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In Ancient Rome, the Latin term vicus (plural vici) designated a village within a rural area (pagus) or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement.^[1] During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici.^[2] Each vicus had its own board of officials who oversaw local matters. These administrative divisions are recorded as still in effect at least until the mid-4th century.^[3]^[4]

The word "vicus" was also applied to the smallest administrative unit of a provincial town within the Roman Empire, referring to an ad hoc provincial civilian settlement that sprang up close to and because of a nearby military fort or state-owned mining operation.

Local government in Rome

Each vicus elected four local magistrates (vicomagistri) who commanded a sort of local police force chosen from among the people of the vicus by lot. Occasionally the officers of the vicomagistri would feature in certain celebrations (primarily the Compitalia) in which they were accompanied by two lictors.^[5]

Ad hoc settlements

These vici differed from the planned civilian towns (civitates), which were laid out as official, local economic and administrative centres, the coloniae, which were settlements of retired troops, or the formal political entities created from existing settlements, the municipia.^[6] Unplanned, and originally lacking any public administrative buildings, vici had no specific legal status (unlike other settlements) and often developed in order to profit from the presence of Roman troops. As with most garrison towns, they provided entertainment and supplies for the troops, but many also developed significant industries, especially metal and glass working. Some vici seem not to have had direct connections to troop placement (e.g., the Vicus Martis Tudertium).

Vici is the term used for the extramural settlements of forts for military units (e.g. alae and cohorts), while canabae is generally used to describe extramural settlements of the major legionary fortresses, e.g. Eboracum (York), Vindobona (Vienna), Durostorum (Silistra, Bulgaria).^[7]

Initially ephemeral, many vici were transitory sites that followed a mobile unit; once a permanent garrison was established they grew into larger townships. Often the number of official civitates and coloniæ were not enough to settle everyone who wished to live in a town and so vici also attracted a wider range of residents, with some becoming chartered towns where no other existed nearby. Some, such as that at Vercovicium (Housesteads), outgrew their forts altogether, especially in the 3rd century once soldiers were permitted to marry.

Early vici had no civilian administration and were under the direct control of the Roman military commander. Those that attracted significant numbers of Roman citizens were later permitted to form local councils and some, such as the vicus at Eboracum (York), grew into regional centres and even provincial capitals.

Modern placenames

The Latin term, pronounced with an initial 'u', was adopted into Old English as wic, wick, wich, or wych. It became one of the most widely occurring common placename elements, e.g. Wyck, Hackney Wick, Gatwick, Exwick, Wickham, Aldwych, Dulwich, Ipswich, Norwich, and indirectly York, from Eoforwic via Old Norse Jorvik. In the Brittonic languages, the cognate word is gwig in Welsh and Cornish and guic in Breton; all now meaning "village". In continental languages, the term became Old High German wih "village", Modern German Weichbild "municipal area", Dutch wijk "quarter, district", Old Frisian wik, Old Saxon wic "village".^[8]

References

^ Galsterer, Hartmut (2006). "Vicus". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12204300.
^ Paul Zoch, Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (University of Oklahoma Press, 1998), p. 233; Paul Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (University of Michigan Press, 1988), p. 155.
^ As recorded in the regionary catalogues; Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, "Emperors and Houses in Rome," in Childhood, Class, and Kin in the Roman World (Routledge, 2001), and "Domus and insulae in Rome: Families and Housefuls," in Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003).
^ J. Bert Lott (19 April 2004). The Neighborhoods of Augustan Rome. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82827-7.
^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, Vicus.
^ Wacher, John (1996). The Towns of Roman Britain. London: Routledge.
^ Roman Towns of Britain, Guy de la Bedoyère. ISBN 978 0 7524 2919 9 p 146
^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

[1] Galsterer, Hartmut (2006). "Vicus". Brill's New Pauly. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12204300.

[2] Paul Zoch, Ancient Rome: An Introductory History (University of Oklahoma Press, 1998), p. 233; Paul Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (University of Michigan Press, 1988), p. 155.

[3] As recorded in the regionary catalogues; Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, "Emperors and Houses in Rome," in Childhood, Class, and Kin in the Roman World (Routledge, 2001), and "Domus and insulae in Rome: Families and Housefuls," in Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003).

[Lott2004-4] J. Bert Lott (19 April 2004). The Neighborhoods of Augustan Rome. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82827-7.

[5] Oxford Classical Dictionary, Vicus.

[6] Wacher, John (1996). The Towns of Roman Britain. London: Routledge.

[7] Roman Towns of Britain, Guy de la Bedoyère. ISBN 978 0 7524 2919 9 p 146

[8] "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2012-11-07.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{short description|Kind of populated place in the Roman Empire}}
+{{short description|Ancient Roman term for a rural village or neighborhood}}
 {{For|the early Peruvian culture|Vicus (Peru)}}
 {{Roman government}}
-In [[Ancient Rome]], the '''''vicus''''' (plural ''vici'') was a neighbourhood or settlement. During the [[Roman Republic|Republican era]], the four ''regiones'' of the city of Rome were subdivided into ''vici''. In the 1st century BC, [[Augustus]] reorganized the city for administrative purposes into [[14 regions of Augustan Rome|14 regions]], comprising 265 ''vici''.<ref>Paul Zoch, ''Ancient Rome: An Introductory History'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 1998), p. 233; Paul Zanker, ''The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus'' (University of Michigan Press, 1988), p. 155.</ref> Each ''vicus'' had its own board of officials who oversaw local matters. These administrative divisions are recorded as still in effect at least until the mid-4th century.<ref>As recorded in the [[regionary]] catalogues; Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, "Emperors and Houses in Rome," in ''Childhood, Class, and Kin in the Roman World'' (Routledge, 2001), and "''Domus'' and ''insulae'' in Rome: Families and Housefuls," in ''Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue'' (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003).</ref><ref name="Lott2004">{{cite book|author=J. Bert Lott|title=The Neighborhoods of Augustan Rome|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nd0aDXbOSkC|date=19 April 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-82827-7}}</ref>
+In [[Ancient Rome]], the [[Latin]] term '''{{lang|la|vicus}}''' (plural '''{{lang|la|vici}}''') designated a village within a rural area ({{lang|la|[[pagus]]}}) or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Galsterer|first=Hartmut|date=2006|title=Vicus|journal=Brill's New Pauly|doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e12204300}}</ref> During the [[Roman Republic|Republican era]], the four {{lang|la|regiones}} of the [[History of Rome|city of Rome]] were subdivided into {{lang|la|vici}}. In the 1st century BC, [[Augustus]] reorganized the city for administrative purposes into [[14 regions of Augustan Rome|14 regions]], comprising 265 {{lang|la|vici}}.<ref>Paul Zoch, ''Ancient Rome: An Introductory History'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 1998), p. 233; Paul Zanker, ''The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus'' (University of Michigan Press, 1988), p. 155.</ref> Each {{lang|la|vicus}} had its own board of officials who oversaw local matters. These administrative divisions are recorded as still in effect at least until the mid-4th century.<ref>As recorded in the [[regionary]] catalogues; Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, "Emperors and Houses in Rome," in ''Childhood, Class, and Kin in the Roman World'' (Routledge, 2001), and "''Domus'' and ''insulae'' in Rome: Families and Housefuls," in ''Early Christian Families in Context: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue'' (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003).</ref><ref name="Lott2004">{{cite book|author=J. Bert Lott|title=The Neighborhoods of Augustan Rome|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8nd0aDXbOSkC|date=19 April 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-82827-7}}</ref>
-The [[Latin]] word ''vicus'' was also applied to the smallest administrative unit of a [[Roman province|provincial]] town within the [[Roman Empire]]. It is also notably used today to refer to an ''ad hoc'' provincial civilian settlement that sprang up close to and because of a nearby military [[castrum|fort]] or state-owned [[mining]] operation.
+The word "{{lang|la|vicus}}" was also applied to the smallest administrative unit of a [[Roman province|provincial]] town within the [[Roman Empire]], referring to an ''[[ad hoc]]'' provincial civilian settlement that sprang up close to and because of a nearby military [[castrum|fort]] or state-owned [[mining]] operation.
 ==Local government in Rome==
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==Ad hoc settlements==
-These ''vici'' differed from the planned civilian towns (''[[civitates]]''), which were laid out as official, local economic and administrative centres, the ''[[Colonia (Roman)|coloniae]]'', which were settlements of retired troops, or the formal political entities created from existing settlements, the ''[[Municipium|municipia]]''.<ref>{{Cite book| first = John| last = Wacher| authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1996| month = | title = The Towns of Roman Britain| chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = | publisher = Routledge| location = London| id = | url = }}</ref> Unplanned, and originally lacking any public administrative buildings, ''vici'' had no specific legal status (unlike other settlements) and often developed in order to profit from the presence of Roman troops. As with most [[garrison]] towns, they provided entertainment and supplies for the troops, but many also developed significant industries, especially metal and glass working. Some ''vici'' seem not to have had direct connections to troop placement (e.g., the [[Vicus Martis Tudertium]]).
+These ''vici'' differed from the planned civilian towns (''[[civitates]]''), which were laid out as official, local economic and administrative centres, the ''[[Colonia (Roman)|coloniae]]'', which were settlements of retired troops, or the formal political entities created from existing settlements, the ''[[Municipium|municipia]]''.<ref>{{Cite book| first = John| last = Wacher| year = 1996| title = The Towns of Roman Britain| publisher = Routledge| location = London}}</ref> Unplanned, and originally lacking any public administrative buildings, ''vici'' had no specific legal status (unlike other settlements) and often developed in order to profit from the presence of Roman troops. As with most [[garrison]] towns, they provided entertainment and supplies for the troops, but many also developed significant industries, especially metal and glass working. Some ''vici'' seem not to have had direct connections to troop placement (e.g., the [[Vicus Martis Tudertium]]).
-''Vici'' is the term used for the extramural settlements of [[castra|forts]] for military units (e.g. [[Ala (Roman allied military unit)|alae]] and [[Cohort (military unit)|cohorts]]), while [[canabae]] is generally used to describe extramural settlements of the major legionary fortresses (e.g. [[Eboracum]], [[Vindobona]], [[Durostorum]]).<ref>Roman Towns of Britain, Guy de la Bedoyere. {{ISBN|978 0 7524 2919 9}} p 146</ref>
+''Vici'' is the term used for the extramural settlements of [[castra|forts]] for military units (e.g. [[Ala (Roman allied military unit)|alae]] and [[Cohort (military unit)|cohorts]]), while [[canabae]] is generally used to describe extramural settlements of the major legionary fortresses, e.g. [[Eboracum]] ([[York]]), [[Vindobona]] ([[Vienna]]), [[Durostorum]] ([[Silistra]], Bulgaria).<ref>Roman Towns of Britain, Guy de la Bedoyère. {{ISBN|978 0 7524 2919 9}} p 146</ref>
 Initially ephemeral, many ''vici'' were transitory sites that followed a mobile unit; once a permanent garrison was established they grew into larger townships. Often the number of official civitates and coloniæ were not enough to settle everyone who wished to live in a town and so ''vici'' also attracted a wider range of residents, with some becoming chartered towns where no other existed nearby. Some, such as that at [[Vercovicium]] ([[Housesteads]]), outgrew their forts altogether, especially in the 3rd century once soldiers were permitted to marry.
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 ==Modern placenames==
 {{see also|-wich town}}
-The Latin term, pronounced with an initial 'u', was adopted into [[Old English]] as ''wic'', ''wick'', ''wich'', or ''wych''.  It became one of the most widely occurring common placename elements, e.g. [[Wyck, Hampshire|Wyck]], [[Hackney Wick]], [[Gatwick]], [[Exwick]], [[Wickham (disambiguation)|Wickham]], [[Aldwych]], [[Dulwich]], [[Ipswich]], [[Norwich]], and indirectly [[York]], from ''Eoforwic'' via Old Norse ''Jorvik''. In the [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] languages, the cognate word is ''gwig'' in Welsh and Cornish and ''guic'' in Breton; all now meaning "village". In continental languages, the term became Old High German ''wih'' "village", Modern German ''Weichbild'' "municipal area", Dutch ''wijk'' "quarter, district", Old Frisian ''wik'', Old Saxon ''wic'' "village".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |date= |accessdate=2012-11-07}}</ref>
+The Latin term, pronounced with an initial 'u', was adopted into [[Old English]] as ''wic'', ''wick'', ''wich'', or ''wych''.  It became one of the most widely occurring common placename elements, e.g. [[Wyck, Hampshire|Wyck]], [[Hackney Wick]], [[Gatwick]], [[Exwick]], [[Wickham (disambiguation)|Wickham]], [[Aldwych]], [[Dulwich]], [[Ipswich]], [[Norwich]], and indirectly [[York]], from ''Eoforwic'' via Old Norse ''Jorvik''. In the [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic]] languages, the cognate word is ''gwig'' in Welsh and Cornish and ''guic'' in Breton; all now meaning "village". In continental languages, the term became Old High German ''wih'' "village", Modern German ''Weichbild'' "municipal area", Dutch ''wijk'' "quarter, district", Old Frisian ''wik'', Old Saxon ''wic'' "village".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
 ==See also==
 * [[14 regions of Augustan Rome]]
 * [[Pagus]]
+* [[Roman Settlement of the Col de Ceyssat]]
 ==References==

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