They are mentioned as Condrusos and Condrusi by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC),[6] and as Condurses by Orosius (early 5th c. AD).[7][8]
The meaning of the name Condrusi remains unclear. The prefix is most likely the
The Condroz region, attested as Pagus Condrustis on an inscription dated 150–160 AD,[9] and as pagus Condrustus in medieval documents, is named after the Germanic tribe.[10][11]
Whether the Condrusi actually spoke a
Contemporary reports by Julius Caesar (who classify them as
The Condrusi probably dwelt in the
The oldest known definitions of the medieval pagus of Condroz also included the region of neighbouring Famenne. Contrary to the late medieval archdeaconries of Condroz and Fammene, the early medieval pagus Condrustis did not encompass the deaneries of St Remacle, Hanret, or Chimay.[16]
Viradecthis (also attested under the Celtic form Virodactis) was the protector-goddess of the Condrusi. Assimilated with the Roman deity of childbirth
Several inscriptions were dedicated to the Matris Cantrusteihiae, which seems to mean "mother goddess of the Condrusi (or Condroz)".[4]
Most of what we know about the Condrusi comes from Julius Caesar's record of his battles in the area, in Gallic Wars.
In chapter 2.4 of Caesar's commentaries the Condrusi are specifically listed among the Caeroesi, and the Paemani. At that time, in 57 BC, they were joining an alliance of Belgic tribes against Caesar.[20] The alliance met with defeat against the Romans at the Battle of the Sabis, but some, including many of the Germani, most notably the Eburones, renewed fighting in 54 BC. Caesar stated that these Germani cisrhenani had crossed the Rhine long ago to take control of the fertile land on the other side. They mixed with the local Belgae, and Caesar noted that neighbouring Belgae claimed to be partly of Germanic descent also.
The Germani cisrhenani, who included the Condrusi, kept a distinct identity, and a reputation for military strength, because they were the only Gauls who successfully resisted the
In 4.6 Caesar reports that the Condrusi were under the protection of the Treveri along with the Eburones. How this circumstance came about is not known, but their territories were thereby not invaded by the Usipetes and Tencteri who had lost their own lands to Suebi and then crossed the Rhine into the lands of the Menapii.[21]
In 6.32 the Condrusi are again mentioned as Germani "on this side of the Rhine" (citra Rhenum), this time along with the Segni (or Segui), as a German tribe claiming not to be involved in the rebellion. Both tribes were reported to live between the Eburones and the Treviri.[22]
After their defeat or capitulation, the Germani cisrhenani became part of the civitas Tungrorum in Roman province of Gallia Belgica. But this civitas was eventually split out to become part of Germania Inferior.
An inscription from Blatobulgium (an outpost fort of Hadrian's Wall in modern Scotland) dated 150–160 AD,[9] along with a Roman military diploma giving Condrusus as the ethnic origin of the soldier,[23] show that Gallo-Roman Condrusians served as auxilia within the Roman armies, and could acquire the citizenship at the end of their service.[18]
The name of the pagus Condrustis survived not only into Roman times but into the
The earliest medieval attestation was in 747, in a benefaction made by