WI the Romans never expand north of Gallia Narbonnensis?

If Romans never expanded beyond the Mediterranean in Gaul, by 650 AD, the main languages will be

  • Celtic

    Votes: 15 46.9%
  • Germanic

    Votes: 13 40.6%
  • Latin

    Votes: 2 6.3%
  • something else entirely

    Votes: 2 6.3%

  • Total voters
    32

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
Among other effects, 700 years later, will the never Roman portions of Gaul north of the Rhone Valley and Mediterranean coast have a predominately Celtic, Germanic, Latin or entirely different speech?
 
There were Germans across the Rhine, that could mean something for the Celts. And there were the Germanic southern migrations into places like Helvetia for the Cimbri if they don't go to Italy. There's also Ariovistus crossing the Rhine. Lots of material for Germanic dominance.
 
There were Germans across the Rhine, that could mean something for the Celts. And there were the Germanic southern migrations into places like Helvetia for the Cimbri if they don't go to Italy. There's also Ariovistus crossing the Rhine. Lots of material for Germanic dominance.
There were tribes across the Rhine hardly any different from tribes on the "Celtic" side of the Rhine, that Caesar used as a convenient boundary to justify ending his conquests at the Rhine. @LSCatilina certainly knows way more about this than I do, but AFAIK, any cultural differences between the "Germans" and the Celts were fairly minor. Ariovistus was probably hardly the first person to lead his tribe across the Rhine in either direction at the behest of another tribe.

Among other effects, 700 years later, will the never Roman portions of Gaul north of the Rhone Valley and Mediterranean coast have a predominately Celtic, Germanic, Latin or entirely different speech?
It's hard to make broad sweeping statements regarding 700 years of history. IIRC from past discussions on this topic, Gaul would consolidate into ever larger, and fewer, confederations, similar to what happened opposite the Rhine frontier with the Germans. It in part depends on why the Romans don't move further into Gaul-do they collapse, say, with the Cimbri and Teutones wars?
 
Basically what @SlyDessertFox said.

The word Germania is derived from the Celtic - literally it means the "adjacent place". There were Celtic tribes in Germania as well - the early German tribes were mostly in the north and east of what is now Germany.
 

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
Or another option further back, the Gauls crush Rome and keep raiding Italy.

I mean, it could result in a mega-Gallic area, but perhaps migration to plunder Italy can leave Gaul itself more open to invaders from the north and east, some of whom may speak Germanic languages.
 
Top