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[EN] Châteaubleau : The Gaulish tile with nine lines.Found in July 2017, this tile inscribed with nine lines was reused to pave the bottom of a trough for slaking lime, around 200 AD. The finding spot is close to the Grands Jardins, which provided the eleven-line tile in 1997. But the new inscribed tile has not been kept in its entirety, missing nearly all the left half of the text. The writing of this tile closely resembles that of the 1997 one : SS is used for the affricate. We however noticed a new letter form, seemingly a variant of -t- used only after vowel -i-. We can also distinguish two different scribes, “ scribe Z” and “ scribe tau”, thus named according to the form they use for this variant of -t-. Our interpretation recovers some calques from Latin : logitu, perhaps equivalent to Latin locatos “ let” ; figlitati, an abstract derived from the Latin noun for “ potter”, figulus ; suesanu, probably derived from the ordinal suexos “ sixth”, referring maybe to a fraction of the revenues paid back by the tenant. It is suggested that the text may be either a regulation particular to potters, or a lease contract for installing or running a tilery. This contract begins with a man name (Auedo Canio), and ends with a place name (en Epodore Core), the latter being, together with other important stipulations, written by “ scribe tau”.
[EN] Short notes about the Old Breton words mormolt and aual breant, aual briant.1. Old Breton mormolt, literally “ sea ram”, used for the cormorant, is later attested as Modern Breton morvaout and Vannetais morveut (Châlons). This is used concurrently with Modern Breton morvran, literally “ sea crow”. 2. Aual breant, litterally «throat apple » , meaning “ Adam’s apple”, has been replaced in Modern Breton by aval gouzoug. Reflexes of Old Breton breant have however been kept, particularly in Vannetais aval gourhan, aval grouhan.
[EN] Gallo-Greek commemorations of dedications from the territory of the Volcae Arecomici.The paper deals with nine Gallo-Greek inscriptions from the territory of the Volcae Arecomici, which are all engraved on the abacus of a Doric capital. It is hypothesised that the use of the same kind of material support for all these inscriptions points to a common function for all the corresponding texts and that all nine inscriptions are to be regarded as religious dedications. A tentative analysis of the texts themselves is proposed to substantiate this claim. The comparatively long inscription RIG, G-163, from Beaucaire, raises the most difficult problems.
[EN] Notes on some Old Breton words in MS Angers 477, f° 36r°.The manuscript of Bede’s scientific writings, Angers, Bibliothèque municipale n° 477, offers the largest body of Old Breton glosses ever found. The Old Breton words on f° 36ro, however, are not exactly glosses : these Old Breton words translate a number of labels placed at the head of several columns containing Roman numerals. This table of numerals gives the age of the moon on the date of the main mobile feasts of the liturgical year. The heavily abbreviated head words of columns are in Latin or Old Irish. Léon Fleuriot correctly interpreted most of the Breton words, but did not understand what the table’s purpose was. We explain this table, which occurs also, more or less developed, in other Irish or Breton manuscripts. K(a) l(ann) guiam “ Winter calends” (meaning, All Hallows) is a mistranslation, the abbreviated sam–-being wrongly understood as standing for Irish Samuin “ First of November”, obviously not a mobile feast, instead of sam-chásc “ Summer-Easter”, the sixth Sunday after Whit Sunday, the date which terminated the Second Lent in the Irish monastic year. In addition, ceplit, the first term of the list, is different from caplit “ Holy Thursday”, and may be explained as a borrowing from Latin capitula “ chapters”, or rather capitulationes “ heads of chapters, of columns”.
[EN] The iconography of the painted potteries from Numantia and the themes of the La Tène Celtic art.The iconography of the painted potteries from Numantia constitutes a rich and coherent collection, representative of the art of the Hispanic Celts. The survey of the most frequent subjects – S-pattern, triskeles, svastika, pictures of animals – reveals significant similarities with the La Tène Celtic art at north of the Pyrenees. The detailed analysis of the “ bulls vase” ends to the conclusion that it is a symbolic representation of the Celtic year, in a sequence put under the sign of the constellation of the Bull, diurnal for the summer season, nocturnal for the winter season. It is the same conception of the year illustrated on the Brno ceremonial flagon. These two different ways of expressing ideas seem to be based on very ancient common roots. An analysis of images that is not limited to stylistic features, but also tries to outline their significance, allows a better understanding of the complexity of the cumulative process in the formation of the ancient Celts’ spiritual world.
[EN] The newly-discovered Old Breton and Old English glosses in Orléans 182. In his Dictionnaire des gloses en vieux-breton, Léon Fleuriot pointed out the presence of a single, undoubtedly Breton gloss in the manuscript Orléans 182, written possibly at Fleury around AD 900. A new analysis of this manuscript (which contains a substantial number of commentaries and glosses concerning nearly all the books of the Old and New Testament) shows that the vernacular glosses are in fact more numerous : this article offers a discussion of eight newly discovered glosses – five in Old Breton and three in Old English. Moreover, the study of a select number of passages (mostly found in the long commentary on Genesis that opens this exegetical collection) indicates that these materials may have been originally compiled in a scriptorium of North-Western France, and also reveals possible textual connections with the biblical glosses attributed to the school of Theodore and Hadrian of Canterbury, as well as even stronger links with texts produced at the Carolingian school of Auxerre.
[EN] All the Latin words of desperate etymology badius, -a, -um [ adj.] ‘ chestnut-colored’, brassica [ f.] ‘ cabbage’, bēta/ bētis [ f.] ‘ beet’ and bīlis [ f.] ‘ bile’ prove to be Celtic loanwords from Northern Italy Continental Celtic, probably borrowed during the Republican period. The Gallo-Romance doublet */ báskia/ [ f.] ‘ hood, net’ and */ báskıta/ [ f.] ‘ net for carrying load’ reflects a Gaulish stem * baski-‘ bundle,’ whose Continental Celtic (maybe Lepontic) counterpart * baχsi- (< Proto-Celt. * baski-‘ bundle, something woven’) could account for the Plautinian word baxeæ [ f. pl.] ‘ a kind of woven shoes with rope soles.’ Those early borrowings from Continental Celtic already show some dialectal features : delabialisation of Proto-Celtic * bodiyo-‘ chestnut-coloured’ into * badiyo-, raising of Proto-Celt. short * e into short i (* gil-wo-‘ pale yellow’ < Proto-Celt. * gel-wo-), metathesis of the cluster *-sk- into *-χs-(* baχsi-< Proto-Celtic * baski-), treatment of the cluster *-st- as *-ss- (cf. * brassikā). In this dialect, Proto-Celtic secondary * ē2 (< PIE * ei) shows no evidence of vowel fracture (cf. * bētā- ‘ to feed’), contrarily to Gaulish * dēnos ‘ quick’ (OIr. dían), which exhibits sometimes an inverted diphthong ia or ie in anthroponyms such as Dienus ‘ Quick’ or Ro-dienus ‘ Very-Quick’ (Delamarre, 2017, p. 227). The Proto-Celtic cluster *-sl- (Cf. * bislis) remains unchanged, differently from the Brittonic dental-epenthesis *-stl-.
[EN] Remarks about the morphology and use of the forms of the verb “ to be” in the Breton dialect of the island of Sein.The morphological richness of the verb “ to be” in the Brythonic languages, and especially in Breton, aroused the interest of a wide range of grammarians and linguists. This article suggests a few remarks and hypotheses, of heuristic value, about the distribution of the forms of the verb bea “ to be” and about the competition between these in the progressive, in the contemporary dialect of the island of Sein. My research focuses on the Breton dialect of the island of Sein, in which I put together an extensive corpus of conversation. Thanks to these data, I was able to undertake a thorough study of the forms of the verb bea (bezañ) “ to be” in this dialect, supported by various remarks and requests : does one given form appear in one grammatical context or another, what forms are common, which ones are rare or unattested, etc. The remarks I am doing in this paper have heuristic values and will need to be confirmed by a much thorougher study of my corpus.
[EN] It is now over a century since the Coligny calendar was discovered, during which time the intricate, complex and interrelating patterns of the various terms that are layered over its months and years have to a large degree been defined, one exception being the triple marks which have so far only been defined in part. Here the patterns followed by the triple marks are further defined, along with the mark’s interactions with several related notations, including the special treatment of Day 21, the anomalous treatment of triplets that run over the end of a fortnight, and the EXO term. With the definition of the pattern that governs the years, the systematic pattern underlying the distribution of the triple marks can now be finalised with certainty, rather than filling in unknown days through conflation.
[EN] Notes on Middle-Breton.These working notes deal with a number of words dating from the Middle-Breton period : quen (and derived words quenet, quenedus) in use as a figura etymologica ; quenan, derived from the adverb quen, with grammatical function parallels with the Old Irish chenae, ol-chenae ; prendenn and its Cornish cognate in an expression teulel pren ; our gueuten, the name of a magical plant well identified today.
[EN] The Medieval toponym Arlempde (1325) and other undiscovered derivatives from Gaulish nemeto- in the civitas Arvernorum (Clerlande ; Lempdes, Lindes).Recorded in 1325, the place name Arlempde (Auvergne, Puy-de-Dôme) is to be added to the series of toponyms located in the south-eastern Massif central, which derive from the Gaulish stem *arenemeto-. The etymology suggested here, “nonsacred place in front of a sacred place”, should be considered in light of the archaeological evidence related to sites whose name falls into the type Arlempde(s). The same applies to the other sites whose name derives from the simple noun *nemeto- (Lempdes, Lindes) or from the composite noun *klāronemeto- (Clerlande). Arlempde in Auvergne probably refers to the sanctuary of Les Grosmeniers (municipality of La Sauvetat), which is closely linked to the major, upper site of Corent.
[EN] M. J. Estaran Tolosa proposes in Études celtiques, XLI-2015, p. 95-109, that the form traditionally read as KuiTos in the inscription of S. Bernardino di Briona (Novara) is, instead, to be read as KuiToi and forms a syntagm with the preceding form TanoTaliKnoi. This paper argues that the final character of this form is unlike any other token of < i > in the inscription, and, indeed, it is precisely the inverse image of a token of < s > in l. A1 of the inscription. Linguistic analysis, likewise, is decidedly in favour of the traditional reading.
[EN] The intricate preverbal complex of medieval Irish hosts a morpheme imm-(a- N ) with very peculiar constructional and semantic properties. In this article, we venture to give a description of imm-(a- N ) by taking into account the various changes it induces on argument representation, and explore how it modifies the semantics of the verb stem it combines with. The chronology of the data at our disposal suggests that it first denoted reciprocal states of affairs and quickly developed into a device expressing collective simultaneous action events (csa, i. e., multiple participants perform the same action in the same temporal and locational setting, but not on each other) and from the point of view of semantics are treated as active verbs. As far as argument representation is concerned, it develops into a construction which combines both features of the passive (subject demotion) and the antipassive (object demotion) diathesis.
[EN] Two Iberian stamps from Ruscino and Canohès (Pyrénées-Orientales).This paper presents two new stamps on dolia from Ruscino and Canohès (Pyrénées-Orientales) with Iberian epigraphy and iconography. Although an important corpus of this kind of artefacts is known in the Languedoc-Roussillon area, these two items are exceptional both for the length of the text and the iconographic motif : a frontal human head for which the closest parallels are found in La Tène art, where similar images have been interpreted as representations of Celtic divinities. Regarding the Iberian inscription, we propose the reading u̱n+[c.-3-]taḇa̱a[.] / [c.-4-]ḻauṟ́ṯi̠[.] and the identification of several onomastic elements belonging to the Iberian language. Taking into account both typological and palaeographical criteria, these stamps can be dated to the 3rd century BC.
[EN] This paper investigates the figure of Saint John the Apostle as it appears in Hiberno-Latin and Irish medieval literature, in miscellaneous documents ranging from the seventh century to the early modern period. In doing so, John’s distinctive traits have been identified – close intimacy with Christ, religious virginity, exclusive access to arcane wisdom – and analyzed, and certain Irish peculiarities have been highlighted – his epithet Eóin Bruinne (‘John of the Breast’), and his literary transformation into an infant. John is then characterized as a symbol of mystical intimacy and spiritual friendship, and possibly as an authoritative model for religious fosterage.
[EN] A Celtiberian inscribed dagger from Almaraz (Cáceres, Espagne).This is the first edition of a Celtiberian dagger that must probably come from Almaraz, in the Spanish province of Cáceres. Typologically, it can be classified into one of the most characteristic variants of the bi-discoidal model, the edge-hilt one. A certain number of daggers of this type are known to date and most of them go back to the end of the 2nd century or the 1st century BC. The dagger must have been found in illegal excavations at a necropolis that has provided a variety of materials of the late-Republican period, which allows to date it around the first quarter of the 1st century BC. An inscription has been carved on the guard and runs across its whole width. The inscription is in Celtiberian language and script, specifically in the Western variant of this script. It consists of two words that were not previously attested. The first one is the personal name loukiakinos, derived from a well-known Celtiberian onomastic stem. The second one is abe, which must probably be a loanword from Latin aue.
[EN] Organizing and structuring the territory of the Gallic Parisii. This paper focuses on the area corresponding to the historical territory of the Gallic Parisii between the sixth and the middle of the first century BC. It consists in an overview on the subject cross-checking the recent archaeological data regarding the natural environment and the communication routes by land and river with the historical sources. It makes it possible to draw up a preliminary state of research about the central oppidum of the Parisii by distinguishing two main stages in the structuring of their territory during the third and second centuries BC.
[EN] The Gospel History from Leabhar Breac : About sections 10 to 13.The Leabhar Breac manuscript, dated 1430, is the best witness for a compiled Middle Irish Biblical History, made of a prose version of Saltair na Rann (for the Old Testament) and of a gathering of fourteen tracts (for the New Testament), most of them derived from apocryphal texts, and forming what is now labelled the Gospel History. This contribution proposes an analysis of four of the last five, still unedited, tracts. Number 10 and 13 focus on dated events which are milestones in chronologies : “Jesus’ Baptism” and “Jesus’ First Sermon”. The other tracts deal with the Twelve Apostles (their origin, history and death) and the Seventy-Two Disciples. This study aims at discerning the main sources, and the Hiberno-Latin treatises written on the same subjects. Though relying mainly on apocryphal sources, the compilation maintains several times it has observed a ban : some apocrypha such as the Infancy Gospels (the Pseudo-Thomas Gospel) have been excluded, and the compilator forbids himself to translate the Gospel text. An appendix gives the text of tracts 10 and 11 with a French translation.
[EN] Fragments of an inscribed earthware found in Lezoux (Puy-de-Dôme).The fragments were found in a preventive excavation, in one of the Gallo-Roman areas of Lezoux dedicated to the production of pottery : the area “of Maringues road”. These are five sherds, matching one another into two groups, and belonging to the Dragendorff 37 type. Although found in two different places, they belong to one and the same bowl. The writing resembles that of “Plat de Lezoux” (L-70), which was found in a near-by field. The linguistic analysis shows a recurrence of inflected endings (-in, -tionin). The word abro could be a verb meaning “to give”, indicating then that this text tells of a donation. It would be possible to interpret nededin as the «possession» , and appissu as a cognate of Latin acquiro.
[EN] Coral and luxurious artefacts from Middle La Tène period in non-Mediterranean Gaul. Orval grave in Manche department, Pleurs type fibulae, Châteaubernard ditch in Charente department.X-ray fluorescence analysis of platelets decorating some luxury goods clearly dated from La Tène C contexts, mostly from La Tène C1 (and this can be extrapolated to artefacts of a similar nature lacking precise context), reveals that they are indisputably composed of coral, not bone or ivory as it has sometimes been stated. These objects are the harness fittings from the Orval chariot burial (Manche), type Pleurs fibulae from Champagne, the Paris Basin and the Central-Western area, as well as platelets released from their mounting(s) found in a funerary or ritual enclosure at Châteaubernard (Charente). This enduringly important use of coral during La Tène C goes against the commonly accepted assumption that coral imports from the Mediterranean almost dried up in Gaul from the middle of the 3rd century B. C.
[EN] Cú Chulainn in Pannonie ? Calonius, Cucalus, Cucalonis.There is a Gaulish name in the genitive Cucalonis, attested in Pannonia and in Transpadania. It is proposed to see in it the univerbation, of Roman date, of a name in the form of a syntagm *Cū Calūnī “The Wolf of Calunos”. This formation would match exactly the prototype of the name of the Irish hero Cú Chulainn, showing preservation on the Continent of an old appellative, probably linked to a mythical representations.
[EN] Lost wax production of VERCA coins in the Chamalières’ sanctuary.The sanctuary of Chamalières is best known for its numerous ex-voto and its Gaulish inscription. However, the coins’ lot associated with these discoveries is very singular and has not received the attention it would have deserved. It is characterized by a dominance of coins issued between the end of the Gauls’ war and the Augustan period even though some currencies are dated to the 3rd-4th century. The characteristic of most of these pieces is that they were made locally by the lost-wax casting process with a specific alloy, very rich in lead. The production seems to be rather careless, considered the fact that we found mainly failed casting and remnants of moulds. These “coins” were exclusively intended for ritual use linked to the source and would never have succeeded to gain currency. They show, however, that the Gaulish craftsmen have thought of using, for minting, this technique of lost wax casting which they had mastered for several centuries.
[EN] “Twin Heads” and the divine Twins : essay in Celtic iconography.The theme of the “Twin Heads” – generally two human faces, opposed, juxtaposed, superposed or associated in other modes on the same object – is frequent in the Celtic art from the 5th century B. C. It probably represents the Celtic Dioscuroi, descendants of the Indo-European “Sons of the diurnal Heavens”, mentioned in the written sources. The most important and famous of these two brothers was Lug, principal divinity of the ancient Celts. His face is often represented alone, crowned with the palmette or “double mistletoe-leaf”, like the Master of the “Universe Axis” or “Tree of Life”, associated with the two monsters in permanent struggle in the cyclic season change.
[EN] Verbal nouns in classic Vannetais litterature : the case of “double” verbal nouns and the “inflected” en devoutBy studying several texts in classical Vannetais written between the 18th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the case of two processes concerning the verbal noun will be analysed. Firstly the issue of the “double” verbal nouns in the oldest texts will be raised. Some verbal nouns have two forms depending on their place in the sentence. Secondly, the use and then the loss of the inflected forms of en devout (“to have”) will be studied.
[EN] The Eochaid Fedlech law of succession, in its simplest and strongest form, states that no son shall succeed his father in the kingship of Ireland. This law implies that two women have key roles in the royal family – the current queen and the mother of the next king. Although there has been some scholarly emphasis on a single goddess of sovereignty, it seems likely that there are actually two sovereignty goddesses, one corresponding to the queen and the other to the hag who transforms into a young woman and prophesies the future kings of Ireland.
[EN] Celtic *dubno- and *albio- in a series of people names, god names, personal names, and place names.The Celtic stems *dubno- and *albio- have generated in previously Celtic countries a number of people names : Dumnonii, Damnonii, Geidumni, Ostidamni, Albici, Albiones ; god names : Dobnoredos, Veriugodumnus, *Dubnocaratius, Albius, Albarinus, Albiorix ; personal names : Dubnorix, Dubnovellaunus, Dumnacus, Vercondaridubnus, Cogidumnus, Albanus, Albiorix, Albucius… They also gave birth to place names, mountain names, and river names, for example : Devon, Roanne, the isle of Dumet, Albion, Alps, Alba-la-Romaine, Albacete, Albenga, the Elbe and the Aube… The meaning of the two radicals was not completely clear. This study argues that they are connected with sunrise and sunset, with the western and eastern directions. Cosmogonic, mythical, and religious connotations might have been added too. Two riding gods were leading the sun rising in the luminous sky, and sinking in the impenetrable depths. The daily motions of this star were also those of seasons and lives, in a perpetual succession of births and deaths.
[EN] This paper examines the use of the abbreviation s.d. as it appears in various early Irish law tracts as printed in the Corpus Iuris Hibernici and compares its context and use to that of other forms of abbreviations used in Irish legal manuscripts. The pattern that emerges from the evidence of the abbreviation’s context and use suggests that the abbreviation stands for the title of a legal manuscript, perhaps associated with the MacEgan family, for which the contents may be partially reconstructed.
[EN] A note about a less known ancient source concerning Epona’s cult in Cisalpine GaulNot less than ten ancient or late Antique texts are known, related to the goddess Epona, which makes her the best attested Gaulish divinity from a documentary point of view. This corpus however was further increased by the discovery and publication in 1929 of a homily from the fifth century, until now ignored by the specialists of Gaulish religion.
[EN] How chapters 80 to 88 of Historia regum Britannie were dealt with in the Old Icelandic “ Brut”There are many vernacular adaptations of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britannie. The Icelandic Saga of the Britons is kept in four medieval manuscripts which all offer variants and/or lacunae in comparison to the Latin original. This article first deals with the manuscript tradition of the saga, then focuses on the episode told in Geoffrey’s chapters 80 to 88. In these chapters, the story of Saint Ursula is linked to that of the expedition and the migration to Brittany. As kept in two manuscripts transmitting each a different version (though both originally go back to a first, now lost, translation into Old Icelandic), they offer interesting characteristics : the treatment of the Armorican episode is equally inconsistent in both versions, and both versions show use of additional, hagiographical material in the Ursula story, materials which are shared by other Icelandic medieval texts.
[EN] This paper examines how closely the lunar calendar months of the Coligny calendar track the individual lunations over the 62 months of the 5-year bronze plaque, and in doing so, discovers an extraordinary precision to within a day either side of the average lunation. This means that each calendar month always starts at the same point in the lunar phase and the calendar can remain in sync with the moon indefinitely. The question of the overall shape of the calendar is further defined by assigning 29 days to Intercalary One, which then shows the calendar to be a Metonic calendar through four successive cycles of the 5-year base, and that in the one 5-year plaque we have the complete and only needed part of the entire calendar. This Metonic calendar could also be embedded as part of a larger 30-year age of 6 successive cycles of the 5-year base, again without the necessity of re-shaping the 5-year base cycle.
[EN] A Britton gloss from the 12th century in the Cornouaille earls list : “Budic Bud Berhuc”The Cornouaille earls list known from different cartularies shows in some of the manuscripts additions which seem to be rather nicknames that have been added later on. One of these names, present in the Landévennec cartulary, Budic Bud Berhuc, rather than a nickname, appears to be an explaining gloss from the 12th century, Bud Berhuc being the translation of Bud and its suffix -ic.
[EN] The cró Logo “Lug’s pen” (Cath Maige Tuired, § 69)The author explores a brief episode contained in the middle-irish mythological tale intituled Cath Maige Tuired : the construction of an enigmatic cró Logo «Lug’s pen» installed near the gates of Tara, whose name was referring to an real place name near the ancient royal capital. He reviews the precedent interpretations of this cró Logo by the scholars (sacred enclosure for some, stockyard for the others) and proposes a new explanation making of this place name a possible synonym of the pan-Celtic name *Lugudūnon, «Lug’s fortress» , also attested in Ireland.
[EN] Hecataeus and Herodotus, who were contemporary with the earliest Celtic-language inscriptions in northern Italy and southern Switzerland, have been misunderstood as localising the Celts in Austria and south-west Germany, with the unfortunate result that its archaeological ‘Hallstatt culture’ has been wrongly labelled ‘Celtic’. In fact, Hecataeus and Herodotus point to locations in Gaul (as later confirmed by Timagetus, Pytheas, and Apollonius of Rhodes) and possibly in part of the Hispanic Peninsula (as stated by Ephorus in the fourth century). The Celtic area or areas in the Peninsula to which Herodotus and Ephorus may refer cannot now be defined, but need not have extended west of Celtiberia in central Spain, which is later the source of the earliest Celtic inscriptions in the Peninsula. In the mid-fourth century the Italian Celtic settlements around the Po valley are referred to by Pseudo-Scylax, and possibly by Apollonius in the third. By Apollonius’ day, Celts were already migrating eastwards, so that any subsequent evidence for their location, including onomastic data, is of doubtful value compared to that of the earlier writers, especially Hecataeus and Herodotus, despite their evident limitations and Mediterranean perspective. Even the earliest writers are too late to guide us to the area where the Celts and the Celtic language emerged. Negatively, however, we can conclude that they neither support a location in Germany or Austria in the east nor support a location on the Atlantic seaboard in the west. What they say is certainly consonant with Celtic origins in Gaul, but that hypothesis cannot be taken further without attaching speculative ethnic labels to prehistoric archaeological data.
[EN] The Middle Breton official poem of 1532The official poem displayed in the centre of Rennes on the occasion of the last duke of Brittany’s coronation in 1532 had been published by Émile Ernault (1912 and 1913). He was unable to use a complete version which came to light only recently. In this study, we publish this complete version together with all the other ones, some of them still unedited. We add commentaries in order to restore the text in its linguistic and historical setting, with a particular attention for the Trojan element.
[EN] And the Dagda transformed Ulster. Land shaping in version 1 of Tochmarc ÉtaíneThe present study focuses on the narrative scenario about the shaping of the Irish landscape. This theme is found in Lebor Gabála Érenn, Dindshenchas, but also in version 1 of Tochmarc Étaíne, which has the advantage of offering a complete process of land settlement. Here we will analyse in detail the passage when the Dagda transforms the Ulster territory at the request of king Ailill. All of these modifications clearly express a desire for appropriation of space by society, in order to have the necessary requirements for its subsistence and development.
[EN] Kuitoi Lekatos. A new reading of the inscription of San Bernardino di Briona (Novara). The Gaulish inscription from San Bernardino di Briona (Novara) is often mentioned in order to illustrate the first steps of Romanisation in Cisalpine Gaul. Epigraphical scholarship has tended to consider that this inscription contains a list of nouns among which there is a Roman praenomen, belonging to a local legatus, which is an extremely rare phenomenon. It is argued that this kuitos lekatos received this honorific title for having provided services to Rome. This paper discusses the concept of legatus in the historical context of the inscription and proposes a new reading of the text, based on an autopsy, which changes substantially the traditional one and shows that there is not any syntactical link between the name and the presumed position.
[EN] Presentation and inventory of Joseph Vendryes’ archives in Collège de France.The personal archives of Joseph Vendryes (1975-1960) kept in Collège de France are an important source for the history of linguistic and Celtic studies in France. Put in order and listed recently, these archives contain work notes by the scholar about Celtic languages dating from the late 19th century to 1960. This article is an introduction to the reading of these archives, with a sketch of their history and of their main specificities. The inventory of Joseph Vendryes’ archives, published in this article, will enable interested scholars to orientate themselves amongst these documents.
[EN] The author tries to account for the morphology and etymology of Gaulish duti (Chartres A7, B9), connecting it to similarly problematic Proto-Slavic *dűma. Judging from its likely syntactic role at the head of two structurally identical Gaulish sentences, duti is argued to represent a feminine action noun in *-ti-. Together with Proto-Slavic *dűma *‘(act of) speaking, thinking’, conceivably an inherited o-grade derivative in *-meH2 to the well-known seṭ-root *dheṷH2 -, it constitutes possible evidence for the semantic shift ‘breath/ blow’ → ‘speak’ and as such presents a valuable addition to the list of Celto-Slavic (near) parallels.
[EN] The Bituriges in conflict with Caesar in 52 BC : the enigma of Noviodunum and Gorgobina.The year 52 BC forms the high point of the Gallic Wars, started six years earlier by Julius Caesar while proconsul of Transalpine Gaul. Under the leadership of Vercingetorix the Gallic coalition had been increasing in power from the beginning of the year. The people of central Gaul, notably the Bituriges, were to play a decisive role at this point in the war, up to the capture of their capital and the massacre of the inhabitants of Avaricum in April 52 BC. Since the 19th century many scholars have scrutinised the events which occurred among the Bituriges between February and April of 52 BC. Caesar’s text, in book VII, describes a series of events from which it is possible to reconstruct the strategies favoured by the Gauls. The proconsul also gives the names of the Biturigan oppida which he attacked, but names only two : Noviodunum and Avaricum. The identification of Avaricum with Bourges poses no problems, but much ink has flowed on the siting of Noviodunum and even today we are still uncertain. Likewise the oppidum of the Boii, Gorgobina, which is mentioned in the same passage, also poses problems, firstly because of its position on the boundary between the states of the Bituriges and the Aedui which obscures its location, and also because of its role in the war which is far from clear. This article aims to reconsider the location of the oppida of Noviodunum and Gorgobina, comparing Caesar’s text, the scholarly discussions of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the archaeological evidence for the Iron Age in central France. For Noviodunum this involves re-assessing the ancient and recent finds from Neung-sur-Beuvron (Loir-et-Cher). In particular the defences are discussed in detail, with a new plan of the oppidum and its possible territory. In the case of Gorgobina, we present a synthesis of our knowledge of the archaeology of Sancerre and of Saint-Satur (Cher), with an attempt to identify the finds which can be dated to the Late La Tène. Finally by comparing again the written text with archaeological discoveries, we deal with the question of the boundaries of the civitas of the Bituriges which according to Caesar was bounded by the Loire, with the Carnutes to the north and the Aedui to the east.
S’y rattachent aussi l’anthroponyme Reuconius (Nîmes) et le toponyme Condrieu,
de *Conriacus, de *Cunoriāco-, deux exemples de l’association avec le nom du chien, cun(o)–, dans le sens de «libre loup» , ou «libre mercenaire».
[EN] Freedmen, wild horses, deliverers, mercenaries : the Gaulish word for «free».
The Gaulish stem *rii̭o-, from *prii̭o-, continues the adjective meaning «free» in Celtic and Germanic, Welsh rhydd, German frei, English free, etc., and meaning «personal, proper» in other languages, Sanskrit priyá-, Latrin proprius. The author provides numerous examples of this adjective in Gaulish onomastics : Reus/Rius as the uncompound, Rio-, Reu-, Ria- as the first element of a compound, -reius, -rius as the second element. Many derivatives can be connected to it, Rionus, Rialis, Riacus, *Rianos in Riano-rix. Related also are the personal name Reuconius (Nîmes) and the place name Condrieu, from *Conriacus, from *Cunoriāco-, both names exhibiting a composition with the name of the dog, *cun(o) –, with the meaning «free wolf» or «free mercenary» .[EN] The Lepontic coin with an image of deer and inscribed with segedu may give us the etymon of the Celtic noun for deer, Old-Irish ség, séd, and Welsh hydd. To the same group of words belongs the Gaulish word for hunting dog, segus[t]ios.
[EN] Trouguer en Cléden-Cap-Sizun (Finistère), a maritime sanctuary of the Osismes? Partly excavated at the end of the 19th century and in the 1950s, the large Roman building at Trouguer (Cléden-Cap-Sizun, Finistère) is of similar plan and dimensions to those of several Gaulish urban sanctuaries. The discovery, on the site, of a fairly high number of bronze statuettes and above all of iron weapons also tends to corroborate the hypothesis according to which this was a maritime sanctuary in the Late Iron Age tradition, probably active in the early Roman period.
[EN] Tarbḟlaith : a Classical influence in Audacht Morainn ?The Old Irish speculum principum known as Audacht Morainn (AM), probably written around AD 700, presents a classification of four ‘types’ of ruler : among these, we find the tarbḟlaith, ‘bull-ruler’, i. e. a violent prince who rules in a context of perpetual warfare. The analysis of the various recensions of AM suggests that the section concerning the tarbḟlaith may in fact represent a relatively late (ninth-century ?) addition to an original tripartite classification. In light of Brent Miles’s recent suggestion that the narrative developments of the bull motif in Táin Bó Cúailnge may represent – at least partially – a deliberate imitation of Classical models, we can now take into account the possibility that the compound tarbḟlaith may have a similar origin : in particular, this Old Irish term could be a calque on the Latin collocation dux taurus, an epithet attributed to the exiled Theban prince Polynices in Statius’s Thebaid. Statius’s poem and the commentary to the Thebaid by Lactantius Placidus may well have been known in Early Medieval Ireland : these texts could thus have provided the Irish ecclesiastical literati with negative exempla of kingship, just like some passages from Virgil’s fourth Eclogue may have contributed to the shaping of the concept of fír flathemon, ‘the justice of the ruler’, which we find in AM. After all, that the Thebaid may have played a role in the definition of the Medieval Irish ideology of kingship should not be particularly surprising, especially if we consider the presence of the phrase rex iniquus in Statius’s work – a phrase also found in the Hiberno-Latin tract De duodecim abusivis saeculi, presenting several similarities with AM – as well as the prominence of the incest motif in both the stories concerning Oedipus’s sons and the narrative background underlying Morann’s address to Feradach Find Fechtnach in AM.
[EN] A note on a concise inscription from Botorrita (Contrebia Belaisca).We propose in this article to revisit the reading of an inscription found in Contrebia Belaisca, engraved on a small conic piece of alabaster (AE, 1989, no 470). This new reading would allow to say that this is, according to all probability, written with Latin letters but in the Celtiberian language.
[EN] Notes on Middle-Breton.The following working notes deal with a number of words dating from the Middle-Breton period : goyunez, attested appearing in a 1625 book but which was – till now – only known in 18th century dictionaries ; gnaou and its derived forms ; goumon after attestations dated ca 1330 ; escuit and its various forms ; empenn, which has been attested since ca 1450 ; quenderuot, the exact meaning of which remains a problem. The morphosyntax of the word kaer, best known in its modern form kêr, is also studied through its toponymic attestations.
[EN] On the value of marked s in the Celtiberian inscriptions in Latin alphabet.A striking epigraphic particularity has recently been found in the bronze of Novallas (Zaragoza), written in Celtiberian language and Latin alphabet : the s with a lower stroke, which the author transcribes as Ś. This character also appears in two inscriptions of Peñalba de Villastar (Teruel), but it had gone unnoticed. In Novallas, Ś is attested only in absolute final position after a vowel ([---]ṮICAŚ·TERGAŚ, VAMVŚ). There, the most likely phonetic value is [θ]<*-d. In Peñalba, apart from appearing in absolute final position after a vowel (TRECAIAŚ), it was used also in intervocalic position (ENIOROŚEI). The author thinks that Ś is used here as the sigma in the Paleohispanic writing. Although the phonetic value in final position would also be [θ]<*-d, it could have different values between vowels (fricative or affricate voiced/ unvoiced), depending on the etymology. In these cases, it would rather be [ð]<*vowel-d-vowel.
[EN] The Breton Pater Noster by Vaudelin : a phonological transcription from 171.In 1715, was published by a Parisian priest, Rev. Vaudelin, a book in which he proposed a reformation of French orthography, through the adoption of a phonetic alphabet. Probably aimed at testing his new system, he also transcribed the Pater Noster in several other languages, among which Breton. This text, being a unique testimony of the phonetics of Breton by the beginning of the 18th century, is here analysed and discussed. Indeed, the Pater of Vaudelin arises many questions that one would hardly answer. The main originality of the text is the very unusual phrasing of the first stance : Hon tad pehini ma edoc’h en Neñv. This formula, as well as other less remarkable peculiarities, will be examined in the light of the Breton corpus of that time, which lets appear the considerable variability in the praying habits, doubtless a typical feature of oral-culture societies.
[EN] This paper investigates patterns of agreement between the subject and its verb in Historia Gruffud vab Kenan, the early-thirteenth-century Middle Welsh translation of the Latin Vita Griffini Filii Conani. Contrastive statistics are provided for the number of instances in which the normative expectations concerning verbal agreement in Middle Welsh are met as well as for the number of instances which deviate from these expectations. In this text, deviation from the normative expectations is quite rare with subjects preceding the verb in verb-second (‘abnormal’) sentences, whereas it is much more frequent with plural subjects following the verb and, particularly, plural antecedents functioning as the subject in relative clauses. In the latter case, an influence of the agreement rules of Latin appears likely. A separate section discusses a range of individual sentences which pose specific problems with regard to patterns of agreement, the identification of syntactic structures, or the amount of permitted variation.
[EN] Inscription on a lead rod found in Reims.The archaeological description of the find informs us that it was found in Reims, boulevard de la Paix, in 2001, behind a Gaulish wall, near dwellings of the Ist century AD. This lead rod has been cast under this form, possibly for the use of metal workers. The two names inscribed on the rod (GNATOS TASGEDO) are equivalent to a trade mark. These two names however probably refer to two different persons, for one has a Gaulish ending and the other, a Latin one.
[FR] La grande Vie de saint Guénolé composée vers 870 par Gurdisten de Landévennec (BHL 8957-58) est à la fois prosimètre et opus geminum ; elle compte un nombre considérable de citations, imitations et échos d’une grande variété d’auteurs profanes et chrétiens, en prose et en vers. Un nouveau bilan de ce régime d’emprunts formels est établi et élargi ; l’influence de la langue biblique et les échos de la Règle bénédictine y apparaissent encore plus nettement que dans les récapitulations effectuées antérieurement. Ce nouvel état des lieux permet de mieux comprendre le processus d’élaboration de l’oeuvre (probablement en plusieurs étapes, ensuite amalgamées) et les intentions de l’auteur en tant qu’abbé. En effet, ce dernier vise avant tout un public monastique ; il entrecoupe son récit biographique d’hymnes et de méditations à l’allure de sermons qui pourraient avoir été composées et utilisées séparément. Cette enquête permet enfin de revisiter la question des rapports entre influences insulaires et influences continentales à Landévennec au troisième quart du IXe siècle ; les emprunts au monde romano-franc l’emportent de beaucoup sur le monde insulaire. L’influence d’auteurs carolingiens, comme Alcuin ou Smaragde de Saint-Mihiel, avait été sous-estimée jusqu’à présent.
[EN] Intertextuality in the longer Life of St. Winwaloeus of Landévennec. The Vita longior s. Winwaloei composed ca. 870 by Gurdisten of Landévennec (BHL 8957-58) is at the same time a prosimetrum and an opus geminum ; this opus is remarkable for its high frequency of quotations, imitations, and echoes borrowed from a variety of former authors, profane and christian, in prose and in verse. The inventory of those borrowings is revised and expanded, showing an influence of the biblical language and of the Benedictine Rule stronger than previously observed. This new status quaestionis opens perspectives on the process of elaboration of the vita – probably in several steps, finally amalgamated ; it also secures a better understanding of the intentions of the hagiographer, as the head of a monastic community. The intended audience is indeed essentially monastic ; the biography of Guénolé is interrupted several times by hymns and homilies that could have been composed and used separately. This research finally shows how insular and continental influences meet and mix at Landévennec (Finistère) in the third quarter of the IXth century : borrowings from the Franco-Roman world are much more intensive than the Insular ones. The influence of Carolingian authors, like Alcuin or Smaragdus of St. Mihiel, had been underestimated until now.
[EN] Notes on Gaulish onomastics.1. The city of Cenabum, as well as the deities Cenabionae, C(e) nabetius and some other toponyms and hydronyms of Europe, contain the root nab-, possibly connected with PIE *h3nobh- “navel, center, omphalos”. 2. The Gaulish Personal Names Angius, Andangius, Andangianus continue a stem *ango- “snake”, possibly connected with Latin anguis, Lithuanian angìs, etc. 3. Analysis of the name of the Gaulish chief Catumarandus with a second member to be connected with a stem *Marando- occurring in place names. 4. Analysis of the Personal Names Vradsarius, Vraθarius, Vrassius that might be related to the Irish word for rain : frass.
[EN] Having inspected the facsimile edition (Best, 1936) as well as the original manuscript (Codex Ambrosianus 301 C inf.), the authors offer a number of corrections to the text of the Milan Glosses as found in the Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus I (p. 7-483). These corrections, together with commentary, supplement those already online at : http://www.univie.ac.at/indogermanistik/milan_glosses.htm.
Le parler par énigmes apparaît comme une forme de discours spécialisé dans le texte irlandais Tochmarc Ailbe («La cour faite à Ailbe»), du XIe siècle, dans lequel le héros guerrier Finn mac Cumaill met à l’épreuve l’aptitude de la fille du roi Cormac Mac Airt, Ailbe Grúadbrecc, à devenir sa femme. Ailbe donne des réponses admirables aux énigmes que lui pose un Finn vieillissant, et montre ses capacités personnelles et sa perspicacité intellectuelle en lui envoyant des répliques spirituelles de sa composition. La résolution du conflit dans ce couple se réalise par une bataille verbale, et indique finalement comme thème majeur du texte la complémentarité des sexes, une harmonie dynamique qui s’accomplit grâce au pouvoir de la parole. Plus encore, le texte met l’accent sur le pouvoir de la voix des femmes dans les narrations irlandaises médiévales.
[EN] The article examines riddling as a form of specialized discourse in the circa eleventh-century Irish text Tochmarc Ailbe (“The Wooing of Ailbe”), in which the warrior-hero Finn mac Cumaill tests the suitability of King Cormac Mac Airt’s daughter Ailbe Grúadbrecc as a bride. Ailbe responds admirably to the riddles posed by the aging Finn, displaying her own personal mettle and intellectual acumen by answering him with witty ripostes of her own. The resolution of conflict between the couple is accomplished through this verbal sparring, and ultimately reveals as a major theme of the work the complementarity of the sexes, a dynamic harmony which is achieved through the power of oral discourse. Additionally, the power of the female voice in early Irish storytelling is further emphasized.
[EN] About Ankou (an allegory for Death) in the Middle Breton Vie de sainte Nonne.Remarks on the new edition of La Vie de sainte Nonne (Brest, 1999). Observations concerning a few Middle Breton words : pugnes, git, bourdon, raillon.
[EN] The description of technically clever or complex objects was not a recognized subgenre in early Irish literature but examples of transport means, weaponry, and food procurement and preparation devices illustrate how a touch of fantastic technology could be implicated in the plot, even in dilemmas of heroic ethics, or be a nearly free-standing item in a rich cultural history. The wonderful artifacts are not supernatural, preternatural, or even magical. Yet these fantastic instruments may have more life in literature than they ever had in historical reality. Language is harnessed and exploited in the literate realization of these devices, the potential complexity of the one reflecting the comparable complexity of the invented others.
[EN] Reconstructing monetary engraving with modern techniques. Application to a Preaugustan monetary type struck by the Ruteni.Since the XIXth century, Greek numismatics has focused on the study of dies. Regarding numismatic of Gaul, it was only in 1948 that J.-B. Colbert de Beaulieu (1905-1995) decided to deal with this area of research. This approach was explored by numismatists, but also by historians such as P.-M. Duval, who drew reproductions of a selection of dies, in particular those of the Parisii and Vercingetorix. Hence, C. Lopez has recently developed a technique to re-create the computerised picture of complete original dies. Here, we see the first results for the series of Ruteni coins with a boar emblem, related to the typical Southern Gallic coins representing a cross emblem.
[EN] Progressive forms in the Breton dialect of the island of Sein : analysis elements.This paper deals with a peculiar construction that is used to express the progressive aspect, in the Breton dialect of the island of Sein. Our aim is to give a first description of the conditions in which that construction, that we shall call comitative, is used. We also examine the peculiarity of this structure in the diathesis and actancy point of view. Finally, we suggest, in order to widen the scope of this study, a comparison between this construction and a specific use of the progressive verbal patterns in Irish.
[EN] From a mythological cycle to an epic cycle : About some correspondences between the Dadga and Fergus mac Róech.The god Dadga and the hero Fergus mac Róech are two main and famous characters of Pre-Christian Irish traditions. They occur in distinct groups of tales, i. e. the mythological cycle for the former and the Ulster heroic cycle for the latter. But a confrontation of these literary evidences reveals a series of common points, which suggest serious links between their respective gestes.
[EN] A votive inscription found in Jort (Calvados, France).Although widely known to the public, Toutatis is ultimately poorly attested by epigraphy. A bronze stylus with a dedication to the god, although discovered a long time ago at Jort (Calvados), had nevertheless remained unpublished. We offer here its publication with some brief comments.
[EN] Breton people in La Rochelle, according to the oath to King of France in 1224.In 1224, when the city of La Rochelle came into the possession of King of France, after being under the power of the Plantagenet, the oath of allegiance to Louis VIII, signed by at least 1360 people, tell us about the composition of the population of La Rochelle in the early XIIIth century and the extent of the trade relations of the port city. Among foreigners in the city, the Bretons are the most numerous ethnic group, representing about one third of non-native people originating from a place more than a hundred kilometers from La Rochelle. The anthroponymic analysis and breakdown by category allow us to specify their number and identify a regular Breton immigration, probably since the creation of La Rochelle in 1137. The study of further evidence places this immigration in the political and economic context of the last decades of the XIIth century. The sea’s “brief”, the original writing of “The Roles of Oleron”, some stories about crusades and pilgrimages describing the sea routes frequented by Breton pilots, confirm contacts between La Rochelle and Britanny before 1224.
[EN] Gallo-Roman Inscriptions.1. A fibula inscribed with «AVE ADIANTO», from Saint-Germain (Aube) : this inscription on a fibula with the shape of a sole presents the same bilingualism as the formula «AVE VIMPI». Adianto is probably a vocative singular of ad-iantu- «darling». 2. Graffito on a sherd «ANDAMORIX», from La Saulsotte (Aube) : this Personal Name means «the king of Hell» and must have a theonymic origin.
[EN] Mare britannicum : a name for the Atlantic maritime space.
From the first century AD onwards, some Greek and Latin authors (Pomponius Mela, Pliny, Ptolemy) mention in their writings the British sea or the British ocean. This name lasted throughout the Middle Ages until the early XIIIth century at least, when it is found in Anglo-Norman and German chronicles. On the basis of a corpus that is not exhaustive but sufficiently supplied to enable the analysis, we propose to highlight the geographical areas defined by these terms, their evolution over time and the type of sources where they appear. We also put forward a few hypotheses that could explain this name and its geographical spread : the continuation of an ancient literary tradition, a reflection of economic connections, and the political and cultural influence of the Plantagenêts.
[EN] Karin Stüber has already studied many aspects of Gaulish Personal Names and of their onomastic formula. She perceives here an inadequation between onomastic formulae and linguistic name-stock ; also between grammatical gender and onomastic gender, e. g. Toutisa being used as a masculine name. The unusual order of elements in the onomastic formula might have arisen for magical purposes. Ab- in Abrextubogio might go back to ap-, from IE. * apo.
L’auteur analyse la frise d’un des 50 rhytons en ivoire découvertes à Nisa en 1948. Il examine particulièrement la figure du satyre âgé jouant du carnyx près d’un rocher où une chèvre s’est retirée, tandis qu’un jeune satyre trébuche en essayant de l’attraper et deux autres le menacent avec un gros chien en laisse. L’auteur interprète la scène comme une simulation de chasse en vertu des moyens excessifs qui sont employés, et suggère de le lire comme une chasse rituelle en rapport avec le culte de Cybèle, le criobolium, qui est mentionné la première fois à Pergame au troisième quart du IIe siècle av. J. C. Cela s’accorde avec la datation possible du rhyton en question, et cela indique en outre Pergame comme une source probable pour la connaissance des carnyces en Asie. Effectivement, les carnyces ne sont qu’exceptionnellement représentés en Asie Intérieure, comme il est normal pour des instruments typiquement celtiques. Par conséquent, la représentation de Nisa se prête à des considérations sur la provenance du répertoire entier des rhyta en ivoire. Ce qui conduit l’auteur à aborder un autre sujet très délicat, c’est-à-dire le titre des prêtres de Cybèle, les γάλλοι : l’auteur soutient l’hypothèse qu’ils sont ainsi appelés d’après l’ethnonyme des Gaulois, qui ont acquis un rôle éminent dans la ville-temple de Cybèle, Pessinonte. La lecture de la frise de Nisa peut donc donner un nouvel éclairage sur un ancien débat.
[EN] The author discusses the frieze of an ivory rhyton among the 50 specimens found in Parthian Nisa in 1948. He particularly draws attention on the elder satyr playing a carnyx in the vicinity of a low hill where a goat flees, while a younger satyr is falling in the attempt to catch it, and two satyrs are menacing it by keeping a mastiff dog on leash. The author interprets the scene as a simulated hunt, by virtue of the exaggerated means employed, and suggests reading it as a ceremonial hunt in the context of Cybele’s cult, namely a criobolium, the earliest mentions of which are to be found in Pergamon during the third quarter of the 2nd century BC. This event fits in the likely chronology of the frieze at issue, and moreover points to the depiction of carnyces in Pergamon as a possible source for the knowledge of such instruments in Asia. In effect, carnyces are just exceptionally witnessed in Inner Asia, as they are allegedly Celtic instruments ; therefore, the Nisean depiction calls for further considerations on the provenance of the whole corpus of the ivory rhyta. This leads the author to deal with another delicate topic, the name of Cybele’s priests, the γάλλοι : the author supports the idea that they were thus called after the ethnonym of Gaulish people, who gained an eminent role in Cybele’s temple-town, Pessinous. The reading of the Nisean frieze may therefore provide a new glimpse onto a longstanding matter.
[EN] Notes on Old-Breton.
More information about the text glossed with aceruission ; possibly, a compound of garw (acherw) or a loan from Latin acerbus, -ission seems to be a noun with a plural inflection. – 8. Occrou is a variant of Brittonic ochr «angle, point», with a plural ending ; the Hisperic word uechrus might come from a loan of the same word into a Romance language ; – 9. Oith athir seems to refer to the «eight causes» in Galien medical theory.
[EN] David Stifter focusses his study on the loss of final -s-, a phenomenon which he has studied in previous studies. For the personal names with final -o in the second list, he suggests a dative singular (as in Latin) or an accusative singular, those with final -i being dative or accusative singular feminine. Forms in -us might be gamonyms, as in the Larzac tablet. Duti so adogarie is analysed as a verbal complex with infixation of a connecting particle (e)ti, and of a pronoun so, between the first preverb (du) and the other preverbs (ad-(u)o-), followed by a conjugated form with a reduced ending (= conjunct).
À coté de l’étude de la typologie et des transferts d’influences entre les différentes productions de casques, il y a de nombreux éléments transversaux, qui montrent comment les influences sont passées entre les communautés et les cultures, ce qui est le cas des éléments de décoration des casques. Cet article s’intéresse aux applications en forme de trident en fer, un type de décoration fréquent sur les casques de bronze du type Montefortino du IVe s. av. J.-C. et après. L’étude montre que cet élément vient d’une tradition plus ancienne et complexe qu’on peut reconnaître depuis le IVe s. av. J.-C. en Italie Méridionale. L’interprétation de ce type d’application reste inconnue ; on propose ici une implication de caractère militaire.
[EN] Helmets with tridents ? The question of the application of metal structures to the Pre-Roman helmets.
Beside the typological study and investigation of the influences between various types of helmets, we observe the transfer of decorative elements on helmets between different communities and cultures. In this article we focus on trident-shaped iron applications. These decorations were common on bronze helmets of the type Montefortino from the IVth century BC onwards. This study shows how these elements come from an older and much more complex tradition that can be recognized in southern Italy starting from the fourth century BC. The meaning of these applications is unknown, but here we suggest interpreting them on a military background.
[EN] Delw y Byd : the Welsh medieval translation of a Latin encyclopaedia and the creation of a geographical tract.
The present article is an investigation into the origins of the Welsh geographical treatise Delw y Byd and its relation with its Latin original, Imago Mundi. It presents an overview of the manuscript tradition of the Welsh text, and identifies the branch of the Latin tradition from which Delw y Byd is derived. It establishes the existence of two independent Welsh translations of the first, geographical, book of Imago Mundi and demonstrates that one of these translations is based on the Latin text represented in the fragment of Imago Mundi preserved in Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 484. A date and approximate provenance are provided for Rawlinson B 484, and new light is thrown on the potential Welsh contacts of another manuscript of Imago Mundi, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 66.
[EN] On the introductory formula of the Larzac tablet.
The longest Gaulish inscription known at the present day, the Larzac lead tablet, begins with an introductory formula, for which I suggest a linguistic and stylistic analysis. In my opinion, this formula contains two parallel noun phrases, introduced by the preposition in, «in, against» ; the first one is directed against a spell attributed to several witches ; the second one, composed in a syntactically parallel way, is directed against the name of these witches. This kind of protecting or aggressive formulae, first towards an entity, then towards a name linked with the latter, is well attested in the Iguvian Tables, one of the richest documents we have on Italic religions, and formulaic models may have circulated between Italic and Celtic languages for such textual genres.
[EN] Some aspects of the links between coinage and religion in Gaul.
Since there is no religious literature in Gaul, we have to look for information in the archaelogical field. The richest patterns in Celtic art are to be found on the coins, which are especially interesting for us. These coins have been used as offerings for the gods and thanks to their ornamentation on the obverses as well as on the reverses, we get to know some aspects of the ritual. Some scenes seem to be related to mythological stories which were transmitted by the late Celtic literature. Various objects : weapons, table-ware, jewels, sculptures… offer patterns similar to the ones which ornate the coins. So, the aim was probably the same : religious and philosophical messages were transmitted this way. In this civilization, it seems that the pictures replaced the traditional teaching delivered through literature.
[EN] Ethnicity, politics and integration scales : remarks on the Gaulish pagi before the conquest.
This paper applies an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the Gaulish pagi from the period of independence. The combination of written, epigraphic, archaeological and anthropological sources gives a clear view of the dual nature, both political and ethnic, of these entities, as well as the degree of autonomy they enjoyed from the socio-political level represented by the civitas. Comparison with similar subdivisions present in regions such as Cisalpine, Galatia or Ancient Ireland helps to place these groups into a wider context and thus enhance our understanding of them. Finally, the study of territorial organization allows us to address the issue of the pagi centers as well as the existing continuities and discontinuities between the pre-Roman and Gallo-Roman periods.
[EN] Luka Repanšek has worked on the basis of an independent decypherment of the inscriptions, and he proposes alternative readings, and another analysis of the onomastic formulae ; his conclusions are similar to those of other colleagues concerning the groups «Cornuti Toutisa» , and «u(id…) i felicx» . Duti(os) is considered as a complement to adgarios. Contextu would be a noun meaning «protection» . The author also proposes a tentative translation.
[EN] Jérémie Viret, an archeologist from the Archaeological Department, Chartres, gives a report about the archaeological context of the find : during May 2011, excavations were made in the sector «Grandes Filles-Dieu», a quarter of craftmen in the Gallo-Roman period. There, in the side gutter of an ancient street, two lead tablets were found, of equal size and weight, each inscribed on one face, folded together in such way that the two inscribed faces were facing each other.
Cet article traite de la présence et des influences des Celtes en Vénétie entre le Ve et le IIe siècle avant J.-C., attestées par la documentation archéologique et épigraphique. On présente quelques contextes archéologiques récemment découverts, qui permettent de préciser la chronologie de matériaux spécifiques comme les bracelets en pâte de verre de Adria et les boucles d’oreilles à extrémités complexes de Este et de Padoue. La confrontation des données épigraphiques permet de mieux se représenter l’évolution sociale.
[EN] The Celts and the Venetic space.
The paper examines Celtic influences and presence in the Venetian area between the Vth and IInd century b. C. Archaeological and epigraphical finds show economic and social relationships between Celti and Veneti. New archaeological contexts now allow a more detailed chronology for some specific types, such as glass bracelets from Adria and earrings with complex decorations from Este and Padova. The comparison with Venetic inscriptions allows interesting insights in the social evolution.
[EN] Gaulish Loanwords in the archaic Latin Literature.
This paper mainly attempts to highlight the technical and methodological difficulties encountered in the analysis of the texts by Latin authors documenting the language and culture of the old Celtic world. It is then suggested that a novel reading of these texts should be supported by the linguistic analysis of the data considered or to be considered Celtic.
Le vocabulaire de la magie semble s’enrichir d’un équivalent du lat. defixio ( ? Tascouidus «lettres de pointe» ).
[EN] Pierre-Yves Lambert brings a drawing and a reading of the inscriptions, a paleographic study and a first interpretation of onomastic and grammatical features. There are two lists of Personal Names, the second one begins at the bottom of tablet A and follows up on the top of tablet B. There are a few other Personal Names beside these lists. Their onomastic structure is Latin or Gaulish. The two elements of the onomastic formula are sometimes given in the reverse order, but it is possible that the second element has been supplied later on. We find the use of the word adgarios «accusator» , the same as in Chamalières : but this text supplies also forms of the corresponding verb, adgarie, adgariontas, and with an added element, adogarie.
The magical vocabulary might be enlarged with an equivalent of Lat. defixio ( ? Tasco-uidus «pointed letters»).
[EN] The bronze sheets of Castiglione delle Stiviere : a carnyx or an effigy of a wading bird ?
The grave of Castiglione delle Stiviere (Lombardy-Italy), discovered around 1914 and dated around the second third of the IIIrd century B. C., contained several fragments of bronze sheets, almost all having embossed ornaments. They were identified very early as being representative of Italian Celtic art. The attempt of R. De Marinis to attribute part of these fragments to a carnyx, the Celtic war trumpet, and the rest to the image of a bird – ensign or helmet – was accepted by part of the scientific community, but also raised objections and alternative proposals. The author proposes that all the preserved fragments belong to the effigy of a wading bird, in which the sheet bronzes might have been associated with wood or another organic material. Its size, which is estimated to approximately one meter, suggests a cultual function. The statue probably represents a crane, not only because its shape allows an optimal placement of the fragments, but also because of its meaning in the Celtic mythology, as illustrated in iconography and in texts.
[EN] Sucellus and Viîvakarman
Because the myths make no mention of him, god Sucellus is one of the most serious difficulties for contemporary exegesis. After reconsidering the case, which consists mainly of his iconography, I define him as a god of woodcraft specialising in the making of barrels in the Gallo-Roman period. He can thus be matched with an Irish counterpart, Carpenter Luchtai. Furthermore, he has some specific common points with Indian god Viśvakarman, also specialising in woodcraft. These common points are examined in this article.
[EN] The ram, the bird of prey and their relationships with the major Deity.
The recent discovery of two objects, with a rich iconography, permits us to revisit the representation of the major Deity of the Celts. These two items, found one in the Aisne and the other in the Loiret, reflect a Central European origin and belong to the artistic phase known as the plastic style. The first object was found in Batilly (Loiret) at the end of a ditch of a Latenian settlement (a local farm ?) dating from the final La Tène, II-I centuries. This object is quite exceptional by the realism of the representation and the nature of the subject represented. This bronze piece belonged to a wine vessel for which it was an appliqued ornament. At first glance, it seems to be a nocturnal bird of prey. But the reality is more complex as we will demonstrate : it is at the same time a nocturnal and diurnal bird of prey. In this case, the relationship with the Deity is not proved but rather suggested not only by the nature of the medium on which it was applied but also by the comparisons that we can make. The second object comes from the funerary sphere. It was found at Orainville (Aisne) in a female grave the furniture of which, especially the torque, would ethnographically come from the Middle Rhine region. Here it’s the fibula which particularly interests us. This piece of personal equipment of the deceased is related to her costume and comes close to a makeshift work. A metallic net previously arranged for its support has been applied on the basis of a Münsingen-fibula. The decoration, from which one pattern has been cut off, represents the main Deity intimately mingled with a ram. Beyond this direct and obvious relationship which combines for the first time the two images in a perfect symbiosis, one may add the one of a bovid by convergences of form and symbol. The comparison with such an object as the one found in Roissy reinforces the Central European stylistic contributions.
[EN] Celto-slavica, essays in comparative mythology.
Comparing two mythologies is always difficult to realise, particularly when one of them has been only kept in modern folklore. Celtic mythology may be collected from ancient and -in the worst case -medieval sources, but for Slavic mythology we must content ourselves with an extensive corpus of tales and epic songs. These tales and songs, however, are richly filled with archaisms, which frequently find no equivalent outside Celtic mythology. This study cannot pretend to propose a complete inventory of these convergences, but it may at least open new grounds for the reflections of comparative mythologists, and shed some new light on narrative elements which has been considered up till now as uniquely Celtic.
[EN] Coinage and writing in the second iron age around the Alpine arc : a new approach of the epigraphic staters formerly attributed to the Salasses.
This study includes the corpus of the epigraphic gold staters previously attributed to the Salassi who resided in “ Valle d’Aosta”. The alphabet of Lugano connects these coins with descripted drachmas of the Po Valley and other of the Rhone Valley. These currencies form a group which can be situated around the Alpine arc at least from the middle of the second century BC. The description of these objects is presently well-founded. In the light of this improvement, an update was required in defining and explaining the transmission of the alphabet of Lugano. This evidence is mainly delivered by inscriptions on coins which could be slight. It can however be considered as the emergence of an epigraphic culture beyond the north-western Alps. During the Roman Conquest, these inscriptions thus contribute into the complex interplay of political outline, probably of propaganda too.
The Morrígain is one of the most fascinating deities in Irish medieval literature. She is generally viewed as a goddess of war and death who appears alone or in triple form on the battlefield, is endowed with potent supernatural powers and symbolises the death of warriors. As the wife of the Dagda, the father god, she also possesses important sexual and agrarian attributes. She is thus a complex, polymorphic and multifunctional goddess. This study will examine a new aspect of her personality. As a goddess of fertility, she is closely related to water ; a characteristic which is reflected in her role as a washer of corpses at river fords. The numerous references to her long mane and sinister laugh, her role as a messenger of death and her connection with water all lend credence to the view that she is the fair-haired sea-goddess who drowns Conaing, son of Aedán Mac Gabráin, king of Alba, in the early 7th-century poem in the Annals of Tigernach.
Les ordinaux gaulois présentent différents types de formation, le suffixe ordinal ayant annexé des accrétions au cours de leur développement. L’auteur décrit quels sont les points de départ et les modèles suivis au cours de cette histoire.
[EN] Gaulish ordinals exhibit different formation types, their suffix growing with new accretions during this development. The author describes possible starting points and intervening models.
[EN] The Gaulish text from Rezé.
This new Gaulish text comes from the district of Saint Lupien, in Rezé, dep. Loire-Atlantique. On this Gallo-Roman site, which was anciently on the southern brink of the Loire, the archaeologists conducted by Martial Monteil have found a lead tablet with an inscription on both sides. After a presentation of the archaeological context, Pierre-Yves Lambert delivered a tentative reading and linguistic interpretation ; David Stifter gave some epigraphic and linguistic remarks and suggested in some cases alternative proposals. The two faces bear essentially an account, with one column of cyphers on the right, and on the left a column of words which reveal to be a series of ordinal numbers, different from the series in La Graufesenque : some ordinal seem to be latish creations, as paetrute “ fourth”, some others would be archaisms, such as pixto-“ fifth”. The “ seventh” was probably the object of some taboo, whence the use of a euphemistic periphrasis. A few marginal notes would record buyings or sellings, with two verbal forms prino and rinoti, and a monetary unit dinariIu (from Latin denarius). There still remain a number of uncertainties.
Dans le passage de Culhwch ag Olwen qui montre Culhwch allant à cheval à la cour d’Arthur, les deux manuscrits, le Livre Blanc et le Livre Rouge, emploient l’expression gleif penntirec pour désigner son arme. Une correction proposée par Thomas Jones s’est imposée maintenant comme la norme : elle consiste à corriger penntirec en ennillec, et à considérer que gleif était au départ une glose à ennillec qui a été introduite dans le texte principal ; ainsi, l’édition Evans-Bromwich donne ici gleif (ennillec). On montrera que la correction est mal assurée et qu’il vaut mieux restaurer le mot penntirec dans le texte de Culhwch, ainsi que dans le lexique du moyen-gallois. L’étude réexamine l’étymologie et le sens des termes ennillec et penntirec, en supposant qu’à l’origine ces deux noms d’armes avaient approximativement le même sens, «arme permettant d’accumuler des propriétés » .
[EN] In the passage in Culhwch ag Olwen where Culhwch is riding towards Arthur’s court, both the White and Red Books use the term gleif penntirec to describe his weapon. Following a suggestion by Thomas Jones, it has been conventional to emend penntirec to ennillec and to assume that gleif was in origin a gloss on ennillec which was incorporated into the text ; thus the edition of Evans and Bromwich reads gleif (ennillec) at this point. It is argued here that the emendation is unwarranted and that penntirec should be restored to the text of Culhwch and to the lexicon of Middle Welsh. The paper reconsiders the etymologies and meanings of the terms enillec and penntirec, arguing that in origin they were both terms for weapons with a broadly similar sense of ’ a weapon with which possessions are accumulated’.
The preventive excavation conducted at a place called “ Les Monts” in Plichancourt in 2003 brought to light many tombs of early La Tène. Amongst them, the grave no. 493, which can be dated from early La Tène B1 (Aisne-Marne IIC), delivered a large vase with a hull-like bottom with a decoration exceptional by the material used, the techniques used and the iconographic repertoire employed. The ornamentation, mainly seen on the top of the vase, includes panels covered with the remains of a white substance that the analysis has identified as tinfoil. The compositions, of a vegetable repertoire, belong to the first classical Celtic style : friezes of esses and of lotus flowers forming panels with a double axis of symmetry. They refer us to the most important metal productions of Rhineland for which no exact parallel is known in Champagne. The repertoire of potters is clearly different from that of the Champagne metalworkers, which is well known and did not deliver comparable compositions. Some other vases decorated with tinfoil can be identified in Champagne in the early La Tène, although a systematic analysis is needed to understand the extent of the phenomenon. They are found mainly in the dinner sets of chariot graves and in the most important of the single tombs in later La Tène A and early La Tène B1, at a time when the art of Champagne potters was in its peak. The small series of Champagne vases decorated with tinfoil cannot find a real parallel in Europe in the late fifth and early fourth century BC : the known series are older, from the late Bronze Age and first Iron Age. Further studies will be needed to understand how this unusual craft specialty was located in Champagne at that time.
Le thème elanv-«prier, invoquer » reste sans étymologie.
5. Dogurbonneu gl. rogauerit (dans la collection canonique irlandaise) : gurbonn est sans doute le correspondant du vieil-irlandais forbann, forbonn «excès de pouvoir ; superstition » . On propose l’analyse avec préposition do et copule eu : «c’est par excès de pouvoir » . Cette glose a peut-être été calquée sur une glose irlandaise.
6. Le passif impersonnel : catalogue des formes attestées en vieux-breton. On trouve une seule forme sûre de la 3e p. du pluriel ; les désinences de passif impersonnel de l’indicatif présent et du subjonctif présent sont nettement différenciées : indicatif -ir, subjonctif -(h) er ; plusieurs formes autrefois citées comme passives sont en fait du latin mal déchiffré ou mal orthographié.
[EN] Notes on Old-Breton
4. Elanu gl. embolim : embolim refers here to an additional prayer ; one could compare Middle Breton elanvet «invoked, prayed » , a calque for Greek paraklêtos. This stem elanv-«to pray, to invoke » has no etymology.
5. Dogurbonneu gl. rogauerit (in the Irish Collectio Canonum) : gurbonn is a parallel of Old Irish forbann, forbonn «excessive command ; superstition » . It is proposed to analyse the gloss as containing the preposition do and the copula eu : «it is by an excess of power » . This gloss could have had an Irish model.
6. The Impersonal Passive : catalogue of attested forms in Old Breton. There is only one sure example of the 3rd p. plural ; passive endings of the Indicative present and of the Subjunctive present are clearly distinguished : Indicative -ir, subjunctive -(h) er ; many forms sometime quoted as Old Breton passive are in fact Latin, transformed by mispellings or misreadings.
D’après certains linguistes, le mot ind.-eur. pour «loup » , *wlkhos, a été remplacé dans les langues celtiques par des expressions nouvelles, telles que la périphrase irlandaise mac tíre «fils du pays » probablement calquée sur un substrat pré-indoeuropéen. Mais ind.-eur. *wlkhos est néanmoins attesté en celtique continental, même si le sens exact du gaulois Catu-uolkos est encore débattu, «faucon de combat » ou «loup de combat » . J. Koch pense que le sens était à l’origine «animal prédateur » , et qu’il s’est plus tard spécialisé en tant que «faucon » (cf. gall. gwalch). Après avoir énuméré les représentants possibles de ce thème dans l’onomastique irlandaise (Ogam Ulccagni, vieil-irlandais Olcán, Olc Aiche, etc.), l’auteur propose de retrouver le même thème dans l’irlandais moderne greim madra uilc «morsure de chien enragé», et dans une expression écossaise ancienne ón chuaine alla uilc «de la meute sauvage de loups» (dans un poème du Livre du Doyen de Lismore).
[EN] According to some linguists, the IE word for ’ wolf’, * wlkhos, has been replaced in Celtic languages by new expressions, such as the periphrastic Irish mac tíre ’ son of the land’, probably calqued on a pre-Indo-European substratum. But IE *wlkhos is nevertheless attested in Continental Celtic, though the exact meaning of Gaulish Catuuolkos is still disputed, ’ hawk of battle’ or ’ wolf of battle’. According to J. Koch, the meaning was originally ’ beast of prey’, later specialized into ’ hawk’ (cf. W. gwalch). After reviewing possible reflexes in Irish onomastics (Ogham Ulccagni, Old Irish Olcán, Olc Aiche etc.), the author argues we would have the same reflex in Modern Irish greim madra uilc ’ mad dog bite’ and, in an early Scottish expression, ón chuaine alla uilc ’ from the wild lupine pack’ (in a poem from the Book of the Dean of Lismore).
IIe millénaire av. J.-C. entre un très grand nombre d’images de l’animal, des thèmes solaires et un personnage souvent dédoublé de nature dioscurique, dans une aire qui semble correspondre pour l’essentiel non seulement à des populations présumées celtiques, mais plus largement indo-européennes.
[EN] The place and meaning of the horse in the Celtic imagery.
The horse is the animal most often represented in the Celtic art repertoire, much more than the wild boar, particularly in monetary images. The reason for this vogue has been sought in explanations as varied and different as the importance attached to livestock farming or the expression of a metaphysical concept. The purely Celtic invention of an equine monster with a human head – documented as early as the fifth century BC with the figure of the Reinheim jug and very common later on currencies – suggests that this could be the representation of the animal form of a divine figure, probably solar. Even the image of the sole horse would be the one of the divine avatar rather than a simple animal. To understand the role of the horse in the iconography of the Celts, one should not only look for clues in the equivalences and in the associations of images of the Latenian Celtic art of Ve-Ist century BC, but also go back in time to the Bronze Age. This consideration fully confirms the link in the second half of the second millennium BC between a very large number of animal images, solar themes and an often doubled character of dioscuric nature, in an area which seems to correspond mainly not only to allegedly Celtic populations, but also more largely to Indo-European ones.
[EN] The first half of the fourth century BC is a poorly documented period in archaeological terms, on a large part of the territory assigned to Transalpine Senones and its immediate surroundings : most of the materials and contexts published are from the late fourth and early third century BC. The recent cemetery of the necropolis of Monéteau “ Sur Marcherin” fills an important gap, through a series of contexts which sequence of us covers mostly the whole fourth century BC. In spite of conclusions limited by the small number of excavated graves, and especially the lack of regional comparisons, this study highlights some elements that establish, for the oldest part, the existence of links with the Swiss Plateau ; the relationship with the archaeological faciès of the Transalpine Senones can be deduced from the most recent graves.
[EN] A lead tablet, found in Ratcliffe-on-Soar (Nottinghamshire) in 1963, has been published by R. S. O. Tomlin in The Antiquaries Journal, 84, 2004, p. 346-352. This is a defixio written to recover stolen objects. The author’s proposal concerns in particular two words in the tablet which should be read as vernacular. Actually, what R. S. O. Tomlin understood as the formula si m(ulier) au[ t] si b(aro) RIANTINE, P. de B. St. would interpret as si maup(enne) si briantine, a formula concerned with the social status of the thief : it is similar to Latin si servus, si liber, but should rather be understood as «whether humble freeman, or nobleman ».
[EN] In addition to ancient mentions, some recent discoveries led to register about ten representations of the so-called “ swastika” theme in Western Gaul. These ornaments are associated with supports of two kinds : on one hand, ceramic, with the stamped decoration wares, and, on the other hand, stone, with the granite funeral steles. Then the conditions seemed favourable to propose a synthetic note giving the point of the question and dealing with the geographic distribution of this ornament and with its chronology.
[EN] Michel Feugère describes a Gallo-Roman fibula with the inscription AVII VIMPI, found in Laon. This is a hinged brooch, designed as a sole, with an applied leaf of stanned copper, bearing a decorative relief. The same legend has been found on an earthen spindle whorl from Nyon, and on two others brooches, one from Reims (now lost), and the other from Cirencester. Ornamentation by application of a separate leaf dates from the second half of the first century. Pierre-Yves Lambert remarks that this legend combines a Latin word and a Gaulish one : «Hello, pretty ! » . The high frequency of vimpi on small inscribed objects such as spindle whorls makes it improbable that it would be a Proper Name. The -i ending, open to many explanations, seems to have originally been a vocative singular of an -iā stem. Its extension to an -ā-stem was perhaps intended to mark a substantivised adjective.
[EN] This work aims at sketching every human or animal figuration found in the Late Latène sites in Moravia. Figures on the Celtic golden or silver coins have been left aside, since they deserve a special study. 22 cases are taken into account, 21 of which were bronze products ; in one case only we have an engraved ceramic. Most of these finds come from the oppidum of Staré Hradisko (14 pieces), a smaller group comes from lower settlements (5 pieces), from deposits (1 piece), and two statues are isolated finds without any clear provenience. Animal figurations are the most numerous (13 pieces), in fact, mammiferes and birds. These are, seven figurations, complete or fragmentary, which were used as hangers, and which picture domestic or wild animals (pig, goat, dog, duck, hind) ; in five other cases, ram heads have been attached to winding rings, or a duck head is attached to the end of a balance beam. The engraving of a crane on a ceramic vessel is an isolated case. Animal figurations are most probably witnessing to a Celtic local production, but the human figurations originate almost certainly from outside Moravia, and more precisely from the Italian area (up till now, 9 finds). The hangers representing hands, with the “ fica”, could be held to be local products, although they have been influenced, at least on the ideological level, by the Republican Roman culture.
[EN] P. de B. St. proposes a new dialectology for Ancient Celtic languages, by stressing contacts and common innovations. She also proposes an earlier date for the introduction of Celtic in Spain and Italy : the presence of Celtic (non Gaulish) elements in the Iberian corpus, and in Ligurian would lead to suppose a multiplicity of Celtic layers in both peninsulas. At least, five successive layers of Celtic languages could then be distinguished. Exactly as there were Celts in Spain before the Celtiberians, in the same way in Northern Italy, Lepontic was preceded by a Celtic element present in Ligurian : Ligurian itself would be a Celtic language, partly preserving of Indo-European -p-, and presenting some other remarkable archaisms. The author is thus led to define a Protoceltic somewhat more archaic than has been supposed till now. J. A. A. E. exposes some common features in the material cultures. The authors also suppose that part of the Hispanic Celticity developed under the influence of the Italian Celts, some of whom might have reached the Iberian Peninsula by sea.
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