The Bituriges Vivisci (

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 Switzerl ...

: ''Biturīges Uiuisci'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling near modern-day

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

during the

Roman period 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 ...

. They had a homonym tribe, the

Bituriges Cubi The Bituriges Cubi (Gaulish: ''Biturīges Cubi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in a territory corresponding to the later province of Berry, which is named after them, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bitur ...

in the

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct of evidence of this.

Name

They are mentioned as ''Bitourígōn te tō͂n Ou̓iouískōn'' (Βιτουρίγων τε τῶν Οὐιουίσκων) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), ''Bituriges liberi cognomine Vivisci'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as ''Bitoúrges oi̔ Ou̓ibískoi'' (Βιτούργες οἱ Οὐιβίσκοι) 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 import ...

(2nd c. AD). The

ethnonym ''Biturīges'' means 'kings of the world', or possibly 'perpetual kings'. It derives from the stem ''bitu-'' ('world', perhaps also 'perpetual'; cf. OIr. ''bith'' 'world, life, age', ''bith''- 'eternally',

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic a ...

''bid'', OBret. ''bit'' 'world') attached to ''riges'' ('kings'; sing. ''rix''). Whether the meaning 'perpetual' was already associated with ''bitu''- in ancient Celtic languages or appeared later in Old Irish remains uncertain. In any case, the meaning 'world' probably emerged from the notion of 'living world, place of the livings', since 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-Celt ...

stem *''bitu-'' derives 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- ...

*''gʷiH-tu''-, meaning 'life' (cf. Lat. ''vīta'' 'life', OCS ''žiti'' 'to live').

Geography

The Bituriges Vivisci dwelled in the modern region, between the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

(Garumna) river and the

Atlantic ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

. Their territory was located west of the

Petrocorii The Petrocorii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the present-day Périgord region, between the Dordogne and Vézère rivers, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Etymology They are mentioned as ''Petrocoriis'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ' ...

, south of the

Santones The Santoni or Santones ( grc, Σαντόνων, Σάντονες) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the later region of Saintonge during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name These people are noted as ''Santonum'', ''Santonos'' and ''Santo ...

, northwest of the Nitiobroges and Cadurci, and east of the smaller Medulli., Map 14: Caesarodunum-Burdigala. Their port (''emporium'') and chief town was Burdigala (

). Writing in the early 1st century AD, Strabo describes them as the only Gallic tribe dwelling among the Aquitani, which suggests a relatively late coming to the region. According to historian Venceslas Kruta, they may have settled in their attested homeland as a result of the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...

(58–50 BC), for their presence is not mentioned 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 ...

References

Primar sources

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Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Gallic peoples Historical Celtic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Bordeaux

Name

Geography

See also

References

Primar sources

Bibliography