Rhenus
（
Rhein in German,
Rhine in English).
1.
One of the great rivers in Europe, forming in ancient times the boundary between Gaul and
Germany, rises in Mount Adulas (St. Gothard), not far from the sources of the Rhone, and
flows first in a westerly direction, passing through the Lacus Brigantinus (Lake of
Constance) till it reaches Basilia (Basle), where it takes a northerly direction, and
eventually flows into the ocean by several mouths. The ancients spoke of two main arms into
which the Rhine was divided on entering the territory of the Batavi, of which the one on the
east continued to bear the name of Rhenus, while that on the west, into which the Mosa (Maas
or Meuse) flowed, was called Vahalis (Waal). After Drusus, in B.C. 12, had connected the
Flevo Lacus (Zuyder-Zee) with the Rhine by means of a canal (in making which he probably made
use of the bed of the Yssel), we find mention of three mouths of the Rhine. Of these the
names, as given by Pliny , are: on the west, Helium (the Vahalis of other writers); in the
centre, Rhenus; and on the east, Flevum; but at a later time we again find mention of only
two mouths. The Rhine is described by the ancients as a broad, rapid, and deep river. It
receives many tributaries, of which the most important are the Mosella (Moselle) and Mosa
(Maas or Meuse) on the left, and the Nicer (Neckar), Moenus (Main), and Luppia (Lippe) on the
right. Its whole course amounts to about 950 miles. The inundations of the Rhine near its
mouth are mentioned by the ancients. Caesar was the first Roman general who crossed the
Rhine. He threw a bridge of boats across the river, probably in the neighbourhood of Cologne.
(See
Pons.) There is a history of the river Rhine from
Keltic to modern times by Mehlis, 3 vols.
(Berlin, 1876-79).
2.
Reno, a tributary of the Padus (Po) in Gallia Cisalpina, near Bononia, on a small island in
which Octavianus, Antony, and Lepidus formed the celebrated Second Triumvirate.
