The Menapians (menapii) were a Germanic people from Belgium. They are mentioned by Caesar in the De Bello galico and he locates their territory in swamps along the coastal strip of the North Sea. It is possible that it was confused with the Scheldt estuary. Caesar and Tacitus mention the Menapians and Morins often together. It is likely that the two peoples got along well. The conquest of this region by the envoy of Rome was completed in eight years in the 50s BC. J.-C.. Menapians were also found in the North-East of Ireland. The civitas of the Ménapiens was organized around the oppidum of Cassel, in Morin territory. The number of inhabitants can be estimated at 75,000, their militia at 5,000-6,000.
Etymology of the name "Menapian"
First possibility:two Celtic words mel and apa. Both meant water. This is explained by the omnipresence of water in the swamps where the menapians settled. The word Ménapien therefore designates an inhabitant of swamps and wetlands.
Second possibility:two Germanic words:Mène + aap. Mène, mesnil, was a large house, hall, in the village, sometimes called the 'house of the chief', where the people of the village would meet. There they could watch trials, vote for their leader, learn about the war, etc. Aap is a Germanic word meaning ‘follower, pupil, lessee, imitator’ (later:monkey). The word would therefore indicate a social organization:those who organize themselves in a mesnil. This social organization was probably practiced throughout the Celtic world.
Their territory
Their territory extended around Ghent. This settlement area today coincides with the province of East Flanders (Belgium), while extending north to the mouth of the Scheldt (the large part of modern Zeeuws Vlaanderen). Caesar mentions Menapians north of the Eburons (north of the modern province of Belgian Limburg), but there it is probably another people without a specific name, having the same mores. The landscape compared to that of today (without cities):very flat, farms, fields, hedgerows, and few marshes (except in the north), limited forests. The soil is generally sandy. The valleys, great forests and swamps mentioned by Caesar are probably his invention as an excuse for the fact that the genocide ordered by himself had not 'succeeded'!
The language of the Menapians at probably been preserved in the modern dialect found throughout the modern province. This dialect is clearly distinguished from all other dialects in the Dutch language group.
Their neighbors
At the beginning of the conquests of Gaul by Caesar, the neighbors of the Menapians were:
* in the north the Batavians,
* to the east the Nervians,
* to the south the Atrébates,
* to the west, near the coast, the Morins.
Their way of life
The Menapians were sedentary and lived from animal husbandry and agriculture. They did not have cities, but preferred to live scattered, in hamlets, or farms. When there was danger of flooding, properties were built with half-buried courtyards on top of mounds of clay or sand, called "Donken" (river dunes).