Roman Gaul, indigenous gods, pantheons, Romanization, Gaulish culture, Roman Empire, acculturation, religious history, William Van Andringa, Daniel Paunier, Celtic heritage
Reader
Abstract
Extract
of 2
Abstract
This chapter by William Van Andringa explores the integration of indigenous gods into Roman pantheons in Gaul, examining the religious transitions and acculturation processes during the Roman Empire.
Extract
[...] The collective work conducted by Daniel Paunier is part of this re-reading of Gaulish and Celtic history. In order to attribute full responsibility, in historiography, to these memorial traces that were gradually merged into the Roman whole, it was necessary to specify traits specific to each of these populations; singularities that form a mosaic in which the Roman Empire ultimately drew to restructure its own representation of the world and the cosmos. By relying on primary sources (including archaeological references) and secondary sources (in history, but also in ancient philosophy of religion), Van Andringa structures his analysis according to different historiographical traditions, including an influential Anglophone historiographical current in world history, while combining them with French historiographical classics, such as Paul Veyne. [...]
[...] New combinations, new statuses: the indigenous gods in the pantheons of the Roman cities of Gaul - W. Van Andringa (2005) William Van Andringa is a professor of ancient history and archaeology, and more particularly of Roman cultural and religious history, at the University of Jules Verne and attached to the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) in Paris. Author and contributor of scientific publications, the following text, 'New combinations, new statuses: the indigenous gods in the pantheons of the Roman cities of Gaul', in fact constitutes a chapter of the work conducted under the direction of the Swiss historian and archaeologist Daniel Paunier, Celts and Gauls: Archaeology facing History, Romanization and the question of Celtic heritage. [...]
[...] The thesis defended by the author can be summarized in three distinct points. Firstly, the acculturation of the populations of Gaul led to an adaptation of the indigenous pantheons to the new realities of the Roman master. Secondly, this adaptation of the pantheon is inscribed in a political will to pacify the relations between Rome and the newly conquered populations. Thirdly, this alloy at the level of religion contributed to forging a Gallo-Roman identity that was quite new and proper to make the Empire itself shine. [...]
