The Caletes or Caleti (

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 ...

: ''Caletoi'' "the hard tubborn, toughones"; la, italic=yes, Calētēs or ''Calētī'') were a Belgic or Gallic tribe dwelling in

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French ''département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cliffs o ...

, in present-day

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 ...

, 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 ''Caletes'' (var. ''Caletos'', ''Cadetes'') 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), as ''Káletoi'' (Κάλετοι) and ''Kalétous'' (Καλέτους) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), as ''Galetos'' (var. ''Galletos'') 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), as ''Kalē̃tai'' (Καλη̃ται) 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), and as ''Caleti'' by Orosius (early 5th c. AD). The

ethnonym ''Caletoi'' literally means 'the hard ones', that is to say 'the stubborn' or 'the tough'. It derives from the

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...

stem ''*kaleto''- ('hard, cruel, strong'; cf.

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writt ...

''calath'' 'heroic,''

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 ...

''caled'' 'hard'), itself from

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo- ...

''*ḱelto''-, meaning 'cold' (cf. Avest. ''sarǝta-'' 'cold', OEng. 'hero', Lat. 'to be hardened y the experience insensible').; ; ; The

, attested in 843 as ''Pago Calcis'' (''Kaleto'' in 1206), is named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The territory of the Calates closely corresponded to the

. They dwelled north of the neighbouring

Veliocasses The Veliocasses or Velocasses (Gaulish: *''Weliocassēs'') 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. Name They are mentioned as ''Veliocasses'' by ...

, and were separated from the

Ambiani The Ambiani (Gaulish: ''Ambiāni'', 'those around') were a Belgic coastal tribe dwelling in the modern Picardy region during the Iron Age and Roman periods. They settled in the region between the 4th century and the second part of the 2nd centur ...

in the northeast by a minor tribe, the Catoslugi. They occupied a section of the coast, between the

Sequana In Gallo-Roman religion, Sequana is the goddess of the river Seine, particularly the springs at the source of the Seine, and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani. The springs, called the ''Fontes Sequanae'' ("The Springs of Sequana"), are located in a va ...

and the Phrudis rivers.

Harfleur Harfleur () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It was the principal seaport in north-western France for six centuries, until Le Havre was built about five kilometres (three miles) downstrea ...

(''Caracotinum'') was their principal

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Culture

Whether the Catales should be regarded as Gallic or Belgic is debatable. Caesar appears to attribute them to Belgica, their coins were of Belgic type, and they joined the Belgic opposition to Rome 57 BC. But, elsewhere, Caesar lists them along

Armorica Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; br, Arvorig, ) is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic Coast ...

n peoples, and they were not, unless briefly, part of the province of

Gallia Belgica Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and Germany. In 50 BC, a ...

under the

Roman Empire 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 ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

Map of Northern Gaul showing the position of the Caletes.
{{Gallic peoples Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Belgae