The Budenicenses were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the present-day Gard department, near Nemausos (modern Nîmes), during the Roman period.
Name
They are attested as Budenicenses on an inscription found in Collias (Gard). A dedication to the god Mars Budenicus was also discovered in the same town. [1] [2] The latter is probably a Celtic rendering of Mars Militaris. [2] [3]
The ethnonym Budenicenses derives from the Celtic term *budīnā, meaning 'troop, host', probably 'troop guarding the frontier' (cf. Old Irish buiden, Middle Welsh byddin 'troop, army'; Late Latin bodǐna 'boundary marker' > French borne, a loanword from Gaulish). [4]
The town of Bezouce (Gard), attested as Biducia in 1146 CE, is named after the Gallic tribe. [4]
References
- ^ CIL, 12:2972; 12:2973.
- ^ a b Fleuriot 1982, p. 121.
- ^ de Bernardo Stempel 2008, p. 102.
- ^ a b Delamarre 2003, p. 93.
Bibliography
- de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (2008). "Linguistically Celtic ethnonyms: towards a classification". In García Alonso, Juan Luis (ed.). Celtic and Other Languages in Ancient Europe. Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. ISBN 978-8478003358.
- Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
- Fleuriot, Léon (1982). "Notes sur le celtique antique". Études celtiques. 19 (1): 121–128. doi: 10.3406/ecelt.1982.1705.
