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 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 ...

. They were part of the Aulerci.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Diablintes'' (var. ''Diablintres'', ''Diablindes'') by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, 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 Caes ...

(mid-1st c. BC), ''Diablinti'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), ''Aúlírkioi hoi'' ''Diablítai'' or ''Diaultai'' (Αύλίρκιοι οἱ Διαβλίται/Διαυλται) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD), and as ''Diablentas'' by

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...

(early 5th c. AD). The meaning of the name is unclear. Pierre-Yves Lambert has proposed a connection with the Proto-Celtic root ''*dwēblo-'' ('double'; cf. Old Irish ''díabul''), attached to an ''-e-nt-'' participial suffix, or perhaps to ''*anto-''/''*ento-'' ('face'; cf. Old Irish ''étan''; also Bret. ''Daou-dal'' 'two-faced'). The city of

Jublains Jublains () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. History Jublains, formerly spelled Jubleins, is the site of ancient Noeodunum (also spelled Noiodunum or Noviodunum), the capital of the ancient Gallic tribe of the D ...

, attested ca. 400 as ''civitas Diablintum'' ('

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 Diablintes', ''Jublent'' ca. 1100) is named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

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, and ...

(''B. G.'' iii. 9) mentions the Diablintes among the allies of the Veneti and other Armoric states whom Caesar attacked. The Diablintes are mentioned between the Morini and

Menapii The Menapii were a Belgic tribe dwelling near the North Sea, around present-day Cassel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name Attestations They are mentioned as ''Menapii'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC) and Orosius (early 5th c. AD), ...

. The territory of the Diablintes seems to have been small, and it may have been included in that of the Cenomanni, or the former diocese of Mans. (

D'Anville Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (; born in Paris 11 July 169728 January 1782) was a French geographer and cartographer who greatly improved the standards of map-making. D'Anville became cartographer to the king, who purchased his cartographic ...

, ''Notice, &c.''; Walekenaer, ''Géog., &c.'' vol. i. p. 387.) Their position can be calculated from Pliny's enumeration, Cariosvelites, Diablindi,

Rhedones The Redones or Riedones (Gaulish: ''Rēdones'', later ''Riedones'', 'chariot- or horse-drivers') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the eastern part of the Armorican peninsula (modern Brittany), around their chief town Condate (modern Rennes), duri ...

. The capital of the Diablintes, according to Ptolemy, was

Noeodunum Jublains () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. History Jublains, formerly spelled Jubleins, is the site of ancient Noeodunum (also spelled Noiodunum or Noviodunum), the capital of the ancient Gallic tribe of the D ...

, probably the Nudium of the Table. The Notitia of the Gallic provinces, which belongs to the commencement of the fifth century, mentions ''Civitas Diablintum'' among the cities of

Lugdunensis Tertia Gallia Lugdunensis (French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon) ...

. A document of the seventh century speaks of ''condita Diablintica'' as situated in ''Pago Cenomannico'' (about modern

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

), and thus one location of the Diablintes is clear. This document also helps explain why Ptolemy used the name ''Aulerci'' for both the Diablintes and Cenomanni. Another document of the seventh century speaks of ''oppidum Diablintes juxta ripam Araenae fiuvioli''; where the Arena (''araenae'') is recognised as the

Aron Aron may refer to: Characters *Aron (comics), from the Marvel Universe comic ''Aron! HyperSpace Boy!'' *Aron (Pokémon), in the ''Pokémon'' franchise * Aron Trask, from John Steinbeck's novel ''East of Eden'' *Áron or Aaron, the brother of Mos ...

, a tributary of the Mayenne. The small town of

(or Jubleins), where Roman remains have been found, not far from the town of Mayenne to the southeast, is probably the site of the ''Civitas Diablintum'' and ''Noeodunum'' (also rendered ''Noiódounon;'' Νοιόδουνον). A wooden tablet found in London records the sale of one Fortunata, a Diablintian slave girl.''The Real Lives of Roman Britain'' Guy De la Bédoyère, Yale University Press, 2015, page 54.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Authority control Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul History of Mayenne