The Abrincatui were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the south of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Abrincatuos'' by

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

(1st c. AD), ''’Abrinkátouoi'' (’Aβρινκάτουοι) 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 importanc ...

(2nd c. AD), and as ''Abrincatis'' and ''Abrincateni'' in the ''

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

'' (5th c. AD)., s.v. ''Abrincatui''. The city of

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period, t ...

, attested in the 6th c. AD as ''civitas'' ''Abrincatum'' ('

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...

of the Abrincatui', ''Abrincae'' ca. 550, ''de Avrenchis'' in 1055–66), and the region of

Avranchin Avranchin is an area in Normandy, France corresponding to the territory of the Abrincatui, a tribe of Celts from whom the city of Avranches, the main town of the Avranchin, takes its name. In 867, by the Treaty of Compiègne, Charles the Bald gave ...

, are named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The territory of the Abrincatui mostly corresponded the later regions of

and Mortainais. It was inherited with only slight border changes by the ''

'' ''Abrincatum'' and, later, by the diocese of Avranches. However, the area of Mortainais was mostly uninhabited until the Roman period, and remained sparsely populated at the turn of the first millennium AD. Two pre-Roman

oppida An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...

were located in Le Petit-Celland and Carolles, with other settlements in

Montanel Montanel () is a former Communes in France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the commune Saint-James.

and near

Mortain Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

History

They were a client tribe of the

Venelli The Venellī or Unellī (Gaulish: *''Uenellī/Wenellī'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the Cotentin peninsula, in the northwest of modern Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. In 57 BC, they capitulated to Caesar's legate Publi ...

until the Roman occupation in 49 BC, when they were separated.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Gallic peoples Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul