Namnetes

Namnetes were a Gaulish tribe of western Armorica in ancient Gaul. They inhabited a coastal and estuarine landscape around the lower Loire valley, in what is now western Loire-Atlantique and parts of eastern Brittany. Their main oppidum, Namnetum, stood at the site of present-day Nantes, a settlement whose name survives in the modern city.

In the late Iron Age and during the Roman conquest, they interacted with neighboring Armorican groups such as the Veneti and Redones. Caesar's writings refer to the Namnetes among the tribes of western Gaul. After submission to Rome, they became part of the civitas Namnetum, an administrative unit with Namnetum as its capital within the Roman provincial system.

They spoke a Gaulish language of the Celtic branch; their settlements included fortified oppida and river towns, and the economy relied on agriculture, fishing, and trade along the Loire and coastal routes. Artefacts and coin finds indicate participation in broader trade networks and cultural exchange within Armorica and the Roman world.

Legacy: The name Namnetes is the root of Nantes’s toponym, reflecting the connection between the tribe and the city. Their territory is a key element in Brittany’s ethnogenesis, shaping regional identity in the subsequent Roman and medieval periods. Archaeology across the region continues to reveal evidence of their settlements, fortifications, and daily life.