A ''vergobret'' was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

ancient Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during Re ...

who held the highest office in many Gallic cities, especially among the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; grc, Aἴδουοι) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Burgundy region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. The Aedui had an ambiguous relationship with the Roman Republic ...

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 ...

discusses the role of the vergobret several times in his ''

Commentaries on the Gallic War ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...

'', referring to the office with the terms ''princeps civitatis'', ''principatus'', and ''magistratus''. Elected every year under the aegis of the

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

s,Julius Caesar, ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'', Book VII, 33 the vergobret had the right of life and death, and that of commanding the army in defensive action. According to Caesar, he was however forbidden from leaving the borders of the territory of his people ("The laws of the Aedui forbid those who held the highest office from crossing the borders"). This made it necessary to name a general and prevented the vergobret from seizing power beyond this magistrature. The vergobret was chosen from among the most powerful people. Some tribes, such as the Aedui or

Remi The Remi (Gaulish: ''Rēmi'', 'the first, the princes') were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the Aisne, Vesle and Suippe river valleys during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Their territory roughly corresponded the modern Marne and Ardennes and par ...

, minted coins with the portrait of their vergobrets (the Aedui

Dumnorix Dumnorix (spelled Dubnoreix on coins) was a chieftain of the Aedui, a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was the younger brother of Divitiacus, the Aedui druid and statesman. The Aedui were allies of Rome, but Dumnorix was a leader o ...

for instance). One of the rare archaeological traces of the vergobret came from the 1978 excavations of Dr. Allain in the zone of the temples to

Argentomagus The Roman city of Argentomagus was located in the Mersans plateau of central France, at the strategic point on the north bank of the river Creuse, where a Roman bridge once traversed. It was located at the crossing of two roads—''Cenabum'' (O ...

(

Saint-Marcel, Indre Saint-Marcel () is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Geography The commune is traversed by the river Bouzanne. Population See also *Communes of the Indre department The following is a list of the 241 communes of the I ...

). An

olla An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. ''Ollas'' have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots o ...

of terra nigra was found there; it bears the inscription "''vercobretos readdas''". Briefly mentioned in ''Gallia'' in 1980 (''Gallia'' 38-2, p. 327), the inscription later led to publication, including a photo and transcription, in the ''Revue Archéologique du Centre de la France'' (RACF). The vase can be seen in the museum of

. The meaning of the inscription is along the lines of "the vergobret has sacrificed/consecrated/given" (cf. P-Y Lambert 2003 and X. Delamarre 2003). Several names of vergobrets are currently known:

Liscus {{primary sources, date=December 2015 Liscus was '' Vergobretus'' (chief magistrate) of the Aedui of central Gaul in 58 BC. He revealed to Julius Caesar the role of his compatriot Dumnorix in withholding supplies. References * Julius Caesar, ''Comm ...

in 58 BC, Valetiacos in 53 BC, Convictolitavis of the Aedui in 52 BC, and Celtillos of the

Arverni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the ne ...

. For the

Lemovices The Lemovīcēs (Gaulish: *''Lēmouīcēs'', 'those who vanquish by the elm') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Limousin region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Lemovices'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. B ...

, two names are probable:

Sedullos Sedullos (died 52 BC) was a Gaulish vergobret of the tribe of the Lemovices. He commanded the 10,000 Lemovices that formed part of the relief force led by the Arvernian Vercassivellaunos. This relief force was raised to assist Vercingetorix at ...

, killed at Alesia, was called ''dux et princeps lemovicum'', "military and civil leader", which probably corresponds to the title of vergobret. Furthermore, an inscription in rock in the Gallo-Roman city of

Augustoritum Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

has been found, which is a sign of a yet incomplete Romanization: it cites a certain "Postumus, vergobret, son of Dumnorix" (the latter having no relation to the Aedui of the same name).Jean-Pierre Bost et Jean Perrier, "Un vergobret à Augustoritum/Limoges sous le Haut-Empire romain"
Travaux d'Archéologie Limousine
tome 10 (1990), p. 27–32.

References

{{Gallic peoples Pre-Roman Gaul Aedui Magistrates