Summary
The Rucinates (Gaulish: *Rucinatis) or Rucantii (Gaulish: *Rucantioi) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in near the confluence of the Isar and Danube rivers during the Roman period.
Name edit
They are mentioned as R̔oukántioi (Ῥουκάντιοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD),[1] as Rucinates (var. irucina-) by Pliny (1st c. AD),[2] as R̔ounikátai (Ῥουνικάται) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD),[3] and as Rucinates on an inscription.[4][5]
The meaning of the name remains uncertain. It has been translated as 'the blushing (i.e. shameful or shaming) people', by connecting the first element to the Gaulish *rucco- ('shame, blush of shame').[5] Alternatively, Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel has proposed to derive the name from a form *roukkina (cf. Welsh rhuchen 'jerkin, jacket, coat'), itself from *roukka (cf. Welsh rhuch 'garment, cloak, mantle'). In this view, the variant R̔oukántioi handed down by Strabo could be explained as 'those who wear a roukka'.[6] The form given by Ptolemy (Runicates) is a metathesis of the original form (Rucinates).[5]
Geography edit
The Rucinates lived near the confluence of the Isar and Danube rivers. Their territory was located north of the Catenates, east of the Raetovarii, south of the Iuthungi.[7] They were part of the Vindelici.[8]
History edit
They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.[2]
References edit
- ^ Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:6:8.
- ^ a b Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.
- ^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:12:4.
- ^ CIL 5:7817.
- ^ a b c Falileyev 2010, s.v. Runicates.
- ^ de Bernardo Stempel 2015, p. 94.
- ^ Talbert 2000, Map 12: Mogontiacum-Reginum-Lauriacum.
- ^ Schumacher, Dietz & Zanier 2007.
Primary sources edit
Bibliography edit
- de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (2015). "Zu den keltisch benannten Stämmen im Umfeld des oberen Donauraums". In Lohner-Urban, Ute; Scherrer, Peter (eds.). Der obere Donauraum 50 v. bis 50 n. Chr. Frank & Timme. ISBN 978-3-7329-0143-2.
- 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.
- Schumacher, Stefan; Dietz, Karlheinz; Zanier, Werner (2007). "Vindeliker". In Beck, Heinrich (ed.). Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Vol. 35 (2 ed.). De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3110187847.
- Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.