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The Lexovii (Gaulish: *Lexsouioi, 'the leaning, lame'), were a Gallic tribe dwelling immediately west of the mouth of the Seine, around present-day Lisieux, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.

Name

They are mentioned as Lexovii (var. Lexobii) and Lexovios by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),^[1] Lēxobíous (Ληξοβίους) and Lēxooúioi (Ληξοούιοι) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD),^[2] Lexovios (var. lexobios, lixouios) by Pliny (1st c. AD),^[3] and as Lēxoubíōn (Ληξουβίων; var. Λειξουβίων) and Lēxoúbioi (Ληξούβιοι; var. Λιξούβιοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).^[4]^[5]

The ethnic name Lexovii is a latinized form of the Gaulish ethnonym *Lexsouioi (sing. Lexsouios), which means 'leaning', possibly 'lame' (cf. Old Irish losc, 'lame'; Welsh llesg, 'lame', 'crippled'). It is a derivative of the adjective *leksu- ('oblique'; cf. Greek λοξός). An exact parallel has been highlighted in the Welsh llechwedd ('slope'), itself derived from an earlier *lexsouíiā. Given the semantic connotation of the name, Lexovii was probably an exonym, meaning that it was given by outsiders to this tribe.^[6]^[7]

The city of Lisieux, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Lexoviorum ('civitas of the Lexovii', Loxovias in 614, Lisiue in 1024), and the region of Lieuvin, attested in the 6th c. as Luxoviensis (pagus Lisvinus in 802, Liévin in 1155), are named after the Gallic tribe.^[8]

Geography

At the time of the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Lexovii were part of the civitates Aremoricae.^[9]

Their chief town was Noviomagus (modern Lisieux).^[9]

History

When the Veneti and their neighbours were preparing for Julius Caesar's attack (56 BC), they applied for help to the Osismii, Lexovii, Namnetes, and others. (B. G. iii. 9, 11.) Caesar sent Quintus Titurius Sabinus against the Unelli, Curiosolites, and Lexovii, to prevent their joining the Veneti. A few days after Sabinus reached the country of the Unelli, the Aulerci Eburovices and the Lexovii murdered their council or senate, as Caesar calls it, because they were against the war; and they joined Viridovix, the chief of the Unelli. The Gallic confederates were defeated by Sabinus, and compelled to surrender. (B. G. iii. 17–19.) The Lexovii took part in the great rising of the Galli against Caesar (52 BC); but their force was only 3000 men. (B. G. vii. 75.)

Religion

In Berthouville were found three coins engraved with the name of a Gallo-Roman god Mercurius Canatonnessis (Mercurio Kanetonnessi, M[ercurio] C[anetonnessi], Merc[urio] Can[e]t[onnessi]).^[10]

At the border of the civitas of the Lexovii and Viducasses, in Jort (ancient *Divo-ritum, named after the *Diva river), was found a bronze stylus found carved with the name of the Celtic god Toutatis (Toutati).^[11]

References

^ Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 3:9, 3:11, 3:17, 3:28, 7:75.
^ Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:1:14, 4:3:5.
^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:107
^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:8:2; 2:8:5
^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Lexovii.
^ Delamarre 2003, p. 201.
^ Lambert 2005, p. 227.
^ Nègre 1990, p. 154.
^ ^a ^b Lafond 2006.
^ Lajoye 2013, p. 45.
^ Lajoye & Lemaître 2014, pp. 21–22.

Bibliography

Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
Lafond, Yves (2006). "Lexovii". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e703420.
Lajoye, Patrice (2013). "L'épigraphie religieuse mentionnant des théonymes ou des épithètes indigènes en Lyonnaise seconde.: Un état des lieux". In Hofeneder, Andreas; de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (eds.). Théonymie celtique, cultes, interpretatio = Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio (1 ed.). Austrian Academy of Sciences Press. pp. 45–50. ISBN 978-3-7001-7369-4. JSTOR j.ctv8mdn28.6.
Lajoye, Patrice; Lemaître, Claude (2014). "Une inscription votive à Toutatis découverte à Jort (Calvados, France)". Études celtiques. 40 (1): 21–28. doi:10.3406/ecelt.2014.2423.
Lambert, Pierre-Yves (2005). "The place names of Lugdunensis [Λουγδουνησία]". In de Hoz, Javier; Luján, Eugenio R.; Sims-Williams, Patrick (eds.). New approaches to Celtic place-names in Ptolemy's Geography. Ediciones Clásicas. pp. 215–251. ISBN 978-8478825721.
Nègre, Ernest (1990). Toponymie générale de la France. Librairie Droz. ISBN 978-2-600-02883-7.

[1] Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico, 3:9, 3:11, 3:17, 3:28, 7:75.

[2] Strabo. Geōgraphiká, 4:1:14, 4:3:5.

[3] Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:107

[4] Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:8:2; 2:8:5

[5] Falileyev 2010, s.v. Lexovii.

[FOOTNOTEDelamarre2003201-6] Delamarre 2003, p. 201.

[FOOTNOTELambert2005227-7] Lambert 2005, p. 227.

[FOOTNOTENègre1990154-8] Nègre 1990, p. 154.

[FOOTNOTELafond2006-9] Lafond 2006.

[FOOTNOTELajoye201345-10] Lajoye 2013, p. 45.

[FOOTNOTELajoyeLemaître201421–22-11] Lajoye & Lemaître 2014, pp. 21–22.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|Gallic tribe}}
-The '''Lexovii''' ({{lang|grc|Ληξόβιοι}}, [[Strabo]]; {{lang|grc|Ληξούβιοι}}, [[Ptolemy|Ptol.]] ii. 8. § 2), were a [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribe dwelling immediately west of the mouth of the [[Seine]], around present-day [[Lisieux]].
+The '''Lexovii''' ([[Gaulish]]: *''Lexsouioi'', 'the leaning, lame'), were a [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribe dwelling immediately west of the mouth of the [[Seine]], around present-day [[Lisieux]], during the [[La Tène culture|Iron Age]] and the [[Roman period]].
-When the [[Veneti (Gaul)|Veneti]] and their neighbours were preparing for [[Julius Caesar]]'s attack (56 BC), they applied for help to the [[Osismii]], Lexovii, [[Namnetes]], and others. (''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|B. G.]]'' iii. 9, 11.)
 == Name ==
-They are mentioned as ''Lexovii'' by [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] (mid-1st c. BC),<ref>[[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'', 3:9:11,17</ref> as ''Lēxobíous'' (Ληξοβίους) and ''Lēxooúioi'' (Ληξοούιοι) by [[Strabo]] (early 1st c. AD),<ref>[[Strabo]]. ''[[Geographica|Geōgraphiká]]'', 4:1:14; 4:3:5</ref> as ''Lexovios'' by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (1st c. AD),<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]. ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]],'' 4:107</ref> and as ''Lēxoubíōn'' (Ληξουβίων) and ''Lēxoúbioi'' (Ληξούβιοι) by [[Ptolemy]] (2nd c. AD).<ref>[[Ptolemy]]. ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis]]'', 2:8:2; 2:8:5</ref>{{Sfn|Falileyev|2010|p=entry 2141}}
+They are mentioned as ''Lexovii'' (<small>var</small>. ''Lexobii'') and ''Lexovios'' by [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] (mid-1st c. BC),<ref>[[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]. ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/caesar-gallic_wars/1917/pb_LCL072.151.xml 3:9], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/caesar-gallic_wars/1917/pb_LCL072.153.xml? 3:11], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/caesar-gallic_wars/1917/pb_LCL072.161.xml 3:17], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/caesar-gallic_wars/1917/pb_LCL072.177.xml 3:28], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/caesar-gallic_wars/1917/pb_LCL072.489.xml 7:75].</ref> ''Lēxobíous'' (Ληξοβίους) and ''Lēxooúioi'' (Ληξοούιοι) by [[Strabo]] (early 1st c. AD),<ref>[[Strabo]]. ''Geōgraphiká'', 4:1:14, 4:3:5.</ref> ''Lexovios'' (<small>var.</small> ''lexobios'', ''lixouios'') by [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] (1st c. AD),<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]. ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]],'' 4:107</ref> and as ''Lēxoubíōn'' (Ληξουβίων; <small>var.</small> Λειξουβίων) and ''Lēxoúbioi'' (Ληξούβιοι; <small>var.</small> Λιξούβιοι) by [[Ptolemy]] (2nd c. AD).<ref>[[Ptolemy]]. ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis]]'', 2:8:2; 2:8:5</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Falileyev|2010}}, s.v. ''Lexovii.''</ref>
-The etymology of the name ''Lexovii'' is uncertain. It may stem from the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] root ''lexsouio-'' ('sloped, lame'; compare with [[Old Irish]] ''losc'', 'lame'). An exact parallel has been highlighted with the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''llechwedd'' ('slope, inclination'; from an earlier ''*lexsouíiā'').{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=201}}
+The ethnic name ''Lexovii'' is a latinized form of the [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]] [[ethnonym]] *''Lexsouioi'' (<small>sing.</small> ''Lexsouios''), which means 'leaning', possibly 'lame' (cf. [[Old Irish]] ''losc'', 'lame'; [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''llesg'', 'lame', 'crippled'). It is a derivative of the adjective *''leksu''- ('oblique'; cf. Greek λοξός). An exact parallel has been highlighted in the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''llechwedd'' ('slope'), itself derived from an earlier ''*lexsouíiā''. Given the semantic connotation of the name, ''Lexovii'' was probably an [[exonym]], meaning that it was given by outsiders to this tribe.{{Sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=201}}{{sfn|Lambert|2005|p=227}}
-The city of [[Lisieux]], attested as ''civitas Lexoviorum'' ('[[civitas]] of the Lexovii', ''Loxovias'' in 614, ''Lisiue'' in 1024), is named after the Gaulish tribe.{{Sfn|Nègre|1990|p=154}}
+The city of [[Lisieux]], attested ca. 400 AD as ''civitas Lexoviorum'' ('[[civitas]] of the Lexovii', ''Loxovias'' in 614, ''Lisiue'' in 1024), and the region of [[Lieuvin]], attested in the 6th c. as ''Luxoviensis'' (''pagus Lisvinus'' in 802, ''Liévin'' in 1155), are named after the Gallic tribe.{{Sfn|Nègre|1990|p=154}}
+== Geography ==
+At the time of the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), the Lexovii were part of the ''civitates Aremoricae''.{{Sfn|Lafond|2006}}
+Their chief town was Noviomagus (modern Lisieux).{{Sfn|Lafond|2006}}
 == History ==
-Caesar sent [[Quintus Titurius Sabinus]] against the [[Unelli]], [[Curiosolitae|Curiosolites]], and Lexovii, to prevent their joining the Veneti. A few days after Sabinus reached the country of the Unelli, the [[Eburovices|Aulerci Eburovices]] and the Lexovii murdered their council or senate, as Caesar calls it, because they were against the war; and they joined [[Viridovix]], the chief of the Unelli. The Gallic confederates were defeated by Sabinus, and compelled to surrender. (''B. G.'' iii. 17-19.) The Lexovii took part in the great rising of the Galli against Caesar (52 BC); but their force was only 3000 men. (''B. G.'' vii. 75.) Walckenaer supposes that the territory of the Lexovii of Caesar and [[Ptolemy]] comprised both the territories of [[Lisieux]] and [[Bayeux]], though there was a people in Bayeux named [[Baiocasses]]; and he further supposes that these Baiocasses and the [[Viducasses]] were dependent on the Lexovii, and within their territorial limits. The capital of the Lexovii, or Civitas Lexoviorum, as it is called in the [[Notitia Dignitatum]], is [[Lisieux]], in the French department of [[Calvados (department)|Calvados]], where the present-day inhabitants are still called ''Lexoviens''. Under the Romans, the ''[[oppidum]]'' of the Lexovii was called ''[[Noviomagus Lexoviorum]]'', "Newfield of the Lexovii". The country of the Lexovii was one of the parts of Gallia from where the passage to [[Roman Britain|Britain]] was made.
+When the [[Veneti (Gaul)|Veneti]] and their neighbours were preparing for [[Julius Caesar]]'s attack (56 BC), they applied for help to the [[Osismii]], Lexovii, [[Namnetes]], and others. (''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|B. G.]]'' iii. 9, 11.) Caesar sent [[Quintus Titurius Sabinus]] against the [[Unelli]], [[Curiosolitae|Curiosolites]], and Lexovii, to prevent their joining the Veneti. A few days after Sabinus reached the country of the Unelli, the [[Eburovices|Aulerci Eburovices]] and the Lexovii murdered their council or senate, as Caesar calls it, because they were against the war; and they joined [[Viridovix]], the chief of the Unelli. The Gallic confederates were defeated by Sabinus, and compelled to surrender. (''B. G.'' iii. 17–19.) The Lexovii took part in the great rising of the Galli against Caesar (52 BC); but their force was only 3000 men. (''B. G.'' vii. 75.)
 == Religion ==
-In [[Berthouville]] were found three coins bearing an inscription dedicated to a [[Gallo-Roman religion|Gallo-roman]] god [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercurius]] Canatonnessis (''Mercurio Kanetonnessi, M[ercurio] C[anetonnessi], Merc[urio] Can[e]t[onnessi]''), and on a bronze stylus found in [[Jort]] was carved the name of the Celtic god [[Toutatis]] (''Toutati'').{{sfn|Lajoye|2013|p=45}}
+In [[Berthouville]] were found three coins engraved with the name of a [[Gallo-Roman religion|Gallo-Roman]] god [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercurius]] Canatonnessis (''Mercurio Kanetonnessi, M[ercurio] C[anetonnessi], Merc[urio] Can[e]t[onnessi]'').{{sfn|Lajoye|2013|p=45}}
+At the border of the civitas of the Lexovii and Viducasses, in [[Jort]] (ancient ''*Divo-ritum'', named after the ''*[[Dives (river)|Diva]]'' river), was found a bronze stylus found carved with the name of the Celtic god [[Toutatis]] (''Toutati'').{{Sfn|Lajoye|Lemaître|2014|pp=21–22}}
 ==References==
 {{Reflist}}
 === Bibliography ===
+{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
-* {{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C3BKPgAACAAJ|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|date=2003|publisher=Errance|year=|isbn=9782877723695|location=|pages=|language=fr|ref=harv|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
+<!-- D -->
-*{{Cite book|last=Falileyev|first=Alexander|title=Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World|publisher=CMCS|year=2010|isbn=978-0955718236|location=|pages=}}
+* {{Cite book|last=Delamarre|first=Xavier|title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental|date=2003|publisher=Errance|isbn=9782877723695|author-link=Xavier Delamarre}}
-*{{Cite book|last=Lajoye|first=Patrice|title=Théonymie celtique, cultes, interpretatio - Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio|last2=Hainzmann|first2=Manfred|last3=Mathieu|first3=Nicolas|date=2013|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|year=|isbn=978-3-7001-7369-4|editor-last=Hofeneder|editor-first=Andreas|edition=1|location=|pages=45–50|chapter=L’épigraphie religieuse mentionnant des théonymes ou des épithètes indigènes en Lyonnaise seconde.: Un état des lieux|jstor=j.ctv8mdn28.6|editor2-last=de Bernardo Stempel|editor2-first=Patrizia}}
+<!-- F -->
-*{{Cite book|last=Nègre|first=Ernest|url=https://books.google.fr/books?id=rsNpi7IVulEC|title=Toponymie générale de la France|date=1990|publisher=Librairie Droz|year=|isbn=978-2-600-02883-7|location=|pages=|language=fr|ref=harv|author-link=Ernest Nègre}}
+*{{Cite book|last=Falileyev|first=Alexander|title=Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World|publisher=CMCS|year=2010|isbn=978-0955718236}}
+<!-- L -->
+*{{Cite journal|last=Lafond|first=Yves|date=2006|title=Lexovii|journal=Brill's New Pauly|doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e703420}}
+*{{Cite book|last=Lajoye|first=Patrice|title=Théonymie celtique, cultes, interpretatio = Keltische Theonymie, Kulte, Interpretatio|date=2013|publisher=Austrian Academy of Sciences Press|isbn=978-3-7001-7369-4|editor-last=Hofeneder|editor-first=Andreas|edition=1|pages=45–50|chapter=L’épigraphie religieuse mentionnant des théonymes ou des épithètes indigènes en Lyonnaise seconde.: Un état des lieux|jstor=j.ctv8mdn28.6|editor2-last=de Bernardo Stempel|editor2-first=Patrizia}}
+*{{Cite journal|last1=Lajoye|first1=Patrice|last2=Lemaître|first2=Claude|date=2014|title=Une inscription votive à Toutatis découverte à Jort (Calvados, France)|journal=Études celtiques|volume=40|issue=1|pages=21–28|doi=10.3406/ecelt.2014.2423}}
+*{{Cite book|last=Lambert|first=Pierre-Yves|title=New approaches to Celtic place-names in Ptolemy's Geography|date=2005|publisher=Ediciones Clásicas|isbn=978-8478825721|editor-last=de Hoz|editor-first=Javier|pages=215–251|chapter=The place names of Lugdunensis [Λουγδουνησία]|author-link=Pierre-Yves Lambert|editor-last2=Luján|editor-first2=Eugenio R.|editor-last3=Sims-Williams|editor-first3=Patrick}}
+<!-- N -->
+*{{Cite book|last=Nègre|first=Ernest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNpi7IVulEC|title=Toponymie générale de la France|date=1990|publisher=Librairie Droz|isbn=978-2-600-02883-7|author-link=Ernest Nègre}}
+{{refend}}
-{{Peoples of Gaul}}
+{{Gallic peoples}}
+{{Authority control}}
+[[Category:Lexovii| ]]
 [[Category:Historical Celtic peoples]]
 [[Category:Gauls]]
-[[Category:Tribes of pre-Roman Gaul]]
+[[Category:Tribes in pre-Roman Gaul]]
 [[Category:Tribes involved in the Gallic Wars]]
-[[Category:Lexovii]]
+[[Category:Lisieux]]