The Brannovices or Aulerci Brannovices (Gaulish: *Brannouīcēs) were a Gallic tribe living in the Saône valley or south of the modern Yonne department before the Roman period. They were part of the Aulerci.
Name
[edit]They are mentioned as Aulercis Brannovicibus by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC).[1] They may be the same people as the Blannovii mentioned in the same passage by Caesar.[2] According to Andreas Hofeneder, the name Blannovii is probably a corrupted form of Brannovices, inadvertently introduced twice into Caesar's text by later scribes as a lectio duplex (dittography).[3]
The Gaulish tribal name *Brannouīcēs means 'those who vanquish by (or like) the crow'. It stems from the root brano- ('crow', cf. OIr., Welsh bran) attached to the suffix -uices ('victors').[4][5]
Other peoples named Aulerci are also mentioned by ancient sources: the Aulerci Cenomani, Aulerci Diablintes, and Aulerci Eburovices. The relationship that linked them together remains uncertain. According to historian Venceslas Kruta, they could have been pagi that got separated from a larger ethnic group during the pre-Roman period.[6]
Geography
[edit]Both the Aulerci Brannovices and Blannovii are traditionally located in areas bordering the territory of the Aedui, often in the Saône valley, in the Beaunois or the Mâconnais region.[7] Kruta also mentions a possible location south of the modern Yonne department.[6]
History
[edit]During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), they are mentioned by Caesar among the clients of the Aedui.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Caesae, VII 2.
- ^ Kruta 2000, p. 472.
- ^ Hofeneder 2005, p. 228 n. 1447, citing Deissmann, Marieluise (2000). Gaius Iulius Caesar. Der Gallische Krieg. pp. 327 n. 451.
- ^ Sergent 1991, p. 10.
- ^ Delamarre 2003, pp. 85, 318.
- ^ a b c Kruta 2000, p. 440.
- ^ Fichtl 2013, p. 298.
Primary sources
[edit]- Caesar (1917). The Gallic War. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Edwards, H. J. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-99080-7.
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Bibliography
[edit]- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
- Fichtl, Stephan (2013). "Rome en Gaule: organisation territoriale de la Gaule de l'époque de l'indépendance au début de la période romaine". In Hansen, Svend; Meyer, Michael (eds.). Parallele Raumkonzepte. De Gruyter. pp. 293–306. ISBN 978-3110290943.
- Hofeneder, Andreas (2005). Die Religion Der Kelten in Den Antiken Literarischen Zeugnissen. Vol. 1. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3700134718.
- Kruta, Venceslas (2000). Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire : des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme. Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-05690-6.
- Sergent, Bernard (1991). "Ethnozoonymes indo-européens". Dialogues d'histoire ancienne. 17 (2): 9–55. doi:10.3406/dha.1991.1932.
