TheLemovīcēs (Gaulish: *Lēmouīcēs, 'those who vanquish by theelm') were aGallic tribe dwelling in the modernLimousin region during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
They are mentioned asLemovices byCaesar (mid-1st c. BC) andPliny (1st c. AD),[1]Lemoouíkes (Λεμοουίκες) byStrabo (early 1st c. AD),[2] and asLimouikoí (Λιμουικοί) byPtolemy (2nd c. AD).[3]
TheGaulishethnonym *Lemouīcēs literally means 'those who vanquish by the elm', probably in reference to the wood from which were made their spears or bows. It derives from the stemlēmo- ('elm'; cf.OIr.lem,Middle Welshllwyfen) attached to the suffix-uices ('victors').[4][5][6] TheProto-Celtic stem*lēmo- or*limo- ultimately derives fromProto-Indo-European*h₁élem or*h₁leym- ('elm'; cf.Latinulmus 'elm',Old Norsealmr 'elm, bow',Russianil'm 'mountain elm').[5][6]
The city ofLimoges, attested ca. 400 AD ascivitas Lemovicum ('civitas of the Lemovices',Lemovicas in 844,Lemotges in 1208), and theLimousin region, attested in the 6th c. AD asLemovicinum (pago Lemovicino in 860,Lemozi in 1071–1127), are named after the Gallic tribe.[7]
They established themselves inLimousin andPoitou between 700 and 400 BC.[citation needed]
In 52 BC, some 10,000 Lemovician combatants fought againstJulius Caesar at theBattle of Alesia as allies to the Arverni under Vercingetorix.[8] Their chief,Sedullos, was killed during the battle.[9]
Their pre-Roman chief town wasDurotincum, probably corresponding to the oppidum ofVillejoubert.[10] After their incorporation into the Roman province ofAquitania, Augustoritum (Limoges) was the capital of thecivitas Lemovicum. In the 1st c. AD, it was administered by thevergobretus, and later by aduumviri.[9]
Briva Curretia (Brive; fromGaulishbriua 'bridge'), Blatomago (Blond) and Carovicus (Château-Chervix) are knownvici ('villages') of the Lemovician territory.[9]
Other locations associated with them were Acitodunum (Ahun), Argentate (Argentat), Cassinomagus (Chassenon), Roncomagus (Rancon), Excingidiacum (Yssandon) et Uxellum (Ussel). One of their main sanctuaries was recently found inTintignac including several unique objects in the world such as "carnyx".[11]
Their territory was a region rich in gold, tin and iron.[9]
Archaeologists during the latter part of the 19th century found gold mines in the Lemovician settlement in Limousin, particularly in the south-western region of the Massif Central in west-central France.[12] This discovery allowed the identification of techniques and the chronology of the mining activity because the Lemovices did not mention their mining heritage and their gold.[12]
