Drachme « au sanglier » frappée par les Rutènes

The Ruteni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the southern part of the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,0 ...

, around present-day Rodez, 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 mostl ...

and the Roman period.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Rutenos'' 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), ''R̔outēnoì'' (Ῥουτηνοὶ; var. Ῥουταινοὶ) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), ''Ruteni'' (var. ''roteni'', ''Rutheni'') 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), ''Ruteni'' by Lucan, and as ''R̔outanoì'' (Ῥουτανοὶ) 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 importance ...

(2nd c. AD)., s.v. ''Ruteni'' and ''Civitas Rutenorum''. The Celticity of the name remains uncertain. It has been tentatively translated as 'the blond ones' by extrapolating from a description of the Roman poet Lucan ("The fair-haired Ruteni were freed from the garrison that long had held them"). The city of Rodez, attested ca. 400 AD as ''civitas Rutenorum'' (' civitas of the Ruteni'; ''in urbe Rutena'' in the 9th c., ''Rodes'' ca. 1183), and the region of

Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan ...

, attested as ''in pago Rodonico'' in 767 (''Rodengue'', ''Rodergue'' in 1150, ''Roengue'' ca. 1182), are named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The Ruteni dwelled in the southern part of the

, in the later province of

, north of the river Tarn. Their territory was situated south of the Arverni, east of the Cadurci, west of the

Gabali The Gabali (Gaulish: *''Gabli'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later Gévaudan region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Gabalos'' or ''Gabalis'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), as ''Gabalei͂s'' (Γαβα� ...

and north of the Volcae. Because they were vassals of the Arveni, part of their territory was taken by the Romans after the defeat of the Arvenian king

Bituitus Bituitus ('' fl.'' 2nd century BCE) was a king of the Arverni, a Gaulish tribe living in what is now the Auvergne region of France. The Arverni were a powerful opponent of the Roman Republic during the 3rd and 2nd centuries under the leadership ...

in 121 BC. During the reign of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, Segodunum (modern Rodez) became the main town of their '' civitas.''

History

In 121 BC, they fought along with the Arveni against Rome. 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 ...

(58–50 BC), they sent 12,000 men to the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC.

Economy

They were known as producers of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

Legacy

During the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

, and the Early Modern Period, several claims were made regarding the ancient Ruteni. A memorial plate from 1521, that was placed in the catacombe Chapel of St Maximus in

Petersfriedhof The Petersfriedhof or St. Peter's Cemetery is – together with the burial site at Nonnberg Abbey – the oldest cemetery in the Austrian city of Salzburg, located at the foot of the Festungsberg with Hohensalzburg Castle. It is one of Salzburg' ...

, the burial site of St Peter's Abbey in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

(Austria), mentions Italian ruler Odoacer (476-493) as "King of Rhutenes" ( la, Rex Rhvtenorvm), and narrates the story of invasion of several peoples into

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the north, ...

in 477. Due to its very late date (1521) and several anachronistic elements, the content of that plate is considered as legendary.Friedhof und Katakomben im Stift St. Peter
/ref> In spite of that, the same plate later became a popular "source" for several emerging theories, that were trying to connect Odoacer not only with ancient Celtic Ruthenes from Gaul, but also with later

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...

, who were labeled by some medieval chroniclers as ''

Ruthenians Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin language, Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in ...

''. Thus, an entire strain of speculative theories was created, regarding the alleged connection between ancient Gallic Ruthenes, and later East Slavic "Ruthenians". As noted by professor

Paul R. Magocsi Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became a F ...

, those theories should be regarded as "inventive tales" of "creative" writers.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Tribes involved in the Gallic Wars