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63-729: The River Mimram is a chalk stream in Hertfordshire , England. It runs from its source near Whitwell in Hertfordshire to join the River Lea at Hertford. The River Mimram rises from a spring to the north-west of Whitwell , in North Hertfordshire , England . At Whitwell there are watercress beds which have existed since Roman times and these are fed by the same springs. The valley extends northwards where it becomes known as Lilley Bottom . Other sections of

126-480: A Celtic deity, though no academic sources have been cited for this and the speculation probably stems from a comparison with etymology for the nearby River Beane . Generally, etymologists and philologists have found the name 'Mimram' hard to analyse as there has been so little raw material on which to work until well into the Saxon era, by which time multiple forms of the name appear in records. Eilert Ekwall believes

189-562: A Proto-Celtic ethnic name *Bolgoi could be interpreted as "the people who swell (particularly with anger/battle fury)". In Caesar's usage, Belgium is a geographical subregion comprising the Bellovaci , Ambiani , Atrebates , and Veromandui . These four communities are widely thought to have been the original Belgae in Gaul. Julius Caesar describes Gaul at the time of his conquests (58–51 BC) as divided into three parts, inhabited by

252-627: A branch of the Belgae settled in Ireland around the 5th century BC , later becoming the historical Iverni (Érainn) and their offshoots. He believes the memory of Belgae settlers was preserved in medieval Irish legend as the Fir Bolg . O'Rahilly's theory has been challenged by historians and archaeologists, and is no longer accepted. Fintan O'Toole suggested the Keshcarrigan Bowl

315-582: A dry valley to the north, it has been known in particularly wet years for the River Mimram to be extended for several miles by springs in the upper valley. In 2001, in a neighbouring valley to the west a village was flooded. The Valley is the furthest east of all the Chiltern Hills valleys. The name of the Mimram is one of the few toponyms recorded within its local area prior to the compilation of

378-725: A group of tribes within the Belgic alliance as the "Germani", distinguishing them from their neighbours. The most important of these tribes in relation to Caesar's campaigns were the Eburones . The other way he used the term was to refer to those related tribes east of the Rhine, who were not Celtic. So the Germani among the Belgae are called, based on Caesar's account, the Germani cisrhenani , to distinguish them from other Germani living east of

441-642: A lack of connection from the lack of proof. The Mimram is crossed at Digswell by the Digswell or Welwyn Viaduct , carrying the East Coast Main Line as well as commuter services to Peterborough and Cambridge, as it spans the entire width of the Maran Valley. The upper reaches of the Mimram are crossed only occasionally by small road bridge or fords (eg at Welwyn and Codicote Bottom ). Welwyn Village's three bridge are at Singlers Bridge, on

504-553: A shield, made his way to the front line, and quickly organised his forces. The two Roman legions guarding the baggage train at the rear finally arrived and helped to turn the tide of the battle. Caesar says the Nervii were almost annihilated in the battle, and is effusive in his tribute to their bravery, calling them "heroes" (for more details see Battle of the Sabis ). The Atuatuci, who were marching to their aid, turned back on hearing of

567-525: A situation opposing Celtic and Germanic in Belgium, in a territory slightly more to the south than the early medieval Romance -Germanic language border", but van Durme accepts that Germanic did not block "Celticisation coming from the south" so "both phenomena were simultaneous and interfering". The medieval Gesta Treverorum compiled by monks of Trier claims that the Belgae were descendants of Trebeta , an otherwise unattested legendary founder of Trier,

630-690: A tribe called the Tungri living where the Germani cisrhenani had lived, and he also stated that they had once been called the Germani (although Caesar had claimed to have wiped out the name of the main tribe, the Eburones). Other tribes that may have been included among the Belgae in some contexts were the Leuci , Treveri and Mediomatrici . Posidonius includes the Armoricani , as well. Caesar conquered

693-485: Is fairly stable and rarely deviates from 10 °C (50 °F). On cold winter mornings, water vapour from the relatively warm stream condenses in the cold air above to form fog. Chalk is slightly soluble in rainwater because rain is naturally slightly acidic . The products of chalk weathering are dissolved in rainwater and are transported in stream flow. Chalk streams transport little suspended material (unlike most rivers), but are considered " mineral -rich" due to

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756-738: Is the Marne , after which a whole department of France is named. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne , formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne - with the name "Châlons" being etymologically derived from the name of the local Belgic tribe of the Catalauni . However, the link between the French Catalauni and the British Catuvellauni is not categorically proven: some texts assume they are connected (including, recently, Graham Robb's "The Ancient Paths"), while others infer

819-564: The Aquitani in the southwest, the Gauls in the biggest central part, who in their own language were called Celtae , and the Belgae in the north. Each of these three parts, he says, differed in terms of customs, laws and language. He noted that the Belgae, were "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

882-719: The Atrebates , Caesar's former ally, fled to Britain after participating in Vercingetorix 's rebellion and either joined or established a British branch of his tribe. Based on the development of imagery on coins, by the time of the Roman conquest , some of the tribes of south-eastern Britain likely were ruled by a Belgic nobility and were culturally influenced by them. The later civitas (administrative division) of Roman Britain had towns including Portus Adurni ( Portchester ) and Clausentum ( Southampton ). The civitas capital

945-582: The Dutch adjective gebelgd "very angry" (weak perfect participle of the verb belgen "to become angry") and verbolgen "being angry" (strong perfect participle of obsolete verbelgen "to make angry"), as well as the Old English verb belgan , "to be angry" (from Proto-Germanic *balgiz ), derived ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *bhelgh- ("to swell, bulge, billow"). Thus,

1008-728: The English Channel into southern Britain in Caesar's time. Caesar asserts they had first crossed the channel as raiders, only later establishing themselves on the island. The precise extent of their conquests is unknown. After the Roman conquest of Great Britain, the civitas of the Belgae was bordered to the north by the British Atrebates , who were also a Belgic tribe, and to the east by the Regni , who were probably linked to

1071-458: The English Channel , the west bank of the Rhine , and the northern bank of the river Seine , from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth by Julius Caesar in his account of his wars in Gaul. Some peoples in southern Britain were also called Belgae and had apparently moved from the continent. T. F. O'Rahilly believed that some had moved further west and he equated them with

1134-504: The Fir Bolg in Ireland . The Roman province of Gallia Belgica was named after the continental Belgae. The term continued to be used in the region until the present day and is reflected in the name of the modern country of Belgium . The consensus among linguists is that the ethnic name Belgae probably comes from the Proto-Celtic root *belg- or *bolg- meaning "to swell (particularly with anger/battle fury/etc.)", cognate with

1197-442: The Germani cisrhenani ) with no distinction of language intended. The east of the Rhine was not necessarily inhabited by Germanic speakers at this time. It has been remarked that Germanic speakers might have been no closer than the river Elbe in the time of Caesar. However, studies of place names, such as those of Maurits Gysseling , have been argued to show evidence of the pre-Roman presence of early Germanic languages throughout

1260-475: The Germani cisrhenani , and this is indeed also true of the tribes immediately over the Rhine at this time, such as the Tencteri and Usipetes . Surviving inscriptions also indicate that Gaulish was spoken in at least part of Belgic territory. The Romans were not precise in their ethnography of northern barbarians : by "Germanic", Caesar may simply have meant "originating east of the Rhine" (the homeland of

1323-635: The River Thames , River Lea and River Colne ): Chalk streams of the Yorkshire Wolds : Chalk streams of Lincolnshire : There are several chalk streams in the Lincolnshire Wolds including Chalk streams of Kent: Chalk streams of Norfolk: Chalk streams of Suffolk: Belgae The Belgae ( / ˈ b ɛ l dʒ iː , ˈ b ɛ l ɡ aɪ / ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul , between

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1386-595: The 20th and 21st centuries, much of that management has been aimed at producing the best conditions for fly fishing , and most specifically, dry fly fishing . The chalk streams hold a good number of wild salmonid fish species such as the brown trout ( Salmo trutta ), and grayling ( Thymallus thymallus ). In addition to these there are also considerable numbers of stocked brown trout and stocked rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). The rich invertebrate life and characteristic transparent shallow water make chalk rivers and streams particularly suited to fly fishing. Many of

1449-561: The 20th century still referring to the surrounding area as the Maran Valley. The name "Mimram" is typically believed to be of Celtic origin. Rutherford Davis states "etymology unknown, but there is little reason to doubt it is Celtic". Etymological connections have been suggested by academic philologists with the River Mint in Westmorland and with North Mymms in south Hertfordshire. There have been suggestions of it being named after

1512-492: The 4th through the 1st centuries BC. The Belgae of this period do not appear to have drunk beer. Caesar's book Commentarii de Bello Gallico begins: "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 ours Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in language, customs and laws." However, many modern scholars believe that

1575-447: The Belgae as well. The arrival and spread of Aylesford-Swarling pottery across the southeastern corner of Britain has been related to the Belgic invasion since Arthur Evans published his excavation of Aylesford in 1890, which was then thought to show "the demonstrable reality of a Belgic invasion", according to Sir Barry Cunliffe , although more recent studies tend to downplay the role of migration in favour of increasing trade links;

1638-431: The Belgae decided to disband their combined force and return to their own lands. Caesar's informants advised him that whichever tribe Caesar attacked first, the others would come to their defence. They broke camp shortly before midnight. At daybreak, satisfied the retreat was not a trap, Caesar sent cavalry to harass the rear guard, followed by three legions. Many of the Belgae were killed in battle. Caesar next marched into

1701-405: The Belgae were a Celtic-speaking group. On the other hand, at least part of the Belgae may also have had significant cultural and historical connections to peoples east of the Rhine, including Germanic peoples , judging from archaeological, placename and textual evidence. It has also been argued based on placename studies that the older language of the area, though apparently Indo-European ,

1764-551: The Belgae, beginning in 57 BC. He writes that the Belgae were conspiring and arming themselves in response to his earlier conquests; to counter this threat, he raised two new legions and ordered his Gallic allies, the Aedui , to invade the territory of the Bellovaci , the largest and fiercest of the Belgae tribes. Wary of the numbers and bravery of the Belgae, Caesar initially avoided a pitched battle, resorting mainly to cavalry skirmishes to probe their strengths and weaknesses. Once he

1827-421: The Belgae. ) It seems that, whatever their ancestry, at least some of the Belgic tribes spoke a variety of Gaulish as their main language by Caesar's time, and all of them used such languages in at least some contexts. Luc van Durme summarizes competing evidence of Celtic and Germanic influence at the time of Caesar by saying that "one has to accept the rather remarkable conclusion that Caesar must have witnessed

1890-540: The Belgic area north of the Ardennes , where the Germani cisrhenani lived. The sound changes described by " Grimm's law " appear to have affected names with older forms, apparently already in the second century BC. Strong evidence for old Celtic placenames, though, is found in the Ardennes and to the south of them. According to Strabo , the country of the Belgae extended along the coast where 15 tribes were living from

1953-690: The Domesday Book in 1086. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described the building of a burh (a fortified town) at Hertford in 913: "betweox memeran and beneficcan and lygean" (one manuscript spells "memeran" as "maran", and another gives "mæran"), meaning "between the Mimram/Maran and the Beane and the Lea’. On old maps of Hertfordshire, the river is named both as the Mimram and the Maran, with local residents in

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2016-533: The High Street (previously a ford), and on Mill Lane. The High Street and Mill Lane bridges are relatively recent, making Singlers Bridge the only early bridge within Welwyn. Singlers Bridge is named after Singlers Marsh , which was originally named Single Bridge Mead in the 18th century tithe maps, presumably acknowledging its status as accommodating the only bridge across the Mimram in the area. Below Welwyn,

2079-487: The Nervii, Menapii and Morini, revolted again and wiped out fifteen cohorts, only to be put down by Caesar. The Belgae fought in the uprising of Vercingetorix in 52 BC. After their final subjugation, Caesar combined the three parts of Gaul, the territory of the Belgae, Celtae and Aquitani, into a single unwieldy province ( Gallia Comata , "long-haired Gaul") that was reorganized by the emperor Augustus into its traditional cultural divisions. The province of Gallia Belgica

2142-592: The Old English version of the name was Memere or Mere ( Mære ), and that, given the dubious nature of early forms, no etymology can realistically be attempted. Archaeologist Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews has written that the Mimram's name is meaningless in Old English and therefore must have Brittonic origins. He writes: "Mimram" seems to contain Brittonic *mimo-, ‘speaking, murmuring, mumbling’, and *aramo-, ‘gentle, calm, quiet’. The original *Mimaramā would mean

2205-737: The Rhenus (Rhine) to the Liger (Loire). Strabo also says that "Augustus Caesar, when dividing the country into four parts, united the Keltae to the Narbonnaise; the Aquitani he preserved the same as Julius Caesar, but added thereto fourteen other nations of those who dwelt between the Garonne and the river Loire, and dividing the rest into two parts, the one extending to the upper districts of the Rhine ( Gallia Lugdunensis ) he made dependent upon Lugdunum,

2268-542: The Rhine in what he understood to be their homeland. However, the later historian Tacitus was informed that the name Germania was known to have changed in meaning: In other words, Tacitus understood that the collective name Germani had first been used in Gaul, for a specific people there with connections beyond the Rhine, the Tungri being the name of the people living where the Eburones had lived in later imperial times, and

2331-884: The Roman Augusta Treverorum , "Augusta of the Treveri ". Caesar names the following as Belgic tribes, which can be related to later Roman provinces: Southwest: possibly not in "Belgium": Northwest and considered remote by Romans: South, not in alliance against Rome: Caesar sometimes calls them Belgae, sometimes contrasts them with Belgae. Descendants of the Cimbri , living near Germani Cisrhenani : Possibly Belgae, later within Belgica I: Not Belgae, later in Germania Superior (still later Germania I): Later, Tacitus mentioned

2394-447: The UK has caused the chalk streams to dry up. This has caused ecological damage and stagnant sewage that flows through the rivers and increasing phosphate levels. Although chalk streams are generally watercourses originating from chalk hills, including winterbournes , streams, and rivers, the term chalk stream is used even for larger rivers, which would normally be considered too large for

2457-692: The area around it as the Maran Valley rather than the Mimram Valley . Downstream in Digswell there is a homestead property dating from the sixteenth century that has the name "Maran House". It has been speculated that "Maran" may hark back to the homelands of the Catuvellauni tribe, the Celts who came to Hertfordshire from a region of modern-day Belgium and Northern France where the main river

2520-615: The chalk stream springs are also used as sites for watercress production, due to the constant temperature and clean, alkaline , mineral-rich spring water. The Mid Hants Watercress Railway in Hampshire is so named on account of its use for transporting watercress to London from local chalk streams. A number of the chalk aquifers and associated groundwater sources related to chalk streams and rivers are used for water abstraction by local and national water utility companies. The over-abstracting of chalk streams by private water companies in

2583-459: The defeat and retreated to one stronghold, were put under siege, and soon surrendered and handed over their arms. However, the surrender was a ploy, and the Atuatuci, armed with weapons they had hidden, tried to break out during the night. The Romans had the advantage of position and killed 4,000. The rest, about 53,000, were sold into slavery. In 53 BC, the Eburones, led by Ambiorix , along with

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2646-574: The dissolved calcium and carbonate ions . The surface water of chalk streams is commonly described as "gin clear". The channel bed consists of angular flint gravel derived from the natural flint deposits found embedded within the chalk geology that contains relatively low amounts of clay and silt deposits. The unique characteristics of chalk stream ecology are due to stable temperature and flow regimes combined with highly transparent water and lack of sand grade sediment particles. The chalk streams have been intensively managed for many generations. In

2709-555: The forests and attacked the approaching Roman column at the river Sabis (previously thought to be the Sambre , but recently the Selle is thought to be more probable). Their attack was quick and unexpected. The element of surprise briefly left the Romans exposed. Some of the Romans did not have time to take the covers off their shields or to even put on their helmets. However, Caesar grabbed

2772-402: The funerary practice of communities to the north and south. Around this same time, a characteristic form of enclosed sanctuary began to be built, and from the late 2nd through the mid 1st centuries BC, fortifications with a high earthen rampart and a wide, flat-bottomed ditch are concentrated there. The coinage of the Belgae in Gaul shows commonalities in design and distribution patterns from

2835-524: The geography of the actual Mimram. Chalk stream The beds of the rivers are generally composed of clean, compacted gravel and flints , which are good spawning areas for Salmonidae fish species. Since they are fed primarily by aquifers , the flow rate, mineral content and temperature range of chalk streams exhibit less seasonal variation than other rivers. They are mildly alkaline and contain high levels of nitrate , phosphate , potassium and silicate . In addition to algae and diatoms ,

2898-401: The ground, where the chalk layer acts as an aquifer . The groundwater flows through the chalk bedrock, re-emerging lower down the slope in springs . The chalk acts as a temporary reservoir by regulating the amount of water supplied to the springs. This is why many chalk streams in the UK have stable flow regimes that vary only slightly over time. The temperature of the emerging surface water

2961-545: The mind; and they are the nearest to the Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine, with whom they are continually waging war". Ancient sources such as Caesar are not always clear about the things used to define ethnicity today. While Caesar or his sources described the Belgae as distinctly different from the Gauls, Strabo stated that the differences between the Celts (Gauls) and Belgae in countenance, language, politics and way of life

3024-473: The other [he assigned] to the Belgae ( Gallia Belgica )." Apart from the Germani, the report of Caesar seems to indicate that more of the Belgae had some Germanic ethnicity, but this is not necessarily what defines a tribe as Belgic. Edith Wightman proposed that Caesar can be read as treating only the southwestern Belgic tribes, the Suessiones, Viromandui and Ambiani and perhaps some of their neighbours, as

3087-648: The question remains unclear. A large number of coins of the Ambiani dating to the mid-second century BC have been found in southern Britain and the remains of a possible Belgic fort have been unearthed in Kent. Within memory of Caesar's time, a king of the Suessiones (also referred to as Suaeuconi) called Diviciacus was not only the most powerful king of Belgic Gaul, but also ruled territory in Britain. Commius of

3150-464: The river goes into a culvert under the by-pass road and the motorway alongside it, before emerging at Lockleys Park and flowing alongside the road through Tewin Water towards Panshanger Park. The river is the subject (and speaker) of a Stevie Smith poem, The River God . Popular and enjoyable though this poem has been for its many readers, the description of the river in the poem bears little relation to

3213-477: The streams provide a suitable habitat for macrophytes (including water crowfoot ) and oxygen levels are generally supportive of coarse fish populations. Of the 210 rivers classified as chalk streams globally, 160 are in England. A list of chalk streams in England gives a total of 224. Chalk is a highly porous and permeable rock, and rain falling onto chalk topography percolates directly into

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3276-413: The term stream . The Somme in northern France is a chalk stream on a larger scale. Winterbournes are known by different names depending on region: Chalk streams of the Southern England Chalk Formation in Berkshire , Hampshire , Wiltshire , Dorset and the Isle of Wight : Chalk streams of the Southern England Chalk Formation in the Chiltern Hills , Hertfordshire and Surrey (tributaries of

3339-515: The territory of the Suessiones and besieged the town of Noviodunum ( Soissons ). Seeing the Romans' siege engines , the Suessiones surrendered, whereupon Caesar turned his attention to the Bellovaci, who had retreated into the fortress of Bratuspantium (between modern Amiens and Beauvais ). They quickly surrendered, as did the Ambiani. The Nervii , along with the Atrebates and Viromandui, decided to fight (the Atuatuci had also agreed to join them, but had not yet arrived). They concealed themselves in

3402-414: The third through the first centuries BC within this subregion, inhabited in the time of Caesar by Bellovaci, Ambiani, Atrebates, and Veromandui. From 250 BC onward, the disposal of the dead was primarily through cremation, with some inhumation practiced. Ceramics and brooches are typical grave goods, while items of feasting appear in wealthier graves. The absence of weapons distinguishes these burials from

3465-400: The true ethnic Belgae, as opposed to those in a political and military alliance with them. She reads Caesar as implying a "transition zone" of mixed ethnicity and ancestry for the Menapii , Nervii and Morini , all living in the northwest of the Belgic region, neighbours to the Germani cisrhenani in the northeast. (Caesar also mentions his allies the Remi being closest to the Celts amongst

3528-438: The valley are known as Kimpton Bottom and Codicote Bottom. After flowing through Whitwell, Kimpton Mill (where the Mimram is joined by the River Kym) and Codicote Bottom, the river flows through the middle of Welwyn village before heading between the modern and older Digswell settlements, and then running cross-country through Panshanger Park, a former gravel quarry, until it reaches the River Lea at Hertford . Although

3591-425: The ‘murmuring gentle river’. Speakers of Old English found words with three repeated consonants challenging to say and changed the third ‑m– to –n by a process known as dissimilation. Historically, the river has also been known by the name "Maran" and many maps from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries mark the river's name as "Mimram or Maran". Indeed, up until the 1960s and 1970s, most local residents referred

3654-432: Was a small one, unlike the difference between the Aquitanians and Celts. The fact that the Belgae were living in Gaul means that in one sense they were Gauls. This may be Caesar's meaning when he says "The Belgae have the same method of attacking a fortress as the rest of the Gauls". Inconsistently, Caesar in Bello Gallico , II.4 also contrasted them with Gauls: So Caesar used the word "Germani" in two ways. He described

3717-447: Was at Venta Belgarum ( Winchester ), which was built on top of an Iron Age oppidum (this was itself built on the site of two earlier abandoned hillforts ); Winchester remains Hampshire's county town to this day. In addition to Venta Belgarum, the ancient geographer Ptolemy lists Aquae Calidae ( Bath ) and Iscalis as poleis of the Belgae. In his theory of Ireland's prehistory, T. F. O'Rahilly suggested in 1946 that

3780-416: Was bounded on its east by the Rhine and extended all the way from the North Sea to Lake Constance ( Lacus Brigantinus ), including parts of what is now western Switzerland, with its capital at the city of the Remi (Reims). Under Diocletian , Belgica Prima (capital Augusta Trevirorum, Trier ) and Belgica Secunda (capital Reims ) formed part of the diocese of Gaul. The Belgae had made their way across

3843-440: Was later adopted as a collective name for the non-Celtic peoples beyond the Rhine, the other, better-known way that Caesar used the term. The cultural cohesion of Belgium as Caesar sketched it is suggested by the maintaining of these borders, more or less, in administrative divisions ( pagi ) mapped out later by the Romans and still evident in the parishes of the Carolingian era . Archaeology suggests cultural continuities from

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3906-469: Was not Celtic (see Nordwestblock ) and that Celtic, though influential amongst the elite, might never have been the main language of the part of the Belgic area north of the Ardennes. For example, Maurits Gysseling suggested that prior to Celtic and Germanic influences the Belgae may have comprised a distinct Indo-European branch, termed Belgian . However, most of the Belgic tribal and personal names recorded are identifiably Gaulish , including those of

3969-412: Was satisfied his troops were a match for them, he made camp on a low hill protected by a marsh at the front and the river Aisne behind, near Bibrax (between modern Laon and Reims ) in the territory of the Remi. The Belgae attacked over the river, but were repulsed after a fierce battle. Realising they could not dislodge the Romans and aware of the approach of the Aedui into the lands of the Bellovaci,

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