The Eburovīcēs or Aulercī Eburovīcēs (

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 ...

: *''Eburouīcēs/Eburowīcēs'', 'those who vanquish by the yew') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.department 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 ...

. They were part of the Aulerci.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Aulerci Eburovices'' 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), ''Aulerci qui cognominantur Eburovices'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Au̓lírkioioi̔ E̓bourouikoì'' (Αὐλίρκιοιοἱ Ἐβουρουικοὶ) 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).

. '' Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', 2:8:9, s.v. ''Eburovices'' and ''Mediolanum Aulercorum''. The Gaulish ethnonym *''Eburouīcēs/Eburowīcēs'' literally means 'those who vanquish by the yew', probably in reference to the wood used to make their bows or spears. It stems from the root ''eburo-'' ('

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

'; cf. OIr. ''ibar'' 'yew', or

Middle Welsh Middle Welsh ( cy, Cymraeg Canol, wlm, Kymraec) is the label attached to the Welsh language of the 12th to 15th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This form of Welsh developed directly from Old Welsh ( cy, Hen G ...

''efwr'' 'cow parsnip, hog-weed') attached to the suffix ''-uices'' ('combatants, victors'). The city of

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. Geography The city is on the Iton river. Climate History In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named ...

, attested ca. 400 AD as ''civitas Ebroicorum'' ('

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 Eburovices'; ''Ebroicas'' in 511, ''Ebroas'' ca. 1034), is named after the tribe.

Geography

During the Roman period, their chief town was

Mediolanum Aulercorum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Roman city in northern Italy. The city was settled by the Insubres around 600 BC, conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, and ...

(modern

, in

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

). The limits of their ''

'' corresponded to those of the later

diocese of Évreux In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Religion

A votive altar with a dedication to a ''deus Gisacos'' was found in a sanctuary at

Gisacum Gisacum was a Gallo-Roman religious sanctuary near the settlement of Mediolanum Aulercorum (Évreux) in the territory of the Eburovices"victors under the patronage of the yew". in northern Gaul (now Normandy). The site lies within the territory o ...

(

Le Vieil-Évreux Le Vieil-Évreux is a ''commune'' in the Eure department and Normandy region of France. It is the site of the Gallo-Roman religious sanctuary Gisacum. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 ...

References

Bibliography

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