In
general terms, the Romans
coined the name 'Gaul' to describe the
Celtic tribes of what is now
central, northern and eastern
France. The Gauls were
divided from the Belgae
to the north by the Marne and the Seine, and from the Aquitani to the south
by the River Garonne. By the middle of the first century BC, the Lemovici
were located in southern-central in Gaul, around modern Limoges and
concentrated on the modern départements of Charente and Haute Vienne. They
were neighboured to the north-west by the powerful
Pictones, to the north by
the Bituriges Cubi,
to the north-east and east by the
Arverni, to the south by
the Cadurci, to the
south-west by the Petrocorii,
and to the west by the
Santones.
The tribe's name breaks down into two elements after the Latin suffix has
been removed. These are 'lem' (lemos) and 'vic' (wik). The first, 'lemos', is
not listed, but the similar 'limos' is an elm. The modern
Welsh form
is 'llwyfen', although the modern 'f' was an 'm' before the sound shifted
during the sixth to eighth centuries AD. The 'vic' element could either be 'wiko',
a 'village', as a noun or 'wike/o', 'fight', as a verb. Going with the noun
because it makes more sense, it provides 'village elm'. Would this be a
traditional name of the tribe's origin at a village with elms? An educated
guess is that the 'village' would have been adjacent to an elm grove used
for religious purposes. Only then would this make sense (prestige-wise) as a
tribal name. The
Lemovii name is very similar.
The tribe occupied a fairly large swathe of territory in the modern Haute-Vienne
département, suggesting that they were at least powerful enough to prevent
encroachment by other tribes, especially the Pictones and Arverni. They had
an oppidum called Durotincum (modern Villejoubert in the Charente
département, immediately to the east of the Haute-Vienne). Following
subjugation by Rome, this was replaced by Augustoritum Lemovicum (modern
Limoges in the Haute-Vienne), which was part of the Roman province of
Aquitania I. There were other tribal centres at Acitodunum (Ahun in the
Creuse département, eastwards of Durotincum), Excingidiacum (Yssandon, to
the south-west of Acitodunum), and Uxellum (Ussel, to the south-east of
Acitodunum). The Lemovici name survives, of course, in the modern Limoges
region.
(Information by Peter Kessler and Edward Dawson, with additional information
from The La Tene Celtic Belgae Tribes in England: Y-Chromosome Haplogroup
R-U152 - Hypothesis C, David K Faux, from Geography, Ptolemy, from
Roman History, Cassius Dio, from Research into the Physical History
of Mankind, James Cowles Pritchard, from Geography, Strabo,
translated by H C Hamilton Esq & W Falconer, M A, Ed (George Bell &
Sons, London, 1903), and from External Link:
The
Works of Julius Caesar: Gallic Wars.)
c.700 - 400 BC
The Celtic
ancestors of the Lemovices establish themselves in the Limoges region of
Gaul. Although the process of Gaulish expansion is known to start around 700
BC, it may take as long as three hundred years before many of the tribes
known to later historians arrive or are formed from the stream of migrants.
The Lemovices found a capital at Durotincum (modern Villejoubert).
? - 52 BC
Sedullos / Sedulius
Uergobretos (chief magistrate). Killed at Alesia.
53 BC
On 13 February 53 BC the disaffected
Carnutes massacre
every Roman
merchant who is present in the town of Cenabum, as well as killing one of Caesar's
commissariat officers. This is the spark that ignites a massed Gaulish rebellion.
While Julius Caesar is occupied in the lands of the
Belgae, Vercingetorix has
renewed the Arverni
subjugation of the Aeduii.
He has also restored the reputation of Arverni greatness by leading the revolt
that is building against Rome.
Organising the various tribes of Gaul into a unified resistance
took some doing, but Vercingetorix of the Arverni appears to
have held a level of authority that made him a leader not to be
refused, and thousands of warriors flocked to join him
Despite his former allegiance to Julius Caesar, in the winter of 53-52 BC Commius
of the Atrebates uses
his contacts with the
Bellovaci to convince
them to contribute 2,000 men to an army. This army will join other Gauls to form a massive
relief force at Alesia in the last stage of the revolt. The Lemovices are also amongst the
first tribes to commit to joining Vercingetorix, contributing 10,000 men. The
Mediomatrici send
5,000 men, and the Andes,
Ruteni, and
Turones are also amongst the first
to commit.
52 BC
While Caesar is tied down in
Rome,
the Gauls begin their revolt, resolving to die in freedom rather than be suppressed by
the invaders. Vercingetorix is expelled from the
Arverni town of Gergovia
by his uncle, Gobanitio, and the rest of the nobles in their fear of revolting against
Rome. Despite this, he gathers together an army. The
Aulerci,
Cadurci, Lemovices,
Parisii,
Pictones,
Senones, and
Turones all join him, as do all of the
tribes that border the ocean. The
Treveri support the revolt
but are pinned down by German tribes.
Vercingetorix, after sustaining a series of losses at Vellaunodunum, Genabum, and
Noviodunum, summons his men to a council in which it is decided that the Romans should
be prevented from being able to gather supplies. A scorched earth policy is adopted, and
more than twenty towns of the Bituriges are burned in one day, although their
oppidum at Avaricum is spared. Eventually, Vercingetorix has to withdraw in good
order to Alesia, a major fort belonging to the
Mandubii. The remaining cavalry are
dispatched back to their tribes to bring reinforcements. Caesar begins a siege of Alesia,
aiming on starving out the inhabitants.
The site of Alesia, a major fort belonging to the Mandubii tribe
of Celts, was the scene of the final desperate stand-off between
Rome and the Gauls in 52 BC
Four relief forces amounting to a considerable number of men and
horses are assembled in the territory of the Aeduii by the council of the Gaulish
nobility. Among those demanded from the tribes of Gaul are ten thousand each from
the Bellovaci,
Helvetii, Lemovices
and Lingones. They
attempt to relieve Vercingetorix at the siege of Alesia, but the combined relief force
is soundly repulsed by Julius Caesar's remarkable strategy of simultaneously conducting
the siege of Alesia on one front whilst being besieged on the other. Sedullos of the
Lemovices is killed. Seeing that all is lost, Vercingetorix surrenders to Caesar. The
garrison is taken prisoner, as are the survivors from the relief army. They are either
sold into slavery or given as booty to Caesar's legionaries, apart from the
Aeduii and Arverni
warriors who are released and pardoned in order to secure the allegiance of these
important and powerful tribes.
52? BC
Postumus
Son of Dumnorix. Uergobretos.
52? BC
An inscription is later discovered in rock in the Gaulish city of
Augustoritum Lemovicum (modern Limoges). It reveals a yet incomplete Romanisation of
the tribe by stating: 'Postumus, vergobret, son of Dumnorix' (the latter having no
relation to the Aeduii
leader of the same name). The word 'vergobret' is the same as 'uergobretos', meaning
chief magistrate, the equivalent of a king in German tribes. Celtic chiefs are often
elected, and sometimes for fixed periods, so the title is not an hereditary one, but
it does mark out Postumus as a chief, perhaps one who had been born after the death
of his father.
However, this position is likely to have a limited lifetime, with
Rome taking full
administrative control of the tribe with no more than half a century. Gaul has been
brought under Roman domination, and the history of its population of
Celts is tied to that of the
empire.
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