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Gaulish language - Corpus

Gaulish language - Corpus: Encyclopedia II - Gaulish language - Corpus

The Gaulish corpus is edited in the Receuil des Inscriptions Gauloises (R.I.G.), in four volumes: Vol. 1: Inscriptions in the Greek alphabet, edited by Michel Lejeune (items G-1 –G-281) Vol. 2.1: Inscriptions in the Etruscan alphabet (Lepontic, items E-1 – E-6), and inscriptions in the Latin alphabet in stone (items L1 – L-16), edited by Michel Lejeune Vol. 2.2: inscriptions in the Latin alphabet on instruments (ceramic, lead, glass etc.), edited by Pierre-Yves Lambert (items L-18 – L-139) < ...

Gaulish language: Encyclopedia II - Gaulish language - Corpus

Gaulish language - Corpus

The Gaulish corpus is edited in the Receuil des Inscriptions Gauloises (R.I.G.), in four volumes:

Vol. 1: Inscriptions in the Greek alphabet, edited by Michel Lejeune (items G-1 –G-281)
Vol. 2.1: Inscriptions in the Etruscan alphabet (Lepontic, items E-1 – E-6), and inscriptions in the Latin alphabet in stone (items L1 – L-16), edited by Michel Lejeune
Vol. 2.2: inscriptions in the Latin alphabet on instruments (ceramic, lead, glass etc.), edited by Pierre-Yves Lambert (items L-18 – L-139)
Vol. 3: The calendars of Coligny (73 fragments) and Villards d'Heria (8 fragments), edited by Paul-Marie Duval and Georges Pinault
Vol. 4: inscriptions on coins, edited by Jean-Baptiste Colbert de Beaulieu and Brigitte Fischer (338 items)

The longest known Gaulish text was found in 1983 in L'Hospitalet-du-Larzac (43°58′N 3°12′E) in Aveyron. It is inscribed in Latin cursive script on two small sheets of lead. The content is a magical incantation regarding one Severa Tertionicna and a coven of witches (mnas brictas "magical women"), but the exact meaning of the text remains undeciphered.

The Coligny calendar was found in Coligny near Lyons, France with a statue identified as Apollo. The Coligny Calendar is a lunisolar calendar that divides the year into two parts with the months underneath. SAMON "summer" and GIAMON "winter". The date of SAMON- xvii is identified as TRINVX[tion] SAMO[nii] SINDIV.

Another major text is the lead tablet of Chamalières (L-100), written on lead in Latin cursive script, in twelve lines, apparently a curse or incantation addressed to the god Maponos. It was buried near a spring.

The graffito of La Graufesenque, Millau ([1] 44°05′36″N, 3°05′33″E), inscribed in Latin cursive on a ceramic plate, is our most important source for Gaulish numerals. It was probably written in a ceramic factory, referring to furnaces numbered 1 to 10.

A number of short inscriptions are found on whorls. They are among the latest testimonies of Gaulish. These whorls were apparently presented to young girls by their suitors, and bear inscriptions such as moni gnatha gabi / buððutton imon (L-119) "my girl, give my a kiss" and geneta imi / daga uimpi (L-120) approx. "I am a pretty girl".

Inscriptions found in Switzerland are rare, but a lot of modern placenames are derived from Gaulish names as they are in the rest of Gaul. There is a statue of a seated goddess with a bear, Artio, found in Muri near Berne, with a Latin inscription DEAE ARTIONI LIVINIA SABILLINA, suggesting a Gaulish Artiyon- "bear goddess". A number of coins with Gaulish inscriptions in the Greek alphabet have been found in Switzerland, e.g. RIG IV Nrs. 92 (Lingones) and 267 (Leuci). A sword dating to the La Tène period was found in Port near Bienne, its blade inscribed with KORICIOC, probably the name of the smith. The most notable inscription found in Helvetic parts is the Berne Zinc tablet, inscribed ΔΟΒΝΟΡΗΔΟ ΓΟΒΑΝΟ ΒΡΕΝΟΔΩΡ ΝΑΝΤΑΡΩΡ, and apparently dedicated to Gobannus, the Celtic god of smithcraft. Caesar relates that census accounts written in the Greek alphabet were found among the Helvetii.