FINES
FINES in Gallia. D'Anville observes (
Notice, &c., Art.
Fines), that there would be an infinite number of places with this name, if, in addition to those which appear in the records of the Roman period, we were to enumerate all the instances in which this name occurs, and which the Roman records do not mention.
It is on the old roads between the towns that the Itineraries mark the places called Fines. D'Anville enumerates those that are so marked, proceeding in his enumeration from south to north.
1.
FINES is marked by the Antonine Itin. and the Table between Cabellio (
Cavaillon), and Apta Julia (
Apt). Cabellio belonged to the Cavares and Apta Julia to the Vulgientes, and Fines marked the limits of the two peoples.
In this and in other instances, owing to discrepancies in the Itins., and the want of any name corresponding to Fines, it is not possible to fix positions accurately; and it would be mere waste of time to give conjectures.
2.
The Jerusalem Itin. places Fines between Davianum [
DAVIANUM] and Vapincum (
Gap), but it does not appear what territories this limit separated.
3.
The Table places Fines on a road between Tolosa (
Toulouse) and Narbo (
Narbonne); and we may consider it, perhaps, as indicating the boundary between the dependencies of these two great cities.
The place cannot be found with certainty; but the Table makes it 15 from Toulouse to Badera, and 19 from Badera to Fines.
4.
The Table places Fines on a road from
Toulouse to Dibona, that is, Divona (
Cahors); and Fines is 28 from
Toulouse. This place must have marked the limit of the territory of
Toulouse on the road to
Cahors. The next station to Fines and 10 M. P. from it is Cosa (
Cos). Thus we get pretty near to the site of Fines. Walckenaer fixes it at a place called
Le Fau, that is, the limit.
5.
The Antonine Itin. and the Table place Fines on a road from Burdigala (
Bordeaux) to Aginnum (
Agen).
The determination of the position seems very doubtful. We must suppose that this place marked the limit of the territory of Aginnum, for it is the next place to Aginnum.
6.
The Table places Fines half way between Vesunna (
Perigueux) and Augustoritum (
Limoges), and we may conclude that it marked the limit of the territory of these two cities.
The place is not certain. Walckenaer fixes it at
Thiviers.
7.
The Table marks Fines on the road from Augustoritum (
Limoges) to Augustonemetum (
Clermont en Auvergne). From Acitodunum (
Ahun), the second place after
Limoges, to Fines is 20 Gallic leagues, a distance which, it is supposed, conducts us to the commencement of the territory of the Arverni, to which Augustonemetum belonged.
8.
The Antonine Itin. and the Table place Fines
[p. 1.901]between Limonum (
Poitiers) and Argentomagus (
Argenton en Berri); and half way between the two towns. D'Anville supposes that Fines may be represented by
Heins, which is situated at the boundary of the territory of the Pictones or Pictavi, to which Limonum belonged, and at the commencement of the territory of the Bituriges.
He adds, what seems probable, that
Heins may be a corrupted form of Fines.
9.
The Anton. Itin. places Fines between Condate Redonum (
Rennes) and Alauna [
ALAUNA], and 28 M. P. from
Rennes. There can be no doubt that Fines marks the limits of the territory of the Redones on the road to Alauna; and D'Anville supposes that it marks the boundary between the Redones and the Abrincatui. [
ABRINCATUI] D'Anville finds here also a place called
Wines or
Huines near the sea, which he supposes to represent Fines; but his argument is more ingenious than satisfactory. Walckenaer fixes Fines at
Antrain, which is in or very near to a straight line joining
Rennes and
Avranches.
10.
Fines occurs in the Table between Subdinnum (
Le Mans), the capital of the Cenomani, and Caesarodunum (
Tours), as Walckenaer has it (
Géog. des Gaules, &c. vol. iii. p. 60). D'Anville gives a different account of the matter, which is too obscure to be worth discussing. Walckenaer identifies Fines with
Château du Loir.
11.
The Table marks Fines between Genabum (
Orléans) and Agedincum (
Sens).
The distance of Fines from
Orléans is 15 M. P.
The place seems to be at the boundary between the dioceses of
Orléans and
Sens, for as a general rule the limits of the old French dioceses indicate the territory of the Gallic cities. Walckenaer places Fines in the Forest of
Orléans. The next place to Fines is Aquae Segeste [
AQUAE SEGESTE], and the next is
Sens.
12.
The Antonine Itin. places Fines between Au. gusta Suessionum (
Soissons) and Durocortorum (
Reims), 13 Gallic leagues from
Soissons, and 12 from
Reims. The inscription of
Tongern places Fines halfway between the two cities, the interval between which it makes 24 Gallic leagues.
There can be no doubt that a place named
Fismes represents Fines, for the distances agree as well as we can suppose that they should, when we do not know precisely the points in the two towns from which they were measured; and
Fismes is on the common boundary of the dioceses of
Soissons and
Reims.
13.
The Antonine Itin. places Fines between Virodunum (
Verdun) and Ibliodurum.
The next station to Ibliodurum is Divodurum (
Metz).
The distance from
Verdun to Fines is 9 Gallic leagues, and from Fines to Ibliodurum it is 6. Ibliodurum, as the name shows, is on a river; and it is supposed to be
Hannonville, at the passage of the
Iron. The numbers in the Itin. fix Fines at a place called
Marcheville, between
Verdun and the passage of the
Iron; and the word
Marcheville contains the Teutonic element
March or
Mark, which means a boundary or frontier.
It is probable that Fines marked the limits of the Virodunenses and the Mediomatrici, whose chief place was Divodurum.
14.
The Table places Ad Fines next to a place called Nasium (
Naix), on the river
Ornez, above
Bar-le-Duc. Nasium is one of the towns which Ptolemy assigns to the Leuci, who were south of the Mediomatrici. Walekenaer places this Fines, according to his exposition (
Géog. vol. iii. p. 87), between Nasium and Tullum (
Toul), and at a place called
Foug. D'Anville finds a place called
Feins, on the same side of the
Ornez; but its distance from
Naix does not agree with the 14 Gallic leagues of the Table.
15.
Both the Antonine Itin. and the Table place Fines between Vemania (
Immenstadt) and Vindonissa (
Windisch).
The stations are in this order:--Vemania, Brigantia (
Bregenz), Arbor Felix (
Arbon), Fines (
Pfin), Vitodurum (
Winterthur), and Vindonissa.
The two Itins. agree pretty nearly in the distance from Arbor to Fines. Arbor (
Arbon) is on the west side of the Lake of
Constanz, and
Pfyn or
Pfin is on the river
Thur, in the
Thurgau. D'Anville observes that the position of this place (Fines) indicates the boundary which the Romans had fixed between Maxima Sequanorum and Rhaetia; for it appears by the Notitia of the Empire, that a post which was established at Arbore (
Arbon), between Fines and Brigantia, was under the orders of the general who commanded in Rhaetia. [
G.L]
