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The Morini were a Belgic tribe in the time of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy 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

Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France of the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais.The population of the city was 44,859 in the 1999 census, whereas that of the whole metropolitan area was 135,116....
 was called Bononia by Zosimus
Zosimus

Zosimus was a Byzantine Empire historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photios I of Constantinople, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury....
 and Bonen in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
. Zosimus
Zosimus

Zosimus was a Byzantine Empire historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photios I of Constantinople, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury....
 mentioned the Low Germanic character of the city (Bononia germanorum). Their civitas
Civitas

In the history of the Roman Empire, the Latin term civitas referred to the condition of Roman citizenship. It was also used to describe a type of settlement....
 during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 was Tarwanna or Tervanna, Thérouanne
Thérouanne

Th?rouanne is a communes of the Pas-de-Calais d?partement in the Pas-de-Calais d?partement in France in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France....
 (Terwaan in Dutch), today in France. "Ter" = Dutch for 'at the'; "wanna" = probably the old name for the local river, called today 'Petit Lys' (little Leie, tributary of the Schelde river).

The region around Boulogne and Calais
Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France 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....
 is known to be Flemish until the end of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
.






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The Morini were a Belgic tribe in the time of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy 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

Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France of the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais.The population of the city was 44,859 in the 1999 census, whereas that of the whole metropolitan area was 135,116....
 was called Bononia by Zosimus
Zosimus

Zosimus was a Byzantine Empire historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photios I of Constantinople, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury....
 and Bonen in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
. Zosimus
Zosimus

Zosimus was a Byzantine Empire historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I . According to Photios I of Constantinople, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury....
 mentioned the Low Germanic character of the city (Bononia germanorum). Their civitas
Civitas

In the history of the Roman Empire, the Latin term civitas referred to the condition of Roman citizenship. It was also used to describe a type of settlement....
 during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 was Tarwanna or Tervanna, Thérouanne
Thérouanne

Th?rouanne is a communes of the Pas-de-Calais d?partement in the Pas-de-Calais d?partement in France in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France....
 (Terwaan in Dutch), today in France. "Ter" = Dutch for 'at the'; "wanna" = probably the old name for the local river, called today 'Petit Lys' (little Leie, tributary of the Schelde river).

The region around Boulogne and Calais
Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France 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....
 is known to be Flemish until the end of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
. The region close to the Belgian border is still known today as French Flanders
French Flanders

French Flanders is a part of the historical, originally Dutch-speaking region Flanders in present-day France. The region today lies in the modern-day Regions of France of Nord-Pas de Calais, the Departments of France of Nord , and roughly corresponds to the Arrondissements of France of Arrondissement of Lille, Arrondissement of Douai and Arr...
.

Together with the Menapii
Menapii

Category:Tribes involved in Caesar's Gallic WarsThe Menapii were a Belgae tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman Empire times....
 they were mentioned in the Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico

Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of his nine years of Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. The Latin title, literally Commentaries about the Gallic War, is often retained in English translations of the book, and the title is also translated to About the Gallic War, Of the Ga...
 written by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
.

Etymology

The tribe's name Morini is derived from the Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European

Proto-Indo-European may refer to:*Proto-Indo-European language, the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages.*Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language....
 word *mor-i and either meant "sea" or "lake". The word occurs in most Proto-Indo-European languages either as *mori or *mari. (see Armorica
Armorica

Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire River rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast....
). The proto-Flemish word for "polder
Polder

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dike , that forms an artificial hydrology entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices....
" is moer (plural: moeren). A French part of the region is called Les Moëres. The name Morini probably refers to salty marshes and not to the sea itself. The "-in" in Morini is most probably a Germanic plural (similar to Old English plural. see English plural
English plural

In the English language, nouns are inflection for grammatical number?that is, Grammatical number or plural. This article discusses the variety of ways in which English plurals are formed....
, section: Irregular -(e)n plurals). In modern English Morini would mean polder people.

Location

The Morini inhabited the low-lying plains and coastal wetlands awashed by tidal forces of the North Sea
North Sea

The North Sea is a marginal sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean....
 in the historic Flanders
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
 region (the province of West Flanders
West Flanders

West Flanders is the westernmost Provinces of regions in Belgium of Flemish Region, in Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands, the Flemish Region province of East Flanders and the Wallonia province of Hainaut in Belgium, on France, and the North Sea....
) of western Belgium
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 and the present-day departments of Nord
Nord (département)

Nord is a departments of France in the far north of France. It was created from the western halves of the historical counties of County of Flanders and County of Hainaut , and the Archdiocese of Cambrai....
 and Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais

Pas-de-Calais is a Departments of France in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders....
 of northernmost France. The word "Flanders" is a contraction of "flooded lands" and refers the north of the Morini territory.

Way of life

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 Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and the Batavi of present-day Holland
Holland

Holland is a name in common usage given to two regions in the western part of Netherlands. The name 'Holland' is also often mistakenly used to refer to the whole of The Netherlands....
.

History

Caesar was very interested in that part of the Morini territory where the crossing of the sea to Britannia
Britannia

Britannia was the term originally used by the Roman Empire to refer to the island of Great Britain. The term was later used to describe a Roman province covering much of the island, apart from the area beyond the Antonine Wall belonging to the Picts in the north, which was known as Caledonia....
 was "the shortest" , now known as the present-day region of Calais
Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France 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

Boulogne-sur-Mer is a city in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France of the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais.The population of the city was 44,859 in the 1999 census, whereas that of the whole metropolitan area was 135,116....
, 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

Category:Tribes involved in Caesar's Gallic WarsThe Menapii were a Belgae tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman Empire times....
 was well protected by marshes and woodland and suited for guerilla tactics. The dangers outweighed the benefits of subduing those economically less interesting regions. In 55 BC Labienus
Titus Labienus

Titus Labienus was a professional Ancient Rome 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 , born around 82 BC, died 46 BC, was tribal chief of the Arverni, originating from the Arvernian city of Gergovia and known as the man who led the Gauls in their ultimately unsuccessful war against Roman republic rule under Julius Caesar....
, the Morini sent a contingent of some 5000 (or 7000?) men to the relief force which had to liberate Alesia
Alesia

Alesia may refer to:*the city of Alesia in Gaul*the Battle of Alesia*the Al?sia in the Paris M?tro*rue d'Al?sia, Paris*le Carrefour Al?sia, popular name for Place H?l?ne et Victor Basch, Paris...
.

Caesar gave some interesting details: The tribe counted some pagi (subregions), which, apparently, could make their own decisions. The Morini fled into or behind the "moeren" 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 Gaul, 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....
, Namnetes, 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 Armorica states whom Caesar attacked....
 and Menapii
Menapii

Category:Tribes involved in Caesar's Gallic WarsThe Menapii were a Belgae tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman Empire times....
) 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 Aremorica. They gave their name to the modern city of Vannes....
. 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 Departments of France 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 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 in the 1st century BC, and later also in Roman Britain. They gave their name to the Roman province of Gallia Belgica, and later, to the modern country of Belgium, where they are colloquially known as the "Old Belgians"....
.

They were converted to Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 by Saints Victoricus and Fuscian
Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian

Saints Victoricus , Fuscian and Gentian are venerated as martyrs by the Catholic Church. Their calendar of saints falls on December 11.According to tradition, Victoricus and Fuscian were missionaries from the city of Rome who were preaching the Christian faith in the city of Therouanne and in the areas inhabited by the people known as...
, but the region was re-evangelized by Saint Omer
Saint Omer

The name Saint Omer may refer to:* Saint Audomare, the seventh century saint whose name is often shortened as "St. Omer"* Saint-Omer, a French town...
 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
West Flanders

West Flanders is the westernmost Provinces of regions in Belgium of Flemish Region, in Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands, the Flemish Region province of East Flanders and the Wallonia province of Hainaut in Belgium, on France, and the North Sea....
, which corresponds closely to the ancient territory of the Morini. They speak a particular and difficult dialect ("West-Vlaams") of Dutch. According to Stephen Oppenheimer
Stephen Oppenheimer

Stephen Oppenheimer , a British physician, a member of Green College, Oxford and an honorary fellow of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, carries out and publishes research in the field of genetics....
 their genetic signature is virtually identical to the people of south-east Britain (Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England 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 River Thames estuary....
).

See also

  • Nehalennia
    Nehalennia

    Nehalennia is a Germanic paganism or Celtic polytheism goddess attested by votive deposits discovered around what is now called the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands, where the Rhine River flowed into the North Sea, whose worship dates back at least to the 2nd century BCE, and who flourished in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE....