Segovesus (

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 ...

: 'Worthy of Victories') is a legendary Gallic chief of the

Bituriges The Gaulish name Bituriges, meaning 'kings of the world', can refer to: * Bituriges Cubi, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bourges * Bituriges Vivisci, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bordeaux {{Disambiguation ...

, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

, the king

Ambigatus Ambicatus or Ambigatus (Gaulish language, Gaulish: 'He who fights in both directions') is a legendary Gauls, Gallic king of the Bituriges Cubi, Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Titus Livius, Livy, he sent ...

sent his sister's sons

Bellovesus Bellovesus (Gaulish: 'Worthy of Power') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new lands ...

and Segovesus in search of new lands to settle because of overpopulation in their homeland. While Bellovesus is said to have led the Gallic invasion of northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, Segovesus reportedly headed towards the Hercynian Forest, in Western Central Europe. According to an ancient tradition, modern southern Germany was settled by Celts as a consequence of this migration. Although the historicity of this legend is highly disputed, the essence of the myth may have been based on actual events, for migrations actually occurred towards

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and bordering regions of Central Europe during the first quarter of the 4th century BC.

Etymology

The

personal name ''Sego-uesus'' literally means 'worthy of victories'. It is made up of the prefix ('strength, victory') attached to , meaning 'worthy, good, deserving', itself from

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...

* ''wesus'' ('excellent, noble'; cf. Old Irish 'in excellence', 'goodness', Welsh 'worthy, valuable').

Story

The legend is recounted by the Roman historian

in his ''

Ab Urbe Condita Libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The work ...

'', written in the late 1st century BC:

References

;Citations ;Primary sources * ;Bibliography * * * {{refend 7th-century BC rulers Celtic warriors Gaulish rulers

Etymology

Story

See also

References