The Ruteni were a Gauls tribe dwelling in the southern part of the Massif Central, around present-day Rodez, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as
Rutenos by
Julius Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),
[Julius Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 1:45:2.] R̔outēnoì (Ῥουτηνοὶ;
var. Ῥουταινοὶ) by
Strabo (early 1st c. AD),
[Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:2:2.] Ruteni (
var. roteni,
Rutheni) by Pliny (1st c. AD),
[Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:109.] Ruteni by Lucan,
[. Pharsalia, 1:400.] and as
R̔outanoì (Ῥουτανοὶ) by
Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).
[Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:7:12.][, s.v. Ruteni and Civitas Rutenorum.]
The Celticity of the name remains uncertain.[ An historical geography of France by Xavier de Planhol, Paul Claval p.10 [2]]
The city of Rodez, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Rutenorum ('civitas of the Ruteni'; in urbe Rutena in the 9th c., Rodes ca. 1183), and the region of Rouergue, attested as in pago Rodonico in 767 ( Rodengue, Rodergue in 1150, Roengue ca. 1182), are named after the tribe.
Geography
The Ruteni dwelled in the southern part of the
Massif Central, in the later province of
Rouergue, north of the river Tarn. Their territory was situated south of the
Arverni, east of the
Cadurci, west of the
Gabali and north of the
Volcae. Because they were vassals of the Arveni, part of their territory was taken by the Romans after the defeat of the Arvenian king
Bituitus in 121 BC.
During the reign of Augustus, Segodunum (modern Rodez) became the main town of their civitas.
History
In 121 BC, they fought along with the Arveni against Rome.
During the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), they sent 12,000 men to the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC.
Economy
They were known as producers of
lead.
[ Ancient Rome at Work: An Economic History of Rome from the Origins to the Empire by Paul Louis p.180 [3]]
Legacy
During the Late Middle Ages, and the Early Modern Period, several claims were made regarding the ancient Ruteni. A memorial plate from 1521, that was placed in the
catacombe Chapel of St Maximus in
Petersfriedhof, the burial site of St Peter's Abbey in
Salzburg (Austria), mentions Italian ruler
Odoacer (476–493) as "King of Rhutenes" (), and narrates the story of invasion of several peoples into
Noricum in 477. Due to its very late date (1521) and several anachronistic elements, the content of that plate is considered as legendary.
[ Friedhof und Katakomben im Stift St. Peter]
In spite of that, the same plate later became a popular "source" for several emerging theories, that were trying to connect Odoacer not only with ancient Celtic Ruthenes from Gaul, but also with later East Slavs, who were labeled by some medieval chroniclers as Ruthenians. Thus, an entire strain of speculative theories was created, regarding the alleged connection between ancient Gallic Ruthenes, and later East Slavic "Ruthenians". As noted by professor Paul R. Magocsi, those theories should be regarded as "inventive tales" of "creative" writers.
Bibliography
