Merksem ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛr(ə)ksɛm] ; former spelling: Merxem ) is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium . It has 44,808 inhabitants as of 2021.
79-461: The history of Merksem goes back to Gallo-Roman times. During that period the region was mentioned as Merk (border) and Heim (settlement) being part of the diocese Kamerijk . Merksem has for centuries been part of a larger community together with Schoten and Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor . During the Spanish period Merksem used to be a Dominium , a known Lord of Mercxem is Anthony van Stralen . In
158-573: A siege of Gergovia , a fortified town in the center of Gaul. Caesar's alliances with many Gallic clans broke. Even the Aedui, their most faithful supporters, threw in their lot with the Arverni but the ever-loyal Remi (best known for its cavalry) and Lingones sent troops to support Caesar. The Germani of the Ubii also sent cavalry, which Caesar equipped with Remi horses. Caesar captured Vercingetorix in
237-680: A combination of Roman and Celtic practice, with Celtic deities such as Cobannus and Epona subjected to interpretatio romana . The imperial cult and Eastern mystery religions also gained a following. Eventually, after it became the official religion of the Empire and paganism became suppressed, Christianity won out in the twilight days of the Western Roman Empire (while the Christianized Eastern Roman Empire lasted another thousand years, until
316-495: A double loyalty, as Western Roman authority disintegrated at Rome. The plight of the highly-Romanized governing class is examined by R.W. Mathisen, the struggles of bishop Hilary of Arles by M. Heinzelmann. Into the 7th century, Gallo-Roman culture would persist particularly in the areas of Gallia Narbonensis that developed into Occitania , Cisalpine Gaul , Orléanais , and to a lesser degree, Gallia Aquitania . The formerly-Romanized northern Gaul, once it had been occupied by
395-516: A form of excommunication from the assembly of worshippers, which in ancient Gaul meant a separation from secular society as well. Thus the Druids were an important part of Gallic society. The nearly complete and mysterious disappearance of the Celtic language from most of the territorial lands of ancient Gaul, with the exception of Brittany, can be attributed to the fact that Celtic druids refused to allow
474-544: A luxurious Roman villa called the Domus of Vesunna , built round a garden courtyard surrounded by a colonnaded peristyle enriched with bold tectonic frescoing, has been handsomely protected in a modern glass-and-steel structure that is a fine example of archaeological museum-making (see external link). Lyon , the capital of Roman Gaul, is now the site of the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon (rue Céberg), associated with
553-590: A major northern access to Antwerp , begins in Merksem and goes up north, all the way up until the border with the Netherlands . It ends in the Dutch city of Breda (hence the name). Other major axes would include Lambrechtshoekenlaan, Groenendaallaan, Maantjessteenweg and Ringlaan. Together with Bredabaan they could be considered as the boundaries of the centre of Merksem. Another main axis, that constitutes most of
632-558: A migration into southern Britain in the Bronze Age, during the 500-year period from 1300 to 800 BC. The newcomers were genetically most closely related to ancient individuals from Gaul. The authors describe this as a "plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain". The major source of early information on the Celts of Gaul was Poseidonios of Apamea , whose writings were quoted by Timagenes , Julius Caesar ,
711-563: A model against which to compare and contrast parallel developments of Romanization in other less-studied Roman provinces . Interpretatio romana offered Roman names for Gaulish deities such as the smith-god Gobannus , but of the Celtic deities, only the horse-patroness Epona penetrated Romanized cultures beyond the confines of Gaul. The barbarian invasions began in the late 3rd century and forced upon Gallo-Roman culture fundamental changes in politics, economic underpinning and military organization. The Gothic settlement of 418 offered
790-439: A name of France in modern Greek (Γαλλία) and modern Latin (besides the alternatives Francia and Francogallia ). The Greek and Latin names Galatia (first attested by Timaeus of Tauromenium in the 4th century BC) and Gallia are ultimately derived from a Celtic ethnic term or clan Gal(a)-to- . The Galli of Gallia Celtica were reported to refer to themselves as Celtae by Caesar. Hellenistic etymology connected
869-724: A number of early centers along the Seine , the Middle Rhine and the upper Elbe . By the late 5th century BC, La Tène influence spread rapidly across the entire territory of Gaul. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC) not only in France but also what is now Switzerland , northern Italy , Austria , southern Germany , Bohemia , Moravia , Slovakia and Hungary . A major archaeogenetics study uncovered
SECTION 10
#1732787270460948-724: Is "SC City Pirates Antwerp". They play in the fourth division of the Belgian league pyramid system. Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire . It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context. The well-studied meld of cultures in Gaul gives historians
1027-413: Is no certainty concerning the origin of the druids, but it is clear that they vehemently guarded the secrets of their order and held sway over the people of Gaul. Indeed, they claimed the right to determine questions of war and peace, and thereby held an "international" status. In addition, the Druids monitored the religion of ordinary Gauls and were in charge of educating the aristocracy. They also practiced
1106-511: Is regularly rendered as gu- / g- in French (cf. guerre "war", garder "ward", Guillaume "William"), and the historic diphthong au is the regular outcome of al before a following consonant (cf. cheval ~ chevaux ). French Gaule or Gaulle cannot be derived from Latin Gallia , since g would become j before a (cf. gamba > jambe ), and the diphthong au would be unexplained;
1185-559: Is strong Hallstatt influence throughout most of France (except for the Alps and the extreme north-west). Out of this Hallstatt background, the La Tène culture arose during the 7th and 6th century BC, presumably representing an early form of Continental Celtic culture and likely under Mediterranean influence from the Greek , Phoenician , and Etruscan civilizations . This culture spread out in
1264-526: The numen of Augustus , came to play a prominent role in public religion in Gaul, most dramatically at the pan-Gaulish ceremony venerating Rome and Augustus at the Condate Altar, near Lugdunum , annually on 1 August. Gregory of Tours recorded the tradition that after the persecution under the co-emperors Decius and Gratus (250–251), the future Pope Felix I sent seven missionaries to re-establish
1343-568: The Alans . The Gaulish language is thought to have survived into the 6th century in France, despite considerable Romanization of the local material culture. The last record of spoken Gaulish deemed to be plausibly credible was when Gregory of Tours wrote in the 6th century (c. 560–575) that a shrine in Auvergne which "is called Vasso Galatae in the Gallic tongue" was destroyed and burnt to
1422-594: The Aquitanian language , which may have been the parent language of Basque , and parts of the coast near Marseille spoke Ligurian with some Greek-speaking colonies on the Mediterranean coast, notably including Massilia . In the northeastern zone of Belgica , there may have been some presence of Germanic languages , but that is disputed. During the late empire, there was some settlement in Gaul by tribes speaking Germanic or Eastern Iranian languages , such as
1501-639: The Battle of Alesia , which ended the majority of Gallic resistance to Rome. As many as a million people (probably 1 in 5 of the Gauls) died, another million were enslaved , 300 clans were subjugated and 800 cities were destroyed during the Gallic Wars. The entire population of the city of Avaricum (Bourges) (40,000 in all) were slaughtered. Before Julius Caesar's campaign against the Helvetii (Switzerland),
1580-980: The Belgae in the north (roughly between the Rhine and the Seine), the Celtae in the center and in Armorica , and the Aquitani in the southwest, the southeast being already colonized by the Romans. While some scholars believe the Belgae north of the Somme were a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements, their ethnic affiliations have not been definitively resolved. In addition to the Gauls, there were other peoples living in Gaul, such as
1659-740: The Crisis of the Third Century , from 260 to 274, Gaul was subject to Alamannic raids during a civil war. In reaction to local problems, the Gallo-Romans appointed their own emperor, Postumus . The rule over Gaul, Britannia and Hispania by Postumus and his successors is usually called the Gallic Empire although it was just one set of many usurpers who took over parts of the Roman Empire and tried to become emperor. The capital
SECTION 20
#17327872704601738-684: The Fondation Pierre Gianadda , a modern museum of art and sculpture shares space with Gallo-Roman Museum centered on the foundations of a Celtic temple. Other sites include: Gaul Gaul ( Latin : Gallia ) was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Romans , encompassing present-day France , Belgium , Luxembourg , and parts of Switzerland , the Netherlands , Germany , and Northern Italy . It covered an area of 494,000 km (191,000 sq mi). According to Julius Caesar , who took control of
1817-571: The Franks , would develop into Merovingian culture instead. Roman life, centered on the public events and cultural responsibilities of urban life in the res publica and the sometimes luxurious life of the self-sufficient rural villa system, took longer to collapse in the Gallo-Roman regions, where the Visigoths largely inherited the status quo in 418. The Gallo-Roman language persisted in
1896-532: The Gallo-Italic languages and the Rhaeto-Romance languages . Latin epigraphy in Gaul has peculiarities such as the occasional variant ⟨ Ꟶ ⟩ instead of ⟨H⟩ . Roman culture introduced a new phase of anthropomorphized sculpture to the Gaulish community, synthesized with Celtic traditions of refined metalworking, a rich body of urbane Gallo-Roman silver developed, which
1975-655: The Gallo-Romance dialects which include French and its closest relatives. The influence of substrate languages may be seen in graffiti showing sound changes that matched changes that had occurred earlier in the indigenous languages, especially Gaulish. The Vulgar Latin in the North of Gaul evolved into the langues d'oïl and Franco-Provencal , and the dialects in the South evolved into the modern Occitan and Catalan tongues. Other languages held to be Gallo-Romance include
2054-489: The Rhaeto-Romance languages , Occitano-Romance languages and Gallo-Italic languages . Gaul was divided by Roman administration into three provinces, which were subdivided during the later 3rd-century reorganization under Diocletian , and divided between two dioceses, Galliae and Viennensis, under the Praetorian prefecture of Galliae. On the local level, it was composed of civitates , which preserved, broadly speaking,
2133-712: The Sicilian Greek Diodorus Siculus , and the Greek geographer Strabo . In the 4th and early 3rd century BC, Gallic clan confederations expanded far beyond the territory of what would become Roman Gaul (which defines usage of the term "Gaul" today), into Pannonia, Illyria, northern Italy, Transylvania and even Asia Minor. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans described Gallia Transalpina as distinct from Gallia Cisalpina . In his Gallic Wars , Julius Caesar distinguishes among three ethnic groups in Gaul:
2212-669: The Vandal and Gothic interlopers. Other bishops drew the faithful to radical asceticism. Bishops often took on the duties of civil administrators after the contraction of the Roman imperial administration during the barbarian invasions of the 5th century by helping fund building projects and even acting as arbiters of justice in the local community. Miracles attributed to both kinds of bishops, as well as holy men and women, attracted cult veneration , sometimes very soon after their death. A great number of locally venerated Gallo-Roman and Merovingian saints arose from 400 to 750. The identification of
2291-624: The 16th century Merksem was separated from Schoten . Around the year 600, the Franks started colonizing the area near the local Saint-Bartholomew's Church, which was the highest point of Merksem at the time. In 750, the Scheldt river finally started settling itself into its current river bed, which resulted in parts of Merksem becoming peat bog (a type of wetland ). Current street names of these areas still refer to these wetlands. (The 1998 and 1999 floods of some residential areas were due to Merksem's geographical location. This would later result in
2370-627: The Biturigian capital of Avaricum ( Bourges ), Cenabum ( Orléans ), Autricum ( Chartres ) and the excavated site of Bibracte near Autun in Saône-et-Loire, along with a number of hill forts (or oppida ) used in times of war. The prosperity of Mediterranean Gaul encouraged Rome to respond to pleas for assistance from the inhabitants of Massilia , who found themselves under attack by a coalition of Ligures and Gauls. The Romans intervened in Gaul in 154 BC and again in 125 BC. Whereas on
2449-439: The Celtic language group once spoken in Gaul is predominantly known as Gaulish . There is little written information concerning the peoples that inhabited the regions of Gaul, save what can be gleaned from coins. Therefore, the early history of the Gauls is predominantly a matter of archaeology, and the relationships between their material culture , genetic relationships (the study of which has been aided, in recent years, through
Merksem - Misplaced Pages Continue
2528-511: The Franks to the north and east, and in the northwest to the lower valley of the Loire , where Gallo-Roman culture interfaced with Frankish culture in a city like Tours and in the person of that Gallo-Roman bishop confronted with Merovingian royals, Gregory of Tours . The Druids were not the only political force in Gaul, however, and the early political system was complex, if ultimately fatal to
2607-689: The French Gaule , itself deriving from the Old Frankish *Walholant (via a Latinized form *Walula ), literally the "Land of the Foreigners/Romans". *Walho- is a reflex of the Proto-Germanic * walhaz , "foreigner, Romanized person", an exonym applied by Germanic speakers to Celts and Latin-speaking people indiscriminately. It is cognate with the names Wales , Cornwall , Wallonia , and Wallachia . The Germanic w-
2686-493: The Gallic nations to participate in Roman magistracy. The request having been accepted, the Gauls decided to engrave the imperial speech on bronze. In Metz , once an important town of Gaul , the Golden Courtyard Museums displays a rich collection of Gallo-Roman finds and the vestiges of Gallo-Roman baths, revealed by the extension works to the museums in the 1930s. In Martigny , Valais , Switzerland, at
2765-537: The Gallic tongue". Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French. The Vulgar Latin in the region of Gallia took on a distinctly local character, some of which is attested in graffiti, which evolved into the Gallo-Romance dialects which include French and its closest relatives. The influence of substrate languages may be seen in graffiti showing sound changes that matched changes that had earlier occurred in
2844-476: The Gauls occupy, takes its beginning at the river Rhone; it is bounded by the river Garonne, the ocean, and the territories of 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
2923-497: 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 the Mediterranean), and the northern Gallia Comata ("free Gaul" or "long-haired Gaul"). Caesar divided the people of Gallia Comata into three broad groups: the Aquitani ; Galli (who in their own language were called Celtae ); and Belgae . In
3002-522: The Gauls was identified by Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico with the Roman god Dis Pater . Perhaps the most intriguing facet of Gallic religion is the practice of the Druids . The druids presided over human or animal sacrifices that were made in wooded groves or crude temples. They also appear to have held the responsibility for preserving the annual agricultural calendar and instigating seasonal festivals which corresponded to key points of
3081-571: The Greeks and Phoenicians who had established outposts such as Massilia (present-day Marseille ) along the Mediterranean coast. Also, along the southeastern French Mediterranean coast, the Ligures had merged with the Celts to form a Celto- Ligurian culture. In the 2nd century BC Mediterranean Gaul had an extensive urban fabric and was prosperous. Archeologists know of cities in northern Gaul including
3160-550: The Helvetians had numbered 263,000, but afterwards only 100,000 remained, most of whom Caesar took as slaves . After Gaul was absorbed as Gallia , a set of Roman provinces, its inhabitants gradually adopted aspects of Roman culture and assimilated, resulting in the distinct Gallo-Roman culture . Citizenship was granted to all in 212 by the Constitutio Antoniniana . From the third to 5th centuries, Gaul
3239-481: The basis of France's eventual division into ecclesiastical bishoprics and dioceses , which would remain in place—with slight changes—until the French Revolution . Although the clans were moderately stable political entities, Gaul as a whole tended to be politically divided, there being virtually no unity among the various clans. Only during particularly trying times, such as the invasion of Caesar, could
Merksem - Misplaced Pages Continue
3318-570: The bishop and the civil prefect, who operated largely in harmony within the late-imperial administration. Some of the communities had origins that predated the 3rd-century persecutions. The personal charisma of the bishop set the tone, as 5th-century allegiances for pagans and Christians switched from institutions to individuals. Most Gallo-Roman bishops were drawn from the highest levels of society as appropriate non-military civil roads to advancement dwindled, and they represented themselves as bulwarks of high literary standards and Roman traditions against
3397-413: The boundaries of the formerly-independent Gaulish tribes, which had been organised in large part on village structures, which retained some features in the Roman civic formulas that overlaid them. Over the course of the Roman period, an ever-increasing proportion of Gauls gained Roman citizenship . In 212, the Constitutio Antoniniana extended citizenship to all free-born men in the Roman Empire. During
3476-421: The broken and scattered Christian communities: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturninus to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Martial to Limoges and Austromoine to Clermont . In the 5th and the 6th centuries, Gallo-Roman Christian communities still consisted of independent churches in urban sites, each governed by a bishop . Christians experienced loyalties that were divided between
3555-588: The city of Rome in 387 BC, becoming the only time Rome was conquered by a foreign enemy in 800 years. However, Gallia Cisalpina was conquered by the Romans in 204 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and the Teutons , who were in turn defeated by the Romans by 103 BC. Julius Caesar finally subdued the largest part of Gaul in his campaigns of 58 to 51 BC. Roman control of Gaul lasted for five centuries, until
3634-688: The conquered tribes. As a direct result of these conquests, Rome now controlled an area extending from the Pyrenees to the lower Rhône river, and in the east up the Rhône valley to Lake Geneva . By 121 BC Romans had conquered the Mediterranean region called Provincia (later named Gallia Narbonensis ). This conquest upset the ascendancy of the Gaulish Arverni peoples. The Roman proconsul and general Julius Caesar led his army into Gaul in 58 BC, ostensibly to assist Rome's Gaullish allies against
3713-418: The council. The regional ethnic groups, or pagi as the Romans called them (singular: pagus ; the French word pays , "region" [a more accurate translation is 'country'], comes from this term), were organized into larger multi-clan groups, which 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
3792-479: The deepening of the Schijn tributary ). In May 1561, Merksem and Schoten were split up. The current Bredabaan ( Breda Road) functioned as a gate between Antwerp and cities located to the north. In 1742, the road would become a toll road . At the beginning of the 19th century, Merksem was a very rural area with a population of 750. Local farmers mainly provided the nearby city of Antwerp with straw , giving
3871-582: The diocesan administration with the secular community, which took place during the 5th century in Italy, can best be traced in the Gallo-Roman culture of Gaul in the career of Caesarius , bishop and Metropolitan of Arles from 503 to 543. (Wallace-Hadrill). Before the Roman incursion, most of Gaul spoke Celtic dialects that are now considered to be the Gaulish language with considerable variation . The south-western region that would later become Gascony spoke
3950-555: The field of archaeogenetics ) and linguistic divisions rarely coincide. Before the rapid spread of the La Tène culture in the 5th to 4th centuries BC, the territory of eastern and southern France already participated in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture ( c. 12th to 8th centuries BC) out of which the early iron-working Hallstatt culture (7th to 6th centuries BC) would develop. By 500 BC, there
4029-411: The first occasion they came and went, on the second they stayed. In 122 BC Domitius Ahenobarbus managed to defeat the Allobroges (allies of the Salluvii ), while in the ensuing year Quintus Fabius Maximus "destroyed" an army of the Arverni led by their king Bituitus , who had come to the aid of the Allobroges. Rome allowed Massilia to keep its lands, but added to its own territories the lands of
SECTION 50
#17327872704604108-411: The ground. Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French, with effects including loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes, and influences in conjugation and word order. The Vulgar Latin in the region of Gallia took on a distinctly local character, some of which is attested in graffiti, which evolved into
4187-499: The indigenous languages, especially Gaulish. The Vulgar Latin in the north of Gaul evolved into the langues d'oïl and Franco-Provencal , while the dialects in the south evolved into the modern Occitan and Catalan tongues. Other languages held to be "Gallo-Romance" include the Gallo-Italic languages and the Rhaeto-Romance languages . Following Frankish victories at Soissons (AD 486) , Vouillé (AD 507) and Autun (AD 532) , Gaul (except for Brittany and Septimania ) came under
4266-420: The inhabitants of Merksem the nickname "stroboeren" (straw farmers). In 1874, the area became more industrialized, and most of the land was bought by S.A. Etablissements Industriels et Commerciaux de Merxem. The company would construct the local industry dock (known as 'het dokske'). Due to its ideal location, multiple industrial and commercial companies started to establish themselves in the area, contributing to
4345-430: The invasion of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453); a small but notable Jewish presence also became established. The Gaulish language is thought to have survived into the 6th century in France, despite considerable Romanization of the local material culture. The last record of spoken Gaulish deemed to be plausibly credible concerned the destruction by Christians of a pagan shrine in Auvergne "called Vasso Galatae in
4424-430: The last Roman rump state , the Domain of Soissons , fell to the Franks in AD 486. While the Gauls shifted from a primarily Celtic culture during Late Antiquity , becoming amalgamated into a Gallo-Roman culture , Gallia remained the conventional name of the territory throughout the Early Middle Ages , until it acquired a new identity as the Capetian Kingdom of France in the high medieval period. Gallia remains
4503-426: The lunar-solar calendar. The religious practices of druids were syncretic and borrowed from earlier pagan traditions, with probably indo-European roots. Julius Caesar mentions in his Gallic Wars that those Celts who wanted to make a close study of druidism went to Britain to do so. In a little over a century later, Gnaeus Julius Agricola mentions Roman armies attacking a large druid sanctuary in Anglesey in Wales. There
4582-403: The migrating Helvetii . With the help of various Gallic clans (e.g., the Aedui ) he managed to conquer nearly all of Gaul. While their military was just as strong as 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. Julius Caesar was checked by Vercingetorix at
4661-400: The mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Germans 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
4740-449: The modern sense, Gaulish peoples are defined linguistically, as speakers of dialects of the Gaulish language. While the Aquitani were probably Vascons , the Belgae would thus probably be a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements. Julius Caesar, in his book, The Gallic Wars , wrote All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls,
4819-426: The name of the Galatians (Γαλάται, Galátai ) to the supposedly "milk-white" skin (γάλα, gála "milk") of the Gauls. Modern researchers say it is related to Welsh gallu , Cornish : galloes , "capacity, power", thus meaning "powerful people". Despite its superficial similarity, the normal English translation of Gallia since the Middle Ages, Gaul , has a different origin than the Latin term. It stems from
SECTION 60
#17327872704604898-643: The northeast into the Silva Carbonaria , which formed an effective cultural barrier with the Franks to the north and the east, and in the northwest to the lower valley of the Loire , where Gallo-Roman culture interfaced with Frankish culture in a city like Tours and in the person of that Gallo-Roman bishop confronted with Merovingian royals, Gregory of Tours . Based upon mutual intelligibility , David Dalby counts seven languages descended from Gallo-Romance: Gallo-Wallon , French , Franco-Provençal (Arpitan), Romansh , Ladin , Friulian , and Lombard . However, other definitions are far broader, variously encompassing
4977-427: The population increase. During World War II , Merksem was occupied by Nazi Germany from 20 May 1940 until its liberation on 4 October 1944. The local population was affected by political repression , deportation , hunger, bombings etc. Many locals opposed the occupation. Resistance fighters were deported to the nearby concentration camp of Breendonk . The road currently known as Bredabaan ( Breda Road), once
5056-419: The public events and cultural responsibilities of urban life in the res publica and the sometimes luxurious life of the self-sufficient rural villa system, took longer to collapse in the Gallo-Roman regions, where the Visigoths largely inherited the status quo in the early 5th century. Gallo-Roman language persisted in the northeast into the Silva Carbonaria that formed an effective cultural barrier, with
5135-410: The region on behalf of the Roman Republic , Gaul was divided into three parts: Gallia Celtica , Belgica , and Aquitania . Archaeologically, the Gauls were bearers of the La Tène culture during the 5th to 1st centuries BC. This material culture was found not only in all of Gaul but also as far east as modern-day southern Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary. Warbands led by the Gaul Brennos sacked
5214-416: The regular outcome of Latin Gallia is Jaille in French, which is found in several western place names, such as, La Jaille-Yvon and Saint-Mars-la-Jaille . Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae . Also unrelated, in spite of superficial similarity, is the name Gael . The Irish word gall did originally mean "a Gaul", i.e. an inhabitant of Gaul, but its meaning
5293-409: The remains of the theater and odeon of Roman Lugdunum . Visitors are offered a clear picture of the daily life, economic conditions, institutions, beliefs, monuments and artistic achievements of the first four centuries of the Christian era . The "Claudius Tablet" in the Museum transcribes a speech given before the Senate by the Emperor Claudius in 48, in which he requests the right for the heads of
5372-408: The river Garonne to the Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of the ocean which is near Spain: it looks between the setting of the sun, and the north star. The Gauls practiced a form of animism , ascribing human characteristics to lakes, streams, mountains, and other natural features and granting them a quasi-divine status. Also, worship of animals was not uncommon; the animal most sacred to the Gauls
5451-441: The rule of the Merovingians , the first kings of France . Gallo-Roman culture, the Romanized culture of Gaul under the rule of the Roman Empire, persisted particularly in the areas of Gallia Narbonensis that developed into Occitania , Gallia Cisalpina and to a lesser degree, Aquitania . The formerly Romanized north of Gaul, once it had been occupied by the Franks, developed into Merovingian culture instead. Roman life, centered on
5530-422: The society as a whole. The fundamental unit of Gallic politics was the clan, which itself consisted of one or more of what Caesar called pagi . Each clan had a council of elders, and initially a king. Later, the executive was an annually-elected magistrate. Among the Aedui, a clan of Gaul, the executive held the title of Vergobret , a position much like a king, but his powers were held in check by rules laid down by
5609-458: The southern border of the district, is a canal called the Albert Canal , which connects the Port of Antwerp to the river Meuse near Liège and is an important connection for inland freight shipping. When Delsey Airlines ( VG Airlines ) existed, its head office was in Merksem. The Sportpaleis and the Lotto Arena are both located in the district of Merksem and host major sporting events, live music and festivals. The football team of Merksem
5688-566: The third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate
5767-679: The three Gauls were bound together in a network of Roman roads , which linked cities. Via Domitia (laid out in 118 BC), reached from Nîmes to the Pyrenees , where it joined the Via Augusta at the Col de Panissars . Via Aquitania reached from Narbonne , where it connected to the Via Domitia, to the Atlantic Ocean through Toulouse to Bordeaux . Via Scarponensis connected Trier to Lyon through Metz . At Périgueux , France,
5846-541: The upheavals of the 3rd and the 5th centuries motivated hiding away in hoards , which have protected some pieces of Gallo-Roman silver, from villas and temple sites, from the universal destruction of precious metalwork in circulation. The exhibition of Gallo-Roman silver highlighted specifically Gallo-Roman silver from the treasures found at Chaourse (Aisne), Mâcon (Saône et Loire), Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt (Pas de Calais), Notre-Dame d'Allençon (Maine-et-Loire) and Rethel (Ardennes, found in 1980). The two most Romanized of
5925-416: Was Trier , which was used as the northern capital of the Roman Empire by many emperors. The Gallic Empire ended when Aurelian decisively defeated Tetricus I at Chalons. The pre-Christian religious practices of Roman Gaul were characterized by syncretism of Graeco-Roman deities with their native Celtic , Basque or Germanic counterparts, many of which were of strictly local significance. Assimilation
6004-481: Was eased by interpreting indigenous gods in Roman terms , such as with Lenus Mars or Apollo Grannus . Otherwise, a Roman god might be paired with a native goddess, as with Mercury and Rosmerta . In at least one case, that of the equine goddess Epona , a native Gallic goddess was also adopted by Rome. Eastern mystery religions penetrated Gaul early on, which included the cults of Orpheus , Mithras , Cybele and Isis . The imperial cult , centred primarily on
6083-438: Was exposed to raids by the Franks . The Gallic Empire , consisting of the provinces of Gaul, Britannia , and Hispania , including the peaceful Baetica in the south, broke away from Rome from 260 to 273. In addition to the large number of natives, Gallia also became home to some Roman citizens from elsewhere and also in-migrating Germanic and Scythian tribes such as the Alans . The religious practices of inhabitants became
6162-510: Was later widened to "foreigner", to describe the Vikings , and later still the Normans . The dichotomic words gael and gall are sometimes used together for contrast, for instance in the 12th-century book Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib . As adjectives, English has the two variants: Gaulish and Gallic . The two adjectives are used synonymously, as "pertaining to Gaul or the Gauls", although
6241-498: Was the boar which can be found on many Gallic military standards, much like the Roman eagle . Their system of gods and goddesses was loose, there being certain deities which virtually every Gallic person worshipped, as well as clan and household gods. Many of the major gods were related to Greek gods; the primary god worshipped at the time of the arrival of Caesar was Teutates , the Gallic equivalent of Mercury . The "ancestor god" of
#459540