The Budenicenses were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the present-day Gard department, near Nemausos (modern Nîmes), during the Roman period.

Name

They are attested as Budenicenses on an inscription found in Collias (Gard). A dedication to the god Mars Budenicus was also discovered in the same town.[1][2] The latter is probably a Celtic rendering of Mars Militaris.[2][3]

The ethnonym Budenicenses derives from the Celtic term *budīnā, meaning 'troop, host', probably 'troop guarding the frontier' (cf. Old Irish buiden, Middle Welsh byddin 'troop, army'; Late Latin bodǐna 'boundary marker' > French borne, a loanword from Gaulish).[4]

The town of Bezouce (Gard), attested as Biducia in 1146 CE, is named after the Gallic tribe.[4]

References

  1. ^ CIL, 12:2972; 12:2973.
  2. ^ a b Fleuriot 1982, p. 121.
  3. ^ de Bernardo Stempel 2008, p. 102.
  4. ^ a b Delamarre 2003, p. 93.

Bibliography

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