The Licates (

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 ...

: *''Licatis'' 'those of the Licca' or 'those of the rock') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper valley of the

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

river 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.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Likátioi'' (Λικάτιοι; var. -ττ-) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), as ''Licates'' 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),

. ''Naturalis Historia''
3:20
and as ''Likátoi'' (Λικάτοι) 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)., s.v. ''Licates''. The ethnic name ''Licates'' has been traditionally compared to the river name ''Licca'' (modern

), and translated as 'those of the Licca'. According to

Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel (born 5 April 1953) is an Italian philologist, linguist and scholar of Celtic studies. Biography Patrizia de Bernardo was born on 5 April 1953 in Milan, Italy, the daughter of Mario de Bernardo and Adriana Marra. She ...

, however, "the word formations of the ethnonym and hydronym suggest that they originated independently of each other, even though they both contain the same Celtic lexeme ''lic(c)a'' ('rock'). One would therefore assume that Licates simply denoted the 'rock dwellers' and thus inevitably represented a relatively old ethnic designation."

Geography

The Licates lived in the upper valley of the

river (Licca). Their territory was located east of the Estiones, north of the Genauni, west of the Cosuanetes., Map 19: Raetia. They were part of the

Vindelici The Vindelici (Gaulish: ) were a Gallic people dwelling around present-day Augsburg (Bavaria) during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as by Horace (1st c. BC), as (; var. ) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), as and (va ...

. Their chief town, known as Damasia, has been identified with a fortified settlement in Auerberg, near modern

Bernbeuren Bernbeuren is a municipality in the Weilheim-Schongau district, in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

. Its name stems from a Gaulish word for 'cow' or 'stag', ''damos''.

History

They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the

Tropaeum Alpium The Tropaeum Alpium (Latin 'Trophy of the Alps', French: ''Trophée des Alpes''), is a Roman trophy (''tropaeum'') celebrating the emperor Augustus's decisive victory over the tribes who populated the Alps. The monument's ruins are in La Turbi ...

. Licates were still serving as auxiliary soldiers in the Roman army ca. 160 AD.

Name

Geography

History

References

Primary sources

Bibliography