Ambibarii

The Ambibarii were an ancient Gallic tribe living in Armorica during the Iron Age.

Name

They are attested as Ambibarii by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC). ^{[1] [2]}

Most linguists analyse the name Ambibarii as based on the Gaulish stem bar(i)o ('anger, fury, passion'). ^{[3] [4] [5]} Xavier Delamarre proposes to translate the name as 'the Furious' or 'the Passionate'. ^[3]

Venceslas Kruta has suggested to identify them to the Ambiliati, ^[2] although Julie Rémy notes there is no real evidence to support this proposal, apart from the fact that in both cases the names are associated with Armorican peoples. ^[6]

Geography

The Ambibarii have been located in the Manche department. ^[7]

History

During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Ambibarii are mentioned among the seven Armorican peoples bordering the Ocean who together supplied a contingent of twenty thousand men to the Gallic coalition in 52 BC. ^[2]

References

1. Caesar, VII 75
2. Kruta 2000, p. 408.
3. Delamarre 2003, pp. 67–68.
4. Lacroix 2003, p. 177.
5. Matasović 2009, p. 56.
6. Rémy 2021, p. 32.
7. Alain Deyber (2008). En Gaule La Tène finale : stratégies, tactiques et techniques celtiques de guerre (De La Tène D1 à la romanisation – IIe/Ier s. av. J.-C.) (PhD thesis). Université Paris IV – Sorbonne.

Primary sources

• Caesar (1917). The Gallic War. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Edwards, H. J. Harvard University Press. ISBN   978-0-674-99080-7.

Secondary sources

• Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise. Errance. ISBN   978-2-87772-369-5.
• Kruta, Venceslas (2000). Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire : des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme. Robert Laffont. ISBN   2-221-05690-6.
• Lacroix, Jacques (2003). Les noms d'origine gauloise : La Gaule des combats. Vol. 1. Errance. ISBN   978-2-87772-479-1.
• Matasović, Ranko (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. ISBN   9789004173361.
• Rémy, Julie (2021). Territoires et réseaux en Bretagne et Pays de la Loire à la fin de l’âge de Fer (IIIe-Ier siècles a.C.). Ausonius Éditions. doi:10.4000/books.ausonius.19828. ISBN   978-2-35613-593-3.