Silvanectes

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The Silvanectes (or Sulbanectes) were a small

Roman period
.

Name

Attestations

They are mentioned as Ulmanectes by Pliny (1st c. AD),[1] as Soubánektoi (Σουβάνεκτοι) by Ptolemy (2nd c. AD),[2] and as Siluanectas in the Notitia Dignitatum (5th c. AD).[3][4]

The Silvanectes are also attested under the name Sulbanectes in an inscription,[5] and their capital was mentioned as civitas Sulbanectium in 48 AD.[6]

Etymology

The etymology of the ethnonym remains unclear. It could be a Latinized form of Gaulish *Seluanecti (from seluā- 'possession, property' > 'herd'; cf. Old Irish selb 'property, possession', Welsh ar helw 'in possession of'), corrupted under the influence of Latin silva ('forest').[7] A comparison with Old Irish sulbair ('eloquent') has also been proposed.[6]

The city of Senlis, attested ca. 400 AD as civitas Silvanectum ('civitas of the Silvanectes', Sinleti in the 6th c., Senliz in 1211) is named after the Gallic tribe.[6]

Geography

The Silvanectes dwelled southwest of the Suessionnes, near the Meldi and the Bellovaci.[5] Their small territory, a depression surrounded by wooded heights, could be easily dominated by the more powerful Bellovaci, to which they were probably tributary.[5]

References

  1. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 4:106.
  2. ^ Ptolemy. Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis, 2:9:6.
  3. ^ Notitia Dignitatum, oc 42:42.
  4. ^ Falileyev 2010, s.v. Silvanectes.
  5. ^ a b c Wightman 1985, p. 27.
  6. ^ a b c Nègre 1990, p. 157.
  7. ^ Delamarre 2003, p. 270.
Bibliography
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  • Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. .
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