The Silvanectes (or Sulbanectes) were a small Belgic tribe dwelling around present-day

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

(

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

) 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 ...

Name

Attestations

They are mentioned as ''Ulmanectes'' by Pliny (1st c. AD), as ''Soubánektoi'' (Σουβάνεκτοι) 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), and as ''Siluanectas'' in the ''

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") 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 few surviving documents of ...

'' (5th c. AD)., s.v. ''Silvanectes''. The Silvanectes are also attested under the name ''Sulbanectes'' in an inscription, and their capital was mentioned as ''civitas Sulbanectium'' in 48 AD.

Etymology

The etymology of the ethnonym remains unclear. It could be a Latinized form of

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 ...

''*Seluanecti'' (from ''seluā-'' 'possession, property' > 'herd'; 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 writte ...

''selb'' 'property, possession',

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

''ar helw'' 'in possession of'), corrupted under the influence of Latin ''silva'' ('forest'). A comparison with

''sulbair'' ('eloquent') has also been proposed. The city of

, attested ca. 400 AD as ''civitas Silvanectum'' ('

civitas In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (; plural ), according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the , or citizens, united by law (). It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities () o ...

of the Silvanectes', ''Sinleti'' in the 6th c., ''Senliz'' in 1211) is named after the Gallic tribe.

Geography

The Silvanectes dwelled southwest of the Suessionnes, near the Meldi and the

Bellovaci The Bellovaci (Gaulish: ''Bellouacoi'') were a Belgic tribe dwelling in the modern Picardy region, near the present-day city of Beauvais, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. After they were defeated by Caesar in 57 BC, they gave lukewarm ...

. Their small territory, a depression surrounded by wooded heights, could be easily dominated by the more powerful Bellovaci, to which they were probably tributary.

References

;Bibliography * * * * {{Gallic peoples Gauls Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul Historical Celtic peoples Belgae