Gaulle

History

Until the Roman conquest, of -58 with -51, this name does not recover any concept of political or territorial unit, but rather a cultural and perhaps economic surface inside which strong disparities were however to exist, as archeology proves it. A contrario , the Celtique indicates - for the archeologists - the whole of the territories populated by the Celtes histories with the second Âge of iron exceeding the framework of only Gaulle (the arrival of the Celtic first people in Western Europe going up in the middle of the thousand-year-old IIe front J. - C.)

In the same way the name “Gallic”, designating the inhabitants of this territory, covers many people and a multitude of ethnoculturelles entities until the Roman conquest.

Towards 250 av. J.C, the authors Latin use the word Galli (" Gaulois") to designate the Celts installed as a Gaulle, undoubtedly because of their animal fetish gallus, " coq" in Latin.

The words French Gaulle and Gallic are the traditional representations to make the words Latin Gallia , Gallus and Gallicus . Nevertheless, the etymology of the French words is probably another. The most probable source is not-Germanic the Germanic people nomination, i.e. Celtic and Roman: * walha (cf Vlahi and English names for the Celtic territories Wales and Cornwall). In the words of Germanic origin, W becomes gu or G (cf war < * will werra = Engl. war , to keep < * wardōn = Engl. ward , all. warten ), and the diphthongue with the is development regular of Al in front of a consonant (cf horse ~ horses ). In any case, Gaulle cannot be the regular continuation of the Latin word because G becomes J in front of has (cf gamba > leg ), and it cannot be a loan scholar because in this case the diphthongue with the would be without explanation. Thus one notes the true continuation of the term inherited the type Jaille in the names of certain communes in the West.

The territory

The territories of future Gaulle were included in a vast unit continental extending from the Atlantic to the Danube and named “Celtic” by the first written testimonys we have: those of the Greeks (in particular Aristote, raises Isocrate and of Plato, -384 with -332).

The “Gallic” name (Latin galli ) is attested, as for him, for the first time under the feather of Caton Old the towards -168, to designate the inhabitants of the Celtic one who had invaded the plain of the Po, i.e. the inhabitants of the Gaulle cisalpine. One knows mainly thanks to the etymology that they were north-alpine people well.

In the middle of the first century before the Christian era, according to Jules César, Gaulle was divided into three parts: the Celtic one, Aquitaine and Belgium (cf chart). It is probable that this diagrammatic cutting corresponded for a share to observable cultural differences by a foreigner (what mentions César and who is confirmed in the case of Belgium) and in addition with geopolitical considerations specific to the Roman conqueror (like the need for delimiting the territory to be conquered). Nevertheless, the absence of other precise sources still gives place to many conjectures about the true nature of this cutting.

If Gaulle itself appears under the feather of the Romans, it finds also its definition through the history of its conquest by the latter.

Schematically, the Roman conquest of Gaulle was carried out in three phases:

the conquest of the Gaulle cisalpine, including/understanding the plain cispadane and the transpadane (fine of IIIe century before the Christian era), soon named “Gaulle out of toga” ( gallia togata );
the conquest of the Narbonnese , i.e. the south-east of France and the valley of the Rhone (last third of IIe century before the Christian era), named “Gaulle in braie” ( gallia bracata ) in opposition to Gaulle cisalpine;
the hairy conquest of “Gaulle” ( gallia comata ), i.e. remainder of France, Belgium and Swiss plate (medium of Ier century before the Christian era).

Cisalpine, integrated into Italy under the Republic, became an extension of Rome, while the Narbonnese constituted Roman a “province” located out of Italy (the Latin name provincia gave current French “Provence”).

The names “Gaulle” and “Gallic” remained as for them of use to indicate the Roman provinces extending on the remainder from these territories (France, Belgium and Swiss plate current) and their inhabitants from Gallo-Roman culture (that archeology and historiography also indicate under the neologism Gallo-Romans ).

In -12, Auguste founded the first supra-provincial “institution” of the Empire with the “council of the three Gaules” ( concilium trium Galliarum ) bringing together each year the representatives of the cities of the Lyons Gaulle, the Gaulle Aquitaine and the Gaulle Belgium with Lugdunum to celebrate the imperial worship. It is probable that this gesture did nothing but confirm the old bonds which existed between the inhabitants of these territories. These are the bonds, gradually woven, which can explain the unitary character ultimately that shows the possibility for, beyond the disparities, the description of Gaulle by César nearly one front half-century.

Inhabitants

In the beginning, the Celtic , or their predecessors could populate the Central Europe. Towards -500, they would have started to emigrate towards the North-West to constitute, two hundred years later, an important part of the population of the various areas of Gaulle. Lastly, they would have begun important migrations towards Italy and the east of Europe at the end of Ve century. But it is as now proposed as these Celtic populations could, also, being of the local communities, recognized and named Celtic by the Mediterranean colonists and tradesmen (cf the example of Celtic Mediterranean).

At the time of the conquest by hairy Rome of Gaulle, if the territories of the Celts had been reduced considerably, the latter preserved nevertheless bonds between them of Bohemia to the island of Brittany, as it indicates the presence of Danubian archaeological testimonys among the warriors of Vercingétorix or, the important bonds between the Belgian people of the north of Gaulle and those of the Thames.

These bonds can be explained, in the case of Gaulle, by the existence of a network of “customers” which held certain tribes gradually, certain people in the dependence of others, richer or more and possibly having a wider territory. The existence of “federations” of people is attested in the whole of the Celtic field: among the people transpadans of Gaulle cisalpine in IIIe century before the Christian era, in midday of Gaulle in IIe century before the Christian era (the Salyens) or as a Gaulle hairy before the war of Gaules (Arvernes, Éduens and Séquanes).

To explain the geographical surface of the material culture laténienne in its entirety, even on the scale of Gaulle, this diagram is however insufficient and it is necessary to draw aside the question of the settlement.

The thesis of a Celtic invasion which would have placed under its cut the indigenous populations, such as the Ligures mentioned by the first Greek sources, does not have any more course today. It is indeed very difficult to associate the social changes and techniques which characterize the birth of the Celtic civilization of Tène with ethnic changes.

As, it is much more probable as the settlement of Gaulle, for the majority, was inherited thousand-year-old mixings of the people during Prehistory and than the culture laténienne was diffused gradually, by successive contributions since a cradle or “complex” north-alpine (see Civilization of Hallstatt).

In parallel, other cultural contributions could be diffused starting from the Atlantic areas.

The megalithic cultures of the Atlantic facade (Ireland, Country-of-Wales, Armorican coast), in particular, attest the existence of cultural and economic bonds between these areas since prehistory. As B. Cunliffe raises it ( the Celts , Paris, 1996), of the megaliths were employed again besides during the Gallic period, as testify some to the Celtic reasons present on number of them. Lastly, other megaliths were to have preserved a character crowned for the Christian period, as the crosses testify some of which they were then surmounted.

Among these possible contributions with Gallic “civilization”, Jules César, in his comment on the war of Gaules mentions that the Druidisme came from Great Britain. Nothing can confirm or cancel this assertion.

Ultimately, of the many people or federations of people present as a Gaulle the day before the Roman conquest, there remain contours of “borders”, whose existence makes debate however (limits of the soils of the Early middle ages, undoubtedly former to the Celtic period for the majority) and a “substrate” linguistic a long time underestimated. The etymology, finally, preserved the name of Gallic populations, name which still designates the inhabitants of areas and current French cities: for example, Allobroges are the inhabitants of Grenoble or Auvergnats, the inhabitants of Auvergne which covers the territory arverne (northern of the Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme and high-To combine).

on the settlement protohistoric of Europe: to see Celtic.
at the time Gallic: to see Gallic People.
during the Roman conquest and at the time Roman: to see Gaulle Roman.

The language

See Gallic (language).

The protohistoric majority of the inhabitants of Gaulle spoke mainly 3 languages, declined in several dialects. Jules César mentioned however that at its time the three parts of Gaulle were characterized by the habits, manners, but also by the “language”. This assertion is very delicate to include/understand: Did Jules César want to speak about three quite distinct languages, namely the Gallic one, the Basque and a Germanic language?

Gallic Celtique disappeared about the 5th century, it is a Celtic Langue of the family of the Indo-European Langues, near of the Breton and Welsh.

It is today allowed that Gaulle “Roman” was Roman only in certain fields, certainly major.

The changes brought by the conqueror a long time eclipsed any idea of a permanence of certain features: initially, the Roman religious syncretism and the prohibition of the druidism involved undoubtedly the disappearance of a Celtic religion which one can only guess contours, thanks to archeology, on the one hand, and by comparison with some Gallo-Roman survivals, on the other hand and especially by confrontation with the insular literary sources (see for example Irish Celtic Mythologie and Welsh Celtic Littérature).

Executives of the capacity - Roman administration -, the economy, art, in particular monumental, and the Latin literary culture, also, were essential, perhaps all the more easily as nothing preexistent could compete with them.

After the Roman conquest of Gaulle, completed in -51, the romanisation was fast at the elites. One is unaware of however which was its exact progression and its depth with regard to the people. It in any case had to remain unequal, even limited in number of fields having milked to the daily life, as several examples indicate it.

The re-employment of the site of the Celtic sanctuary of Gournay-on-Swallow, in Belgium, or the ex-voto of the sources of the the Seine, shows as many other places crowned for the Gallic ones of the period of the independence which the Roman places of worship prolonged of the former uses (see Nemeton ). When a certain “barbarisation” of the Empire took place in IIIe century, of the features of civilization which were remained into force since the period of independence introduced in their turn into the imperial culture: the Gallic coat which gave its nickname to the Emperor Caracalla could have been replaced by the lifestyle of the Roman conqueror. In number of fields having milked with the craft industry, where the Gallic ones excelled, their inventions were essential: it is the case, in particular, of the barrel which was essential vis-a-vis the more fragile amphora and of less capacity. It is also the case of the coat of mail for the army.

A Gallic heritage will also probably perdura in the spoken language: at the 5th century, a Gallic C-W communication and a pronunciation of Latin, with the antiquated character, are attested in several authors of poetry or popular transcribers of jokes ( sources of the French history , ED. Beautiful letters, Paris).

Certain features characteristic of ancient Gaulle perdurèrent after the Roman Empire.

When the Roman imperial administration crumbled, Gaulle “germanisa” only slowly and partially. The presence of Germanic toponyms is initially attested on its fringes, must with repopulation, often with goal defensive and organized rather early by Rome, of stricken regions by the crises and the epidemics. Such durable establishments “cruel” colonists (the Lètes) took place in the Romain Empire besides throughout the 4th century and of the 5th century. Thus quotas Francs were installed in Belgium, of the Alamans in Alsace and Switzerland, of the Burgondes in Savoy.

The date symbolic system of the disappearance of the Roman Empire of occident in 476 and that of the baptism of the king of the Frank Clovis, towards 486, did not mark either, in this respect, of rupture: these events took place at one time when Francs, Burgondes and Visigoths had made “stock” and for a long time held already the monopoly of the military businesses.

Also, the families of the Gallo-Roman aristocracy continued a long time to concentrate the essence of the true political power in the episcopal cities: the “Patrice S”, like the Marseillais Mauronitus , or the bishops, like the auvergnat Gregoire de Tours, were the true representatives of the populations. Thus, the new culture which developed as a Gaulle after the imperial period was before any Christian woman and in several connections augustinienne.

More generally, observable permanences within the framework of life of the late Antiquité until the 7th century were numerous as a Gaulle: it is especially starting from the middle of VIIe century, time of crisis, that the Germanic patronyms multiplied within the elites, indicating by there that the center of gravity of Europe had moved towards north and that balances of the ancient world had broken.

Ultimately, if the traditional Latin culture moved back, the Latin continued to especially constitute the language of the culture and, that exclusive of the writing (the first document written in vernacular language being the Serments of Strasbourg, gone back to 842).

Also, the use of the names “Gaulle” and “Gallic” was preserved until the end of the period mérovingienne, at least with the writing. It is only slowly, during the Carolingian period, that the name of “Francie” ( Francia , then francia occidentalis ) was spread to indicate the major political reality which had become the kingdom of the Francs ( regnum francorum ). But this name indicated only incidentally the territories corresponding to old Gaulle Roman, from now on attached to a vaster unit.

It is also the “Carolingian rebirth” which posed the foundations of a truly new culture. This “rebirth” however wanted, at the origin, to restore the ancient and imperial Roman culture.

References and notes

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