Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 27, 2026

Catenates

The Catenates or Cattenates were a Gallic tribe dwelling between the Isar and Inn rivers during the Iron Age.

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Jun 27, 2026
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The Catenates or Cattenates were a Gallic tribe dwelling between the Isar and Inn rivers during the Iron Age.

Name

They are mentioned as Catenates (var. catte-) by Pliny (1st c. AD).12

The ethnic name probably contains the Gaulish stem catu-, meaning 'battle'.32 Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel has proposed to interpret the name as *Catu-(g)nat-es ('those born in battle').4

Geography

The Catenates lived between the Isar and Inn rivers. Their territory was located south of the Rucinates, east of the Vindelici, north of the Baiovarii.5 They were part of the Vindelici.6

History

They are mentioned by Pliny the Elder as one of the Alpine tribes conquered by Rome in 16–15 BC, and whose name was engraved on the Tropaeum Alpium.1

References

References

  1. Pliny. Naturalis Historia, 3:20.
  2. Falileyev 2010, s.v. Cat(t)enates.
  3. Evans 1967, p. 174.
  4. de Bernardo Stempel 2015, p. 91.
  5. Talbert 2000, Map 12: Mogontiacum-Reginum-Lauriacum.
  6. Schumacher, Dietz & Zanier 2007.

Primary sources

Bibliography

  • de Bernardo Stempel, Patrizia (2015). "Zu den keltisch benannten Stämmen im Umfeld des oberen Donauraums". In Lohner-Urban, Ute; Scherrer, Peter (eds.). Der obere Donauraum 50 v. bis 50 n. Chr. Frank & Timme. ISBN 978-3-7329-0143-2.
  • Evans, D. Ellis (1967). Gaulish Personal Names: A Study of Some Continental Celtic Formations. Clarendon Press. OCLC 468437906.
  • Falileyev, Alexander (2010). Dictionary of Continental Celtic Place-names: A Celtic Companion to the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. CMCS. ISBN 978-0955718236.
  • Schumacher, Stefan; Dietz, Karlheinz; Zanier, Werner (2007). "Vindeliker". In Beck, Heinrich (ed.). Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. Vol. 35 (2 ed.). De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3110187847.
  • Talbert, Richard J. A. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691031699.