Probably not, but why risk it . . . Scrubbing old threads is really boring work. Content Removed by Author
I looked those up, and it sounds like they were completely different civilizations with different languages and cultures. It would be a little jarring to accurately represent one culture while calling it by the name of another culture, like calling the Macedonians the Aztecs or something. (Then again, Disney's Mulan got away with consistently referring to the Xiongnu as the Huns . . .)
My impression is that you've put a LOT of research and time into making sure your setting is historically accurate. It doesn't seem like a good idea to throw that all away just because you like a certain name. That said... I'm honestly not sure what you're getting at with all the oak and ash reference - I mean, I get that they're trees, but I don't understand the "play" you're referring to... So most readers aren't going to get your play on words. But they also aren't going to get upset about you moving a tribe somewhere. I think both of these points are only going to matter to a very small group of people - so the very people who are likely to appreciate your play on words are also the ones who are likely to be pissed off by your historical liberties. How are you going to feel about this? Will you be satisfied with your work if you make a compromise like this?
I think the question is really more of a reflexive one. Will it bother you to know that you have taken some license? I hazard that many, if not most, people would not know or be aware of the license you take. The names you already mention are unknown to me and I'm a pretty well educated fellah. And, yes, there is always going to be someone who notices, but do such people really make a crusade of things? Example: I'm just about done with Gemma File's utterly excellent Hexlsinger series. She's made extensive use of the mythology of the Maya, Mexica, Olmec, Tolmec and other cultures of Central and South America, but... for all the obvious research she put into her books she got some lousy advice/help as regards the odd bits of Spanish to be found therein. The translations were done by someone who clearly isn't a native speaker. And, come on... Spanish. Not exactly hard to find native speakers. We're a fecund people. But... I let it slide because the books are just so awesome otherwise. And this is me, a professional interpreter of Spanish. A man who makes his living, literally, out of being pedantic in several languages. And still, I would not crusade. Why? ETA: @BayView beat me to the punch.
Actually, I think you will get a lot of readers who know that "Helvetii" is associated with the land and people of Switzerland--- nothing strange about it. The country's official name in Latin is "Confoederatio Helvetica." And a heck of a lot of us have heard of or even have used the typeface Helvetica Medium (which thanks to MicroBloat has largely been supplanted by Arial). (See here.) The Helvetians were a seminal people group, and your target audience may be just the category who'd be annoyed at their being pushed out of their historical position.
Yes I agree with @Catrin Lewis. Helvetii means more to me than Alemanni. Swiss stamps say Helvetia on them. In Asterix in Switzerland - they're called Helvetians. Helvetii would give me no problems, and I'm not particularly a history buff.
Thanks--This is why I'm on a European forum. I doubt many Americans would catch this. I will use Helvetii, your arguments make sense and it is the historically accurate group of people.
