Eburovices

The Eburovīcēs or Aulercī Eburovīcēs (Gaulish: *Eburouīcēs/Eburowīcēs, 'those who vanquish by the yew') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the modern Eure department during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were part of the Aulerci.^[1]

Name

Statue of Jupiter Stator from Gisacum (Vieil-Évreux). 1st c. AD.

They are mentioned as Aulerci Eburovices by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),^[2] Aulerci qui cognominantur Eburovices by Pliny (1st c. AD),^[3] and as Au̓lírkioioi̔ E̓bourouikoì (Αὐλίρκιοιοἱ Ἐβουρουικοὶ) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).^[4]^[5]

The Gaulish ethnonym *Eburouīcēs/Eburowīcēs literally means 'those who vanquish by the yew', probably in reference to the wood used to make their bows or spears. It stems from the root eburo- ('yew'; cf. OIr. ibar 'yew', or Middle Welsh efwr 'cow parsnip, hog-weed') attached to the suffix -uices ('combatants, victors').^[6]^[7]

The city of Évreux, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Ebroicorum ('civitas of the Eburovices'; Ebroicas in 511, Ebroas ca. 1034), is named after the tribe.^[8]

Geography

During the Roman period, their chief town was Mediolanum Aulercorum (modern Évreux, in Normandy).^[1] The limits of their civitas corresponded to those of the later diocese of Évreux.^[9]

Religion

A votive altar with a dedication to a deus Gisacos was found in a sanctuary at Gisacum (Le Vieil-Évreux).^[9]

[A]ug(usto) deo Gisaco/ [Ta]uricius Agri/[co]la de suo po/suit
— Le Vieil-Évreux inscription.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b Kruta 2000, p. 441.
^ Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 3:17.
^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:107.
^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:8:9
^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Eburovices and Mediolanum Aulercorum.
^ Delamarre 2003, pp. 159, 318.
^ Matasović 2009, p. 112.
^ Nègre 1990, p. 154.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lajoye 2013, p. 45.

Bibliography

Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
Kruta, Venceslas (2000). Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire : des origines à la romanisation et au christianisme. Robert Laffont. ISBN 2-221-05690-6.
Lajoye, Patrice (2013). "L'épigraphie religieuse mentionnant des théonymes ou des épithètes indigènes en Lyonnaise seconde.: Un état des lieux". In Hofeneder, Andreas; de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (eds.). Théonymie celtique, cultes, interpretatio = Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio (1 ed.). Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 45–50. ISBN 978-3-7001-7369-4. JSTOR j.ctv8mdn28.6.
Matasović, Ranko (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. ISBN 9789004173361.
Nègre, Ernest (1990). Toponymie générale de la France. Librairie Droz. ISBN 978-2-600-02883-7.