TheCoriosolites orCuriosolitae were aGallic people dwelling on the northern coast of present-dayBrittany during theIron Age and theRoman period.
They are mentioned asCoriosolitas (var.coriosolitos,curiosolitas,curiosolitas) andCoriosolites (var.coriosultes,coricoriosuelites,cariosu-) byCaesar (mid-1st c. BCE),[1] and asCoriosvelites byPliny (1st c. CE).[2][3]
The etymology of theethnonymCoriosolites remains uncertain. The first element is certainly theGaulish rootcorio- ('army, troop'), derived fromProto-Indo-European *kóryos ('army, people under arms').[4] However, the meaning of the second element is unclear.Pierre-Yves Lambert has proposed to interpretcorio-solit-es as 'those who purchase (or sell) mercenaries', by positing a Gaulish stemsolitu- ('purchase/salary of mercenaries'; cf. Gaul.soldurio- <*soliturio- 'body-guard, loyal, devoted',OBret.solt 'solidus').[5] Alternatively, a connection with the Gaulish stemsūli- ('[good] sight'; cf.OIr.súil, 'sight',Britt.Sulis) has also been conjectured, withcorio-soli-tes as the 'troop-watchers', 'those who watch over the troop'.[3]
The city ofCorseul, attested ca. 400 AD ascivitas Coriosolitum ('civitas of the Curiosolites',Aecclesia Corsult ca. 869,Corsout in 1288) is named after the Gallic tribe.[6]
The Coriosolites are mentioned by Caesar together with theVeneti,Unelli,Osismi, and others that Caesar callsmaritimae civitates, "maritime cities", which border on theAtlantic Ocean.[7] Elsewhere he describes the position of the Coriosolites on the ocean in the same terms, and includes them among theArmoric states, a name equivalent tomaritimae.[8]Pliny mentions them with the Unelli,Diablindi, andRhedones.[2]
The ancient settlement of Corseul was most likely establishedex nihilo by the Roman authorities during the reign ofAugustus, as the capital of thecivitas Coriosolitum.[9] The town is generally identified with the settlement ofFanum Martis ('temple ofMars') mentioned on theTabula Peutingeriana (5th c. AD). Due to the lack of earlyepigraphic record, however, the original Gaulish name of the town remains unknown.[10] Corseul reached a size of 47 ha in the first centuries of theCommon Era.[11]
Around 340 AD, the capital of thecivitas was moved toAleth (Saint-Servan), situated on the coast.[10]
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