Morini
Encyclopedia
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. We know little about their language but one of their cities, Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
was called Bononia by Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
and Bonen in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Zosimus
Zosimus
Zosimus was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.- Historia Nova :...
mentioned the Low Germanic character of the city (Bononia germanorum). Their civitas
Civitas
In the history of Rome, the Latin term civitas , according to Cicero in the time of the late Roman Republic, was the social body of the cives, or citizens, united by law . It is the law that binds them together, giving them responsibilities on the one hand and rights of citizenship on the other...
during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
was Tarwanna or Tervanna, Thérouanne
Thérouanne
Thérouanne is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Thérouanne is located 10 miles southwest of Saint-Omer, on the D157 and D341 road junction.-Population:-History:...
(Terwaan in Dutch), today in France.
Together with the Menapii
Menapii
The Menapii were a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman times. Their territory according to Strabo, Caesar and Ptolemy stretched from the mouth of the Rhine in the north, and southwards along the west of the Schelde. Their civitas under the Roman empire was Cassel , near Thérouanne...
they were mentioned in the Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
written by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
.
Etymology
The tribe's name Morini is derived with suffix -no- (like other Celtic peoples Ruteni, Santoni, Turini or Tigurini) from the Celtic word mori "sea" , mentioned in The Vienna Glossary as more translated mare "sea" in Latin. Another derived word morici exists and is translated marini "sailors". Morini represents another variation and it means "those of the sea". The variation morici is found in AremoriciArmorican
Armorican may refer to the following:*Armorica, an ancient region of northwestern France*Armorican, another name for the Breton language*Armorican , a French breed of cattle...
"those who live in front of the sea" (Celtic are "in front of", "along"). Mori is a close relative of Welsh môr, Breton and Cornish mor, Irish muir. The Indo-European prototype was perhaps *mori (or less probably *mari) that gave also birth to Germanic *mari or *meri : English mere
Mere (lake)
Mere in English refers to a lake that is broad in relation to its depth, e.g. Martin Mere. A significant effect of its shallow depth is that for all or most of the time, it has no thermocline.- Etymology :...
, German Meer, etc..Old Slavic morje, etc.
Location
The Morini inhabited the low-lying plains and coastal wetlands washed by tidal forces of the North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
in the historic Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
region (the province of West Flanders) of western Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the present-day departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais of northernmost France. The word "Flanders" is a contraction of "flooded lands" and refers the north of the Morini territory.
Culture
The Morini lived in grass hut villages on seashores, on reclaimed land drained away for expandable farming, and on small islands surrounded by ponds. Because of their home range consists of this type of terrain.The Morini built their houses on the edges of the wet polders, on reclaimed land drained away for expandable farming, and on man made hills in the polders called pol or terp. Remainders of those pols can still be observed.
They were successful farmers as polders are very fertile. Traces were found of dikes and Roman ditches. They traded with other tribes, like the ancient (Kentish) Britons of nearby England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the Batavi and Salinians of present-day Holland.
History
Caesar was very interested in that part of the Morini territory where the crossing of the sea to BritanniaBritannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
was "the shortest", now known as the present-day region of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. The Morini had several harbours of which Portus Itius, the modern city of Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, was only one of them. Caesar wanted to induce mainly fear in the northern Morini so "that they wouldn't attack him." The territory of the Morini and Menapii
Menapii
The Menapii were a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman times. Their territory according to Strabo, Caesar and Ptolemy stretched from the mouth of the Rhine in the north, and southwards along the west of the Schelde. Their civitas under the Roman empire was Cassel , near Thérouanne...
was well protected by marshes and woodland and suited for guerrilla tactics. The dangers outweighed the benefits of subduing those economically less interesting regions. In 55 BC Labienus
Titus Labienus
Titus Atius Labienus was a professional Roman soldier in the late Roman Republic. He served as Tribune of the Plebs in 63 BC, and is remembered as one of Julius Caesar's lieutenants, mentioned frequently in the accounts of his military campaigns...
tightened the Roman grip upon the strategically more important western side of the Morini tribal areas. In 54 BC Caesar let one legion, under the command of legate Caius Fabius, hibernate there. In 53 BC the Morini were joint most probably with the Menapii under the command of the Atrebate Commius. During the great Gallic rebellion led by Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars....
, the Morini sent a contingent of some 5000 (or 7000?) men to the relief force which had to liberate Alesia
Alesia
-Places:France*Alesia , an ancient city in Gaul**Battle of Alesia*Alésia , a station in the Paris Métro*Rue d'Alésia, Paris*Le quartier Alésia, an unofficial district of Paris that mostly overlaps Petit-MontrougeUnited States...
.
Caesar gave some interesting details: The tribe counted some pagi
Pagus
In the later Western Roman Empire, following the reorganization of Diocletian, a pagus became the smallest administrative district of a province....
(subregions), which, apparently, could make their own decisions. The Morini fled into or behind the "moeren" (marsh or morass) and became unreachable for the Roman army. In 56 BC, when autumn was very wet, this tactic worked. The year after, which was much dryer, it failed. The Morini would have participated together with other coastal people (Lexovii
Lexovii
The Lexovii , were a Celtic people, on the coast of Gallia, immediately west of the mouth of the Seine. When the Veneti and their neighbors were preparing for Julius Caesar's attack , they applied for aid to the Osismii, Lexovii, Namnetes, and others. The Lexovii , were a Celtic people, on the...
, Namnetes
Namnetes
The Namnetes were a tribe of ancient Gaul, living in the area of the modern city of Nantes near the river Liger .They were neighbours to the Veneti people , the Redones , the Andecavi and the Pictones ....
, Ambiliati, Diablintes
Diablintes
The Diablintes or Diablintres or Diablindi or Aulerci Diaulitae were an ancient people of Gaul, a division of the Aulerci. Julius Caesar mentions the Diablintes among the allies of the Veneti and other Armoric states whom Caesar attacked. The Diablintes are mentioned between the Morini and Menapii...
and Menapii
Menapii
The Menapii were a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman times. Their territory according to Strabo, Caesar and Ptolemy stretched from the mouth of the Rhine in the north, and southwards along the west of the Schelde. Their civitas under the Roman empire was Cassel , near Thérouanne...
) and tribes from Britain, in the uprising of the Veneti
Veneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
. Theoretically, the named people were involved in trade and transport to south Britain, an activity Caesar wanted for himself.
Although Caesar fought the Morini, he managed to conquer only a part of their territory around Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. The rest of the Morini were annexed by emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
between the years 33-23 B.C. and their tribal lands became part of the Roman province of Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
.
They were converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
by Saints Victoricus and Fuscian
Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian
Victoricus , Fuscian and Gentian are venerated as martyrs by the Catholic Church...
, but the region was re-evangelized by Saint Omer
Saint Audomare
Saint Audomar , better known as Saint Omer, was a Burgundy-born bishop of Thérouanne, after whom nearby Saint-Omer in northern France was named.-Biography:...
in the seventh century.
Modern Morini
The tribe of the Morini persists today in the indigenous people of the modern Belgian province of West Flanders, which corresponds closely to the ancient territory of the Morini. They speak a particular and difficult dialect ("West-Vlaams") of Dutch. According to Stephen OppenheimerStephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer is a British paediatrician, geneticist, and writer. He is a member of Green Templeton College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and carries out and publishes research in the fields of genetics and human prehistory.-Career:Oppenheimer...
their genetic signature is virtually identical to the people of south-east Britain (Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
).