Veliocasses

The Veliocasses (or Velocasses) were a Belgic or Gallic tribe of the La Tène and Roman periods, dwelling in the south of modern Seine-Maritime and in the north of Eure.[1]

Name

They are mentioned as Veliocasses by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC) and Pliny (1st c. AD),[2] as Ou̓éliokásioi (Οὐέλιοκάσιοι; var. οὐενελιοάσιοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD),[3] and as Velocasses by Orosius (early 5th c. AD).[4][5]

The meaning of the Gaulish ethnonym Veliocasses is uncertain. The first part is certainly the Gaulish root uelio-, which could either stem from Proto-Celtic *wēliyā- ('modesty'; cf. OIr. féle, OBret. guiled 'honestas'), or else from Proto-Celtic *wēlyo- ('better'; cf. Welsh gwell 'better').[6][7] The second etymology is semantically more probable for a tribal name, but the unknown length of the vowel e in uelio- makes it difficult to conclude with certainty.[6][8] The meaning of the second element -casses, attested in other Gaulish ethnonyms such as Bodiocasses, Durocasses, Sucasses, Tricasses, or Viducasses, has been debated, but it probably signifies '(curly) hair, hairstyle' (cf. Old Irish chass 'curl'), perhaps referring to a particular warrior coiffure.[9][7]

The county of Vexin, attested in 617 as pagus Veliocassinus ('pagus of the Veliocasses'; Vilcassinum in 1092, Vulesin in 1118), is named after the ancient tribe.[10]

Geography

The territory of the Veliocasses was located in the north and, limited extent, also in the south of the lower reaches of the Sequana (Seine) river.[1] Their territory was situated between that of the Caletes and Bellovaci. Wooded heights constituted a natural frontier with the Bellovaci, where the latter dominated.[11]

During the pre-Roman period, their capital was probably the oppidum of Camp de Calidou (near Caudebec), then Rotomagus (present-day Rouen) after the reign of Augustus (27 BC–14 AD).[1] The settlement was an important harbour for exports to the British Island in the 2nd century AD.[12]

History

During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Veliocasses participated in the tribal coalition of the Belgae that resisted the Romans in 57 BC. In 52 they raised 3,000 men to support Vercingetorix, and fought alongside the Bellovaci in the final rebellion against Roman hegemony.

Culture

As for the neighbouring Calates, whether the Veliocasses should be regarded as Gallic or Belgic is debatable.[11]

References
  1. Polfer 2006.
  2. Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 2:4, 8:7; Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:107.
  3. Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:8:7.
  4. Orosius. Historiae Adversus Paganos, 6:7:14.
  5. Falileyev 2010, s.v. Veliocasses.
  6. Delamarre 2003, p. 311.
  7. Busse 2006, p. 199.
  8. Matasović 2009, p. 410.
  9. Delamarre 2003, pp. 109–110: "H. Birkhan parvient cependant à la conclusion raisonnable que -casses et cassi- sont deux mots différents, que -casses signifie probablement 'au cheveux bouclés / crépus' ("mit wirrem Kraushaar") et s'explique par la coiffure spéciale des Celtes au combat (une forme celto-germanique *kazdh- permettrait d'unifier le celtique -cass- et les mots v.norr. haddr 'longs cheveux de femme', ags. heord 'chevelure' < *kazdh-to-/ti-)."
  10. Roblin 1976, pp. 4, 28.
  11. Wightman 1985, p. 27.
  12. Lafond, Yves (2006). "Ratomagus". Brill’s New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1019070.

Primary sources
  • Caesar (1917). The Gallic War. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Edwards, H. J. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-99080-7.
  • Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674993648.

Bibliography
  • Busse, Peter E. (2006). "Belgae". In Koch, John T. (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 195–200. ISBN 978-1-85109-440-0.
  • Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
  • Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
  • Matasović, Ranko (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. ISBN 9789004173361.
  • Polfer, Michel (2006). "Veliocasses". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1229330.
  • Roblin, Michel (1976). "Petromanlalum, Saint-Clair et le Vexin". Journal des Savants. 1 (1): 3–31. doi:10.3406/jds.1976.1332.
  • Wightman, Edith M. (1985). Gallia Belgica. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05297-0.
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