The Alauni (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

: ''Alaunoi'', earlier *''Alamnoi'', 'the nomads, wanderers') were a Gallic tribe dwelling around the lake Chiemsee (in present-day Germany) during the Roman period.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Alaunoí'' (Ἀλαυνοί) by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

(2nd c. AD), and as ''Alaunorum'' in the '' Notitia Dignitatum'' (5th c. AD)., s.v. ''Alaunoi''. The ethnic name ''Alauni'' is a latinized form of the

''Alaunoi'', which can be translated as 'the errants, wanderers, or nomads', in contrast to the names of the '' Anauni'' ('the staying ones') and '' Genauni'' ('the natives'). It derives from an earlier *''Alamnoi'' (sing. *''Alamnos''), which is close to the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...

stem *''alamo''- ('herd'; cf. OIr. ''alam'',

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''alaf''), built on a root *''alǝ''- ('to wander').

Geography

The Alauni lived near Chiemsee, a lake in present-day

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. Their territory was located east of the Cosuanetes, north of the

Ambisontes The Ambisontes (Gaulish: 'those around the Isontia') were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Salzach valley during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ambisontes'' by Pliny the Elder, Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Ambēsóntio ...

, south of the Baiovarii., Map 19: Raetia.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Historical Celtic peoples History of Bavaria Gauls