#Menapii

[germanicseidr]

Menapii

The Menapii was one of the Belgae tribes with a Celtic culture. They seem to belong to the same branch of Celts who migrated to the Atlantic coast and invaded Ireland. Their name might have been derived from a Proto-Celtic word -Mano meaning thought or -Mono meaning to tower. The Eburones were the Menapii's neighbours to the east, the Germanic Batavi to the North, the Nervii to their southeast and the Atrebates to their south. They obviously had no neighbours in the west because that is were the North sea is located.

The location of this tribe is interesting, Julius Caesar, Ptolemy and Strabo described that their territory was located between the rivers Rhine and the Schelde. This means that they should have lived in modern day Northern Belgium and Southern Netherlands. According to Caesar, the Menapii were the Celts that lived closed to the Rhine and thus they waged a continuously war against the Germanic people.

The Menapii were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in his work 'De Bello Gallico'. The Belgae tribes entered into a confederacy out of fear that the Romans would conquer them. The Menapii tribe was part of this confederation in 57BC. This meant that the Menapii were at war with Julius Caesar and they were one of the very few tribes who managed to resist Caesar for quite some years.

In 56BC Julius Caesar left Illyricum and tensions flared up again almost immediately. Some of the Celtic tribes revolted against Caesar: the Veneti, Lexovii, Morini, Nannetes, Ambilati, Osismii and the Menapii. Especially the Veneti could prove dangerous to Rome since they had a powerful navy.

Unfortunately the Veneti fleet was cornered and destroyed in Quiberon Bay (modern day France). Most of the Veneti strongholds and villages were attacked and almost all of the Veneti civilians were killed or captured. The Menapii survive this slaughter and continued resisting Julius Caesar in what you can call guerilla warfare. They would carefully withdraw into their swamps and forests, luring Caesar's troops with them. This eventually led to the Romans burning down random villages.

To make matters even worse, the Germanic Suebi confederation decided to cross the Rhine in the following year and unfortunately the Menapii were in their way. This led to a clash between the Suebi and the Menapii. The Menapii are able to defend their line of the river. The Suebi decided to withdraw in an attempt to lure the Menapii out. This works and the Germanics were able to defeat the Menapii and occupy most of their villages and ships.

This event unfortunately drew Caesar's attention and in the year 55BC, Julius caesar attacked the Suebi and pushed them back across the Rhine again. By this time, most of the Belgae tribes submitted to Caesar but the Menapii and Morini refused. The Morini are eventually beaten in battle but the Menapii managed to avoid a slaughter by hiding inside a forest. The Belgae tribes became part of the Roman empire and they lost their independence forever.

Caesar's conquest of Gaul caused quite some panic amongst Celtic tribes. Some of these tribes decided to flee and there is reason to believe that parts of the Menapii tribe fled to Ireland. Ptolemy mentions a Manapi tribe living in south-east Ireland which could be remnants of the Menapii tribe.

Some of the Menapii apparently also served in the Roman army as auxiliaries. A cohort of Menapii auxiliaries is mentioned in inscriptions found in Britain dating back to somewhere around 200AD.

An even more interesting story about the Menapii revolves around Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Carausius during the 2nd century AD. Carausius was a Menapii man in service of the Roman army. He managed to become the commander of the Classis Britannica, a Roman fleet active in what is now the English channel.

Carausius declared himself emperor of Britain and northern Gaul in 286AD. He managed to get the support of the legions stationed in Brittanica and Gaul and managed to stay in power for 7 years before being assassinated by Allectus, Carausius' treasurer. So it wasn't just only a Germanic Batavi who managed to become a Roman emperor (Postumus), the Celtic Menapii managed to produce an emperor as well.

The Menapii eventually got absorbed by the Franks and the Menapii who migrated to Ireland eventually became part of the kingdom of Laigin. This Celtic tribe definitely has a fascinating history, its future tied to that of the Germanics, Romans and the Irish.

Here are pictures of: A map showing the territory of the Menapii, A map of Ireland showing the location of the Manapii, A coin with a depiction of Carausius,

[bluesman56]

Bruges by Tony Via Flickr: Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during prehistory. This Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement is unrelated to medieval city development. In the Bruges area, the first fortifications were built after Julius Caesar's conquest of the Menapii in the first century BC, to protect the coastal area against pirates.

[earaercircular]

A Celtic pig in order to assure the future

Meat or vegan? It doesn't have to be that black or white. An ambitious pig farm in Pittem shows that livestock farming in Flanders can be viable and sustainable.

We are in a meadow in Pittem, surrounded by a group of exuberant pigs that resemble wild boars and are feasting on the grass, grunting loudly. In all respects it is an alienating experience. There are more pigs than human inhabitants in Flanders. But whoever sees one in the flesh?

The dark giants have pointed ears, a wagging tail and long hair. "This one still looks beautiful in its fur," says Bertjan Olivier, while stroking a sow over the stiff hair. “You can pet them, but you still have to be careful. They have boar blood in their veins. They are wild, stubborn and rebellious – just like their bosses.” He winks.

Belgae

Olivier manages the pig start-up Menapii[1], that breeds ancient pigs. The Menapian pigs come with a good story. Pig breeder Ruben Brabant, who runs a large sow farm on the same site, has always been interested in special breeds. He wanted a Flemish ham that could hang alongside the exquisite serrano and iberico. “For that I needed a pig with a thick layer of bacon and well-veined meat, that grows slowly and has a better taste. And that would be popular with consumers who are sensitive to animal welfare and sustainability.”

At a fair he met archaeologist Wim De Clercq (UGent). The latter said that during excavations in Oudenburg[2] he had discovered skeletons of Celtic pigs that lived as utility animals with the Ancient Belgae. The Menapian pig was a delicacy that the Romans paid extortionate prices for. "That's where the idea arose to reconstruct that primordial pig."

After two years of crossing – a wild boar was used as basis – and experimenting with feeds, pig breeder Brabant, together with researchers from Ghent University, brought to life a pig in 2016 that closely resembles the old Menapian pig. It is robust, roams outdoors, grazes and lives on residual flows such as beet pulp, chaff, beer marc or rapeseed meal. Besides AG-S,[3] the company of Brabant, the well-known butcher Hendrik Dierendonck[4] joined the company. He processes and sells the meat in his shops and restaurant. Every year 1,000 to 1,500 pigs are sold through its own channels.

Thrift animal

But the story doesn't stop here. Brabant takes us to its conventional stables. He has 1,500 sows. That is a mega company by Flemish standards. But the pigs enjoy privileges: they live in groups of 120, roam freely and sleep on straw beds. The stable is large and light. The sows with their piglets also have more space than usual in the farrowing pen. No pietrains[5] here, the popular breed that was bred to give as much meat as possible, but a sturdier English breed.

Brabant, who also builds stables, points to gadgets such as the air conditioning under the floor and the 'toilets', where manure and urine are separated and removed every three days. For example, ammonia (nitrogen) is hardly formed. These pigs also largely live on residual flows. Their CO2 paw print is a lot lower than average.

Olivier and Brabant are bridge builders, looking for ways to reconcile agriculture and nature. Both are bio-engineers, not farm sons. "We have an open mind in the sector," says Olivier, who was snatched away from the research department of the political party N-VA and is a member of the board of directors at the West-Vlaamse Milieufederatie (West Flemish Environmental Federation)[6]. They plead passionately for a different rural Flanders, with mixed landscapes of nature, farmlands and farm roads. With meadows lined with hedges where cows and pigs graze. Where a viable livestock farm has a right to exist.

Vegan good, meat bad? It's not that simple," says Olivier. “The nutrition debate has become bogged down in false contradictions. Livestock farming can also be fair and sustainable if one does it right. A pig is the ideal recycling animal that converts residual flows into useful proteins. So do cows that graze. They have a place in our diet. We are not going to manufacture all our food in a reactor vessel, are we?”

Cut-price meat products

The key question remains: is this model scalable? “Absolutely,” Brabant nods. “Mass production at rock bottom prices is a finite story in Flanders. Unsustainable for the environment and for the farmers who are confronted with a lot of misery. We go against that current, but we don't make losses. We do not dump anonymous meat on the world market, but sell a concept that is in demand.”

That demand remains niche. With the Menapian pigs they are targeting consumers who are looking for value and who are willing to pay for it. Sales are assured thanks to the collaboration with butchers such as Dierendonck. Opening the access to the supermarkets remains a harder type of challenge. Brabant did not find nya buyer in Flanders with his conventional pigs. They entered in contact with to a large German retailer. "There's interest here, until you bring up the price. Then the supermarkets that pretend to be sustainable will also stick to a cut-price meat product.”

This model could become the norm if supermarkets opt for more sustainable meat, Olivier nods. “They proclaim consumers want cheap meat, but the chains must also take responsibility themselves. And this makes that we're not yet arrived at a sustainable approach. The entire European market has to get rid of meat at rock-bottom prices. Cheap imports from outside the EU should be taxed at the borders. This goes against the trade agreements that Europe wishes to conclude with Latin America. There is still a way to go.”

Meaningless regulation drive

And then there is another flaw. The engineers collide with their alternative approach against a wall of rules. For example, the Federal Food Agency[7] does not allow their pigs to go outside for fear of diseases. “The obsession with food safety has gone too far, at the expense of animal welfare,” says Olivier. The Flemish Land Agency[8] also does not allow outdoor runs because of the nitrogen problem. “Whereas we notice that our pigs do not urinate and fatten in the same place. So no ammonia is formed on the meadow.”

This 'meaningless regulation drive' causes frustration. Brabant presents a sketch: a design of the conventional pigsty of the future. For supermarket pigs that partly live outside. Circular, with solar panels and heat recovery. The manure is separated, the solid fraction is reused to raise insects that can be used as proteins in the feed. "Unfortunately, I will never receive an authorisation for this. Certainly not with the new Nitrogen Agreement[9]. Stables should be airtight boxes with filters on the outlet. While those technofixes are a bogus solution, that do not tackle the problems of agriculture thoroughly.”

There is only one option for the Menapian pigs, Olivier says: keep them indoors. "Which we definitely don't plan to do. Only if we switch to organic, we will receive an exception to the nitrogen regulations. But in that case we can no longer feed our animals with residual flows. You will hardly find bio-certified beer marc or rapeseed meal. Organic certified soy does exist. That goes against the philosophy that we want to feed our pigs with waste from the region.”

He sighs. “We hope that we will not be placed in this dilemma. Isn't it absurd that it is the environmental legislation in particular that makes us abandon our circular model?”

Source

Ine Renson: Een Keltisch varken als wissel op de toekomst, in: De Standaard, 23-04-2022; https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20220422_96592097

[1] The Menapii were a Belgic tribe dwelling near the North Sea, around present-day Cassel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. According to descriptions in such authors as Strabo, Caesar, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy their territory had stretched northwards to the mouth of the Rhine in the north, but more lastingly it stretched along the west of the Scheldt river.

[2] Oudenburg is renowned for its rich historical past. Eye-catchers are the Roman castellum and St. Peter's Abbey, but the boroughs of Roksem, Ettelgem and Westkerke also have a rich history. There, many early medieval small agricultural settlements came to light along the Oude Bruggeweg, an important arterial road connecting Bruges to Gistel. Because mostly only remnants of this past have been preserved in the subsoil, archeology is of crucial importance to unravel the history of Oudenburg. Since 2005, the city of Oudenburg has had its own archaeologist in order to optimally preserve and manage this past and to ensure that archaeological interventions in the soil run as smoothly as possible. https://ram.oudenburg.be/ram/onderzoek-ontwikkeling/archeologie.aspx

[3] http://www.ag-s.be/service/page/nl/home.php

[4] Dierendonck is a family of butcher craft. https://www.dierendonck.be/pages/filosofie

[5] Piétrain is a Belgian breed of domestic pig. It is native to Wallonia, and takes its name from the village of Piétrain in the municipality of Jodoigne in Walloon Brabant, in northern Wallonia. It first appeared in about 1920, and received recognition as a breed in 1950.  Its origins are not clear; it has been suggested that the farmers of Piétrain may have recognised, and selectively bred for, a genetic mutation causing muscular hypertrophy. From about 1960, the Piétrain was also reared in Germany, principally in Baden-Württemberg, Nordrhein-Westfalen and Schleswig-Holstein; it is used as a sire for cross-breeding. The breed was improved by researchers at the Université de Liège in 2004.

[6] The West Flemish Environmental Federation currently brings together 84 nature and environmental associations, active in West Flanders.

[7] The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) was founded by the Act of 4 February 2000 and is responsible for the assessment and management of risks that may be harmful to the health of consumers as well as the health of animals and plants. The Agency carries out food safety inspections throughout the food chain. https://www.fasfc.be/about-fasfc

[8] The Vlaamse Landmaatschappij assures water quality by monitoring how much manure farmers use on their land and providing guidance where necessary. We do this within the framework of the manure policy, which we helped to establish. We simultaneously support and encourage farmers to structure their fields and meadows in a more natural way in order to promote biodiversity. https://www.vlm.be/en

[9] https://omgeving.vlaanderen.be/stikstofakkoord-vr

[dutchpagan]

(For those of you who only see some half-assed list; I accidentally hit post too early XD, should be fixed now.)

For your pagan history lessons: click the above link for an awesome map of Celtic and Germanic tribes in the first centuries BC and AD. You can enlarge the map and click on names for more information.

For example, these are the tribes that once lived in what is now roughly the area of the Netherlands.

Chauci

Campsiani (?)

Landi (?)

Frisii

Batavi

Chamavi

Bructeri

Caninnefates

Paemani

Menapii

Ambivariti (?)

Eburones

Cugerni

[sylvarwolf]

The Cuchulainn Cycle CT042

The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 7: The Cúchulainn Cycle

by J. A. MacCulloch

The story of the mighty hero, Cuchulainn, Queen Medb and the Cattle-Raid of Cooley.

  Names Used in this Section

Conchobar

Book of the Dun Cow

Book of Leinster

Táin bó Cuailgne

Dechtire

Ailill and Medb

Fergus, Conall Cernach

Cúroi, Deirdre, and the sons of Usnach

día talmaide

Cathbad

Nessa

Lug

Sualtaim

Emania

Emer, daughter of Forgall

Donall in Alba

Dornolla

Scathach

Aife

Conla

Sohrab and Rustum

Theseus and Hippolytus

Westermarck

Macha

Findbennach

Brown Bull of Cuailgne

Ferdia

Morrigan

Calatin

Niamh

Lugaid

King Loegaire

Devorgilla

Enbarr

ingen rig richis garta

M. D'Arbois

Conall Cernach

smérthain, Smertullos

Kervadel

Tarvos Trigaranos

Trèves

Badb

Setantii

Setanta (Setantios)

Menapii and Brigantes

Dond tarb

Garbh mac Stairn

  Religion of the Ancient Celts can be found on Sacred Texts.

You can find out more about J. A. McCulloch on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for a dramatic re-telling of the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or in Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.

Check out this episode!

[tunnelsovset]

[germanicseidr]

Batavii

I have made a previous post on the Batavi over a year ago. However I wanted to rewrite my piece on this tribe to include more information about them, also I gained about 3000 new members since last year so the post might have been completely missed by most in this group. The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe located in the lower Rhine area, modern day Netherlands. They are however not native to the Netherlands. The Batavi people actually were once Chatti tribesmen/women. Somewhere around 100BC-50BC a conflict broke out inside the Chatti tribe which caused the tribe to split. A small part of the Chatti decided to move away and they settled themselves in the lower Rhine area, those were the first of the Batavi.

The lower Rhine area was actually inhabited by another tribe, the Celto-Germanic tribe of the Eburones. Unfortunately the entire tribe was massacred by Julius Caesar which left the Rhine area open for resettling. The Batavi people would use the same locations as the Eburones used, to worship their Gods. Whether they did this because these sacred places of worship were known to all in the Germanic world is unknown.

Their new neighbours to the north/west were the Cannanefates, a tribe incredibly similar to the Batavi. There are theories that the Cannanefates might have also been a splinter group of the Chatti who broke off during the same internal conflict. Unfortunately since there is no written evidence about this, we will never know what exactly happened during this Chatti conflict. Up further in the North they had the Frisii as neighbours. The Batavi would continue to have a good relationship with the Frisii and both tribes helped each other during their famous revolts.

To the east they were neighboured by the Bructeri tribe. The Batavi and the Bructeri however do not have any notable relationship with each other except for one event. The Bructeri sent their warriors to the Batavi in 69AD to help them with their revolt against the Roman empire. The Bructeri also sent troops to Arminius for the famous Teutoburgerwald battle. To the south they were neighboured by the Celtic-Belgae tribe of the Menapii who were famous for resisting Julius Caesar’s invasion of modern day Belgium.

The name Batavi is derived from the Proto-Germanic language and basically means the people of the good island. A part of the former Batavi territory is still named after this tribe, the Betuwe. Whether the Batavi named themselves after the land or gave their name to the land is still up for debate. The name Batavi is also incredibly well known amongst the modern Dutch people, compared with some other Dutch tribes that have nearly been forgotten. This is all thanks to a propaganda campaign which started during the 80 years war for Dutch independence. This campaign started in the 16th century with the story that the Batavi were the original ancestors of all Dutch people, this was spread in order to create a sense of nationalism amongst the Dutch in order to join the rebellion against Spain. Later in 1795, when the French conquered the Netherlands, they renamed the country into the Bataafse republic after the Batavi tribe. This lasted until 1806 when Louise Bonaparte became king of the Netherlands.

One of the people who has written quite a lot about this tribe, is Tacitus. In his work Germania, he describes the tribe as following:

“Of all these people, the most famed for valor are the Batavi; whose territories comprise but a small part of the banks of the Rhine, but consist chiefly of an island within it. These were formerly a tribe of the Catti, who, on account of an intestine division, removed to their present settlements. They still retain this honor, together with a memorial of their ancient alliance to Rome; for they are neither insulted by taxes, nor oppressed by farmers of the revenue. Exempt from fiscal burthens and extraordinary contributions, and kept apart for military use alone, they are reserved, like a magazine of arms, for the purposes of war. – Tacitus”

The Batavi were very appreciated by the Romans for their skills in battle and their bravery. They gave Rome excellent auxiliary forces well regarded for their horsemanship. They were also one of the very few units who were able to swim while wearing full armour. This has been described by Dio Cassius, a Roman historian. He described how the Batavi adopted this tactic during a battle against the British Celts:

“ The barbarians thought that Romans would not be able to cross it without a bridge, and consequently bivouacked in rather careless fashion on the opposite bank; but he sent across a detachment of Batavi tribesmen, who were accustomed to swim easily in full armour across the most turbulent streams. Thence the Britons retired to the river Thames at a point near where it empties into the ocean and at flood-tide forms a lake. This they easily crossed because they knew where the firm ground and the easy passages in this region were to be found; but the Romans in attempting to follow them were not so successful. However, the Germans swam across again and some others got over by a bridge a little way up-stream, after which they assailed the barbarians from several sides at once and cut down many of them." – Dio Cassius

One unit of Batavi auxiliary was even recruited to guard the Roman emperor, the Numerus Batavorum. (I have written a post about this unit if you are interested. The Batavi units were deployed all over the Roman empire, from Britannia to north Africa.

Over time, the Batavi became quite Romanized. They even adopted some of the Roman Gods in their pantheon and the famous God of thunder, Donar/Thor, became Latinized as well, Hercules Magusanus. The Batavi people wore amulets in the shape of a club, Donar keule, in a similar fashion how the vikings wore Mjolnirs to honour to the God of thunder.

Even though it appears that the Batavi and the Romans enjoyed a good alliance, tensions rose between the two because of corrupt centurions who tried to conscript more and more Batavi into the Roman army and unreasonable taxes. In 69AD the Batavi revolted against the Roman empire, making use of Rome’s weakness since the year 69AD was an extremely unstable year for the Romans. The rebellion was led by Gaius Julius Civilis who, like Arminius, served in the Roman army. Therefore he was gifted with the knowledge of Roman military tactics.

“"Let Syria, Asia Minor, and the East, habituated as it is to despotism, submit to slavery... Freedom is a gift bestowed by nature even on the dumb animals. Courage is the peculiar excellence of man, and the Gods help the braver side." - Gaius Julius Civilis

The revolt has been described quite detailed by Tacitus in his work ‘the annals’ if you are interested in the full story. I have also written a post about this uprising, it is impossible to write out the full revolt in this post because there is just too much information. There were several Germanic tribes who joined the Batavi in their revolt: the Frisii, Cananefates, Treverii, Bructeri and the Celtic Lingones.

Initially the revolt was quite succesfull. The Batavi managed to capture and destroy several Roman fortifications and destroyed two full Roman legions. The Romans sent a massive army to the Batavi in order to put down the revolt which ended in the following year in 70AD. Even though officially the Batavi failed at their revolt, their military losses were relatively very light. The Romans however lost about 20,000 soldiers. The Numerus Batavorum unit was disbanded after the revolt because the Romans lost their trust in the Batavi.

After this event, the Batavi seem a bit forgotten in history. There were no more noticable events or recorded history on them with the exception of the Batavi auxiliary units which continued to serve in the Roman army after the revolt. During the late third and early fourth century, the Batavi were absorbed into the Salian Franks and so their existence as an independent tribe ended. The name of the Batavi however still lives on strongly in the Netherlands, greatly thanks to the 80 years war for independence.

Here are images of: A small map showing their location, Painting of the Batavi revolt by Barend Wijnveld, 1835. Batavi auxiliary units, The burial stone of Indus, who was a Batavi bodyguard of emperor Nero,

[germanicseidr]

Nervii

The Nervii were a Celtic tribe (with possible Germanic origins) who lived in modern day Belgium, Northern France and southern Netherlands. The origin of their name is somewhat uncertain but it might mean 'hero/heroes' in proto-Celtic. The Nervii were fierce warriors and seen as the bravest of all the Gauls by Julius Caesar.

The Nervii were very insular in nature, unlike other Celtic tribes, they forbid any foreign merchants from entering their territory. Their lifestyle could be compared to that of the Spartans, they had a fierce military culture and rejected the use of luxury products like wine per example.

Most of what we know of the Nervii comes from Julius Caesar who encountered them during his campaign in Gaul. He described how the Nervii spoke a Celtic language but that they were Germanic in origin. Historians suspect that the Nervii were of mixed heritage, maybe they were both Germanic and Celtic or they were ruled by a Germanic elite. It would explain the focus on warfare which is more a Germanic trait than a Celtic.

In 57BC, the Belgic tribes entered in an alliance to fight against the Romans, the Belgae were afraid of Rome's intention to dominate them. This Belgic alliance consisted of the Eburones, Nervii, Ambiani, Atuatuci, Caleti, Menapii, Viromandui, Paemani, Condrusi, Atrebates, Veliocasses and Morini.

Julius Caesar defeated the Belgic alliance at the battle of Axona in 57BC. This wasn't just a defeat for the Belgae but a complete slaughter, most of the Belgic tribes led terrible losses including the Nervii. Several of these tribes surrendered to Caesar but the Nervii refused. The Nervii instead launched a surprise attack at the battle of the Sabis, supported by the Atrebates.

Initially this surprise attack went favourably for the Nervii but the Romans turned the tide of the battle and nearly massacred all of the Nervii, an estimated 60,000 were killed. This battle was basically the end of the resistance of the Belgic tribes and the start of Roman domination of modern day Belgium.

The Nervii tribe never fully recovered from this battle and they basically ceased to exist as a functioning tribe. Their name however still continued to exist so they weren't completely gone. Some of the Nervii joined in later Gallic rebellions and others migrated to Britannia where they served in the Roman army. Inscriptions were found at Rough Castle on the Antonine wall in Britain which described how a sixth cohort of Nervii was stationed there.

Here are photos of: Depiction of the battle of the Sabis, Map of the Belgic tribes, Nervii inscription in Britain, Map that shows the Nervii territory,

Here is a link to an interesting video about the battle of Axona  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLY1AFDTMFM

[germanicseidr]

Eburones

The Eburones were a Celtic tribe but with Germanic influences, although Julius Caesar described them as being Germanic. They lived between the river Rhine and the Maas in modern day southern Netherlands and northern Belgium. Their name, if it is Celtic, means yew. Yew trees and wood was seen as sacred by the Germanic tribes of modern day Netherlands, almost all runic inscriptions have been found on yew wood.

Despite Caesar claiming they were Germanic, all evidence leads to them being Celtic in origin. Their close location to the Germanic tribes may have led to Germanic influences but judging by their name and archeological finds, they are Celtic. It is often hard to define which Belgic tribes are Celtic or Germanic since most of them have mixed ethnicities.

Not much is known about the Eburones except for what Caesar described. We do know they had a sacred place at Empel which I described before in a post about the Empel temple. During Caesar's invasion of Gaul, the Belgic tribes allied themselves against the Romans, this included the Eburones.

In 55BC, the Germanic tribes of the Usipetes and the Tencteri tried to settle on new land after being driven away by the Suebi. These two tribes eventually bumped into the Belgic Menapii tribe and attacked them. Not only do they attack the Menapii, they also attack the Eburones and the neighbouring Condrusi. Caesar moved north to deal with this Germanic threat on Celtic lands and manages to free the leader of the Eburones, Ambiorix.

However in 53BC, Ambiorix and Cativolcus instigate a revolt. The Eburones with the help of the Treveri manage to destroy a Roman legion under Quintus Titurius Sabinus and Lucius Aurunculeius Cotta, both Roman generals die in this conflict as well. The surviving Roman forces committed suicide in order to avoid capture by the Celts. In all about 8000 Romans were killed.

Ambiorix proudly marched towards the Atuatuci after this victory, a tribe about whom I wrote a post a few weeks ago, and encouraged them and the Nervii to join the Eburones against the Romans. This alliance attacked a legion of Cicero. Julius Caesar makes his way to Cicero with 7,000 of his men when they are attacked by 60,000 Gauls.

Unfortunately the battle turned sour for the Eburones and they are defeated by Caesar. Ambiorix flees and Cativolcus commits suicide. Caesar then burned down every village of the Eburones, killed countless of people, stole their crops and so eventually destroyed the tribe. Surviving members most likely joined neighbouring tribes. The land itself was resettled by the Germanic Tungri.

Here are photos of: A statue of Ambiorix in Tongeren, Belgium A map which shows the location of the tribe And a reconstruction of how an Eburonus warrior would have looked like

[germanicseidr]

Tencteri

The Tencteri were a Germanic tribe who lived East around the lower Rhine river. Archeologists found Tencteri remains in the Netherlands. Their location is probably modern day south-Germany and East Netherlands.

The Tencteri were first described by Julius Caesar. In 55BC, they were searching for a new homeland and crossed the Rhine river. Celtic tribes who lived in these territories fled. Menapii lands were occupied by the Germanics causing quite some unrest. Julius Caesar feared this unrest because it might provoke other Gauls. He hurried to the area with his army. The Tencteri and Usipetes, sent ambassadors to Julius offering an alliance with the Romans. Caesar refused as long as these two Germanic tribes remained in Gaul.

The negotiations didn't lead to any outcome and eventually the Germanics attacked the Romans, forcing them to retreat. This of course did not sit well with Caesar and he took his revenge. Even after the Tencteri asked for asylum, Caesar with his 8 legions absolutely massacred the tribes in what you can describe as a genocide.

Archeological evidence of this mass slaughter has been found in the Netherlands in 2015. This is also the first concrete evidence that we have of Caesar actually setting foot in the Netherlands. An estimated 150,000 people were killed. In the Dutch village of Kessel, skeletons, swords, spearheads and armour has been found dated to this era.

The tribes however survived this genocide and in 16BC the Tencteri once again crossed the rhine. They battled the Romans who were under command of Marcus Lollius. The Tencteri together with the Sicambri and Usipetes managed to defeat this Roman army and even took a standard of the 5th legion as prize.

The Tencteri have also been mentioned around the time of the Batavian revolt. Veleda, the wise woman, of the Bructeri was called upon to provide arbitration in an argument between the Tencteri and a Roman settlement called Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (which is now modern Cologne). The Veleda's solution was accepted by both sides. This shows how much influence these wise women had.

Not much later in 69AD the Tencteri joined the Batavian revolt, two Roman legions were lost in the conflict which lasted until a peace had been accepted by Civilis.

Around 150AD Ptolemy, an Egyptian born mathematician, astronomer and geographer, mentioned the Tencteri tribe as well. He placed the tribe's location in the same location as Tacitus did, to the east of the Rhine river. He also mentions a fortress called Asciburgium which is located between the Bructeri and Tencteri. Tacitus has also described this fort and stated that it had been originally built by the God Thor.

Eventually the Tencteri were absorbed into the Franks around the third century. During the great migration period, they did not move from their homeland.

photo of the map by Karwansaray Publishers

[bluesman56]

Night Drinks by Tony Via Flickr: Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during prehistory. This Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement is unrelated to medieval city development. In the Bruges area, the first fortifications were built after Julius Caesar's conquest of the Menapii in the first century BC, to protect the coastal area against pirates. The Franks took over the whole region from the Gallo-Romans around the 4th century and administered it as the Pagus Flandrensis. The Viking incursions of the ninth century prompted Count Baldwin I of Flanders to reinforce the Roman fortifications; trade soon resumed with England and Scandinavia. Early medieval habitation starts in the 9th and 10th century on the Burgh terrain, probably with a fortified settlement and church