The Ruteni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the southern part of the Massif Central, around present-day Rodez, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Ruteni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the southern part of the Massif Central, around present-day Rodez, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
They are mentioned as Rutenos by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), [1] R̔outēnoì (Ῥουτηνοὶ; var. Ῥουταινοὶ) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), [2] Ruteni (var.roteni, Rutheni) by Pliny (1st c. AD), [3] Ruteni by Lucan, [4] and as R̔outanoì (Ῥουτανοὶ) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD). [5] [6]
The Celticity of the name remains uncertain. [7] [6] It has been tentatively translated as 'the blond ones' by extrapolating from a description of the Roman poet Lucan ("The fair-haired Ruteni were freed from the garrison that long had held them"). [8]
The city of Rodez, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Rutenorum ('civitas of the Ruteni'; in urbe Rutena in the 9th c., Rodes ca. 1183), and the region of Rouergue, attested as in pago Rodonico in 767 (Rodengue, Rodergue in 1150, Roengue ca. 1182), are named after the tribe. [9]
The Ruteni dwelled in the southern part of the Massif Central, in the later province of Rouergue, north of the river Tarn. Their territory was situated south of the Arverni, east of the Cadurci, west of the Gabali and north of the Volcae. [10] [11] Because they were vassals of the Arveni, part of their territory was taken by the Romans after the defeat of the Arvenian king Bituitus in 121 BC. [11]
During the reign of Augustus, Segodunum (modern Rodez) became the main town of their civitas. [11]
In 121 BC, they fought along with the Arveni against Rome. [10]
During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), they sent 12,000 men to the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC. [11]
During the Late Middle Ages, and the Early Modern Period, several claims were made regarding the ancient Ruteni. A memorial plate from 1521, that was placed in the catacombe Chapel of St Maximus in Petersfriedhof, the burial site of St Peter's Abbey in Salzburg (Austria), mentions Italian ruler Odoacer (476–493) as "King of Rhutenes" (Latin : Rex Rhvtenorvm), and narrates the story of invasion of several peoples into Noricum in 477. Due to its very late date (1521) and several anachronistic elements, the content of that plate is considered as legendary. [13] [14]
In spite of that, the same plate later became a popular "source" for several emerging theories, that were trying to connect Odoacer not only with ancient Celtic Ruthenes from Gaul, but also with later East Slavs, who were labeled by some medieval chroniclers as Ruthenians . Thus, an entire strain of speculative theories was created, regarding the alleged connection between ancient Gallic Ruthenes, and later East Slavic "Ruthenians". [15] As noted by professor Paul R. Magocsi, those theories should be regarded as "inventive tales" of "creative" writers. [16]
The Arverni were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the neighbouring Aedui.
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 Venetī were a Gallic tribe dwelling in Armorica, in the southern part of the Brittany Peninsula, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Turoni or Turones were a Gallic tribe of dwelling in the later Touraine region 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 Petrocorii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the present-day Périgord region, between the Dordogne and Vézère rivers, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Cavarī or Cavarēs were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the western part of modern Vaucluse, around the present-day cities of Avignon, Orange and Cavaillon, during the Roman period. They were at the head of a confederation of tribes that included the Tricastini, Segovellauni and Memini, and whose territory stretched further north along the Rhône Valley up to the Isère river.
The Abrincatui were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the south of the Cotentin Peninsula during the Roman period.
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 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 Lexovii, 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.
The Ambiani were a Belgic coastal tribe dwelling in the modern Picardy region during the Iron Age and Roman periods.
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 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 Bituriges Vivisci were a Gallic tribe dwelling near modern-day Bordeaux during the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bituriges Cubi in the Berry region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct of evidence of this.
Lucterius was a leader of the Cadurci, a Celtic people whose territory was located around Cahors in the modern French department of Lot. In the 50s BC, the Cadurci were under the rule of the Arverni, the civitas of Vercingetorix, under whom Lucterius served during the last stages of the Gallic Wars. In his memoirs, Julius Caesar calls him a man of unsurpassed boldness.
The Gabali were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later Gévaudan region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Cadurci were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later region of Quercy during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
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