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The Vends and the Romans

The Este Culture (Veneto) and its inscriptions
The Vendic Lady

by Dr. Jožko Šavli, FAS, KdB, FSAI
Fellow of the Augustan Society
Knight de Bryan
Fellow of Sodality of the Ark International

It is very probable that the ancient nation called Italics, which in pre-historic times apparently populated the Apennine Peninsula, did not exist at all. There is a possibility however, that the people, who settled here, spoke a very similar language, although archaeological researches confirm, that various ethnical groups colonized the peninsula. But to uniform the different tribes into a unique nation of Italics, the so-called ancestors of Latins (Romans) and, through them, the forerunners of modern Italians is an unfounded generalization. This must be regarded merely as an academic construct.

After 1200 BC this territory too was invaded by the bearers of the Urnfield Culture, they were people of Lusatian roots, who bore the true identification marks of the Vends or Veneti. On the Peninsula they joined with several ethnical groups, and together they advanced to Sicily, where the great urnfield of Milazzo as well as the nearby site of Venetico bear witness of their one-time presence. In the same part of the Peninsula and in Sicily traces remain of linguistic group settlements, and some Vendic names have been preserved until today. For example, the settlement called Polizzi (Palermo), Platì (Reggio Calabria) or Polia (Catanzaro)... In modern Slovenian language, which descends from the ancient Vendic, these names are still comprehensible, for example: polica, pronounce: politsa, still means a "terrace on a mountain declivity"; platì (pl.) means "a gentle place on a slope", and polja (pl.), pronounce: polya, simply means "fields", and so on. Even on the Capitol Hill in Rome and in the nearby Albanian Hills the Veneti established settlements. Thus, they could be considered as the founders of Rome!

North of the Apennines, in the very large Po Valley and in the nearby Alps, the Vends/Veneti instaured a compact settlement. The former people, however, were not annihilated, for the Vends, instead of having the desire to conquer land and people; they rather were striving to be the bearers of a new religious message. It seems that this message was the doctrine of the "salvation of the soul". The ancient people survived as a substratum, and they collaborated in the following cultural evolution in a certain manner, whereby their cultural components penetrated the Vendic superstratum, and gradually changed it. In this way, two or three centuries later, several regional cultures came to the forefront in the aforesaid area: the cultures of Villanova (Bologna), of Golasecca (Milan), of Este (Padova), and of Melaun (Trento) in the nearby Alps. They are named after the most important finding places. (In parenthesis we allege present-day large cities, where these places are to be found).

The potent Culture of Villanova extended toward the south as far as Rome. In today's province of Tuscany the substratum of the people of the former Belverde-Cetona Culture, probably called Tirrenians (Tyrhenians), influenced with their stone-culture a great deal the Venetic superstratum. And so, several centuries later, we still can distinguish two kinds of burial, a fact that testifies the presence of two nations in this territory: Tirrenians with skeleton graves and Veneti with urn graves. About ca. 700 BC the two different burial cultures disappeared, from here on the inhumation in sepulchral chambers indicates the integration of one unique nation. The well-known Austrian archaeologist R. Pittioni calls this new appearance the Marino Culture. It was the cultural foundation of the Etruscans, who evidently inherited their organisational power from the Veneti and their creative stone elaboration from the Tirrenians. - At the present-day Matej Bor, a Slovenian linguist, has deciphered such enigmatic Etruscan inscriptions in great numbers. A fact, which was carried out on the precondition that the Slovenian language had a very close resemblance with the ancient Vendic or Venetic tongue.

The Etruscans expanded toward North and occupied the town of Felsina (Bologna), they were also the builders of the nearby well-known port of Spina on the Adriatic Sea. Nevertheless, after 400 BC the Celtic invasion began. They settled in the territory of the Golasecca Culture, whose Venetic inhabitants there probably were the Ligurians. The Celts kept on marching into Etruscan territory, and the Etruscan town Felsina adopted the Celtic name Bononia. They also menaced Rome many times, until they were finally defeated by Telamon on the Tirrenian coast, in 225 BC. After this period, the irrepressible march of the Latins or Romans toward North began.

Venetia

Venetic "fashion" from the 4th century BC - a woman's costume of Este, elaborated after an ancient picture by Theatre "La Scala" in Milan, Este Museum (Italy)

The Celts undertook numerous incursions in the territory of Padania (Po Valley), but they were not able to occupy the area of the Este Culture (the present-day Veneto), because the population there had already advanced knowledge of good armour, and they knew how to defend themselves. The Veneti in the Este area seemed to possess very solid weapons - swords, shields, helmets, and harnesses, which were not made of common iron, but rather of real steel. The art and knowledge how to produce steel was already practised for quite some time by their neighbours in the Eastern Alps (Noricum). These weapons were much more resistant in fights in comparison with those of the Celts. Later, the Romans also imported steel from Noricum.

During the Celtic occupation of Padania the former Venetic social organization and cultural feature vanished gradually. Facts show, that the old Venetic name of the former inhabitants in Padania disappeared. It is true that the (continental) Celts and the Veneti spoke a very similar or nearby identical language, but the ethnical and social structures of one and the other were different. The Venetic people, who were subjected to the Celtic occupation, became ethnically expressed Celtized. Therefore, when the Romans arrived in Padania, they called only people living in the Este area "Veneti", because that was the one exceptional region that could free themselves from the Celts. Only they left traces behind of their Venetic ethnological and social peculiarities.

Romans and Veneti were united allies in the fights against the Celts, but the Romans did not occupy their Veneto territory (Este area). However, Veneto was integrated into the Roman Empire and the Romanization gradually began to be perceived. Two important Roman streets crossed Veneto: via Postumia (148 BC) and via Annia (128 BC). They were the strategic routes to Aquileia, the headquarters of the most important Roman military camps, ready for penetration toward east. With the lex Pompeia (89 BC) and with the lex Roscia (49 BC) the Veneti people became Roman citizens. Larger Venetic towns like Verona, Padova, Vicenza, Treviso, Oderzo (today's Italian names)... received the status of Roman municipia.

The Venetic inscription (Od 5) found in Ascoli Piceno, in southern Italy, from 89 BC The Venetic soldiers in a Roman legion stationed there engraved on two projectils, in Venetic and in Latin writing the name of their home town called Oterg or Optergn. The town is known by its Latin name Opitergium, today Oderzo, east of Treviso in the province of Veneto.

But the Romanization did not mean an immediate loss of the native Venetic language. In the countryside, the Venetic language remained preserved for a very long time indeed. The town folk evidently spoke two languages. Proof of this are the inscriptions in Roman (CIL IX, 6086; XXX, 8) and in Venetic (Od 5) script, which were engraved on the projectiles by various Venetic soldiers serving in the Roman army. They originated from Oderzo, what in Venetic language would mean Oterg or Optergn, later Opitergium, in Latin. The basic word of this name is "trg" (market), which still exists today in Slovenian (neo-Venetic) language. In other countries we find many double inscriptions, meaning, besides the Latin denomination appears also the Venetic one: P. Domitius P. (f.) Tergitio negotiator (CIL, III, 1251), from Scarbantia in Pannonia, and Veselia Felicetas (CIL, III, 3093), from Brac in Dalmatia. In today's Slovenian still exists the word veselje (delight), whereas "tergitio" took on already the forme of trgovec (merchant). These examples stimulated Matej Bor, a Slovenian linguist, to decipher Venetic inscriptions based on Slovenian language and its dialects.

In the countryside of Veneto, the original Venetic language survived until the Middle Ages. Even today, particularly in the Alpine area, many Venetic names (like in Slovenian) bear witness of these facts. The Venetic language also continued to live on among the inhabitants on the nearby isles, where the existence of a town, or maybe at that time still a village of Venice (Venezia) was recorded in 421 AD. They were certainly a Venetic and not a Romance (meaning people's Latin) speaking population, as the same name testifies. In 452 AD, when the incursions of the Huns under their leader Attila destroyed Aquileia, Altinum and other cities, consequently a large part of the Romance speaking people escaped to the isles and settled there.

The city of Venice expanded. Even though it formally pertained to the Roman (Byzantine) Empire, in reality it was a free independent city. As a matter of fact, Venice managed to conserve its original Venetic legal regulation and social organization. Thus, in spite of the numerous Romance-speaking refugees from the continent, where the Romanization in the municipia was prevalent already for a long time, it had no impact on Venice whatsoever. The administration of the city, which later also served as an example in the development of the Republic of Venice, was typical Venetic: the Maggior Consiglio (great council), the Minor Consiglio (minor council), the Signoria (governement), and the Doge (duke). Thus, the same administrative structure applied here as in a Venetic village, except on a much larger scale.

The development of the Republic of Venice was based on the Venetic social organization and juridical tradition. It was, in comparison to the feudal system of Europe, an incredible economical and political development. The key to success was very probable its free status, which gave initiative and self-confidence to the individual citizen.

In all the territory another type of Venetian language (which was of Romance origin) supplanted the original ancient Venetic tongue, and later spread with the commercial expansion of Venice to the whole Mediterranean. The Republic survived until 1797 AD, when Napoleon occupied the territory; after its downfall it never was restored again. In the contrary, the onetime so lively republic with its territories was incorporated into the new constituted Italy. Within the new state, the second Venetic language survived until after the WW2. Then, in public life, the Italians began to supplant it unfortunately. Today, the second Venetic tongue is once again close to, if not already dead.

The Inscriptions - It is very possible that the Venetic writing developed from identification marks on houses, or family markings for ownership purposes. Their origin goes back to the Stone Age, and they are still preserved today as signs of property and belonging. In Scandinavia they were called "bumerker" and can be found in the one-time Venetic territory of Northern Europe. It seems that the first nasal sound of the family name, to which the mark pertained, was identified with the same mark. Like in Greek, where the "a" origins from "alpha". In the Este area numerous Venetic inscriptions have been found. Nevertheless, the scientists were not able to decipher them. Then, Matej Bor adopted as basis of decipherment the Slovenian language (neo-Venetic), and the results answered to the mysterious question.

From many Venetic inscriptions that Matej Bor deciphered, the so-called Alphabetic Tablets from Este have been the starting-point. The inscriptions on the tablets contain the key word which was read as AKEO in more than one varieties. This word, Matej Bor read without O in the inverse way, as EKA, and considering the endings in the last row and the pronounce of the first sign "e" as "je" (like in Russian) he discovered the morphology of the verb jeka-ti (to groan), still present in Slovenian language. He omitted the row with O in the middle of the tablets, considering it a separation row from the upper and lower part of the tablet. - In my opinion, by choice also the O-row could be considered. In this case we have the morphology of the verb ojeka-ti (oyekati), which is still alive in my native country of Tolmin on the Upper Isonzo. There, nowadays pronunciation sounds like ujekat (to scream with an echo). When I discussed my point of view with Matej Bor, he had no objections.

The well-known alphabetic tablet Es 25 discovered in Este (5th century BC), in which appears, among other words, the morphology of the verb "jeka-ti" (to groan). Matej Bor, a Slovenian linguist, deciphered based on the Slovenian (neo-Venetic) language many other Venetian inscriptions and their meaning.

There are various tablets from the Este period in existence. Here we see reproduced the Es 25, on which we find the following grammatical forms of the verb "jeka-ti". Because the tablet is damaged, some of these forms had to be completed from other tablets, and so we have the following forms: jekaje, jekah, jekab, jekais, jekar, jekaš, jekap, jekaj, jekad, jekav, jekal, jekam, jekan, jekak. It is not easy to translate all these forms into English, jeka-je (groaning), jeka-h (he groaned, aorist), jeka-r (one who groans), jeka-š (you are groaning), jeka-m (I am groaning), jeka-d (a groaning group), etc.

A votive small bronze found in Caldevigo, that made up quarter of Este city (5th century BC). The statuette is called "dea di Caldevigo" (Goddess of Caldevigo). It is very probable that the goddess has been Reitia, the goddess-mother of Rhaetia (today Tyrol) and of Venetia (Veneto). Her name is often mentioned in the inscriptions.

Venetic ladies also made use of the writing. Proof of this are numerous inscriptions dedicated particularly to Reitia, the goddess mother of the Veneto province. In pre-Roman period, the Venetic lady was not only in charge of the home and the mother, but she also plaid an important role in her husband's life where she followed him very closely in his public charges. She was a perfect first lady, who fulfilled her task by exhibiting the prestige and the richness of the family.

The Venetic lady from a disk found in Montebelluna (4th century BC), near Treviso, province of Veneto. She appears "in fashion"of those times, very majestic, encircled by a dog and by a crane, that holds in the beak a branchlet of a linden. The linden tree was the tree of life of the ancient Veneti (Vends). The linden branchlet depicts also the margin of the disk.

According to the ancient legend, the Veneti (Vends) of this province supposedly have originated from the province Paflagonia, in Asia Minor. It is true, that the Greek writer Homer mentioned them in his Iliad. They were allies of Troy. But it has not been proven that they migrated to the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea after the fall of Troy, in 1184 BC, and established themselves there in the territory. Nevertheless, this legend is still repeated throughout the classics, and it is to be found in most publications today.