Quaquerni
# Quaquerni

The Quaquerni or Querquerni were an ancient tribe of Gallaecia, living in the Baixa Limia region of southern Galicia, where the Roman fort of Aquis Querquennis has been found.

## Ethnonym

### Historical sources

The Quaquerni are also known by the name Quarquerni, Querquernoi, or Quacernoi. Their ethnonym is registered as Κουακερνοί (Kouakernoí), by Greek geographer Ptolemy in his Geographies. Scholars see a possible connection with Venetic Quarqueni, as registered by Pliny and located somewhere in historical Istria.

### Etymology

The name Querquerni is probably related to Latin quercus ("oak"), which stems from Proto-Indo-European root *pérkʷus, meaning "oak". It is probably a Q-Celtic formation meaning "the Oak People / Warriors", related to:

* Middle Irish ceirt "apple-tree", Middle Welsh perth "bush", from *kʷerxt-, from an earlier *kʷerkʷt- < *perkʷt-
* the Continental Celtic toponyms Hercynian forest and the Pannonian tribe Hercuniates, where the early delabialization of kʷ before u prevented p.. kʷ > kʷ .. kʷ: so *perkʷunia > *perkunia > *fercunia; note that there is no u after kʷ in *kʷerkʷern-. They are all related to the Germanic branch maybe borrowed from Pre-Celtic *percunia, that is to say : Gothic fairgunni "mountain (covered with oaks)", Anglo-Saxon firgen- "mountain wood", Old High German Fergunna, Virgundia waldus, etc.
* French place names derived from the forms Perciacum, Percoialum, Percunia, Percetum, Erciacum, etc.

## Location

Ancient sources tell of a place named Aquae Quarquernae. Alternate names are Aquis Querquennis and Aquis Cercennis.

## Relations to other tribes

The Quaquerni were a subdivision of the Gallaeci Bracarii.

