Levaci

The Levaci were a small Belgic tribe living in Gallia Belgica during the Iron Age. They were clients of the most powerful Nervii.

Name

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

The ethnic name Levaci is a Latinized form of Gaulish Leuacoi (sing.Leuacos). It derives from the stem leuo- (perhaps 'slippery, slow') attached to the suffix -āco- ('belonging to'). ^[3] It probably originally refers to a river, which would yield Levaci as 'those of the river Leva'. ^{[4] [3]}

The village of Lèves (south of Namur) is named after the tribe. ^{[4] [3]}

Geography

Based on Caesar's account, their territory was located somewhere in the vicinity of Nervian territory. ^[2]

History

During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), they are cited by Caesar as clients of the Nervii. ^[2]

They therefore immediately sent messengers to the Ceutrones, Grudii, Levaci, Pleumoxii, Geidumni, all of whom were held under their control, then collected the largest contingents they could and swooped unexpectedly on Cicero’s winter quarters

— Caesar, Gallic Wars, V 39

References

1. Caesar, V 39.
2. Kruta 2000, p. 706.
3. Delamarre 2003, p. 201.
4. Russell 1988, p. 138.

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: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental (in French). Errance. ISBN   9782877723695.
• Kruta, Venceslas (2000). Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire : des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme. Robert Laffont. ISBN   2-221-05690-6.
• Russell, Paul (1988). "The suffix -āko- in Continental Celtic". Études celtiques. 25 (1): 131–173. doi:10.3406/ecelt.1988.1877.