Vergobret

Last updated

A vergobret was a magistrate in ancient Gaul who held the highest office in many Gallic cities, especially among the Aedui. Julius Caesar discusses the role of the vergobret several times in his Commentaries on the Gallic War , referring to the office with the terms princeps civitatis, principatus, and magistratus. [1]

Elected every year under the aegis of the druids, [2] the vergobret had the right of life and death, and that of commanding the army in defensive action. According to Caesar, he was however forbidden from leaving the borders of the territory of his people ("The laws of the Aedui forbid those who held the highest office from crossing the borders"). [2] This made it necessary to name a general and prevented the vergobret from seizing power beyond this magistrature. [3]

The vergobret was chosen from among the most powerful people. Some tribes, such as the Aedui or Remi, minted coins with the portrait of their vergobrets (the Aedui Dumnorix for instance).

One of the rare archaeological traces of the vergobret came from the 1978 excavations of Dr. Allain in the zone of the temples to Argentomagus (Saint-Marcel, Indre). An olla of terra nigra was found there; it bears the inscription "vercobretos readdas". Briefly mentioned in Gallia in 1980 (Gallia 38-2, p. 327), the inscription later led to publication, including a photo and transcription, in the Revue Archéologique du Centre de la France (RACF). The vase can be seen in the museum of Argentomagus. The meaning of the inscription is along the lines of "the vergobret has sacrificed/consecrated/given" (cf. P-Y Lambert 2003 and X. Delamarre 2003).

Several names of vergobrets are currently known: Liscus in 58 BC, Valetiacos in 53 BC, Convictolitavis of the Aedui in 52 BC, and Celtillos of the Arverni.

For the Lemovices, two names are probable: Sedullos, killed at Alesia, was called dux et princeps lemovicum, [4] "military and civil leader", which probably corresponds to the title of vergobret. Furthermore, an inscription in rock in the Gallo-Roman city of Augustoritum has been found, which is a sign of a yet incomplete Romanization: it cites a certain "Postumus, vergobret, son of Dumnorix" (the latter having no relation to the Aedui of the same name). [5]

Related Research Articles

The Aedui or Haedui were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Burgundy region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Vercingetorix 1st-century BC Gallic Chieftain and revolt leader

Vercingetorix was a king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite having willingly surrendered to Caesar, he was executed in Rome.

50s BC

This article concerns the period 59 BC – 50 BC.

Gaul Historical region of Western Europe inhabited by Celtic tribes

Gaul was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy, and Germany west of the Rhine. It covered an area of 494,000 km2 (191,000 sq mi). According to Julius Caesar, Gaul was divided into three parts: Gallia Celtica, Belgica, and Aquitania. Archaeologically, the Gauls were bearers of the La Tène culture, which extended across all of Gaul, as well as east to Raetia, Noricum, Pannonia, and southwestern Germania during the 5th to 1st centuries BC. During the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Gaul fell under Roman rule: Gallia Cisalpina was conquered in 204 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and the Teutons, who were in turn defeated by the Romans by 103 BC. Julius Caesar finally subdued the remaining parts of Gaul in his campaigns of 58 to 51 BC.

<i>Commentarii de Bello Gallico</i> Commentary on Gallic wars by Julius Caesar

Commentarii de Bello Gallico, also Bellum Gallicum, is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting the Celtic and Germanic peoples in Gaul that opposed Roman conquest.

58 BC Calendar year

Year 58 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Gabinius. The denomination 58 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Arverni Gallic tribe

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.

Battle of Alesia Battle in which Rome secured its conquest of Gaul

The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia in modern France, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by the Roman army of Julius Caesar against a confederation of Gallic tribes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. It was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans, and is considered one of Caesar's greatest military achievements and a classic example of siege warfare and investment; the Roman army built dual lines of fortifications—an inner wall to keep the besieged Gauls in, and an outer wall to keep the Gallic relief force out. The Battle of Alesia marked the end of Gallic independence in modern day territory of France and Belgium.

Menapii Belgic tribe

The Menapii were a Belgic tribe dwelling near the North Sea, around present-day Cassel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Remi Belgic tribe

The Remi were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the Aisne, Vesle and Suippe river valleys during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Their territory roughly corresponded the modern Marne and Ardennes and parts of the Aisne and Meuse departments.

Bibracte Gallic hillfort

Bibracte, a Gallic oppidum or fortified settlement, was the capital of the Aedui and one of the most important hillforts in Gaul. It was situated near modern Autun in Burgundy, France. The material culture of the Aedui corresponded to the Late Iron Age La Tène culture.

Orgetorix

Orgetorix was a wealthy aristocrat among the Helvetii, a Celtic-speaking people residing in what is now Switzerland during the consulship of Julius Caesar of the Roman Republic.

Dumnorix Chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul

Dumnorix was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was the younger brother of Divitiacus, the Aedui druid and statesman. The Aedui were allies of Rome, but Dumnorix was a leader of the tribe’s anti-Roman faction, who “...thought it better to be dominated by their fellow Gauls... rather than the Romans.”

Sequani Gallic tribe

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.

Roman Gaul Gaul as a province of the Roman Empire

Roman Gaul refers to Gaul under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.

Diviciacus or Divitiacus was a druid of the Aedui tribe who lived in Gaul during the 1st century BC, the only druid from antiquity whose existence is attested by name. The name may mean "avenger".

Viromandui Belgic tribe

The Viromanduī or Veromanduī were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the modern Vermandois region (Picardy) during the Iron Age and Roman periods. During the Gallic Wars, they belonged to the Belgic coalition of 57 BC against Caesar.

Gauls Ancient Celtic peoples of Europe

The Gauls were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period. Their original homeland was known as Gaul (Gallia). They spoke Gaulish, a Continental Celtic language.

Convictolitavis was a prominent member of the Celtic civitas of the Haedui during the Gallic Wars. He played a significant role in the pan-Gallic rebellion of 52 BC, as narrated by Julius Caesar in Book 7 of his Commentarii de Bello Gallico.

Gaius Valerius Troucillus or Procillus was a Helvian Celt who served as an interpreter and envoy for Julius Caesar in the first year of the Gallic Wars. Troucillus was a second-generation Roman citizen, and is one of the few ethnic Celts who can be identified both as a citizen and by affiliation with a Celtic polity. His father, Caburus, and a brother are named in Book 7 of Caesar's Bellum Gallicum as defenders of Helvian territory against a force sent by Vercingetorix in 52 BC. Troucillus plays a role in two episodes from the first book of Caesar's war commentaries, as an interpreter for the druid Diviciacus and as an envoy to the Suebian king Ariovistus, who accuses him of spying and has him thrown in chains.

References

  1. Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War, Book I, 16
  2. 1 2 Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War, Book VII, 33
  3. Christian Goudineau and Christian Peyre, Bibracte et les Éduens, À la découverte d'un peuple gaulois, éditions Errance, 1993
  4. Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War, Book VII, 88"
  5. Jean-Pierre Bost et Jean Perrier, "Un vergobret à Augustoritum/Limoges sous le Haut-Empire romain", Travaux d'Archéologie Limousine tome 10 (1990), p. 27–32.