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The 'Morini' were a Belgic tribe in the time of the Roman Empire. We know little about their language but one of their cities, Boulogne-sur-Mer was called ''Bononia'' by Zosimus and ''Bonen'' in the Middle Ages. Zosimus mentioned the Low Germanic character of the city (''Bononia germanorum''). Their civitas during the Roman Empire was Terouanne (Terwaan), today in France.
They were often mentioned by several Roman authors together with the Menapii, whose Germanic roots are known. Yet, a straightforward conclusion which would hold that the Morini also spoke a Germanic language is not warranted, given their name.
The Morini inhabited the low-lying plains and coastal wetlands awashed by tidal forces of the North Sea in the historic Flanders region (the province of West Flanders) of western Belgium and the present-day departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais of northernmost France. The word "Flanders" is a contraction of "flooded lands" and refers the north of the Morini territory.
The Morini builded their houses on the edges of the wet polders, on reclaimed land drained away for expandable farming, and on man made hills in the polders called ''pol'' or ''terp''. Remainders of those ''pols'' can still be observed.
The tribe's name ''Morini'' is derived from Gaulish and either meant the coastal people (from Gaulish ''mori'' "sea") or "inlet of the sea", akin to Welsh ''merin'' of the same sense. Through folk etymology, locals attribute it to the proto-Flemish word for polder 'moer'. A French part of the region is called ''Les Moëres''. The word is closely related to ''mare'' (Latin= sea), ''mere'' (lake), and ''marsh''.
They were successful farmers as polders are very fertile. Traces were found of dikes (dike (construction)). They traded with other tribes, like the ancient (Kentish) Britons of nearby Great Britain and the Batavi of present-day Holland.
The Morini were conquered by the Romans between the years 33-23 B.C. and their tribal lands became part of the Roman province of Belgae.
They were converted to Christianity by Saints Victoricus and Fuscian, but the region was re-evangelized by Saint Omer in the seventh century.
The tribe of the Morini still exists today. The modern Belgian province of West Flanders corresponds closely with the ancient territory of the Morini. A particular and difficult dialect of Dutch (Flemish) is spoken there. The inhabitants are known for their closed character.