The Medulli (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, 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 ...

: ''Medulloi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper valley of

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. ...

, around present-day

Modane Modane (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in southeastern France. The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise ...

(

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

), 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 mostly appl ...

and

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 ''Medullorum'' by

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...

(late 1st c. BC), ''Méd(o)ulloi'' (Μέδ<ο>υλλοι) by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

(early 1st c. AD), ''Medulli'' 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 ''Medoúllous'' (Μεδούλλους) 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)., s.v. ''Medulli''. The

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

''Medulli'' is a latinized form of

''Medulloi''. It is generally derived from the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

root ''medu''-, meaning '

mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

, alcoholic drink' (cf. Olr. ''mid'', MW. ''medd'', OBret. ''medot''), and thus may be translated as 'those who drink

'. This interpretation is encouraged by the mention, in

' '' De architetura'', of a "kind of water" (''genus aquae'') drunk by the Medulli. Alternatively, Javier de Hoz has proposed to glose the name as 'those who lived in the middle', or 'in the border woods', by connecting it to the root *''medhi/u''- ('middle').

Geography

The Medulli dwelled in the upper

valley, along the upper course of the

Arc ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...

river, near the modern town of

(Amonada). Their territory was located east of the

Graioceli The Graioceli were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of Maurienne, in the modern region of Savoie, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Graioceli'' (var. ''graiocaeli, gaioceli'') by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC)., s.v. ''Graioc ...

(themselves east of the

Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vocontii settled in the region in the 3rd ...

), north of the

Brigianii The Brigianii (Gaulish: *''Brigianioi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Briançon during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Brigianii'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Brigiani'', ''Brigantionis'' ...

and

Quariates The Quariates or Quadiates were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of Queyras, in the Alps, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Quariates'' (var. ''quadr''-) by Pliny (1st c. AD),Pliny. ''Naturalis Historia'', 3:35. and as ''Qu ...

, west of the

Segusini The Segusini (Gaulish: *''Segusinoi'', 'those of Segusio') were a Gallic tribe dwelling around present-day Susa, in the Alpes Cottiae, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Segosianō̃n'' (Σεγοσιανῶν) Strabo (early 1st c. ...

, and south of the

Ceutrones The Ceutrones (or Centrones) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Tarantaise Valley, in modern Savoie, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ceutrones'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Keútrōnes'' (Κεύτρωνε� ...

(themselves south of the

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...

)., Map 17: Lugdunum. They belonged to the tribes governed by

Cottius Marcus Julius Cottius was King of the Celtic and Ligurian inhabitants of the mountainous Roman province then known as '' Alpes Taurinae'' and now as the Cottian Alps early in the 1st century BC. Son and successor to King Donnus, he negotiated a d ...

in Alpes Taurinae and were later integrated into the province of

Alpes Cottiae The Alpes Cottiae (; English: 'Cottian Alps') were a small province of the Roman Empire founded in 63 AD by Emperor Nero. It was one of the three provinces straddling the Alps between modern France and Italy, along with the Alpes Graiae et Poenin ...

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 ...

. They also appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by

in 9–8 BC. According to

, they were particularly prone to suffer from

goitre A goitre, or goiter, is a swelling in the neck resulting from an enlarged thyroid gland. A goitre can be associated with a thyroid that is not functioning properly. Worldwide, over 90% of goitre cases are caused by iodine deficiency. The term is ...

Name

Geography

History

See also

References

Primary sources

Bibliography

Further reading