The Leucī (Gaulish language: Leucoi, 'the bright, lightning ones') were a Belgae 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
Julius Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),
[Julius Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 1:40.] Leūkoi (Λευ̃κοι) by
Strabo (early 1st c. AD),
[Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:3:4.] Leuci by Pliny (1st c. AD),
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:106.] and as
Leukoì (Λευκοὶ) by
Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).
[Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:9:7.][, s.v. Leuci.]
The ethnonym Leucī is a latinized form of Gaulish Leucoi (sing. Leucos), which literally means 'the bright ones, the lightning ones'. It stems from Proto-Celtic *lowkos ('light, bright'; cf. Middle Irish luach 'glowing white', Middle Welsh llug 'eyesight, perception'), itself from Proto-Indo-European *leukós ('bright, shining'; cf. Latin lūx 'light', Greek language leukós 'white', Toch. lyūke 'light').
Geography
Territory
The territory of the Leuci extended in the east and the southeast up to the
Vosges mountains, between the Marne and
Moselle rivers. They were located north-west of the
Sequani, and southwest of the
Mediomatrici.
Settlements
During the Roman era, their capital was Tullum (modern
Toul).
Ptolemy (2nd c. AD), who normally gives one capital for each
civitas, also lists Nasium (present-day
Naix-aux-Forges) as a capital of the Leuci.
Hillforts held by the Leuci included a large oppidum at Boviolles (Ornain valley), west of their territory, and some smaller ones located in the Vosges. The Roman-era successor of Boviolles was more imposing than the central city Tullum, since the Ornain river served as an important trade route between Champagne and the plateau of Langres, on the territory of the Lingones. Another possible oppidum was located at Geneviève (Essey).
Religion
During the Roman era, the Leuci worshipped
Apollo (at Graux and
Malaincourt) or Apollo
Grannus (at Tullum, Nasium, and Grand) around a spring and healing cult.
History
They are mentioned by
Julius Caesar as a people supplying wheat to the Roman army in 58 BC, along with the
Lingones and
Sequani.
[ Gallic Wars, I.40]
See also
-
Celtic camp at Bure (near Saint-Dié-des-Vosges)
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
