Everything about The Morini totally explained
The
Morini were a
Belgic tribe in the time of the
Roman Empire. We know little about their language but one of their cities,
Boulogne-sur-Mer was called
Bononia by
Zosimus and
Bonen in the
Middle Ages.
Zosimus mentioned the
Low Germanic character of the city (
Bononia germanorum). Their
civitas during the
Roman Empire was
Terouanne (Terwaan), today in France. The region is known to be Flemish until the end of the
Middle Ages.
Together with the
Menapii they were mentioned in the
Commentarii de Bello Gallico written by
Julius Caesar.
Etymology
The tribe's name
Morini is derived from the
Proto-Indo-European 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). The proto-Flemish word for "
polder" 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 (today written '-en' like in
children).
Location
The Morini inhabited the low-lying plains and coastal wetlands awashed by tidal forces of the
North Sea in the historic
Flanders region (the province of
West Flanders) of western
Belgium 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.
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. They traded with other tribes, like the ancient (Kentish)
Britons of nearby
Great Britain and the
Batavi of present-day
Holland.
History
Caesar was very interested in that part of the Morini territory where the crossing of the sea to
Britannia was "the shortest", now known as the present-day region of
Calais. The Morini had several harbours of which
Portus Itius, the modern city of
Boulogne, 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 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 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, the Morini sent a contingent of some 5000 (or 7000?) men to the relief force which had to liberate
Alesia.
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,
Namnetes,
Ambiliati,
Diablintes and
Menapii) and tribes from Britain, in the uprising of the
Veneti. 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. 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.
They were converted to
Christianity by
Saints Victoricus and Fuscian, but the region was re-evangelized by
Saint Omer 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 Oppenheimer their genetic signature is virtually identical to the people of south-east Britain (
Kent).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Morini'.
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