GUGERNI
Eth.
GUGERNI Tacitus (
Tac. Hist. 4.28), in his history of the insurrection of Civilis, speaks of the Roman commander Vocula encamping at Gelduba, and thence attacking the nearest districts of the Gugerni, who had joined Civilis. They were Germans who lived on the west side of the Rhine, in the Lower Germania, as appears from Tacitus (4.28, 5.16). They are mentioned by Pliny (
4.17) in this order: “Ubii, Colonia Agrippinensis, Gugerni, Batavi,” which shows that they were between
Cologne and the Batavorum Insula. We may infer from Tacitus (
Tac. Hist. 4.28) that Gelduba [
GELDUBA] was south of the boundary of the Gugerni, but not far from it.
There is no record of these Germans passing the Rhine, and they are not mentioned by Caesar. Sue. tonius (
August, 100.21;
Tiber. 100.9) speaks of Ubii and Sicambri submitting to the Romans, and being transplanted to the west side of the Rhine.
In the first passage of Suetonius some read “Suevos et Sicambros,” in place of “Ubios et Sicambros.” It is an old conjecture that these Gugerni were transplanted Sicambri; which may be true, or it may not. More probably not true; for why should they change their name, when the Ubii did not? If the true reading in Suetonius is “Suevos,” the Gugerni may be one of the pagi of the Suevi.
But the true reading is probably “Ubios.” We may suppose then that other tribes may have been transplanted besides Ubii and Sicambri, for a great many Germans were settled on the left bank of the Rhine in the time of Augustus.
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G.L]
