The Gauls ( Latin : Galli ; Ancient Greek : Γαλάται , Galátai ) were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul ( Gallia ). They spoke Gaulish , a continental Celtic language .
109-448: Asterix ( Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois [asteʁiks lə ɡolwa] , "Asterix the Gaul ") (also known as Asterix and Obelix in some adaptations or The Adventures of Asterix ) is a French comic album series about a Gaulish village which, thanks to a magic potion that enhances strength, resists the forces of Julius Caesar in an ahistorical telling of the time after
218-411: A magic potion brewed by the local village druid, Getafix . His chief is Vitalstatistix . The main protagonist and hero of the village is Asterix , who, because of his shrewdness, is usually entrusted with the most important affairs of the village. He is aided in his adventures by his rather corpulent and slower thinking friend, Obelix , who, because he fell into the druid's cauldron of the potion as
327-524: A magic potion , brewed by their druid Getafix (Panoramix in the French version), which temporarily gives the recipient superhuman strength. The protagonists, the title character Asterix and his friend Obelix , have various adventures. The "-ix" ending of both names (as well as all the other pseudo-Gaulish "-ix" names in the series) alludes to the "-rix" suffix (meaning "king", like "-rex" in Latin) present in
436-607: A 45-minute talk entitled 'The Next Incarnation of a Heritage Franchise: Asterix' and spoke about the success of the Asterix franchise, of which he noted "The idea was to find a subject with a strong connection with French culture and, while looking at the country's history, they ended up choosing its first defeat, namely the Gaul's Roman colonisation". He also went on to say how, since 1989, Parc Asterix has attracted an average of 2.3 million visitors per year. Other notable mentions were how
545-677: A Germanic language spoken in the province of Friesland ; into Limburgish , a regional language spoken not only in Dutch Limburg but also in Belgian Limburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany ; and into Tweants , a dialect in the region of Twente in the eastern province of Overijssel . Hungarian-language books were published in the former Yugoslavia for the Hungarian minority living in Serbia . Although not translated into
654-577: A Roman character sarcastically suggests that he and his partner "chalk our faces so that Gaul may claim us as her own" in the midst of a rant outlining the problems with his partner's plan of using blackface to impersonate Aethiopians . This suggests that Gauls were thought of on average to be much paler than Romans. Jordanes describes the physical attributes of the Gauls as including "reddish hair and large loose-jointed bodies." All over Gaul, archeology has uncovered many pre-Roman gold mines (at least 200 in
763-400: A Roman province by the time of Caesar, Latin was the language spoken since at least the previous century. Gaulish is paraphyletically grouped with Celtiberian , Lepontic , and Galatian as Continental Celtic . Lepontic and Galatian are sometimes considered dialects of Gaulish. The exact time of the final extinction of Gaulish is unknown, but it is estimated to be around or shortly after
872-458: A Spanish chieftain (whose name, meaning eggs and bacon , is often guidebook Spanish for tourists), or literary and other popular media references, like Dubbelosix (a sly reference to James Bond 's codename "007"). Most of these jokes, and hence the names of the characters, are specific to the translation; for example, the druid named Getafix in English translation – "get a fix", referring to
981-466: A baby, has permanent superhuman strength (because of this, Getafix steadfastly refuses to allow Obelix to drink the potion, as doing so would have a dangerous and unpredictable result, as shown in Asterix and Obelix All at Sea ). Obelix is usually accompanied by Dogmatix , his little dog. (Except for Asterix and Obelix, the names of the characters change with the language. For example, Obelix's dog's name
1090-654: A battle in which the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Galatians. Although the momentum of the invasion was broken, the Galatians were by no means exterminated, and continued to demand tribute from the Hellenistic states of Anatolia to avoid war. Four thousand Galatians were hired as mercenaries by the Ptolemaic Egyptian king Ptolemy II Philadelphus in 270 BC. According to Pausanias , soon after arrival
1199-428: A certain number of years, probably after spending time in an afterlife, and noted they buried grave goods with the dead. Gallic religious ceremonies were overseen by priests known as druids , who also served as judges, teachers, and lore-keepers. There is evidence that the Gauls sacrificed animals , almost always livestock . An example is the sanctuary at Gournay-sur-Aronde . It appears some were offered wholly to
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#17327719162681308-437: A father god, who was often a god of the tribe and of the dead ( Toutatis probably being one name for him); and a mother goddess who was associated with the land, earth and fertility ( Matrona probably being one name for her). The mother goddess could also take the form of a war goddess as protectress of her tribe and its land. There also seems to have been a male celestial god—identified with Taranis —associated with thunder,
1417-640: A fully autonomous dialect, the books differ slightly from the language of the books issued in Hungary. In Sri Lanka , the cartoon series was adapted into Sinhala as Sura Pappa . Most volumes have been translated into Latin and Ancient Greek , with accompanying teachers' guides, as a way of teaching these ancient languages. Before Asterix became famous, translations of some strips were published in British comics including Valiant , Ranger , and Look & Learn , under names Little Fred and Big Ed and Beric
1526-400: A huge and strong traditional Gaulish warrior. But Goscinny had a different picture in his mind, visualizing Asterix as a shrewd, compact warrior who would possess intelligence and wit more than raw strength. However, Uderzo felt that the downsized hero needed a strong but dim companion, to which Goscinny agreed. Hence, Obelix was born. Despite the growing popularity of Asterix with the readers,
1635-457: A new team consisting of Jean-Yves Ferri (script) and Didier Conrad (artwork) took over. As of 2023, 40 volumes have been released; the most recent was penned by new writer Fabcaro and released on 26 October 2023. By that year, the volumes in total had sold 393 million copies, making them the best-selling European comic book series, and the second best-selling comic book series in history after One Piece . Asterix comics usually start with
1744-611: A number of games based on the characters, and a theme park near Paris, Parc Astérix . The very first French satellite, Astérix , launched in 1965, was named after the character, whose name is close to Greek ἀστήρ and Latin astrum , meaning a "star". As of 20 April 2022, 385 million copies of Asterix books had been sold worldwide and translated in 111 languages making it the world's most widely translated comic book series, with co-creators René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo being France's best-selling authors abroad. In April 2022, Albert and René's general director, Céleste Surugue, hosted
1853-563: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The new translator is Joe Johnson, a professor of French and Spanish at Clayton State University . The series has been adapted into various media. There are 18 films, 15 board games, 40 video games, and 1 theme park. On 17 November 2018, a 52 eleven-minute episode animated series featuring Dogmatix (Idéfix in the French version) was announced to be in production by Studio 58 and Futurikon for broadcast on France Télévisions in 2020. On 21 December 2020, it
1962-490: A role in gender shifts of words in Early French, whereby the gender would shift to match the gender of the corresponding Gaulish word with the same meaning. Like other Celtic peoples, the Gauls had a polytheistic religion . Evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology and Greco-Roman accounts. Some deities were venerated only in one region, but others were more widely known. The Gauls seem to have had
2071-609: A term stemming from the Gallic ethnonym Volcae that came to designate more generally Celtic and Romance speakers in medieval Germanic languages (e.g. Welsh , Waals , Vlachs ). Gaulish culture developed over the first millennium BC. The Urnfield culture ( c. 1300 –750 BC) represents the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European-speaking people . The spread of iron working led to
2180-460: A tribute album in honour of Albert Uderzo was released titled Uderzo Croqué par ses Amis , a volume containing 21 short stories with Uderzo in Ancient Gaul. This volume was published by Soleil Productions and has not been translated into English. In 2007, Éditions Albert René released a tribute volume titled Astérix et ses Amis , a 60-page volume of one-to-four-page short stories. It was
2289-401: A tribute to Albert Uderzo on his 80th birthday by 34 European cartoonists. The volume was translated into nine languages. As of 2016, it has not been translated into English. In 2016, the French publisher Hachette, along with Anne Goscinny and Albert Uderzo decided to make the special issue album The XII Tasks of Asterix for the 40th anniversary of the film The Twelve Tasks of Asterix . There
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#17327719162682398-580: A variety of regional languages and dialects , such as Alsatian , Breton , Chtimi ( Picard ), and Corsican in France; Bavarian , Swabian , and Low German in Germany; and Savo , Karelia , Rauma , and Helsinki slang dialects in Finland. In Portugal a special edition of the first volume, Asterix the Gaul , was translated into local language Mirandese . In Greece, a number of volumes have appeared in
2507-569: Is Asteriks (in Turkish he was first named Bücür meaning "shorty", but the name was then standardised). Two exceptions include Icelandic , in which he is known as Ástríkur ("Rich of love"), and Sinhala , where he is known as සූර පප්පා ( Soora Pappa ), which can be interpreted as " Hero ". The name Obelix ( Obélix ) may refer to " obelisk ", a stone column from ancient Egypt (and hence his large size and strength and his task of carrying around menhirs ), but also to another typographical symbol,
2616-466: Is "Idéfix" in the original French edition.) Asterix and Obelix (and sometimes other members of the village) go on various adventures both within the village and in far away lands. Places visited in the series include parts of Gaul ( Lutetia , Corsica etc.), neighbouring nations ( Belgium , Spain , Britain , Germany etc.), and far away lands ( North America , Middle East , India etc.). The series employs science-fiction and fantasy elements in
2725-575: Is a comics adaptation of the animated film The Twelve Tasks of Asterix . It was released in 1976 and was the 23rd volume to be published, but it has been rarely reprinted and is not considered to be canonical to the series. The only English translations ever to be published were in the Asterix Annual 1980 and never an English standalone volume. A picture-book version of the same story was published in English translation as The Twelve Tasks of Asterix by Hodder & Stoughton in 1978. In 1996,
2834-403: Is blond, and not only naturally so, but they make it their practice to increase the distinguishing color by which nature has given it. For they are always washing their hair in limewater, and they pull it back from their forehead to the top of the head and back to the nape of the neck... Some of them shave their beards, but others let it grow a little; and the nobles shave their cheeks, but they let
2943-739: Is mostly geometric and linear, and is best seen on fine metalwork finds from graves. Animals, with waterfowl a particular favorite, are often included as part of ornamentation, more often than humans. Commonly found objects include weapons, in latter periods often with hilts terminating in curving forks ("antenna hilts"), and jewelry, which include fibulae , often with a row of disks hanging down on chains, armlets, and some torcs . Though these are most often found in bronze, some examples, likely belonging to chieftains or other preeminent figures, are made of gold. Decorated situlae and bronze belt plates show influence from Greek and Etruscan figurative traditions. Many of these characteristics were continued into
3052-587: Is now published every two years, with print figures of 5 million and an estimated readership of 20 million. Prior to creating the Asterix series, Goscinny and Uderzo had had success with their series Oumpah-pah , which was published in Tintin magazine. Astérix was originally serialised in Pilote magazine, debuting in the first issue on 29 October 1959. In 1961, the first book was put together, titled Asterix
3161-423: Is one of the most popular Franco-Belgian comics in the world, with the series being translated into 111 languages and dialects as of 2009. The success of the series has led to the adaptation of its books into 15 films : ten animated, and five live action (two of which, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra and Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar , were major box office successes in France ). There have also been
3270-536: Is translated properly as Sono pazzi questi romani , humorously alluding to the Roman abbreviation SPQR . In another example: Hiccups are written onomatopoeically in French as hips , but in English as "hic", allowing Roman legionaries in more than one of the English translations to decline their hiccups absurdly in Latin ( hic, haec, hoc ). The newer albums share a more universal humour, both written and visual. All
3379-595: The Aedui , Helvetii and others, had enjoyed stable political alliances with Rome. They imported Mediterranean wine on an industrial scale, evidenced by large finds of wine vessels in digs all over Gaul, the largest and most famous of which being the one discovered in Vix Grave , which stands 1.63 m (5′ 4″) high. Gallic art corresponds to two archaeological material cultures : the Hallstatt culture (c. 1200–450 BC) and
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3488-618: The Alps . By the 4th century BC, they were spread over much of what is now France , Belgium , Switzerland , Southern Germany , Austria , and the Czech Republic , by virtue of controlling the trade routes along the river systems of the Rhône , Seine , Rhine , and Danube . They reached the peak of their power in the 3rd century BC. During the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, the Gauls expanded into Northern Italy ( Cisalpine Gaul ), leading to
3597-410: The Asterix series. In particular, many video games were released by various computer game publishers. Parc Astérix , a theme park 22 miles north of Paris, based upon the series, was opened in 1989. It is one of the most visited sites in France, with around 2.3 million visitors per year. Gauls The Gauls emerged around the 5th century BC as bearers of La Tène culture north and west of
3706-788: The Cretan Greek , Cypriot Greek , and Pontic Greek dialects. In the Italian version, while the Gauls speak standard Italian, the legionaries speak in the Romanesque dialect. In the former Yugoslavia, the "Forum" publishing house translated Corsican text in Asterix in Corsica into the Montenegrin dialect of Serbo-Croatian (today called Montenegrin ). In the Netherlands, several volumes were translated into West Frisian ,
3815-569: The French Revolution imposed the modern departmental system . Though the tribes were moderately stable political entities, Gaul as a whole tended to be politically divided, there being virtually no unity among the various tribes. Only during particularly trying times, such as the invasion of Caesar, could the Gauls unite under a single leader like Vercingetorix . Even then, however, the faction lines were clear. The Romans divided Gaul broadly into Provincia (the conquered area around
3924-561: The Gallic Wars . Many adventures take the titular hero Asterix and his friend Obelix to Rome and beyond. The series first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comic magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959. It was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo until Goscinny's death in 1977. Uderzo then took over the writing until 2009, when he sold the rights to publishing company Hachette ; he died in 2020. In 2013,
4033-843: The Germanic Cimbri and Teutones in the Cimbrian War , where they defeated and killed a Roman consul at Burdigala in 107 BC, and later became prominent among the rebelling gladiators in the Third Servile War . The Gauls were finally conquered by Julius Caesar in the 50s BC despite a rebellion by the Arvernian chieftain Vercingetorix . During the Roman period the Gauls became assimilated into Gallo-Roman culture and by expanding Germanic tribes . During
4142-673: The Greek coalition army at Thermopylae , but helped by the Heracleans they followed the mountain path around Thermopylae to encircle the Greek army in the same way that the Persian army had done at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, but this time defeating the whole of the Greek army. After passing Thermopylae, the Gauls headed for the rich treasury at Delphi , where they were defeated by
4251-534: The Hallstatt culture in the 8th century BC; the Proto-Celtic language is often thought to have been spoken around this time. The Hallstatt culture evolved into La Tène culture in around the 5th century BC. The Greek and Etruscan civilizations and colonies began to influence the Gauls, especially in the Mediterranean area. Gauls under Brennus invaded Rome circa 390 BC. By the 5th century BC,
4360-570: The La Tène culture (c. 450–1 BC). Each of these eras has a characteristic style, and while there is much overlap between them, the two styles recognizably differ. From the late Hallstatt onwards and certainly through the entirety of La Tène, Gaulish art is reckoned to be the beginning of what is called Celtic art today. After the end of the La Tène and from the beginning of Roman rule, Gaulish art evolved into Gallo-Roman art . Hallstatt decoration
4469-486: The Mithridatic Wars , in which they supported Rome. In the settlement of 64 BC, Galatia became a client state of the Roman empire, the old constitution disappeared, and three chiefs (wrongly styled "tetrarchs") were appointed, one for each tribe. But this arrangement soon gave way before the ambition of one of these tetrarchs, Deiotarus , a contemporary of Cicero and Julius Caesar , who made himself master of
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4578-531: The Romans , Ancient Greece and recently Ancient Egypt , but always in the visual style of the related comic books, and most usually reusing characters, scenes and sounds from the Astérix media. The park is located approximately 35 km (22 mi) north of Paris , 32 km (20 mi) from Disneyland Paris and 20 km (12 mi) from the historic Château de Chantilly , in the commune of Plailly , in
4687-688: The Roman–Gallic wars , and into the Balkans , leading to war with the Greeks . These latter Gauls eventually settled in Anatolia (contemporary Turkey ), becoming known as Galatians . After the end of the First Punic War , the rising Roman Republic increasingly put pressure on the Gallic sphere of influence . The Battle of Telamon (225 BC) heralded a gradual decline of Gallic power during
4796-680: The crisis of the third century , there was briefly a breakaway Gallic Empire founded by the Batavian general Postumus . First-century BC Roman poet Virgil wrote that the Gauls were light-haired, and golden their garb: Golden is their hair and golden their garb. They are resplendant in their striped cloaks and their milk white necks are circled in gold. First-century BC Greek historian Diodorus Siculus described them as tall, generally heavily built, very light-skinned, and light-haired, with long hair and mustaches: The Gauls are tall of body, with rippling muscles, and white of skin, and their hair
4905-442: The murders of seven cartoonists at the satirical Paris weekly Charlie Hebdo , Astérix creator Albert Uderzo came out of retirement to draw two Astérix pictures honouring the memories of the victims. Numbers 1–24, 32 and 34 are by Goscinny and Uderzo. Numbers 25–31 and 33 are by Uderzo alone. Numbers 35–39 are by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad . Years stated are for their initial album release. Asterix Conquers Rome
5014-452: The obelisk or obelus ( † ). For explanations of some of the other names, see List of Asterix characters . Many of the Asterix adventures take place in other countries away from their homeland in Gaul. In every album that takes place abroad, the characters meet (usually modern-day) stereotypes for each country, as seen by the French. When the Gauls see foreigners speaking their foreign languages, these have different representations in
5123-607: The regular development * galn - > gall - (cf. Middle Welsh gallu , Middle Breton gallout 'to be able', Cornish gallos 'power'). The ethnic names Galátai and Gallitae , as well as Gaulish personal names such as Gallus or Gallius , are also related. The modern French gaillard ('brave, vigorous, healthy') stems from the Gallo-Latin noun * galia - or *gallia- ('power, strength'). Linguist Václav Blažek has argued that Irish gall ('foreigner') and Welsh gâl ('enemy, hostile') may be later adaptations of
5232-629: The taxation associated with the later United Kingdom ; examples include Mykingdomforanos, a British tribal chieftain, Valuaddedtax the druid, and Selectivemploymentax the mercenary. Names of Normans end with "-af", for example Nescaf or Cenotaf. Egyptian characters often end in -is , such as the architects Edifis and Artifis, and the scribe Exlibris. Indic names, apart from the only Indic female characters Orinjade and Lemuhnade, exhibit considerable variation; examples include Watziznehm, Watzit, Owzat, and Howdoo. Other nationalities are treated to pidgin translations from their language, like Huevos y Bacon,
5341-404: The 2nd century BC. The Romans eventually conquered Gaul in the Gallic Wars (58–50 BC), making it a Roman province , which brought about the hybrid Gallo-Roman culture . The Gauls were made up of many tribes ( toutās ), many of whom built large fortified settlements called oppida (such as Bibracte ), and minted their own coins . Gaul was never united under a single ruler or government, but
5450-487: The 2nd century that the powerful Greek colony of Massilia had to appeal to the Roman Republic for defense against them. The Romans intervened in southern Gaul in 125 BC, and conquered the area eventually known as Gallia Narbonensis by 121 BC. In 58 BC, Julius Caesar launched the Gallic Wars and had conquered the whole of Gaul by 51 BC. He noted that the Gauls (Celtae) were one of the three primary peoples in
5559-752: The Belgae; it borders, too, on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii, upon the river Rhine , and stretches toward the north. The Belgae rises from the extreme frontier of Gaul, extend to the lower part of the river Rhine; and look toward the north and the rising sun. Aquitania extends from the Garonne to the Pyrenees and to that part of the Atlantic ( Bay of Biscay ) which is near Spain : it looks between
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#17327719162685668-759: The Bold , set in Roman-occupied Britain. These were included in an exhibition on Goscinny's life and career, and Asterix, in London's Jewish Museum in 2018. In 1970, William Morrow and Company published English translations in hardback of three Asterix albums for the American market. These were Asterix the Gaul , Asterix and Cleopatra and Asterix the Legionary . Lawrence Hughes in a letter to The New York Times stated, "Sales were modest, with
5777-642: The Celts plotted “to seize Egypt”, and so Ptolemy marooned them on a deserted island in the Nile River . Galatians also participated at the victory at Raphia in 217 BC under Ptolemy IV Philopator , and continued to serve as mercenaries for the Ptolemaic dynasty until its demise in 30 BC. They sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax , who reigned in Asia Minor . Hierax tried to defeat king Attalus I of Pergamum (241–197 BC), but instead,
5886-660: The Druids"), as a way of "thumbing their noses" at Halloween . Season 2007 saw the Parc Astérix opening for the first time during the Christmas holidays. In 2009, for the park's 20th anniversary, it opened during the weekends in September and October and ran a Halloween event called Peur sur le Parc Astérix ("Fear at Parc Astérix"). In May 2018, the park's then Head of Construction, Thomas Dubosc, announced on television
5995-541: The Gallic tribes were capable of uniting their armies in large-scale military operations , such as those led by Brennus and Vercingetorix . They followed an ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids . The Gauls produced the Coligny calendar . The ethnonym Galli is generally derived from a Celtic root * gal - 'power, ability' (cf. Old Breton gal 'power, ability', Irish gal 'bravery, courage'). Brittonic reflexes give evidence of an n-stem * gal-n- , with
6104-602: The Gaul . From then on, books were released generally on a yearly basis. Their success was exponential; the first book sold 6,000 copies in its year of publication; a year later, the second sold 20,000. In 1963, the third sold 40,000; the fourth, released in 1964, sold 150,000. A year later, the fifth sold 300,000; 1966's Asterix and the Big Fight sold 400,000 upon initial publication. The ninth Asterix volume, when first released in 1967, sold 1.2 million copies in two days. Uderzo's first preliminary sketches portrayed Asterix as
6213-495: The Gauls believed they all descended from a god of the dead and underworld, whom he likened to Dīs Pater . Some deities were seen as threefold , like the Three Mothers . According to Miranda Aldhouse-Green , the Celts were also animists , believing that every part of the natural world had a spirit. Greco-Roman writers say the Gauls believed in reincarnation . Diodorus says they believed souls were reincarnated after
6322-614: The Gauls from the Aquitani; the rivers Marne and Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilisation and refinement of (our) Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they are the nearest to the Germani, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason
6431-539: The Gauls raided the Greek mainland twice. At the end of the second expedition, the Gallic raiders had been repelled by the coalition armies of the various Greek city-states and were forced to retreat to Illyria and Thrace , but the Greeks were forced to grant safe passage to the Gauls who then made their way to Asia Minor and settled in Central Anatolia . The Gallic area of settlement in Asia Minor
6540-406: The Gauls tribes, perhaps with Germanic elements. Julius Caesar , in his book, Commentarii de Bello Gallico , comments: All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, whereas those who in their own language are called Celts and in ours Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates
6649-464: The Hellenized cities united under Attalus's banner, and his armies inflicted a severe defeat upon the Galatians at the Battle of the Caecus River in 241 BC. After this defeat, the Galatians continued to be a serious threat to the states of Asia Minor. In fact, they continued to be a threat even after their defeat by Gnaeus Manlius Vulso in the Galatian War (189 BC). Galatia declined and at times fell under Pontic ascendancy. They were finally freed by
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#17327719162686758-405: The Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valour, as they contend with the Germani in almost daily battles, when they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves wage war on their frontiers. One part of these, which it has been said that the Gauls occupy, takes its beginning at the river Rhône ; it is bounded by the river Garonne , the Atlantic Ocean , and the territories of
6867-425: The Mediterranean), and the northern Gallia Comata ("free Gaul" or "wooded Gaul"). Caesar divided the people of Gaulia Comata into three broad groups: the Aquitani ; Galli (who in their own language were called Celtae ); and Belgae . In the modern sense, Gallic tribes are defined linguistically, as speakers of Gaulish. While the Aquitani were probably Vascons , the Belgae would thus probably be counted among
6976-470: The Normans the blacksmith Fulliautomatix was tied up). Mostly the banquets are held under the starry nights in the village, where roast boar is devoured and all (but one) are set about in merrymaking. However, there are a few exceptions, such as in Asterix and Cleopatra . The humour encountered in the Asterix comics often centers around puns , caricatures , and tongue-in-cheek stereotypes of contemporary European nations and French regions . Much of
7085-484: The Pyrenees), suggesting they were very rich, also evidenced by large finds of gold coins and artifacts. Also there existed highly developed population centers, called oppida by Caesar, such as Bibracte , Gergovia , Avaricum , Alesia , Bibrax , Manching and others. Modern archeology strongly suggests that the countries of Gaul were quite civilized and very wealthy. Most had contact with Roman merchants and some, particularly those that were governed by Republics such as
7194-460: The Romans called them (singular: pagus ; the French word pays , "country", comes from this term) were organized into larger super-tribal groups that the Romans called civitates . These administrative groupings would be taken over by the Romans in their system of local control, and these civitates would also be the basis of France's eventual division into ecclesiastical bishoprics and dioceses , which would remain in place—with slight changes—until
7303-460: The Romans, the internal division between the Gallic tribes guaranteed an easy victory for Caesar, and Vercingetorix 's attempt to unite the Gauls against Roman invasion came too late. After the annexation of Gaul, a mixed Gallo-Roman culture began to emerge. After more than a century of warfare , the Cisalpine Gauls were subdued by the Romans in the early 2nd century BC. The Transalpine Gauls continued to thrive for another century, and joined
7412-410: The area, along with the Aquitanians and the Belgae . Caesar's motivation for the invasion seems to have been his need for gold to pay off his debts and for a successful military expedition to boost his political career. The people of Gaul could provide him with both. So much gold was looted from Gaul that after the war the price of gold fell by as much as 20%. While they were militarily just as brave as
7521-787: The cartoon speech bubbles : The various volumes have been translated into more than 120 languages and dialects. Besides the original French language, most albums are available in Arabic, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Icelandic, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Ukrainian. Some books have also been translated into languages including Esperanto, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Scots, Indonesian, Hindi, Persian, Bengali, Afrikaans, Arabic, Frisian, Romansch, Thai, Vietnamese, Welsh, Sinhala, Ancient Greek, and Luxembourgish. In Europe, several volumes were translated into
7630-438: The character's role in dispensing the magic potion – is Panoramix in the original French and Miraculix in German. Even so, occasionally the wordplay has been preserved: Obelix's dog, known in the original French as Idéfix (from idée fixe , a "fixed idea" or obsession), is called Dogmatix in English, which not only renders the original meaning strikingly closely ("dogmatic") but in fact adds another layer of wordplay with
7739-472: The chief). The male Roman names end in "-us", echoing Latin nominative male singular form, as in Gluteus Maximus , a muscle-bound athlete whose name is literally the butt of the joke. Gothic names (present-day Germany) end in "-ic", after Gothic chiefs such as Alaric and Theoderic ; for example Rhetoric the interpreter. Greek names end in "-os" or "-es"; for example, Thermos the restaurateur. British names usually end in "-ax" or "-os" and are often puns on
7848-483: The classic volumes, Asterix and the Big Fight , where the Romans, after being constantly embarrassed by Asterix and his village cohorts, organize a brawl between rival Gaulish chiefs and try to fix the result by kidnapping a druid along with his much-needed magic potion. The series, originally scheduled for 2023, will debut in 2025, and will be CG-animated. Many gamebooks , board games and video games are based upon
7957-530: The company. In a letter published in the French newspaper Le Monde in 2009, Uderzo's daughter, Sylvie, attacked her father's decision to sell the family publishing firm and the rights to produce new Astérix adventures after his death. She said: ... the co-creator of Astérix , France's comic strip hero, has betrayed the Gaulish warrior to the modern-day Romans – the men of industry and finance. However, René Goscinny's daughter, Anne, also gave her agreement to
8066-427: The complicated brew of influences include Scythian art as well as that of the Greeks and Etruscans, among others. The Achaemenid occupation of Thrace and Macedonia around 500 BC is a factor of uncertain importance. Gaulish society was dominated by the druid priestly class. The druids were not the only political force, however, and the early political system was complex. The fundamental unit of Gallic politics
8175-526: The construction of Toutatis , a new multi-launch roller coaster manufactured by Intamin , scheduled to be opened in 2021 yet only opened for season 2023 due to COVID-19 and woodcutting delays. In January 2021, the park announced it was closing its dolphin and sea lion enclosure, the Delphinarium , in order to focus on rides and other shows. The park features many attractions and shows including: The park scheduled recruiting around 2,000 people for
8284-439: The continuation of the series and sold her rights at the same time. She is reported to have said that " Asterix has already had two lives: one during my father's lifetime and one after it. Why not a third?". A few months later, Uderzo appointed three illustrators, who had been his assistants for many years, to continue the series. In 2011, Uderzo announced that a new Asterix album was due out in 2013, with Jean-Yves Ferri writing
8393-692: The department of Oise . Opened in 1989, the park is operated by Compagnie des Alpes and located right by the A1 motorway (Paris ↔ Lille ↔ Brussels), having its own highway exit and interchange. Largely funded by the Barclays financial company, with 20 other investors including Compagnie Générale des Eaux , the Havas group, Union des Assurances de Paris and the Picardy region, the park cost 850 million French francs to build and generated 1,200 jobs. The location
8502-541: The ethnic name Galli that were introduced to the British Isles during the 1st millennium AD. According to Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), the Gauls of the province of Gallia Celtica called themselves Celtae in their own language, and were called Galli in Latin. Romans indeed used the ethnic name Galli as a synonym for Celtae . The English Gaul does not come from Latin Galli but from Germanic * Walhaz ,
8611-428: The fictional characters in Asterix have names which are puns on their roles or personalities, and which follow certain patterns specific to nationality. Certain rules are followed (most of the time) such as Gauls (and their neighbours) having an "-ix" suffix for the men and ending in "-a" for the women; for example, Chief Vitalstatistix (so called due to his portly stature) and his wife Impedimenta (often at odds with
8720-551: The financial backing for the publication Pilote ceased. Pilote was taken over by Georges Dargaud . When Goscinny died in 1977, Uderzo continued the series by popular demand of the readers, who implored him to continue. He continued to issue new volumes of the series, but on a less frequent basis. Many critics and fans of the series prefer the earlier collaborations with Goscinny. Uderzo created his own publishing company, Éditions Albert René , which published every album drawn and written by Uderzo alone since then. However, Dargaud ,
8829-575: The first Gallic invasion of Greece (279 BC), they defeated the Macedonians and killed the Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos . They then focused on looting the rich Macedonian countryside, but avoided the heavily fortified cities. The Macedonian general Sosthenes assembled an army, defeated Bolgius and repelled the invading Gauls. In the second Gaulish invasion of Greece (278 BC), the Gauls, led by Brennos , suffered heavy losses while facing
8938-440: The following introduction: The year is 50 BC. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well, not entirely... One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium... The series follows the adventures of a village of Gauls as they resist Roman occupation in 50 BC. They do so using
9047-399: The franchise includes 10 animated movies, which recorded over 53 million viewers worldwide. The inception of Studios Idéfix in 1974 and the opening of Studio 58 in 2016 were among the necessary steps to make Asterix a "100% Gaulish production", considered the best solution to keep the creative process under control from start to finish and to employ French manpower. He also noted how a new album
9156-493: The gods (by burying or burning), while some were shared between gods and humans (part eaten and part offered). There is also some evidence that the Gauls sacrificed humans , and some Greco-Roman sources claim the Gauls sacrificed criminals by burning them in a wicker man . Parc Asterix Parc Astérix is a theme park in France based on the comic book series Asterix by Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny . In 2023,
9265-609: The inhabitants of Caledonia have reddish hair and large loose-jointed bodies. They [the Britons] are like the Gauls and the Spaniards, according as they are opposite either nation. Hence some have supposed that from these lands the island received its inhabitants. Tacitus noted the Caledonians had "red hair and large limbs" which he felt pointed to a "Germanic origin." In the novel Satyricon by Roman courtier Gaius Petronius ,
9374-617: The initial publisher of the series, kept the publishing rights on the 24 first albums made by both Uderzo and Goscinny. In 1990, the Uderzo and Goscinny families decided to sue Dargaud to take over the rights. In 1998, after a long trial, Dargaud lost the rights to publish and sell the albums. Uderzo decided to sell these rights to Hachette instead of Albert-René, but the publishing rights on new albums were still owned by Albert Uderzo (40%), Sylvie Uderzo (20%) and Anne Goscinny (40%). In December 2008, Uderzo sold his stake to Hachette, which took over
9483-692: The middle of the 1st millennium. Gaulish may have survived in some regions as the mid to late 6th century in France. Despite considerable Romanization of the local material culture, the Gaulish language is held to have survived and had coexisted with spoken Latin during the centuries of Roman rule of Gaul. Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish played a role in shaping the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French, with effects including loanwords and calques , sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, as well as in conjugation and word order. Recent work in computational simulation suggests that Gaulish played
9592-464: The more recent books; for instance, the use of extraterrestrials in Asterix and the Falling Sky and the city of Atlantis in Asterix and Obelix All at Sea . With rare exceptions, the ending of the albums usually shows a big banquet with the village's inhabitants gathering – the sole exception is the bard Cacofonix restrained and gagged to prevent him from singing (but in Asterix and
9701-423: The multi-layered humour in the initial Asterix books was French-specific, which delayed the translation of the books into other languages for fear of losing the jokes and the spirit of the story. Some translations have actually added local humour: In the Italian translation, the Roman legionaries are made to speak in 20th-century Roman dialect, and Obelix's famous Ils sont fous, ces Romains ("These Romans are crazy")
9810-636: The mustache grow until it covers the mouth. Jordanes , in his Origins and Deeds of the Goths , indirectly describes the Gauls as light-haired and large-bodied by comparing them to Caledonians , as a contrast to the Spaniards, whom he compared to the Silures . He speculates based on this comparison that the Britons originated from different peoples, including Gauls and Spaniards. The Silures have swarthy features and are usually born with curly black hair, but
9919-434: The names of many real Gaulish chieftains such as Vercingetorix , Orgetorix , and Dumnorix . In some of the stories, they travel to foreign countries, whilst other tales are set in and around their village. For much of the history of the series (volumes 4 through 29), settings in Gaul and abroad alternate, with even-numbered volumes set abroad and odd-numbered volumes set in Gaul, mostly in the village. The Asterix series
10028-461: The original French versions. Hockridge died in 2013, so Bell translated books 34 to 36 by herself, before retiring in 2016 for health reasons. She died in 2018. Adriana Hunter became translator. US publisher Papercutz in December 2019 announced it would begin publishing "all-new more American translations" of the Asterix books, starting on 19 May 2020. The launch was postponed to 15 July 2020 as
10137-497: The other two tetrarchies and was finally recognized by the Romans as 'king' of Galatia . The Galatian language continued to be spoken in central Anatolia until the 6th century. In the Second Punic War , the famous Carthaginian general Hannibal used Gallic mercenaries in his invasion of Italy. They played a part in some of his most spectacular victories, including the battle of Cannae . The Gauls were so prosperous by
10246-504: The park welcomed over 2.8 million visitors, making it the 2nd most visited park in France behind Disneyland Paris and the 8th most visited park in Europe. It is especially renowned in France for its large variety of roller coasters , which exceeds the amount of most other parks in mainland France. Park Astérix has begun incorporating rides and themes from historic cultures like the Gauls ,
10355-434: The re-assembled Greek army. This led to a series of retreats of the Gauls, with devastating losses, all the way up to Macedonia and then out of the Greek mainland. The major part of the Gaul army was defeated in the process, and those Gauls survived were forced to flee from Greece. The Gallic leader Brennos was seriously injured at Delphi and committed suicide there. (He is not to be confused with another Gaulish leader bearing
10464-500: The same name who had sacked Rome a century earlier (390 BC). In 278 BC, Gaulish settlers in the Balkans were invited by Nicomedes I of Bithynia to help him in a dynastic struggle against his brother. They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the same number of women and children, divided into three tribes, Trocmi , Tolistobogii and Tectosages . They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I (275 BC), in
10573-521: The setting of the sun, and the north star. — Julius Caesar , Commentarii de Bello Gallico , Book I, chapter 1 Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language spoken in Gaul before Latin took over. According to Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War , it was one of three languages in Gaul, the others being Aquitanian and Belgic . In Gallia Transalpina ,
10682-407: The story and Frédéric Mébarki drawing it. A year later, in 2012, the publisher Albert-René announced that Frédéric Mébarki had withdrawn from drawing the new album, due to the pressure he felt in following in the steps of Uderzo. Comic artist Didier Conrad was officially announced to take over drawing duties from Mébarki, with the due date of the new album in 2013 unchanged. In January 2015, after
10791-634: The succeeding La Tène style. La Tène metalwork in bronze, iron and gold, developing technologically out of the Hallstatt culture, is stylistically characterized by "classical vegetable and foliage motifs such as leafy palmette forms, vines, tendrils and lotus flowers together with spirals, S-scrolls, lyre and trumpet shapes". Such decoration may be found on fine bronze vessels, helmets and shields, horse trappings, and elite jewelry, especially torcs and fibulae. Early on, La Tène style adapted ornamental motifs from foreign cultures into something distinctly new;
10900-498: The syllable "Dog-" at the beginning of the name. The name Asterix , French Astérix , comes from astérisque , meaning " asterisk ", which is the typographical symbol * indicating a footnote, from the Greek word ἀστήρ ( aster ), meaning a "star". His name is usually left unchanged in translations, aside from accents and the use of local alphabets . For example, in Esperanto , Polish , Slovene , Latvian , and Turkish it
11009-410: The third title selling half the number of the first. I was publisher at the time, and Bill Cosby tried to buy film and television rights. When that fell through, we gave up the series." The first 33 Asterix albums were translated into English by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge (including the three volumes reprinted by William Morrow), who were widely praised for maintaining the spirit and humour of
11118-603: The tribes later called Gauls had migrated from Central France to the Mediterranean coast. Gallic invaders settled the Po Valley in the 4th century BC, defeated Roman forces in a battle under Brennus in 390 BC, and raided Italy as far south as Sicily . In the early 3rd century BC, the Gauls attempted an eastward expansion , toward the Balkan peninsula. At that time, it was a Greek province. The Gauls' intent
11227-401: The wheel, and the bull. There were gods of skill and craft, such as the pan-regional god Lugus , and the smith god Gobannos . Gallic healing deities were often associated with sacred springs , such as Sirona and Borvo . Other pan-regional deities include the horned god Cernunnos , the horse and fertility goddess Epona , Ogmios , Sucellos and his companion Nantosuelta . Caesar says
11336-476: Was called Galatia ; there they created widespread havoc. They were checked through the use of war elephants and skirmishers by the Greek Seleucid king Antiochus I in 275 BC, after which they served as mercenaries across the whole Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean , including Ptolemaic Egypt , where they, under Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BC), attempted to seize control of the kingdom. In
11445-582: Was chosen due to the transport network: a private interchange connects it with the nearby A1 autoroute and a bus shuttle service connects it with Paris Métro Line 7 at La Courneuve 's 8 Mai 1945 station. Jack Lang , then Minister of Culture, inaugurated the park on 30 April 1989 after two years of work. The opening of Disneyland Paris in 1992 caused Parc Astérix's attendance to fall 30% and its revenue by 19%. However, attendance soon stabilised to around 2 million visitors per year. In October 2005, Parc Astérix ran La Fête des Druides ("The Festival of
11554-649: Was confirmed that Dogmatix and the Indomitables had been pushed back to fall 2021, with o2o Studio producing the animation. The show is distributed globally by LS Distribution . The series premiered on the Okoo streaming service on 2 July before beginning its linear broadcast on France 4 on 28 August 2021. On 3 March 2021, it was announced that Asterix the Gaul is to star in a new Netflix animated series directed by Alain Chabat . The series will be adapted from one of
11663-556: Was no English edition. The main setting for the series is an unnamed coastal village, rumoured to be inspired by Erquy in Armorica (present-day Brittany ), a province of Gaul (modern France), in the year 50 BC. Julius Caesar has conquered nearly all of Gaul for the Roman Empire during the Gallic Wars . The little Armorican village, however, has held out because the villagers can gain temporary superhuman strength by drinking
11772-405: Was the tribe, which itself consisted of one or more of what Caesar called "pagi" . Each tribe had a council of elders, and initially a king. Later, the executive was an annually-elected magistrate. Among the Aedui tribe the executive held the title of " Vergobret ", a position much like a king, but its powers were held in check by rules laid down by the council. The tribal groups, or pagi as
11881-565: Was to reach and loot the rich Greek city-states of the Greek mainland. However, the Greeks exterminated the majority of the Gallic army, and the few survivors were forced to flee. Many Gauls were recorded as serving in the armies of Carthage during the Punic Wars . One of the leading rebel leaders of the Mercenary War , Autaritus , was of Gallic origin. During the Balkan expedition, led by Cerethrios , Brennos and Bolgios ,
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