Gaulish and Latin in the Mittelland

The turn of the millennium at the beginning of our era was a turbulent time in what is now the Swiss Mittelland. The Roman general Gaius Julius Caesar had already around 45/44 BC. Individual Roman colonies were founded in this area, especially in the first century BC Noviodunum (today Nyon) on Lake Geneva and Raurica (later Augusta Raurica, today August) on the Rhine. But it was the first Roman emperor, Augustus, who came to power in 15 BC. BC had troops advance from Nyon and across the Alps and within two years made the entire area of ​​present-day Switzerland, including the Central Plateau, a Roman province.

Until then, Gallic tribes had settled here, especially the Helvetians and the Raurakians. The Roman conquest had little impact on the ethnic composition of the population. The upper class still consisted of local elites. But now Roman soldiers, veterans and traders also settled, and officials came with the Roman government. The Romans brought with them new institutions, laws, religious practices and lifestyles, as well as new forms of art, architecture and technology. This led to a mixing of local and Roman culture and a new Gallo-Roman culture developed.

Together with trade, but especially with government and religion, the language of the Roman Empire, Latin, also emerged and gradually spread at the expense of the previously spoken Gaulish. The Gallic upper class in particular quickly adopted the new language, and within a short time Gaulish was driven out of public life and replaced by the more prestigious Latin. However, it continued to be used in the private sector for a long time.

The Gaulish language is best known through numerous inscriptions from France. The Gauls had not developed their own script, but used the Greek alphabet and later the Latin alphabet. Inscribed finds on the Swiss plateau are rare. After all, a sword with the Gallic name was found in Port near Biel Korisios in Greek script. Also written in the Greek alphabet, but in Gaulish, is an inscription on a zinc tablet found on the Enge Peninsula in Bern. It is a dedicatory inscription for the Gallic blacksmith god Gobannos.

Later written evidence uses the Latin alphabet. A Roman villa at Meikirch near Bern contains wall paintings and five inscriptions, some difficult to read, which apparently contain Gaulish language in addition to Latin and Greek. The shape is especially remarkable cardobi ‘with the sons’, which is not only the Gaulish word for ‘son’, but also a typically Gaulish case form -bi shows that this does not exist in Latin.

A fragmentary graffiti on a mural from the Roman settlement of Augusta Raurica shows that Gaulish was spoken until the 3rd century AD. It contains the Gaulish word ponc “ash”.

Gradually people began to write in Latin, especially in official contexts. Inscriptions in honor of the Gallic bear goddess, for example Artio from Muri near Bern or to the also Gallic horse goddess Epona from Basel and Solothurn are written in this language. Funerary inscriptions on the Swiss plateau were only documented in Roman times and exclusively in Latin, even though the deceased or their relatives still have Gaulish names such as Caratilius, Visurix, Prittusa, Ioincatione or Matugenia wear. The naming alone does not prove that the bearers of the name still spoke Gaulish, as naming traditions can survive a language change.

A short inscription on a wreath from Nyon provides good evidence that the Swiss plateau was bilingual in the 3rd century AD and that Gaulish and Latin coexisted. Spindle whorls are usually made of baked clay and were used to weigh down hand spindles. Written wreaths are mainly known from France, although the texts are generally aimed at girls and sometimes contain erotic allusions.

The Nyon copy consists of a Latin and a Gaulish word: hello vimpi. Ave is the Latin greeting, while it is vimpi is a Gaulish word meaning ‘the beautiful’. As a whole, the inscription can be read as “Hail, beautiful!” to be understood.

Gaulish eventually died out completely, although we do not know exactly who spoke it alongside Latin, for how long and to what extent. By the 5th century AD at the latest, Latin was probably fully established on the Swiss plateau.