The Brisigavi or Brisgavi were a
Germanic tribe dwelling in the southern region of the
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
, in south
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, during the 5th century AD.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Brisigaui'' (''seniores'' and ''iuniores'') on the ''
Notitia Dignitatum
The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') is a document of the Late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very ...
'' (5th c. AD).
[, s.v. ''Brisigavi''.]
The meaning of the name is obscure. It may be a hybrid, with a Celtic first element, of uncertain meaning (''brisi(o)-''), and a Germanic second element (-''gawi''), meaning 'region, land'. Ashwin E. Gohil has proposed to translate the name as 'place of the leftovers of pressed grapes’.
Today the southern region of the Black Forest is named
Breisgau
The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany extending along the Rhine River and enveloping portions of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hoch ...
.
Geography
The Brisigavi lived in the southern part of the
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
(''Abnob(ai)a Ore''). Their territory was located east of
Leuci
The Leucī (Gaulish: ''Leucoi'', 'the bright, lightning ones') were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the southern part of the modern Lorraine region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Leucos'' (acc.) by Caesar ...
, south of the
Alamani, west of the
Vindelici
The Vindelici (Gaulish: ) were a Gallic people dwelling around present-day Augsburg (Bavaria) during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as by Horace (1st c. BC), as (; var. ) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), as and (var ...
, north of the
Raurici.
[, Map 11: Sequana-Rhenus, Map 12: Mogontiacum-Reginum-Lauriacum, Map 18: Augustonemetum-Vindonissa.]
History
The Roman historian
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...
wrote in 354 that
Vadomarius
Vadomarius () was an Alemannic king and Roman general, who shared power with his brother Gundomadus. After instigating an indecisive campaign in Gaul against the Romans, Vadomarius and his brother signed a treaty with the Roman emperor Constantiu ...
was the chieftain of the Brisgavi, and that he was murdered in the year 368 by his own people, influenced by the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
.
See also
*
List of Germanic peoples
The list of early Germanic peoples is a catalog of ancient Germanic cultures, tribal groups, and other alliances of Germanic tribes and civilizations from antiquity. This information is derived from various ancient historical sources, beginning in ...
*
Barbarian invasions
The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
Alemanni
Early Germanic peoples
{{Europe-ethno-group-stub