The Abrincatui were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the south of the
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
during 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 ...
.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Abrincatuos'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), ''’Abrinkátouoi'' (’Aβρινκάτουοι) 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 ''Abrincatis'' and ''Abrincateni'' 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. ''Abrincatui''.
The city of
Avranches
Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''.
History
By the end of the Roman period ...
, attested in the 6th c. AD as ''civitas'' ''Abrincatum'' ('
civitas
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...
of the Abrincatui', ''Abrincae'' ca. 550, ''de Avrenchis'' in 1055–66), and the region of
Avranchin
Avranchin is an area in Normandy, France corresponding to the territory of the Abrincatui, a tribe of Celts from whom the city of Avranches, the main town of the Avranchin, takes its name.
In 867, by the Treaty of Compiègne, Charles the Bald gave ...
, are named after the Gallic tribe.
Geography
The territory of the Abrincatui mostly corresponded the later regions of
Avranchin
Avranchin is an area in Normandy, France corresponding to the territory of the Abrincatui, a tribe of Celts from whom the city of Avranches, the main town of the Avranchin, takes its name.
In 867, by the Treaty of Compiègne, Charles the Bald gave ...
and Mortainais. It was inherited with only slight border changes by the ''
civitas
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () on th ...
'' ''Abrincatum'' and, later, by the
diocese of Avranches
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis)''; French: ''Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)'') is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the C ...
. However, the area of Mortainais was mostly uninhabited until the Roman period, and remained sparsely populated at the turn of the first millennium AD.
Two pre-Roman oppida were located in
Le Petit-Celland
Le Petit-Celland () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.
See also
*Communes of the Manche department
The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France.
The communes cooper ...
and
Carolles
Carolles () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Manche department
The following is a list of the 446 communes of the Manche department of France.
The communes coop ...
, with other settlements in
Montanel
Montanel () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the commune Saint-James.Mortain.
History
They were a client tribe of the
Venelli
The Venellī or Unellī (Gaulish: *''Uenellī/Wenellī'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the Cotentin peninsula, in the northwest of modern Normandy, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
In 57 BC, they capitulated to Caesar's legate Publi ...
until the Roman occupation in 49 BC, when they were separated.