Bellovesus (

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, 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, ...

: 'Worthy of Power') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new lands to settle because of overpopulation in their homeland. While Segovesus headed towards the

Hercynian Forest The Hercynian Forest was an ancient and dense forest that stretched across Western Central Europe, from North French Scarplands, Northeastern France to the Carpathian Mountains, including most of Southern Germany, though its boundaries are a mat ...

, Bellovesus is said to have led the Gallic invasion of the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

during the legendary reign of the fifth king of Rome, Tarquinius Priscus (616–579 BC), where he allegedly conquered the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

and founded the city of

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

(

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Etymology

The

personal name ''Bello-uesus'' literally means 'Worthy of Power'. It is formed with the stem - ('strong, powerful') attached to ', meaning 'worthy, good, deserving', itself from

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical 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 Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

*''wesus'' ('excellent, noble'; cf. Old Irish ''feib'' 'in excellence', OIr. ''fó'' 'goodness', OIr. ''fíu'', Welsh ''gwiw'' 'worthy, valuable').

Origin

Although the background of the story is anachronistic, for the historical Celtic invasion of the Italian Peninsula occurred between the end of the 5th century and the middle of the 4th century BC, in the context of the

Battle of the Allia The Battle of the Allia was fought between the Senones – a Gauls, Gallic tribe led by Brennus (leader of the Senones), Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic. The battle was fought at the confluence of the Tibe ...

(387 BC), the essence of the myth was most likely inspired by actual events. According to historian Venceslas Kruta, the story of Bellovesus "is probably the legendary construction of a 'myth of origins', likely Insubrian, which integrates various elements borrowed from Celtic, Cisalpine and Transalpine traditions, as well as Massaliote and Etrusco-Italian." The Gallic tribes mentioned in the legend were probably arranged freely out of names current at the time of Livy in the late 1st century BC.

Story

The Roman historian

mentioned that he was the son of the sister of the king

Ambicatus Ambicatus or Ambigatus (Gaulish: 'He who fights in both directions') is a legendary Gallic king of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, he sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in sear ...

. His family belonged to the tribe of Bituriges, then the most powerful Gallic people. At that time, the Bituriges were suffering from

overpopulation Overpopulation or overabundance is a state in which the population of a species is larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migr ...

, so it became necessary to open new settlement areas.. ''Ab Urbe Condita Libri''
5.34–35
Bellovesus and his brother Segovesus were entrusted with this task: The Alps represented an insurmountable hurdle since no road had been built across them yet. Only after they gave support to the Greeks, who in the area of the Salyes had landed and established ca. 600 BC the colony of

Massalia Massalia (; ) was an ancient Greek colonisation, Greek colony (''apoikia'') on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by the Ionians from Phocaea in 600 BC, this ''apoikia'' grew up rapidly, and its population se ...

(

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

), did Bellovesus and his followers succeed in crossing the mountain range through Taurine passes and the pass of the Duria. Having arrived in Italy, the Gauls defeated the

near the Ticino River, then settled in an area later called Insubria and, according to Livy, "bore the same name as an Haeduan canton". Here, Bellovesus founded the city of

, the modern

. Another group made up of Cenomani and led by Etitovius followed their track and, with the approval of Bellovesus, crossed the Alps by the same pass before settling around the present-day cities of

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

and

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. They were followed by the coming of Libui, Salyes,

Boii The Boii (Latin language, Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; ) were a Celts, Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul (present-day Northern Italy), Pannonia (present-day Austria and Hungary), present-day Ba ...

, and Lingones in the

, driving both the Etruscans and

Umbrians The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC ...

away from their lands.

References

;Citations ;Primary sources * ;Bibliography * * * * {{refend

External links

description of the people migration under Bellovesus.
In: Miranda Green: ''The Celtic World''.
description of the people migration under Bellovesus.
In: Henri Hubert: ''The Rise of the Celts''. 7th-century BC monarchs Celtic warriors Gaulish tribal chiefs Legendary monarchs

Etymology

Origin

Story

References

See also

External links