The Budenicenses were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the present-day Gard department, near Nemausos (modern Nîmes), during the Roman period.

Name

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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

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  1. ^ CIL, 12:2972; 12:2973.
  2. ^ a b Fleuriot 1982, p. 121.
  3. ^ de Bernardo Stempel 2008, p. 102.
  4. ^ a b Delamarre 2003, p. 93.

Bibliography

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  • 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.