The Vordenses were a Gallic tribe living in modern Vaucluse (southeastern France) during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The Vordenses were a Gallic tribe living in modern Vaucluse (southeastern France) during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
They are mentioned as Vordenses on an inscription. [1]
The ethnonym Vordenses has been linked to Gordes (attested as Gorda in 1035 AD). [2] [3] Guy Barruol notes that the alternation between V- and G- is well attested in southern Gaulish toponymy, citing parallels such as Vappincum > Gap and Vardo > Gardon . [2]
The Vordenses probably occupied the region around Gordes, their chief town, within the territory of Apt. [4] [5] They did not constitute a people in their own right but rather formed a pagus . [6] Gordes may have functioned as an administrative or religious centre, possibly a vicus of this pagus. [7] According to Barruol, they were part the Albician confederation. [8]
The Vordenses are attested on an inscription from Apt, in which the rural community (pagani) honours its patron, C. Allius Celer, reflecting the protective obligations expected of a patron toward such a community. [1]
| Inscription | Translation | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| C(aio) Allio C(ai) fil(io) | Volt(inia) Celeri | IIIIuir(o) flam(ini) | augur(i) col(onia) I(ulia) | Apt(a) ex V dec(uriis) | Vordenses | pa[ga]ni | pa(tro)no | To Gaius Allius Celer, son of Gaius, of the Voltinian tribe, quattuorvir, flamen, augur of the colony Julia Apta, chosen from five decuriae, the Vordenses, the pagani, [dedicated this] to their patron. | CIL XII, 1114 |
In the western part of the civitas of Apt, conventionally attributed to the pagus Vordenses, several sites are attested across Roussillon, Gordes, Goult, and especially Lioux, where a rural sanctuary of indigenous character is located. Despite the proximity of the Via Domitia, local cult practice in the area shows a strong indigenous component: while dedications to the Roman god Silvanus are particularly numerous, other attested divinities include such as Abianus, Vintur, Uxovinus, the Suleviae, and probably Ronea. [9]
