The Medulli (Gaulish: Medulloi) were a Gauls tribe dwelling in the upper valley of Maurienne, around present-day Modane (Savoie), during the Iron Age and Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as
Medullorum by
Vitruvius (late 1st c. BC),
[Vitruvius. De architectura, 8:3:20.] Méd(o)ulloi (Μέδ<ο>υλλοι) by
Strabo (early 1st c. AD),
[Strabo. Geographica, 4:1:11, 4:6:5.] Medulli by Pliny (1st c. AD),
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.] and as
Medoúllous (Μεδούλλους) by
Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).
[Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:10:7.][, s.v. Medulli.]
The ethnonym Medulli is a latinized form of Gaulish Medulloi. It is generally derived from the Celtic root medu-, meaning 'mead, alcoholic drink' (cf. Old Irish mid, Middle Welsh. medd, Old Breton medot), and thus may be translated as 'those who drink mead'. This interpretation is encouraged by the mention, in Vitruvius' De architectura, of a "kind of water" ( genus aquae) drunk by the Medulli.
Geography
The Medulli dwelled in the upper
Maurienne valley, along the upper course of the Arc river, near the modern town of
Modane (Amonada). Their territory was located east of the
Graioceli (themselves east of the
Vocontii), north of the
Brigianii and
Quariates, west of the
Segusini, and south of the
Ceutrones (themselves south of the
Allobroges).
[, Map 17: Lugdunum.]
They belonged to the tribes governed by Cottius in Alpes Taurinae and were later integrated into the province of Alpes Cottiae.
History
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.
They also appear on the Arch of Susa, erected by
Cottius in 9–8 BC.
According to Vitruvius, they were particularly prone to suffer from goitre.
See also
Primary sources
Bibliography
Further reading
-
L. Comby 1977, Histoire des Savoyards, Nathan
