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The Osismii, Ossismii, or Ostimii (also Ossismi, Osismi) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the western part of the Armorican Peninsula (modern
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
) 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 ...
and the
Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
.


Etymology

They are mentioned as ''Osismos'' and ''Osismi'' (var. ''ossismi'') by
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, an ...
(mid-1st c. BC), ''O̓sísmioi'' (Ὀσίσμιοι) 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 s ...
(early 1st c. AD), ''Ossismos'' 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), ''O̓sismíous'' (Ὀσισμίους; var. Ὀσίσμιοι, Ὀσισμαίους) 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 ''Osismis'' 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 o ...
'' (5th c. AD)., s.v. ''Osismii''. According to Strabo, the
Massaliote Massalia ( Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Wes ...
explorer
Pytheas Pytheas of Massalia (; Ancient Greek: Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης ''Pythéas ho Massaliōtēs''; Latin: ''Pytheas Massiliensis''; born 350 BC, 320–306 BC) was a Greek geographer, explorer and astronomer from the Greek colony ...
, who travelled to northwestern Europe in the late 4th century BC, reported the variant ''Ōstimíous'' (Ὠστιμίους), which seems to be the earliest attested form of the name, documented before the Gaulish
sound shift In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
-''st''- > -''ss''- occurred. 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 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 us ...
''Ostim(i)i'' (sing. ''Ostim(i)os'') literally means 'the ultimate', that is to say 'the remotest people', 'those who dwell at the extremity of the Armorican Peninsula'. It derives 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 Foo ...
stem ''ostim''- ('ultimate, extreme'), itself from an earlier *''postim''- ('last'; cf. Lat. ''postumus'' 'last-born, final'). In
Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...
, the territory they occupied was known as (''Fine) Posterne''.


Geography

The territory of the Osismii was located at the extremity of the
Brittany Peninsula Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
, west of the Veneti and Coriosolites. Pytheas situated the Osismii at the end of the peninsula of ''Kabaïon'', which is not clearly identifiable today. This could be related to large peninsula of ''
Cap-Sizun The Cap Sizun (; br, Ar C'hab) is a headland forming the western extremity of the Cornouaille, in the French département of Finistère in Brittany, corresponding to the former canton of Pont-Croix. The best known sites in this region are the ...
'', on the southern-western coast of Finistère, just before reaching the difficult maritime pass of ''
Pointe du Raz The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France. The local Breton name is ''Beg ar Raz''. It is the western point of the ''commune'' of Plogoff, Finistère. It is named after the ''Raz de Sein' ...
'' where the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and of the English channel are joining; this peninsula offers to the south a natural safe harbour in the aber and bay of today's town of
Audierne Audierne (; br, Gwaien) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Esquibien merged into Audierne.Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an estua ...
, to the north of the peninsula. Other hypotheses situate it in the small peninsula of ''Kermorvan'' in today's commune of
Ploumoguer Ploumoguer (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Ploumoguer are called in French ''Ploumoguérois''. Notable people * Jean Causeur - 1643–1771, butcher who was said to ...
and bordering the ria of
Le Conquet Le Conquet (; br, Konk-Leon) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. This is the westernmost town of mainland France. Only three insular towns—Ouessant, Île-Molène and Ile de Sein—are further west Th ...
, but the whole peninsula of
Crozon Crozon (, ; br, Kraozon, , ) is a commune in the department of Finistère and the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. As well as the town of Crozon, the village of Morgat is part of the commune. Crozon is located on the Cro ...
with its large bays and safe harbors is not excluded, even if it does not extend to the westernmost point. Their chief town was Vorgium (present-day
Carhaix Carhaix-Plouguer (; br, Karaez-Plougêr ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France.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, an ...
during the
Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
, in 58 BC, but took part in an insurrection against Rome in 56 BC.


References


Primary sources

*


Bibliography

* * *


Further reading

* Smith, Julia M. H. ''Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.


See also

*
Veneti (Gaul) The Venetī (, Gaulish: ''Uenetoi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in Armorica, in the northern part of the Brittany Peninsula, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. A seafaring people, the Veneti strongly influenced southwestern Brittonic ...
*
List of Celtic tribes This is a list of Celtic tribes, organized in order of the likely ethnolinguistic kinship of the peoples and tribes. In Classical antiquity, Celts were a large number and a significant part of the population in many regions of Western Europe, ...
{{Authority control Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Tribes involved in the Gallic Wars Armorica