Re: Volcae and Belgae

----- Original Message -----
From: george knysh
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 5:03 PM
Subject: [tied] Volcae and Belgae


Here's an interesting aside from Hubert's "The
Greatness and Decline of the Celts":

at
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/celts/index.htm
click on "The Celts in the West. Germany and Gaul."
p.8 of the pdf.

"A passage in Ausonius [Ordo Urbium Nobilium, xiii, 7
- 10: -

Qua rapitur proeceps Rhodanus genitore Lemanno,
interiusque premunt Aquitanica rura Cebennoe,
usque in Tectosagos paganaque nomine Belcas,
totum Narbo fuit.]

enables us, to some extent, to determine the place
held by
the Belgæ among the other Gallic peoples. When he says
that the Volcae Tectosages
called themselves Belcae Tectosagi, the poet seems to
suggest that the two names
were closely related.

[Belcæ. = Volcæ. Cf. Pauly, CCCLXVIII, iii, cols. 198
- 9.]
It is of no
consequence whether the word is spelt Belcas or
Belgas.
[Pomp. Mela, 36, 57: Belcoe.]
Their
identity is undeniable. [See Rise, pp. 21 ff. GK:
Hubert's earlier work] From that identity, we may
reasonably
suppose that this is one of those generic terms by
which the Celts designated
themselves. A difference in pronunciation aggravated
by a false etymology would
lead to the name of Belgæ being given to the folk
north of the Main." {GK: before they crossed the Rhine
in the 2nd c.BCE}

================

I will express some reservations about this.

In view of :
balk = bhergh "baux de provence"
Cebennoe = g_wor "montain"

this is an obvious devoising feature in
this odd PIE non-celtic language
that pervades in southern France.

these people are the montain-people belka
living the mountains Keb-ennoe
These people are non-celtic
although probably IE.

I don't accept the fusion of
belg/volk of southern France
with the "Belgians"
these people may well be Celtic
or at least para-celtic.

Arnaud

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