Esuvii

The Esuvii (or Esubii; Gaulish: Esuuii) were a Gallic tribe dwelling between the lower Seine and the Loire river, in what is now Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Name

They are mentioned as Esuvii (var. Essuvii, Sesuvii) by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC).[1][2] The Esuvii are often identified with the Atesui, an otherwise obscure tribe mentioned by Pliny (1st c. AD), on the basis of the similarity between the two names.[3][4]

The ethnic name Esuvii has been traditionally compared with the theonym Esus, leading to interpretations such as 'sons of Esus' or 'those belonging to Esus'.[3][5][2] Inscriptions and coinage attest the Celtic personal names Esuvius and Esuvia, which likely supports Esuvii as the original form among the manuscript variants.[2] However, as noted by Andres Hofeneder, even if Esuvii is the correct form, this does not necessarily imply a theophoric meaning. The name Esus may have had an appellative character and could therefore have been reused in the formation of personal names (as in Esumagius, Esumopas, Esugenus), and in ethnonyms such as Esuvii as well.[2]

Geography

The Esuvii lived in and around the present-day town of Sées (Orne), between the Coriosolites and the Aulerci. Their territory was situated between the lower Sequana (Seine) and the Liger (Loire) river.[6]

History

In 57 BC, the Esuvii were subdued by Publius Crassus and took part in the western Gallic uprising against Roman forces in the following year.[2]

From the 3rd–4th centuries onward, they were succeeded by the Sagii.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Caesar, II.34, III.7, V.24
  2. ^ a b c d e Hofeneder 2005, p. 172.
  3. ^ a b Evans 1967, p. 201.
  4. ^ Bernouis 1999, p. 60.
  5. ^ Birkhan 1997, pp. 647, 650.
  6. ^ Lafond 2006.
  7. ^ Fichet de Clairfontaine 2004, p. 427.
Bibliography
  • Bernouis, Philippe (1999). Carte archéologique de la Gaule: 61. L'Orne. Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l'homme. ISBN 978-2-87754-060-5.
  • Birkhan, Helmut (1997). Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-7001-2609-6.
  • Evans, D. Ellis (1967). Gaulish Personal Names: A Study of Some Continental Celtic Formations. Clarendon Press.
  • Fichet de Clairfontaine, François (2004). "Fontaine-les-Bassets / ? (Orne)". Supplément à la Revue archéologique du centre de la France. 25 (1): 427–428.
  • Hofeneder, Andreas (2005). Die Religion Der Kelten in Den Antiken Literarischen Zeugnissen. Vol. 1. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3700134718.
  • Lafond, Yves (2006). "Esuvii". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e402810.
  • MacKillop, James (2004). A dictionary of Celtic mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860967-1.
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