Matunos

Matunus or Matunos was a god in Brythonic Celtic polytheism. His name may be derived from the same root as Proto-Celtic *matu- meaning bear.[1] He was worshipped in Roman Britain and altar-stones raised to him have been recovered in the United Kingdom, such as at High Rochester (1265 [AD213]) and at Risingham.[2]

The god may be parallel with Mercury Artaius, who might also have ursine connotations.


A similarly named Gaulish god, Matutinus, is attested in at least three inscriptions from Switzerland; in all three he is identified with Mercury, and in one he is also identified with Cissonius.[3]

Sources

  1. ↑ Proto-Celtic—English lexicon from the University of Wales.
  2. ↑ BREMENIVM Roman Fort & Marching Camps, High Rochester, Northumberland, Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
  3. ↑ Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl. 2001. Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Editions Errance, Paris.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.