The Aulerci were a group of Gallic peoples dwelling in the modern region of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, between the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

(Liger) and the Seine (Sequana) rivers, during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

and the Roman period. They were divided into the

Cenomani The Gaulish name Cenomani can refer to: * Aulerci Cenomani, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Le Mans * Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul) The Cenomani (Greek: , Strabo, Ptol.; , Polyb.), was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who ...

, the most powerful of them, the

Eburovices The Eburovīcēs or Aulercī Eburovīcēs (Gaulish: *''Eburouīcēs/Eburowīcēs'', 'those who vanquish by the yew') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Eure department during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were part of the Aule ...

, the

Diablintes The Diablintes or Aulerci Diablites (also ''Diablintres'' or ''Diablindes'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the north of the modern Mayenne department during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were part of the Aulerci. Name They are menti ...

, and the Brannovices. The relationship that linked them together remains uncertain. According to historian

Venceslas Kruta Venceslas Kruta (born 4 November 1939) is a French archaeologist and historian. He is the director of European protohistory studies at the École pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), and Professor emeritus at the Sorbonne University. Kruta has also ...

, they could have been ''pagi'' that got separated from a larger ethnic group of the pre-Roman period.

Name

The

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 ...

ethnonym ''Aulerci'' is generally interpreted as meaning 'those who are far away from their traces' (tracks, paths), composed of the

ablative In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. ...

prefix ''au''- ('out of, away from') attached to the root ''lerg''- ('trace', cf. MIr. ''lorg'', OBret. ''lerg'').

Pierre-Yves Lambert Pierre-Yves Lambert (born 30 May 1949) is a French linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. He is a researcher at the CNRS and a lecturer at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Celtic linguistics and philology. Lambert is the director of the j ...

has also proposed a comparison with the

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''lerg'' ('slope, brink'), or with the

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 ...

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

''alarch'' ('swan').

History

According to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, they joined

Bellovesus Bellovesus (Gaulish: 'Worthy of Power') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new land ...

' legendary migrations towards Italy ca. 600 BC, along with the Aeduii,

Ambarri The Ambarri were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Ain department during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ambarri'' and ''Ambarros'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),Caesar. ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico''1:11< ...

, Arverni, Carnutes and

Senones The Senones or Senonii (Gaulish: "the ancient ones") were an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling in the Seine basin, around present-day Sens, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Part of the Senones settled in the Italian peninsula, where they ...

.Livius, '' Ab Urbe condita'' 5.34-35.3.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

(''B. G.'' ii. 34) names the Aulerci with the Veneti and the other maritime states. In ''B. G.'' vii. 75, he enumerates, among the clients of the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; grc, Aἴδουοι) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Burgundy region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the Roman Republic a ...

, the Aulerci Brannovices and Brannovii, as the common text stands; but the names in this chapter of Caesar are corrupt, and Brannovii does not appear to be genuine. If the name Aulerci Brannovices is genuine in vii. 75, this branch of the Aulerci, which was dependent on the Aedui, must be distinguished from those Aulerci who were situated between the Lower Seine and the

, and separated from the Aedui by the

, Carnutes, and Bituriges Cubi. Again, in vii. 75, Caesar mentions the Aulerci Cenomani and the Aulerci

. In ''B. G.''vii. 75 Caesar mentions the maritime states (ii. 34) under the name of the Armoric states; but his list does not agree with the list in ii. 34, and it does not contain the Aulerci as the Aulerci were not regarded a maritime tribe. Caesar (iii. 17) mentions a tribe of

or Diablintres, to whom

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 ...

gives the generic name of Aulerci. It seems, then, that Aulerci was a general name under which several tribes were included.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Gallic peoples Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Tribes involved in the Gallic Wars History of Normandy