- Source: Bituriges Vivisci
The Bituriges Vivisci (Gaulish: Biturīges Uiuisci) were a Gallic tribe dwelling near modern-day Bordeaux during the Roman period. They had a homonym tribe, the Bituriges Cubi in the Berry region, which could indicate a common origin, although there is no direct of evidence of this.
Name
They are mentioned as Bitourígōn te tō͂n Ou̓iouískōn (Βιτουρίγων τε τῶν Οὐιουίσκων) by Strabo (early 1st c. AD), Bituriges liberi cognomine Vivisci by Pliny (1st c. AD), and as Bitoúrges oi̔ Ou̓ibískoi (Βιτούργες οἱ Οὐιβίσκοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD).
The Gaulish ethnonym Biturīges means 'kings of the world', or possibly 'perpetual kings'. It derives from the stem bitu- ('world', perhaps also 'perpetual'; cf. OIr. bith 'world, life, age', bith- 'eternally', Old Welsh bid, OBret. bit 'world') attached to riges ('kings'; sing. rix). Whether the meaning 'perpetual' was already associated with bitu- in ancient Celtic languages or appeared later in Old Irish remains uncertain. In any case, the meaning 'world' probably emerged from the notion of 'living world, place of the livings', since the Proto-Celtic stem *bitu- derives from Proto-Indo-European *gʷiH-tu-, meaning 'life' (cf. Lat. vīta 'life', OCS žiti 'to live').
Geography
The Bituriges Vivisci dwelled in the modern Bordelais region, between the Garonne (Garumna) river and the Atlantic ocean. Their territory was located west of the Petrocorii, south of the Santones, northwest of the Nitiobroges and Cadurci, and east of the smaller Medulli.
Their port (emporium) and chief town was Burdigala (Bordeaux).
Writing in the early 1st century AD, Strabo describes them as the only Gallic tribe dwelling among the Aquitani, which suggests a relatively late coming to the region. According to historian Venceslas Kruta, they may have settled in their attested homeland as a result of the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), for their presence is not mentioned by Caesar.
The Garumna, after being increased by the waters of three rivers, discharges its waters into the region that is between those Bituriges that are surnamed "Vivisci" and the Santoni—both of them Galatic tribes; for the tribe of these Bituriges is the only tribe of different race that is situated among the Aquitani; and it does not pay tribute to them, though it has an emporium, Burdigala, which is situated on a lagoon that is formed by the outlets of the river.
See also
Bituriges Cubi
List of peoples of Gaul