily built-in with the Roman republic in two stages: Gaulle Southerner beyond the Alps ( Gallia bracata in Latin, i.e. Gaulle in Braies ) was conquered as of the end of second century BC and “was romanisée”, seems it, in less than one century. It became the first Roman Province out of Italy: the Narbonnese , and counted the first city of Roman law out of Italy (Narbonne).

Gaulle septentrional (named Gallia comata , i.e. Gaulle hairy , by Jules César) was subjected between -58 and -51 by the legions of this last. This “War of Gaules” culminated with the defeat of a Gallic coalition carried out by Arverne Vercingétorix, with Alésia, in -52. Roman historiography locates however the end of pacification only in -51, following an ultimate victory over the remainders of united gathered under the orders of the chief Lucterios. The presence of very many localities “camps of César” in France should not mislead: the majority of them are posterior sites, dating sometimes from the Moyen-âge. However, it is probable that pacification was longer than than one believed a long time and lasted at least until the imperium of Auguste.

The Gallic ones of the empire

The “Gallic” terms and “Gaulle”, as well as the main part of the names of people and tribes of Gaulle protohistoric remained of use to designate people and territories ( quoted ). Thereafter, these circonsconscriptions and their names were fixed in the dioceses to arrive to us: Perrigueux, city of Pétrocores, Valves, city of Vénètes, etc.

In archeology and history, one a long time indicated Gallic romanized or Roman under the name of the Gallo-Roman ones , though this term was never employed in the sources.

Gallic heritage

The heritage that the Gallic ones transmitted to the ancient rest of the world relates to mainly the fields of the craft industry: cabinet work, forging mill, etc (the barrel, in particular, would be a Gallic invention), arts of cooking, art of warfares (the Celtic coat of mail was undoubtedly the model used by the Romans and its use was spread in Europe with the Early middle ages) and of the language. He survived through the Roman culture during the Early middle ages.

With an aim of national propaganda, the ideology of the school of Jules Michelet, in particular at the beginning of the 20th century in the context of the opposition to the Germany, propagated a vision ethnocentrist of the French people, privileging an indigenous Gallic element compared to the elements Roman, Germanic and Romance posterior. In fact, to the 19th century, Napoleon III, author of a biography of Jules César, contributed much to give the Gallic ones to the last style by its implication in the building sites of excavations which aimed at exhuming the sites of the war of Gaules.

One so knows little about the Gallic language (a few hundreds of isolated words), and nothing grammar and the pronunciation, which it is impossible to know which is its real contribution compared to the language Latin are and Germanic in the constitution of the language françai; even if it is become again a Romance Langue, much of words like " roi" were attached to a Latin etymology " rex" whereas " rix" exist into Gallic. Actually, just as Gaules cisalpine and transalpine had the same ethnic substrate, their languages were undoubtedly closer than it is supposed.

The Gallic ones used the Greek alphabet and as currency of divisions of the Greek statère.

Perhaps the Gallic ones used (but testimonys are not direct and not very sure) the vigesimal numbering system (bases 20 of them); the residual presence in French of this one (80 saying eighty and not octante as in Latin, etc) is thus probably due to this heritage.

Notable trace, in the current Turkey, the Galatie is a distance testimony of the presence of Gallic (Galates) which served Alexandre Large the as mercenaries before being established in this area of minor Asia. A district of Istanbul would have been reserved to them and would have taken their name, that of Galatasaray, “palate of Gallates”, where the mercenaries engaged by the Byzantine capacity would have resided. It is at least one of the possible origins of the toponym. To believe Holy Jerome of it, in his comment of the Epistle to Gallates , the latter still spoke at the 4th century the same language as Trévires. It thus should be supposed that at that time the Gallic one had not disappeared yet from minor Asia, nor moreover of the area of Trier.

The Gallic famous ones:

  • Vercingétorix, king arverne of the Gallic coalition which was opposed to the Roman conquest and Éduens.
  • Lucterius, (Greek Lucterios ) last Gallic chief who resisted Jules César on the site of Uxellodunum in territory lge.
  • Diviciacos, vergobret éduen, former druid, friend of Cicéron.

Clientélisme

The Gallic ones, like many ancient civilizations, held between them reports/ratios functioning on the principle of the customers. This very strong social link appeared at the time aristocratic (third century BC and second century BC) and will perdura until the conquest, when notable buildings (the “Vergobrets” were the equivalent of mayors) had replaced the noble ones. The customers served as the owners, undoubtedly originally in order to refund old debts, to repair certain faults, or for other reasons in social matter and this bond was transmitted hereditarily. The man or the people customer was free (the ancient clientelism is different from slavery) but it was to render services or to discharge tributes. An owner could have several customers. He could, finally, demolish the bond which weighed on its customers or transmit his customers to another. people , whole families, could thus be customer of a person or a family then of another.

Gallic people

List people at the time of the war of Gaules

List by great areas of 14 of the Christian era

Here an not-exhaustive list for the moment - certain cities have several capitals, those having been distributed in time, and not at the same time (this list corresponds to administrative cutting established to died of Auguste in 14 of the Christian era):

As a Gaulle hairy

  • Quoted free ( Civitates Liberæ ) , rewarded for their old or new fidelity but which one hopes to completely gain by the inappreciable advantage of immunity.

In Gaulle Aquitaine

To refer to Novempopulanie for the list of the people of the Aquitanian antique.

In Gaulle Belgium

    • the Rèmes, - capital Durocortorum (Rheims), capital of Gaulle Belgium (at the time Roman)
    • the Atrebates, - capital Nemetocenna (Arras)
    • the Bituriges Cubes, - capital Avaricum (Bourges)
    • the Éburons or Tungri, - capital Aduatuqua (Tongres)
    • the Leuques, - capital Nasium (Naix) and Tullum (Toul), perhaps ancestors of the Lequeux
    • the Médiomatriques, capital Divodurum (Metz)
    • the Morins, - capital Tarvenna (Thérouanne)
    • the Nerviens, - capital Bavay, then Camaracum (Cambric)
    • the Trévires, - capital Augusta Treverorum (Trier)
    • Viromandui - whose capital is unknown but which gave its name to Vermand in Aisne (02). Their name seems well to mean " men petits" , perhaps because they were not very powerful and customers of other tribes.

People of Provincia Romana

  • the Voconces, close to Allobroges (Capital: Vasio/Vaison-the-Roman)

  • the Volques says Arécomiques (Capital: Colonia Augusta Nemausus/Nimes)
  • the Volques says Tectosages (Capital: Tolosa/Toulouse)

One can notice that some of these names of people - or their capitals - have derivatives at our time, either like names of cities - coming from the name of the capital of city or the people himself - or as inhabitants of cities - bajocasse is the name of an inhabitant of Bayeux.

Various statutes

Some explanations on why differences of statutes between the cities, in particular it why rare Civitaes Foederatæ :

  • two very political with that and different reasons for the two cities éduenne and carnute:
    • Éduens: let us recall that they are Éduens which “requested” Rome to intervene in Gaulle, in -58, because of certain displacements of Gallic people which were likely to restrict, believed, their territory. Awaiting only that, Rome then sent the senator and general Jules César, to intervene, and thus to conquer in an official way in Gaulle. Eduens always had dealings with Rome, the latter thus thanked it by offering this particular status to him.
    • Carnutes: there, one deals with different reason. The legend which wants that the druids of the various Celtic people de Gaulle met in the forest of Carnutes each year is true, although in a way different from the image given by Rene Goscinny in his STRIP CARTOONS Astérix, volume entitled Astérix and Goths . It is the primary reason of the statute given to the Cité of Carnutes. Agreeing to show itself by the Druide S, which have more than one important place in the Gallic company, Rome decided to support their annual meeting, by giving an important place instead of this meeting. This will to put forward itself with the eyes of the Druide S.A. disappeared thereafter when Rome wanted to make disappear the latter, to have a policy purely based on the influence of the human capacities, chief of Cité S and others, that on the capacities of divine of the Druide S. Moreover, the influence that the Culte S and Mythe S Romans seemed to have with the eyes of the Romains on the Gaulois, a larger importance to support a more advanced romanisation.
  • different the Cité S having the statute from liberæ is due to the fact always and mainly that those, either because customer of Éduens, or for different reasons, helped Rome very early at the time of the Guerre of Gaules. Let us not forget that thereafter a section of the Roman army, a wing, was entirely made up of Gallic riders, very famous.

The druid

The Gallic ones were Polythéiste, therefore believed in several gods. In each de Gaulle village, there was one priest, who was called Druide. In the Gallic company, he was schoolmaster, doctor and judge. It was very important.

The Gallic Company was governed by classes: Clergy, nobility, people. The Clergy, composed priests, named druids, the nobility, composed of the richest warriors and bravest, directed the people. The Druids taught the immortality of the heart, but they were pagan and adored the forces of nature.

The druids lived separate remainder of the nation, at the bottom of mysterious caves dug in the rocks and whose the people did not dare to approach. They were extremely respected, because only, among the Gallic ones, they made long studies and had some instruction. They taught that the heart does not die with the body. They did not occupy only a religious worship, but they were still judges, professors, doctors.

The noble ones met to control their tribe or chose a chief. They had comrades in arms which were to follow them everywhere and to even commit suicide on their body when they had suddenly died. They had also many slaves. The people, in ordinary time cultivated the already fertile corn ground, kept the herds, drove out and fished. But, in time of war, it took the weapons and left in bands, without discipline, organization. Also, in spite of their courage, the Gallic warriors were often overcome.

They had a complete contempt of death, because they believed that the heart lives again then in another body. They did not adore, like the other pagan people, of the gods of stone or wood, but all that seemed to them beautiful or terrible in nature: sun, thunder, mountains, and especially Teutatès, god of the war. The druids immolaient with their gods of the human victims, the criminals or the prisoners of war. They burned them in cages of wicker, while singing to choke their cries.

Most beautiful of their religious ceremonies was the gathering of the GUI to which they allotted the virtue to cure all the diseases. The first New Year's Day, a druid out of white dress, assembled on a oak, cut with a gold sickle the GUI which it dropped in a white cloth, held with the foot of the tree by other druids. One then divided it between the assistants, who passed the end of the day in feasts and rejoicings.

Other Gallic people

See too

  • related Articles: Gaulle - Sexuality of the Gallic - Celtic - Druid - age of iron - Civilization of Hallstatt - Tène - List of the Gallic people in France - List of the Celtic people of Belgium - List of the Celtic people of Spain - List of the Celtic people of Italy - List of the Celtic people of Switzerland - List of the Celtic people of island of Brittany - Mythology Celtic
  • Astérix: Cartoon of Goscinny and Uderzo which tells the adventures of the hero éponyme. Astérix must defend its village against the Roman troops of Jules César. It is of course about a fiction, which can learn to the informed reader some important data of the ancient world. One should not however lose sight of the fact that the image suggested in this cartoon is caricatural and represents only by far what was the Gallic people. The chauvinistic aspect of the characters, for example, has only little to see with what the ancient texts report to us.
  • Alix: Cartoon of Jacques Martin which tells the adventures of a young person Gallo-Roman , friend of César and author of many voyages in the ancient world. The last volumes, in particular, are of a remarkable historical exactitude, except for the adventures themselves which are of course imaginary.

See too

External bonds

  • the Gallic religion by Jean-Louis Brunaux, In charge of research at CNRS.
  • Charts of the Gallic people about year I
  • the Gallic ones in Provence: the oppidum of Entremont
  • the Gallic calendar
  • Ambiani Troop of reconstitution
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