Gallaecia
Encyclopedia
Gallaecia or Callaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province
and an early Mediaeval kingdom
that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania
(approximately present-day northern Portugal
, and León (province)
, Asturias
and Galicia in Spain
). The most important city and historical capital of Callaecia were the towns of Bracara Augusta, the modern Portuguese Braga
, the administrative centre of the Conventus bracarensis
, and Lucus Augusti
, the modern Galician Lugo
, the administrative centre of the Conventus lucensis
.
Kallaikoi) tribe (or Gallaecians) Gallaeci lived in the Douro Valley. One of their towns, Cale become the Roman town of Portus Cale, today's Porto
.
The wild Gallaic Celts make their entry in written history in the first-century epic Punica of Silius Italicus
on the First Punic War
:
Gallaecia, as a region, was thus marked for the Romans as much for its Celt
ic culture, the culture of the castros or castrexa — hillforts of Celtic origin—as it was for the lure of its gold mines. This civilization extended over present day Galicia, the north of Portugal
, the western part of Asturias
, the Berço, and Sanabria
.
At a far later date, the mythic history that was encapsulated in Lebor Gabála Érenn
credited Gallaecia as the point from which the Gallaic Celts sailed to conquer Ireland
, as they had Gallaecia, by force of arms.
in his Geography mentions that the ancient people called Lusitania to the lands north of river Douro
, the land that in its own time was known as Gallaecia. In another way he also mentions that for their fighting spirit not only the Gallaeci gave the name to the man who defeated them and the Lusitanians but also had, because of this, the majority of the Lusitanians called Gallaeci
, which resulted in a great Roman victory, by virtue of which the Roman proconsul Decimus Junius Brutus
returned a hero, receiving the agnomen Gallaicus ("conqueror of the Gallaicoi"). From this time, Gallaic fighters joined the Roman legions, to serve as far away as Dacia and Britain. The final extinction of Celtic resistance was the aim of the violent and ruthless Cantabrian Wars
fought under the Emperor Augustus
from 26 to 19 BC. The resistance was appalling: collective suicide rather than surrender, mothers who killed their children before committing suicide, crucified prisoners of war who sang triumphant hymns, rebellions of captives who killed their guards and returned home from Gaul
.
For Rome Gallaecia was a region formed exclusively by two conventus—the Lucensis and the Bracarensis — and was distinguished clearly from other zones like the Asturica, according to written sources:
In the 3rd century, Diocletian
created an administrative division which included the conventus of Gallaecia, Asturica and, perhaps, Cluniense. This province took the name of Gallaecia since Gallaecia was the most populous and important zone within the province. In 409, as Roman control collapsed, the Suebi
conquests transformed Roman Gallaecia (convents Lucense and Bracarense) into the kingdom of Galicia
(the Galliciense Regnum recorded by Hydatius
and Gregory of Tours
).
In Beatus of Liébana
(d. 798), Gallaecia refers to the Christian part of the Iberian peninsula
, whereas Hispania refers to the Muslim one. The emirs found it not worth their while to conquer these mountains filled with fighters and lacking oil or wine.
In Charlemagne
's time, bishops of Gallaecia attended the Council of Frankfurt in 794. During his residence in Aachen
, he received embassies from Alfonso II of Asturias
, according to the Frankish chronicles.
Sancho III of Navarre
in 1029 refers to Vermudo III as Imperator domus Vermudus in Gallaecia.
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
and an early Mediaeval kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
that comprised a territory in the north-west of Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
(approximately present-day northern Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and León (province)
León (province)
León is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.About one quarter of its population of 500,200 lives in the capital, León. The weather is cold and dry during the winter....
, Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
and Galicia in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). The most important city and historical capital of Callaecia were the towns of Bracara Augusta, the modern Portuguese Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
, the administrative centre of the Conventus bracarensis
Conventus bracarensis
The Conventus bracarensis , was a Roman administrative unit located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in Gallaecia. Its name derives from its capital Bracara Augusta , the most important city in this convent, economical and administrative center of the country...
, and Lucus Augusti
Lucus Augusti
Lucus Augusti is the Latin name of two different ancient places in the Roman Empire:*Lugo, a city in Spain*Luc-en-Diois, a city in France...
, the modern Galician Lugo
Lugo
Lugo is a city in northwestern Spain, in the autonomous community of Galicia. It is the capital of the province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 97,635 in 2010, which makes is the fourth most populated city in Galicia.-Population:...
, the administrative centre of the Conventus lucensis
Conventus lucensis
The Conventus lucensis , was a Roman administrative unit located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in Gallaecia. Its name derives from its capital Lucus Augusti , the most important city in this convent, economical and administrative center of the country...
.
Description
The Romans gave the name Gallaecia to the northwest part of the Iberian peninsula (north of Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Leon and Cantabria). The Gallaeci (GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
Kallaikoi) tribe (or Gallaecians) Gallaeci lived in the Douro Valley. One of their towns, Cale become the Roman town of Portus Cale, today's Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
.
The wild Gallaic Celts make their entry in written history in the first-century epic Punica of Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus , was a Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet of the 1st century CE,...
on the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
:
- Fibrarum et pennae divinarumque sagacem
- flammarum misit dives Callaecia pubem,
- barbara nunc patriis ululantem carmina linguis,
- nunc pedis alterno percussa verbere terra,
- ad numerum resonas gaudentem plaudere caetras. (book III.344-7)
- "Rich Gallaecia sent its youths, wise in the knowledge of divination by the entrails of beasts, by feathers and flames— who, now crying out the barbarianBarbarianBarbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
song of their native tongue, now alternately stamping the ground in their rhythmic dances until the ground rang, and accompanying the playing with sonorous caetrae" (a caetra was a small type of shieldShieldA shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
used in the region).
Gallaecia, as a region, was thus marked for the Romans as much for its Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic culture, the culture of the castros or castrexa — hillforts of Celtic origin—as it was for the lure of its gold mines. This civilization extended over present day Galicia, the north of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the western part of Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, the Berço, and Sanabria
Puebla de Sanabria
Puebla de Sanabria is a small town located in the north-eastern part of the province of Zamora in Spain, between the rivers Tera and Castro.It is the economic and political centre of the comarca of Sanabria.-History:...
.
At a far later date, the mythic history that was encapsulated in Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Lebor Gabála Érenn is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages...
credited Gallaecia as the point from which the Gallaic Celts sailed to conquer Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, as they had Gallaecia, by force of arms.
Pre-Roman Gallaecia
StraboStrabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
in his Geography mentions that the ancient people called Lusitania to the lands north of river Douro
Douro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
, the land that in its own time was known as Gallaecia. In another way he also mentions that for their fighting spirit not only the Gallaeci gave the name to the man who defeated them and the Lusitanians but also had, because of this, the majority of the Lusitanians called Gallaeci
Roman Gallaecia
After the Punic Wars, the Romans turned their attention to conquering Hispania. The tribe of the Gallaeci 60,000 strong, according to Paulus Orosius, faced the Roman forces in 137 BC in a battle at the river DouroDouro
The Douro or Duero is one of the major rivers of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing from its source near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province across northern-central Spain and Portugal to its outlet at Porto...
, which resulted in a great Roman victory, by virtue of which the Roman proconsul Decimus Junius Brutus
Decimus Junius Brutus
Decimus Junius Brutus may refer to:*Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva was consul in 325 BC*Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva was consul in 292 BC; he is best known for introducing gladiatorial games to Rome in 264 BC...
returned a hero, receiving the agnomen Gallaicus ("conqueror of the Gallaicoi"). From this time, Gallaic fighters joined the Roman legions, to serve as far away as Dacia and Britain. The final extinction of Celtic resistance was the aim of the violent and ruthless Cantabrian Wars
Cantabrian Wars
The Cantabrian Wars occurred during the Roman conquest of the modern provinces of Cantabria, Asturias and León, against the Asturs and the Cantabri. They were the final stage of the conquest of Hispania.-Antecedents:...
fought under the Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
from 26 to 19 BC. The resistance was appalling: collective suicide rather than surrender, mothers who killed their children before committing suicide, crucified prisoners of war who sang triumphant hymns, rebellions of captives who killed their guards and returned home from Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
.
For Rome Gallaecia was a region formed exclusively by two conventus—the Lucensis and the Bracarensis — and was distinguished clearly from other zones like the Asturica, according to written sources:
- Legatus iuridici to per ASTURIAE ET GALLAECIAE.
- Procurator ASTURIAE ET GALLAECIAE.
- Cohors ASTURUM ET GALLAECORUM.
- PlinyPliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
: ASTURIA ET GALLAECIA
In the 3rd century, Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
created an administrative division which included the conventus of Gallaecia, Asturica and, perhaps, Cluniense. This province took the name of Gallaecia since Gallaecia was the most populous and important zone within the province. In 409, as Roman control collapsed, the Suebi
Suebi
The Suebi or Suevi were a group of Germanic peoples who were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in connection with Ariovistus' campaign, c...
conquests transformed Roman Gallaecia (convents Lucense and Bracarense) into the kingdom of Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
(the Galliciense Regnum recorded by Hydatius
Hydatius
Hydatius or Idacius , bishop of Aquae Flaviae in the Roman province of Gallaecia was the author of a chronicle of his own times that provides us with our best evidence for the history of the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th century.-Life:Hydatius was born around the year 400 in the...
and Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
).
Later Gallaecia
see main article Suebic Kingdom of GaliciaSuebic Kingdom of Galicia
The Suebic Kingdom of Galicia was the first independent barbarian Christian kingdom of Western Europe and the first to separate from the Roman Empire, as well as the first one to mint coins. Based in Gallaecia, it was established in 410 and lasted as independent state until 584, after a century of...
In Beatus of Liébana
Beatus of Liébana
Saint Beatus of Liébana was a monk, theologian and geographer from the Kingdom of Asturias, in modern northern Spain, who worked and lived in the Picos de Europa mountains of the region of Liébana, in what is now Cantabria and his feast day is February 19.-Biography:He created an important...
(d. 798), Gallaecia refers to the Christian part of the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, whereas Hispania refers to the Muslim one. The emirs found it not worth their while to conquer these mountains filled with fighters and lacking oil or wine.
In Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's time, bishops of Gallaecia attended the Council of Frankfurt in 794. During his residence in Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, he received embassies from Alfonso II of Asturias
Alfonso II of Asturias
Alfonso II , called the Chaste, was the king of Asturias from 791 to his death, the son of Fruela I and the Basque Munia.He was born in Oviedo in 759 or 760. He was put under the guardianship of his aunt Adosinda after his father's death, but one tradition relates his being put in the monastery of...
, according to the Frankish chronicles.
Sancho III of Navarre
Sancho III of Navarre
Sancho III Garcés , called the Great , succeeded as a minor to the Kingdom of Navarre in 1004, and through conquest and political maneuvering increased his power, until at the time of his death in 1035 he controlled the majority of Christian Iberia, bearing the title of rex Hispaniarum...
in 1029 refers to Vermudo III as Imperator domus Vermudus in Gallaecia.
See also
- Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian PeninsulaPre-Roman peoples of the Iberian PeninsulaThis is a list of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula .-Non-Indo-European:*Aquitanians**Aquitani**Autrigones - some consider them Celtic .**Caristii - some consider them Celtic ....
- Kingdom of GaliciaKingdom of GaliciaThe Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
- Timeline of Galician historyTimeline of Galician History-Paleolithic:*200th millennium BC – In the Paleolithic period the Neanderthal Man enters the Iberian peninsula.*70th millennium BC**Neanderthal Mousterian culture.**Beginning of the Last Ice Age.*40th millennium BC**Beginning of the Upper Paleolithic....
- Romanization of HispaniaRomanization of HispaniaThe Romanization of Hispania is the process by which the Roman culture was introduced into the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Roman rule over it, or parts of it.- Introduction :...
- GaelicGaelsThe Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....