The Vergunni were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of the Riou, near the Verdon river, during the Iron Age.

Name

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They are mentioned as Vergunni by Pliny (1st c. AD) and on an inscription.[1][2]

The meaning of the name remains obscure. It could be derived from the Gaulish stem uergo- (cf. Gaul. uergo-bretus 'magistrate', OBret. guerg 'efficax', Welsh gwery 'active', OIr. ferg 'anger').[3]

The village of Vergons, attested as villa Virgonis in 814, is probably named after the Gallic tribe.[4][3]

Geography

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The Vergunni lived in a small piece of land situated in the valley of the Riou, a stream tributary of the Verdon river.[4] Their territory was located north of the Suetrii, east of the Sentii, south of the Eguiturii and Nemeturii, and west of the Ecdinii, Vesubiani and Nerusii.[5]

History

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They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20; CIL 5:7817.
  2. ^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Vergunni.
  3. ^ a b Delamarre 2003, p. 315.
  4. ^ a b Barruol 1969, pp. 379–380.
  5. ^ Talbert 2000, Map 16: Col. Forum Iulii-Albingaunum.
  6. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.

Primary sources

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  • Pliny (1938). Natural History. Loeb Classical Library. Translated by Rackham, H. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674993648.

Bibliography

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  • Barruol, Guy (1969). Les Peuples préromains du Sud-Est de la Gaule: étude de géographie historique. E. de Boccard. OCLC 3279201.
  • 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.
  • Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.