Personal Names

Here follow the personal names cited as Galatian by Freeman (2001). We leave out the person’s dates, family relationships, variant spellings, and firmness of attachment to Galatia, which are given by Freeman. Our alphabetical order puts Greek Κ and Χ with Roman C. We accept the nominative singular forms deduced by previous workers, but ignore the accents and breathing marks they put on Greek letters, many of which were originally in capitals without accents. Name elements discussed above, such as –rix, are mostly ignored here.

The abbreviation XDpp means “translation suggested by Xavier Delamarre (2003) on page pp”. We generally give these Celtic suggestions first, out of respect for the decades of general acceptance that many of them have already enjoyed. Non-Celtic alternatives generally come second, and range from very tentative guesses to very solid suggestions. Readers must judge which possibilities look best – and please suggest improvements!

The sheer size of English vocabulary, plus its appetite for Greek and Latin roots, makes it a convenient source of examples. They do not necessarily indicate that OE was especially close to Galatian.

Αδιατοριξ or Adiatorix ♂♂☺☻XD32 ‘riche en désirs’ from Gaulish *adiant- ‘eagerness’. We prefer Latin aedituus ‘temple custodian’, whose function as keeper of a sacred fire shows up in the obsolete English word ad ‘funeral pyre’. Remember that this section ignores repeated elements, such as –rix, already discussed in detail.

Αδοβογιωνα ♀♀♀☺☻XD81 ‘great swaggerer’. Taking bogi- as something closer to ‘people’, and –ona as indicating a goddess name, suggests ‘with the people’s goddess’.

Αιοιοριξ ♂☻XD36 ‘old’. Compare Scots aye, and English aeon from Greek αιων, though there are other Greek possibilities.

Αλβιοριξ ♂☻XD37‘roi du monde’, assumes Celtic sense development towards sky from words like Latin albus for ‘white’, whereas Germanic developed that root towards swans and elves. Maybe ‘white-haired king’.

Αλδωριξ ♂ ◙ A meaning ‘old king’ is easy to accommodate in Germanic.

Ambitoutus ♂☻XD294 (in Syria) resembles the Ambitouti tribe discussed above. Literally ‘around people’.

Αμβοσυνιος ♂☻ perhaps ‘around pigs’ with a pan-European second element, like English ‘sow’ and ‘swine’.

Αρδη ♀☻XD52 ‘high’. Same as Greek αρδην ‘lifted up high’, with cognates in most European languages. No more Celtic than the Trevirian name Arda or the Ardennes forest.

Αρτεινος ♂☻XD55 ‘bear’. Welsh arth, Greek αρκτος, etc all come from a PIE word for ‘bear’, and the names of some fierce animals were subject to ancient taboos, so Αρτεινος cannot be confidently assigned to any one language family. King Arthur is considered mythical by Koch (2006) but might have come from the Roman family name Artorius. Artemis was an important goddess in and near Greece.

Αρτικνος ♂♂☻XD55 ‘bear’. See Αρτεινος above. Also shows up in χωριονΑρτικνιακον ‘place of Artiknos’ people’.

Ατεποριξ ♂♂☺☻XD259 ‘horseback king’ with ad + epos, but see above about epo-.

Αυειωρ ♂☻XD61 ‘riche en désirs’. More likely some kind of family member, like Latin avia ‘grandmother’, English avuncular and atavistic, Welsh ewythr, and OE eam ‘uncle’.

Βηπολιτανος ♂☺XD312 overrules Freeman’s ‘broad face’ and suggests ‘loud voice’ from Gaulish *uepos ‘voice, speech’, from the same PIE root as Greek επος ‘word’, Latin vox ‘voice’, English whoop, etc. Gaulish *litanos ‘wide’ might show Celtic loss of initial P, from the same PIE root as English plain, platter, and flat. Argument for a uniquely Celtic origin seems unconvincing, not least because of the Greek word λιτανος ‘praying’.

Βιτογνατος ♂☻XD76 suggests Gaulish *bitu- ‘world’ developing figuratively towards ‘life’. We think that Latin vita ‘life’ needs less stretching. (B and V were almost interchangeable in much Latin and Greek writing.) Germanic meanings of ‘prayer’, as in German bitte ‘please’, or ‘battle’, as in OE beadu, are also plausible. All three possible interpretations of the first element fit slightly better with γνατος translated as ‘lord protector’ rather than ‘son of’, so maybe Βιτογνατος claimed to be ‘battle lord’.

Βιτοιτος or Bitocus ♂☺XD76 ‘?worldly’. See comments about Βιτογνατος above.

Βιτοριξ ♂ ◙ XD76 ‘king of the world’, but see comments about Βιτογνατος above.

Blesamius ♂☺XD71 ‘very powerful’, like the goddess Belisama, about whom all the limited evidence points to the core Gaulish area. Maybe a superlative form of *bel- that Pokorny (1959) translates as ‘shining white’, but Delamarre prefers ‘strong’.

Βογοδιατάρος ♂☺ Freeman labels this a manuscript error (Strabo 12,5,2) for Βρογιταρος.

Βοισαγαρος ♂☻XD79,175 ‘cattle mooer’ assuming Gaulish *garo ‘cry’. This is nonsense, since the Greek word σαγαρις described a type of battle axe used by the tribes of central Asia and well known from archaeology. The initial Βοι- might refer to cattle, but we prefer plain ‘people’, leading to a complete translation like ‘battle axe person’.

Βοιω#ιξ ♂☻XD81 ‘Boii king’, taking the Boii as a Celtic tribe named from *boios ‘frappeur’, ‘terrible’. We prefer to interpret the Boii tribe as Germanic cattle farmers.

Βουδορις or Βωδορις ♂☻ Not Celtic. Greek ‘ox flayer’, perhaps leather worker.

Βουσσουριγιος ☼☻ An adjective used of Zeus in Galatia and Dacia. Freeman wrote “not to be confused with Greek Βυσσυργικος (< βυσσυργος ‘flax-weaver’)”. An element *busso- has been interpreted as Celtic for ‘mouth’ in the name Bussumaros recorded in Thrace. However, compounds based on Βουσ ‘ox’ were prominent in Greek mythology, such as Athena Boudeia (Trümpy, 1994), and there are many Greek words that begin with ουρ-, such as ουρεω ‘watch’.

Βριγατος ♂♂☻XD88 ‘vigorous’, based on Gaulish *brigo ‘force’. Not diagnostically Celtic because there are so many other possibilities, especially within Germanic, represented by modern English bright, braid, etc. We prefer a translation related to OE brego ‘governor’.

Βρογιμαρος ♂☻XD 90 ‘has large territory’ or Germanic ‘famous ruler’.

Brogitarus or Βρογιταρος ♂☺☻ XD90 ‘frontier bull’, or Germanic ‘governor bull’.

Βρογορις ♂♂☻XD90 ‘border king’, analogous with the later English ‘marcher lord’. OE bregorice ‘kingdom’ suggests that Βρογορις was ‘king of the realm’.

Καμμα ♀♀☺☻Might be Celtic ‘bent’ or Latin ‘exchanged’ or Anatolian (Freeman, 2001).

Καουαρος ♂☺☻XD111 ‘hero’ or ‘champion’. Same as Thracian king Καυαρος. Possibly traceable to PIE *keu- ‘swell’, and related to Greek κυριος.

Κασσιγνατος or Cassignatus ♂☺XD109 ‘son of bronze’. Cassi has been much discussed. It was probably originally ‘tin’ or tin-bronze, then helmets (its initial military use), swords, and coins, then part of tribal names. Cassi cannot be diagnostically Celtic because of Greek κασσιτερος ‘tin’ and the 3000 BC tin-making in Anatolia.

Κατομαρος ♂☻XD110 ‘belligerent’. Majority opinion holds that Catu- was always Celtic for ‘battle’ and is cognate with OE heaðu- ‘war’. Our analysis of ancient Catu- names (paper in preparation) suggests that this idea is mistaken.

Centaretus or Κεντοαρατης ♂☺XD116 ‘race winner’. First part = Gaulish *cintus, like Greek καινος ‘first’, Latin recens ‘fresh’. Second part Gaulish *ritu- ‘race’ a speculative cognate of Latin rota ‘wheel’. Greek κεντρον ‘goad’ plus αρατος ‘cursed’ is far better. Saint Paul’s use of κεντρον in his account of God’s words “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” was perhaps using an age-old phrase familiar to all middle-eastern farmers.

Χιομαρα ♀☺ OE cyme ‘beautiful’, hence perhaps ‘famous beauty’.

Combolomarus ♂☺ OE combol ‘military standard’, hence perhaps ‘famous battle flag’.

Κομινκα ♀☻ Greek κομη, Latin coma ‘hair’ plus a diminutive suffix might suit a lady.

Κονβατιακος ♂☻XD46 ‘fighter’. A compound of con ‘with’ + bati ‘beat’ + acus ‘people’ could be constructed in several languages.

Κονκλαδος or Κονκλατος ♂♂☻XD117 ‘sword-equipped’, con ‘with’ plus Gaulish *cladio assumed for the name of a Celtiberian sword that Romans copied as their gladius. However, see Κογκολιτανος above and consider Greek κλαδος ‘branch’.

Κοννακοριξ ♂☺XD259 ‘sharp claw king’. See Κογκολιτανος above.

Deiotarus or Δηιοταρος (etc) ♂♂♂♂☺☻XD142,290 Perhaps the most archetypally Galatian name of all, borne by four kings from the 2nd century BC into Roman times. Obviously it meant ‘divine bull’, compounded from two pan-European elements. Latin deus ‘god’ and dies ‘day’ illustrate how gods were linked with the sun and sky.

Δοβηδων ♂☻XD35 ‘black flame’. Both proposed elements have descendants in many languages, besides Celtic, for example English has ‘deep’ plus ‘oast’.

Δομνειων ♂☻XD151 ‘world’, a development of Gaulish *dumnos/*dubnos ‘deep’, with M/B interchange as in Dumnonia becoming Devon. We prefer ‘new home’, from Greek δομος + νειος or Latin domus + novus, while also noting OE domne ‘lord’ possibly from Latin dominus, and OE –dom, which survives in kingdom, freedom and Domesday. Also note Δομνα, daughter of Κατομαρος. The Roman emperor’s wife Julia Domna was probably a Syrian Arab.

Δομνεκλειος or Domnilaus ♂☺XD194 ‘small and dark’ from Gaulish *dumnos ‘deep’ (again) plus *lagu ‘small’, perhaps cognate with Latin levis ‘light’. However, the ending looks Greek because κλειω can mean ‘close’ or ‘celebrate’ (as in Cleopatra). Hence perhaps ‘famous lord’ or ‘closed new house’?

Δυριαλος ♂☻ Duro- ‘door’ or ‘gate’ was pan-European, but at the start of place names was restricted to Belgic or Germanic-border areas. The PIE root *el- that led to Greek ιαλλω ‘send forth’ might explain the second part. Perhaps ‘gatekeeper’?

Δυσαγαρας ♂☻ ‘slow mover??’ Looks Greek: δυς ‘not’ + αγαρροος ‘strong-flowing’.

Δυτευτος ♂☺XD157,305 ‘clumsy’ from Gaulish *dus ‘bad’ and *tuto- ‘left’. We prefer to see the second element as *teuto- ‘people’ and the initial du as either ‘two’ or ‘god’.

Εβουρηνos ♂♂☻, Εβουρηνα ♀☻, Εβουρηανos ♂☻. Celtic *eburos ‘yew’ and Germanic *eburaz ‘boar’ are equally plausible roots, just as for Eboracum (York) and many similar names. Lacroix (2007) is wholly in favour of sacred yew trees, but XD159 is more cautious, because of boar images on coins etc and the uncertain etymology of French if ‘yew’.

Επατοριξ ♂☻XD163,259 ‘horseback king’ with epos + ad, but see above about epo-.

Επονη ♀☻XD163. A version of the goddess Epona.

Επορηδοριξ ♂☺XD163 ‘horse rider king’ but see above about epo-.

Εποσογνατος or Eposognatus ♂☺XD 163 ‘horse born’, or maybe ‘knows horses well’, like Greek ιππογνωμων, but taking the –so- in the middle as a Celtic intensive prefix. See above about epo- and about -gnatus. A pure Greek translation would be ‘son of the word’.

Γαιζατοδιαστος ♂☻XD143,173. This obviously builds on the Latin words Gaesatae ‘mercenaries’, from gaesum ‘heavy javelin’. The root PIE word, perhaps *ghaiso-, led to proto-Germanic *gaizaz ‘spear’, whose many descendants in English include words like goad, personal names like Gerald or Garibaldi, and the place-name element gore. The second part is Greek: -δι- ‘god’ or ‘through’, αστος ‘citizen’. Not Celtic.

Γαιζατοριξ ♂☺XD173. ‘mercenary leader’. Not Celtic. See Γαιζατοδιαστος.

Gaulotus ♂☺ A Galatian leader in 189 BC. Maybe another Latin version of Chlothar?

Λοστοιεκο ♂☻XD207 ‘tail’, maybe ‘penis’ or ‘spear’. Not definitely Galatian.

Μελιγιννα ♀☻XD223 ‘sweet-born’. The first element mel is pan-European. Μελιγιννα looks like a wholly Greek name, with second element γυνα ‘woman’.

Ολοριξ ♂☻XD241 ‘great king’ from Gaulish *ollos ‘great’. Easier to interpret as Germanic ‘overall king’ like Alaric. Compare the Allamanni tribe or Alorix on a Pannonian epitaph.

Ορτιαγων or Ortiago (etc) ♂☺☻XD243 suggests Gaulish *ortu- ‘young animal?’ + *ago- ‘fight’. The obvious Greek is better: ορτη (variant of εορτη) ‘feast’ + αγων ‘assembly’.

Ουαστεξ ♂☻XD307 ‘divine’ on the assumption that this name is related to the ουατεις who occupied themselves with sacrifices and the study of nature (Strabo 4,4,4) alongside the bards and the druids among the Gauls. Brother of Βαρβολλας. To retain an S in the name, Latin vastus ‘empty’, English ‘waste’, might be better. This might make Ουαστεξ a ‘weakling’.

Ουινδιεινος ☼☻ A divine name associated with an Anatolian god and the place name Ουινδια discussed below.

Ροσσομαρα ♀☻XD 260 parses the name as ro-su-mara ‘very-good-great’. Modern English ‘horse’ evolved from earlier hros, which became Ross in modern German. So a Germanic interpretation of Ροσσομαρα as ‘famous horse’ looks better.

Σενταμος ♂☻XD270 ‘road person’? PIE *sent- ‘go, feel’ developed at least as well in Latin, Germanic, etc as in Celtic.

Σινατος ♂☺XD274 ‘linker’ based on Gaulish *sino- ‘link, chain’, but *senos ‘old’, like Latin senex or OE sin- ‘everlasting’ might be preferable.

Σινοριξ ♂☻XD274 ‘linked king’, as for Σινατος, though we prefer ‘old king’.

Σκιγγοριος ♂☻XD169 offers Gaulish root *excingo- ‘attacking’ Unnecessary because of Greek σκιγγος, Latin scincus ‘skink’, a type of lizard much valued in ancient medicine. English dictionary entries on skink lead to many possibilities in Germanic, including OE scin ‘magic’ so maybe Σκιγγοριος was some kind of medicine man.

Σουωλιβρογηνος ☼☻ A divine name dated to AD 157. We have not seen a Celtic suggestion, but Germanic languages begin many words with sw-. English swollen fits the sense usually attributed to Belgae, so maybe something like ‘angry ruler’ might fit?

Τεμρογειος ☼☻ Adjective used of a Phrygian god Μας in Phrygian territory.

Ζμερτων ♂☻ The element smert- in the north-Gaulish deities Rosmerta and Smertrios is usually translated as ‘carer’ (XD276), based on a PIE root *(s)mer- ‘remember, care for’, which led to English ‘mourn’, Welsh armerth ‘provide’, and a Sanskrit word with initial S. Majority opinion favours this root because statues of Rosmerta suggest a benevolent goddess. However, a closer linguistic match comes from PIE *mer- ‘rub, wipe’, leading to Greek σμερδαλεος ‘terrible’ and OE smeortan ‘ache’, hence modern smart. If initial ro- came from another root, represented in modern English by rue and by reck ‘care’, Rosmerta could be Germanic for ‘cares for pain’. Then depending on how one views plain smert-, Ζμερτων was either a carer or a pain in the neck!

Ζμερτουμαρος ♂☻ and Ζμερτουμαρα ♀☻ XD276 ‘famous carer’ See Ζμερτων.

Zμερτοριξ ♂ ◙ XD276 ‘carer king’. Compare Caratacus.

Now here are some Galatian names that were not in Freeman’s list. Suggestions welcome. Some are newly found, but in most cases we do not know why Freeman left them out. recam numbers refer to epigraphic records in Mitchell, French & Greenhalgh (1982).

Αντεσσικοπος, Αντεσεικομπος ☻ in recam 115 (with Artiknos) and 170

Βαρβολλας, Βαρβιλλος ♂☻ Looks like a diminutive Latin of barba ‘beard’. ‘Little beard’ might suit the brother of Ουαστεξ ‘?weakling’.

Βειταμα ☻ (recam 258)

Bellon, Βελλα, Βελλαδυ ☻ XD71 ‘powerful’, with alternatives in many languages. (recam 298, 230, 296). Attempts to claim these names as Celtic date back to Holder (1896)

French (2003) mentions conflicting opinions on the Celticness of these names:-

Βουγιωνος ♂☻ (French, 2003, p116) Labelled as Celtic by Holder (1896).

Βωκερες Source not yet identified. XD259 ‘loud king’. The word boca is firmly attested in Gaulish, and looks like Latin bucca ‘cheek’, with a huge number of relatives (such as English belch) all converging on a sense of verbal boasting.

Γαυδατος ☻ (recam 113)

Ρεντομενος ☻ (recam 362) Perhaps PIE *rend^h- ‘tear’ plus Greek μενος ‘strength’?

Σατωνος ☻ (recam 498) Lots of possibilities, including Latin sator ‘planter, father’, Satan, satrap, and σατον, a Hebrew measurement.

Σαωκονδαρος ♂☺ In-law of Deiotarus (Strabo 12,5,3), son of Tarcondarius Castor, whose name shares the –condar- element. Language unknown.

Solovettius ♂☺ A Galatian leader in 167 BC. Compare the Roman family name Vettius.

Ταρκοδαριος Καστωρ or Tarcondarius Castor ♂☻☺ Supported Pompey against Caesar. Castor means ‘beaver’. A feeble Germanic suggestion might be a precursor of darken, meaning ‘conceal’, followed by a cognate of OE daru ‘harm’. Language unknown.

Τεκτομαρος XD76 ‘rich in possessions’ or Greek-influenced ‘great craftsman’, as discussed above under Tectosages. (recam 218)

Ζουβλος ☻ (recam 440)

Pure Greek (or Phrygian, Macedonian, etc) names include Amyntas (‘defender’), Απατυριος (‘orphan’), Artemidoros, Attis, Βοκχος (because French (2003) p 103 contradicts Bosch (1967) p98), Kallistratos, Diogneta, Eburianus (note 15 of Bosch 1967 declares it Anatolian), Κυρικκος (Strobel reports French (2003) incorrectly), Λυσιμαχος, Παιδοπολιτης, Stratonice.

Not yet tackled:
Cantuix & Onsotex mentioned by Yorukan, without source
Β̣ριγατουιο Crimean Gothic don’t know where we got this!
Brikkon cited by Strobel with incorrect reference of RECAM II, 204
Dyitalos father of Amyntas

Place Names

Here are some place names in Galatia that Strobel (2009) and/or Freeman (2001) and others have labelled “Celtic”.

Eccobriga or Ecobriga has been claimed as a compound of Gaulish *ico ‘peak?’ or possibly *ekwo- ‘horse’ plus *briga ‘height’. Unfortunately, the spelling in -briga comes from the Ravenna Cosmography and the Peutinger Table, which are generally less reliable than the Antonine Itinerary, which has Ecobrogis. That brog- element again! Its location, described by Yörükan (2009) appears to have been dictated more by strategic control of road and river routes than by the classic hill-fort situation of the largely-Iberian word briga. A Germanic ‘oak bridge’ would fit the local topography better, especially if the valley was more wooded and wetter in Galatian times.

Acitorigiaco shows on the Peutinger Table. It might contain a Gaulish element *acito- ‘plain?’ (XD31). A compound of ακις ‘needle’ and ριγος ‘cold’ might suit people living on a hilltop.

Εριγοβρογις was a district mentioned in the 7th century. Compare Latin erigo ‘erect’ or ‘post (troops) on high ground’.

Ικοταριον was named on an inscription northeast of Ancyra. Greek ικω ‘come’ or Latin ico ‘strike’ would go well with tarus ‘sacred bull’.

Petobrogen was the form written in the Itinerarium Budigalenses. Compare Latin peto ‘attack’, ‘entreat’, etc.

Σινορια, Σινωρα, Σινορηγα. A fort on the Armenian border. Compare Sinope, Greek goddess and place on Black Sea coast, and Greek συνορια ‘borderland’. Σιντοιον was another fort in Armenia.

Τολαστοχορα (also Toloscorio) A χωριον ‘place’ of the Tolistobogii.

Tymbris, Tembrogius, Τεμβρις, Τεμβρoγγιoς, Τεμβριoς. Old names for the river Porsuk. An element like tem appears in many river names, without ever being conclusively explained.

Ουινδια, Vindia. A single Gaulish root *uindos ‘white, happy’ is confidently asserted as the base meaning of many ancient names that begin with Vind- , including Vindobona (Vienna) and Vindolanda on Hadrian’s wall. However, Rivet and Smith (1979) struggled to fit all the Roman-era Vind- names of Britain into that picture, and in fact the etymological situation is far more complex. There are other potential Indo-European roots, including the two senses in English of wind (moving air, and twisting around) plus Latin vindex ‘defender’. However, our best guess to explain Ουινδια would be from a Germanic word for foreigners living on the border, or perhaps nomads. One such word, Welsh, is often said to be related to names like Walloon, Volcae (Wolfram, 1990), and maybe Gaul. Another such word, Wends, from OE winedas, south-German Winde, was most used to describe Slavs later in history, and was possibly related to the tribal name Veneti. Interpreting Ουινδια as ‘border-nomads place’ would suit a Galatian name for a settlement built over the ruins of the former Gordion, famous for the Gordian knot, near the south-west limit of Tolistobogii territory.

To summarise this section, most place names of Galatia can be explained with Greek, Latin, or some vanished Indo-European language of Anatolia. For the few exceptions, Celtic roots are no more plausible than Germanic.

There are other Galatian place names about which we cannot yet write much. Bolekaskos, Contiacos, Mordiacus, Orsologiakon, and Rosolodiaco have been described as possibly Celtic. Amorium, Γορβειους, Malos, Πεσσινους, and Tavium have been described as not distinctively Celtic. A few places are known as adjectives from people or gods discussed above. Δαδαστανα was outside Galatia proper. We know very little about: Abbasium, Abrostola, Αειτας, Aspona, Bloukion, Chorion Outisseon, Danala, Πηιον, Trocmada.

In Conclusion

This investigation began with a suspicion that Saint Jerome was somehow mistaken about a similarity between the Treverian and Galatian languages. It ends up declaring him correct but misinterpreted. The real error lies in some modern scholars’ perverse attachment to the concept of Galatian as a Celtic language in the east.

Modern Celtic languages (Welsh, Gaelic, Breton, etc) contribute greatly to reconstructing the proto-Indo-European base language from which Galatian sprang. So words used in early Irish and Welsh documents can often help to interpret a Galatian word or name. However, they are much less useful than Greek, Latin, and (amazingly) Old English.

When ancient Mediterranean writers referred to the Iron-Age peoples from further north and west in Europe as Celts, Gauls, or Galatians, they were not making a finely researched linguistic distinction. They would have focussed far more on functional characteristics: that those northerners were numerous, troublesome warriors, that they were tall and pale, and that they dressed and behaved in particular ways.

Exactly who founded the Galatian enclave in Anatolia, and when, is not clear from historical sources. If they came in a single incursion, after the attack on Delphi, that was probably from somewhere around the Iron Gates on the river Danube, just south of where Goths would later come from. On the other hand, if they drifted in over a longer period, Galatia’s founders might have been a mixed bag of Europeans, not much different from the tourists who visit modern Turkey, or from modern white Americans.

Roman-era Pannonia (shown red in this Wikimedia map) was full of names ending in –rix and –marus (Meid, 2005). Those name-bearers were probably as much or as little “Celtic” as the Galatians.

We did not set out to attack the whole concept of a Gaulish language, and indeed the dictionaries of Delamarre (2003) or Falileyev (2010) supply plausible translations of many Galatian names. However, those translations are almost always much the same as in other European languages or else they look less plausible than alternatives based on Greek, Latin, or Germanic. It follows that our original three-part working hypothesis can be summed up in one even more provocative suggestion: the entire concept of “Continental Celtic”, outside Iberia, Caesar’s Celtic part of Gaul, and some Celtic travellers inside the Roman Empire, is one huge fallacy that has led historians and linguists astray.

A slight crumb of comfort for the old view lies in tantalizing hints from linguistics (Isaac, 2010) and genetics (Oppenheimer, 2010) that proto-Celts originated in the eastern Mediterranean. However, Cunliffe and Koch (2010) have now united behind the view that Celtic really expanded as a distinct language branch only after seaborne traders broke out of the Mediterranean in search of metals, and then expanded back eastwards up major rivers.

Koch (2008) stressed how the Greek language expanded through seaborne trade and Latin expanded after it defeated Carthage and made the Mediterranean its mare nostrum. This makes us wonder what drove the expansion of Germanic languages. Was it a similarly rapid exploitation of the Baltic? Or maybe a similar expansion along the other great long-distance watery communication route of the rivers Danube and Rhine?

This article wishes to situate both the Galatian and Treverian languages in a band of related dialects stretching right across ancient Europe, whose later descendants included Anglo-Saxon, Frisian, Flemish, Franconian, Alsatian, Swabian, Bavarian, Alemannic, Crimean Gothic, and many more. Mixed in among them must have been many other dialects, some now completely lost, some perhaps with Slavic, Italic, Basque, or Magyar descendants. Classical authors essentially threw up their hands in horror at the sheer polyglot messiness of barbarian tribes and of course no language is ever free of loanwords. Modern authors should not seek order where none existed.

We do not wish to fall into the same trap as Celticists by asserting that ancient Galatian was firmly Germanic. If English is more helpful than Irish for translating Galatian names that does not make Galatian particularly close to Old English. Over 500 years separate Brennus, Luturius, and their followers from the first written traces of Germanic languages. This is a gap at least as large as between modern English and Chaucer’s Middle English. Nevertheless, English is a good parallel for Galatian: both had a Germanic base with a top dressing of vocabulary from French and Greek, respectively.

If by some magic of time travel a telephone line could be set up between Deiotarus the Great in Galatia and Cassivellaunus in Britain, would they understand each other? Probably not. However, if they sent each other emails instead (without switching into Latin) they could probably decode each other’s words – but without much help from Celtic.

Acknowledgements
We thank Suzanne Miller and Luis Soria for helpful suggestions.

References:

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