The Lexovii (Gaulish: *Lexsouioi, 'the leaning, lame'), were a Gallic tribe dwelling immediately west of the mouth of the Seine, around present-day Lisieux, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
They are mentioned as Lexovii (var. Lexobii) and Lexovios by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), [1] Lēxobíous (Ληξοβίους) and Lēxooúioi (Ληξοούιοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), [2] Lexovios (var.lexobios, lixouios) by Pliny (1st c. AD), [3] and as Lēxoubíōn (Ληξουβίων; var. Λειξουβίων) and Lēxoúbioi (Ληξούβιοι; var. Λιξούβιοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD). [4] [5]
The ethnic name Lexovii is a latinized form of the Gaulish ethnonym *Lexsouioi (sing.Lexsouios), which means 'leaning', possibly 'lame' (cf. Old Irish losc, 'lame'; Welsh llesg, 'lame', 'crippled'). It is a derivative of the adjective *leksu- ('oblique'; cf. Greek λοξός). An exact parallel has been highlighted in the Welsh llechwedd ('slope'), itself derived from an earlier *lexsouíiā. Given the semantic connotation of the name, Lexovii was probably an exonym, meaning that it was given by outsiders to this tribe. [6] [7]
The city of Lisieux, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Lexoviorum ('civitas of the Lexovii', Loxovias in 614, Lisiue in 1024), and the region of Lieuvin, attested in the 6th c. as Luxoviensis (pagus Lisvinus in 802, Liévin in 1155), are named after the Gallic tribe. [8]
At the time of the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Lexovii were part of the civitates Aremoricae. [9]
Their chief town was Noviomagus (modern Lisieux). [9]
When the Veneti and their neighbours were preparing for Julius Caesar's attack (56 BC), they applied for help to the Osismii, Lexovii, Namnetes, and others. ( B. G. iii. 9, 11.) Caesar sent Quintus Titurius Sabinus against the Unelli, Curiosolites, and Lexovii, to prevent their joining the Veneti. A few days after Sabinus reached the country of the Unelli, the Aulerci Eburovices and the Lexovii murdered their council or senate, as Caesar calls it, because they were against the war; and they joined Viridovix, the chief of the Unelli. The Gallic confederates were defeated by Sabinus, and compelled to surrender. (B. G. iii. 17–19.) The Lexovii took part in the great rising of the Galli against Caesar (52 BC); but their force was only 3000 men. (B. G. vii. 75.)
In Berthouville were found three coins engraved with the name of a Gallo-Roman god Mercurius Canatonnessis (Mercurio Kanetonnessi, M[ercurio] C[anetonnessi], Merc[urio] Can[e]t[onnessi]). [10]
At the border of the civitas of the Lexovii and Viducasses, in Jort (ancient *Divo-ritum, named after the *Diva river), was found a bronze stylus found carved with the name of the Celtic god Toutatis (Toutati). [11]
The Lingones were a Gallic tribe of the Iron Age and Roman periods. They dwelled in the region surrounding the present-day city of Langres, between the provinces of Gallia Lugdunensis and Gallia Belgica.
The Bituriges Cubi were a Gallic tribe dwelling in a territory corresponding to the later province of Berry, which is named after them, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, in the Bordelais region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct evidence of this.
The Viducassēs were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Calvados department during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Venetī were a Gallic tribe dwelling in Armorica, in the northern part of the Brittany Peninsula, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Aulerci Cenomani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Sarthe department during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Cenomani were the most powerful of the Aulerci tribes.
The Bodiocasses or Baiocasses were an ancient Gallic tribe of the Roman period. They were a tribal division of the civitas of the Lexovii, in the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis.
The Parisii were a Gallic tribe that dwelt on the banks of the river Seine during the Iron Age and the Roman era. They lived on lands now occupied by the modern city of Paris, whose name is derived from the ethnonym.
The Caletes or Caleti were a Belgic or Gallic tribe dwelling in Pays de Caux, in present-day Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Lemovīcēs were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Limousin region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Osismii, Ossismii, or Ostimii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the western part of the Armorican Peninsula during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Eburovīcēs or Aulercī Eburovīcēs were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Eure department during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were part of the Aulerci.
The Nantuates or Nantuatae were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Massongex, in the modern Canton of Valais (Switzerland) and adjacent areas of France, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Coriosolites or Curiosolitae were a Gallic people dwelling on the northern coast of present-day Brittany during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Venellī or Unellī were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the Cotentin peninsula, in the northwest of modern Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Redones or Riedones were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the eastern part of the Brittany peninsula during the Iron age and subsequent Roman conquest of Gaul. Their capital was at Condate, the site of modern day Rennes.
The Andecavi were a Gallic tribe dwelling in Aremorica during the Roman period.
The Gabali were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later Gévaudan region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Namnetes were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the modern city of Nantes during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Segusiavī were a Gallic tribe dwelling around the modern city of Feurs (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Veliocasses or Velocasses were a Belgic or Gallic tribe of the La Tène and Roman periods, dwelling in the south of modern Seine-Maritime and in the north of Eure.