Segovesus

Segovesus (Gaulish: 'Worthy of Victories') is a legendary Gallic chief of the Bituriges, said to have lived ca. 600 BC. According to a legend recounted by Livy, the king Ambigatus sent his sister's sons Bellovesus and Segovesus in search of new lands to settle because of overpopulation in their homeland. While Bellovesus is said to have led the Gallic invasion of northern Italy, Segovesus reportedly headed towards the Hercynian Forest, in Western Central Europe.[1]

According to an ancient tradition, modern southern Germany was settled by Celts as a consequence of this migration. Although the historicity of this legend is highly disputed,[1] the essence of the myth may have been based on actual events, for migrations actually occurred towards Bohemia and bordering regions of Central Europe during the first quarter of the 4th century BC.[2]

  1. ^ a b Spickermann 2006.
  2. ^ Kruta 2000, p. 240: "Discutée déjà ci-dessus, cette version paraît relever d'une construction érudite et ne trouve aucune correspondance dans la documentation archéologique. Trogue Pompée, considéré comme bien informé à cause de ses origines gauloises, reste vague quant à la date des événements, mais confirme que les deux migrations relevaient d'une même impulsion initiale et étaient à peu près contemporaines. Comme on a pu le voir dans le cas de la Bohême et de certaines régions limitrophes d'Europe centrale, il s'est effectivement produit vers la fin du premier quart du IVe siècle av. J.-C. un mouvement de populations d'une certaine ampleur en direction du cœur de l'Europe."