The Chamavi, Chamãves or Chamaboe () were a

Germanic tribe This list of ancient Germanic peoples is an inventory of ancient Germanic cultures, tribal groupings and other alliances of Germanic tribes and civilisations in ancient times. The information comes from various ancient historical documents, beginn ...

Roman imperial 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 Mediterr ...

times whose name survived into the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. They first appear under that name in the 1st century AD '' Germania'' of

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

as a

that lived to the north of the

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

. Their name probably survives in the region today called

Hamaland Hamaland (also Hameland) was a medieval Carolingian vassal county in the east of the modern-day Netherlands. Its name originated from the former Chamavi inhabitants that merged into the newly formed confederation of Franks. It is located east of ...

, which is in the

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

province of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, between the

IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. ...

and Ems rivers.

Etymology

The Germanic name of the Chamavi has been reconstructed as ''*Hamawiz'', whereby the element is generally taken to refer to alluvial land near an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

; in this case those of the rivers

and

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. In this interpretation the tribal name could be translated as "those who dwell near the river mouth". Less commonly accepted etymologies connect the Chamavi to an early West Germanic loan of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, meaning

fishhook A fish hook or fishhook, formerly also called angle (from Old English ''angol'' and Proto-Germanic ''*angulaz''), is a hook used to catch fish either by piercing and embedding onto the inside of the fish mouth (angling) or, more rarely, by impal ...

; ie. "the Fishermen"; or to Proto-Germanic ''*hamiþja'' (related to

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

) which described a piece of clothing or covering; the Dutch word (body, literally a "shape/likeness covering") is related to the same root.

Location and historical mentions

According to

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

, in 4 BC, Tiberius crossed the Rhine and attacked, in sequence, the Chamavi,

Chattuari The Chattuarii, also spelled Attoarii, were a Germanic tribe of the Franks. They lived originally north of the Rhine in the area of the modern border between Germany and the Netherlands, but then moved southwards in the 4th century, as a Frankis ...

, and

Bructeri The Bructeri (from Latin; Greek: Βρούκτεροι, ''Broukteroi'', or Βουσάκτεροι, ''Bousakteroi''; Old English: ''Boruhtware'') were a Germanic tribe* * in Roman imperial times, located in northwestern Germany, in present-day ...

implying that the Chamavi lived west of the other two named tribes. The Bructeri lived between the Ems and

Lippe Lippe () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The ...

, so the Chamavi also probably lived west of the Ems. Tacitus reports in his ''

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'' that in the time of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

(apparently 58 AD), the

Angrivarii The Angrivarii (or ''Angrivari'') were a Germanic people of the early Roman Empire, who lived in what is now northwest Germany near the middle of the Weser river. They were mentioned by the Roman authors Tacitus and Ptolemy. They were part of the ...

, having been ejected from their homes further to the north, pleaded with Rome to allow them to live in a military buffer zone on the northern bank of the Rhine, saying that "these fields belonged to the Chamavi; then to the

Tubantes The Tubantes were a Germanic tribe, living in the eastern part of the Netherlands, north of the Rhine river. They are often equated to the ''Tuihanti'', who are known from two inscriptions found near Hadrian's Wall. The modern name Twente derives f ...

; after them to the

Usipii The Usipetes or Usipii (in Plutarch's Greek, Ousipai, and possibly the same as the Ouispoi of Claudius Ptolemy) were an ancient tribe who moved into the area on the right bank (the northern or eastern bank) of the lower Rhine in the first century B ...

". These fields, being on the Rhine between

and

, were to the south of modern Hamaland, and to the west of the Bructeri. In this passage he does not explain where the Chamavi had moved to. In his '' Germania'', Tacitus reported that the Chamavi and

had moved, apparently recently in his time (around 100 AD) into the lands of the

, ''the Bructeri having been expelled and utterly destroyed by an alliance of neighboring peoples...''.Tac. Ger. 33
/ref> The Bructeri lived in the area between the

and Ems rivers, to the southeast of modern

, which is to the west of the Ems. Tacitus also reports that to the north of the Chamavi and Angrivarii lived "the

Dulgubini The Dulgubnii are a Germanic tribe mentioned in Tacitus' ''Germania'' (Chapter 34) as living in what is today northwest Germany. Tacitus describes them being to the north of the Angrivarii and Chamavi, and as having moved from the north into the ...

and

Chasuarii The Chasuarii were an ancient Germanic tribe known from the reports of authors writing in the time of the Roman Empire. They lived somewhere to the east and north of the Rhine, near the modern river Hase, which feeds into the Ems. This means they ...

, and other tribes not equally famous".Tac. Ger. 34
/ref> To their south then were the

Tencteri The Tencteri or Tenchteri or Tenctheri (in Plutarch's Greek, Tenteritē and possibly the same as the Tenkeroi mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy if these were not the Tungri) were an ancient tribe, who moved into the area on the right bank (the norther ...

, at that time between the Rhine and the

Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the va ...

. (The Bructeri however continue to appear in the record and apparently moved south.)

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 ...

in his ''

Geographia The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...

'' (2.10), mentions several tribal names which could refer to different reports of the Chamavi's position. But the text is notoriously difficult to unravel: *Ptolemy describes the peoples between the Frisians and Chauci on the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

coast, and the more nomadic and newly arrived Suebic nations who he describes (unusually) as now living in a band from their more well-known locations near the Elbe all the way to the Rhine, where he places at least part of the Suebic

Langobardi The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

. From west to east: Between the Frisians and the Rhine, he places the lesser

; between the Ems and

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

rivers he places the greater Bructeri, and the "Chaimai"; and between Weser and

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

, the Angrivarii, "Laccobardi" (probably Langobardi, and this is a more normal place for them to be reported living), and

Dulgubnii The Dulgubnii are a Germanic tribe mentioned in Tacitus' '' Germania'' (Chapter 34) as living in what is today northwest Germany. Tacitus describes them being to the north of the Angrivarii and Chamavi, and as having moved from the north into the ...

. These "Chaimai" are therefore neighbours of the Angrivarii, Chauci, and Dulgubni, roughly matching Tacitus, although the Bructeri have not disappeared. So this passage matches other classical texts. *On the other hand, coming from the direction of the Elbe, and now south of the Suebian band of peoples, the Kamauoi (Latinized to Camavi) are mentioned together with the Cherusci at "Mount Melibocus", which is thought to be the

Harz mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

. Both are said to be "under", meaning south of, the

Calucones The Calucones were a Gallic or Rhaetian tribe dwelling around present-day Chur (eastern Switzerland) during the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Calucones'' (var. ''Callucones'', ''Allucones'') by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''kaloúk ...

, who lived on both side of the Elbe. Matching the Harz, the Elbe is also to the west, where the "Bainochaimai" live. Although these Cherusci are close to where other texts report them, this is quite far to the east of Hamaland, and also somewhat to the east of the land of the Bructeri. So this is an unusual placement to be reported for the Chamavi. *In a third place, when describing the tribes south of the band of Suevi, and east of the Abnobian mountains running parallel to the Rhine, apparently coming from the west this time, Ptolemy mentions first that "under" the most westerly Suevi are, apparently from north to south, the

, then Nertereani, then Danduti, then the Turoni and Marvingi, then under the Marvingi, the Curiones, then

, as far as the Danube and the Parmaecampi. The next apparent north to south series starts not with Suevi but with the Camavi (presumably the ones in the Harz mountains, who are described as being south of the Suebi) "under" whom are the

and

Tubanti The Tubantes were a Germanic tribe, living in the eastern part of the Netherlands, north of the Rhine river. They are often equated to the ''Tuihanti'', who are known from two inscriptions found near Hadrian's Wall. The modern name Twente derives ...

, and then between these and the Sudetes mountains, thought to be the Erzgebirge, the Teuriochaemae (an otherwise unknown name, but in the place previously inhabited by the

Hermanduri The Hermunduri, Hermanduri, Hermunduli, Hermonduri, or Hermonduli were an ancient Germanic tribe, who occupied an inland area near the source of the Elbe river, around what is now Bohemia from the first to the third century, though they have also ...

and later by the

Thuringii The Thuringii, Toringi or Teuriochaimai, were an early Germanic people that appeared during the late Migration Period in the Harz Mountains of central Germania, a region still known today as Thuringia. It became a kingdom, which came into co ...

, with these three names often thought to be equivalent). Not only the Chamavi, but also the Tubanti, Chasuarii, and Chattuari, are described by Tacitus and other sources as living much further to the north of the Rhine and the Harz mountains, nowhere near the Danube. The Chatti however, are in approximately the expected place. In about 293 or 294, according to the Latin Panegyrics VIII,

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius "Chlorus" ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 ...

, had victories in the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

delta, and his opponents are often thought to have been Chamavi and

Frisii The Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and the River Ems, and the presumed or possible ancestors of the modern-day ethnic Dutch. The Frisii lived in the coastal are ...

, because the author of the text then mentions that as a result, Chamavi and Frisians now plow his land and the price of food is lower. Some also apparently became soldiers, and about 300 the 11th cohort "chamadoroi" were noted in Peamou in Upper Egypt, corresponding to the 11th cohort Chamavi known from the Notitia Dignitatum.In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: The Panegyrici Latini, edited by C. E. V. Nixon, Barbara Saylor Rodgers https://books.google.be/books?id=0WlC_UtU8M4C We know the Chamavi were among them because there was a settlement ''

pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geogra ...

(Ch)amavorum'' (French; Amous) . In 313,

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

also defeated Franks near the Rhine. The Panegyric which survives mentions the Bructeri, Chamavi, Cherusci, Lancionae, Alemanni and Tubantes. The new name "

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

" also started to be used to refer to both Salians, Chamavi, and some other tribes, in this period. On the Peutinger map, which dates to as early as the 4th century, is a brief note written in the space north of the Rhine, generally interpreted as ''Hamavi qui et Pranci'' which is translated as ''The Hamavi, who are Franks''. In the 350s there were many conquests claimed by emperor Julian against Franks on the Rhine. In the winter of 357/358 he defeated plundering Salians and Chamavi on the Maas river, and left the Salians in Roman territory because of their permission to live there, but forced the Chamavi to leave. Unlike the Salii, these Chamavi were expelled from Roman lands, though they clearly lived close by, where their grain was disappointingly unready for Roman use. In an apparent description of the same events, Zosimus does not mention the Chamavi, but a Saxon group known as the "Kouadoi", a Greek spelling of " Quadi", which some authors believe might be a misunderstanding for the Chamavi. According to him, this tribe had pushed into Batavia, displacing the Salians. In 392 AD, according to a citation by Gregory of Tours,

Sulpicius Alexander Sulpicius Alexander (fl. late fourth century) was a Roman historian of Germanic tribes. His work is lost, but his ''Historia'' in at least four books is quoted by Gregory of Tours. It was perhaps a continuation of the ''Res gestae'' by Ammianus Ma ...

reported that Arbogast crossed the Rhine to punish the "Franks" for incursions into Gaul. He first devastated the territory of the Bricteri, near the bank of the Rhine, then the Chamavi, apparently their neighbours. Both tribes did not confront him. The

Ampsivarii The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari (a simplification not warranted by the sources), were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors. Their homeland was originally around the middle of the river Ems, which fl ...

and the

however were under military leadership of the Frankish princes

Marcomer Marcomer (died after 392), also spelled Marcomeres, Marchomer, Marchomir, was a Frankish leader (''dux'') in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388, when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus ...

and

Sunno Sunno was a leader (dux) of the Franks in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388 when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I. The invasion is docume ...

and they appeared "on the ridges of distant hills". At this time the Bructeri apparently lived near

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. Note that the Chamavi and the Ampsivarii are the two peoples that Tacitus had long before noted as having conquered the Bructeri from their north. This description would place the lands of the Chamavi still close to the old Bructeri lands. Gregory of Tours also mentions the Chamavi as having been among the Franks. The Lex Chamavorum Francorum is the modern name of a Frankish legal code known from the 9th century, which was official under

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

. It is not clear whether it was really intended to refer to Chamavi.Text
here
but there are doubts, see for exampl
here

References

{{Germanic peoples, state=collapsed

Sources

*Tacitus, '' Germania.XXXIV'' Early Germanic peoples Frankish people Netherlands in the Roman era Istvaeones

Etymology

Location and historical mentions

See also

References

Sources