Cicolluis or Cicoluis (also known as Cicollus, Cicolus, Cicollui, and Cichol) is a
god in Celtic mythology worshiped by the ancient
Gauls
The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...
and having a parallel in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
Name
The
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...
theonym
A theonym (from Greek ''theos'' (Θεός), "god"'','' attached to ''onoma'' (ὄνομα), "name") is the proper name of a deity.
Theonymy, the study of divine proper names, is a branch of onomastics (the study of the etymology, history, and u ...
''Cicollu(i)s'' derives from the stem ''cico''-, itself from
Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed through the compar ...
*''kīko-'', meaning 'meat, flesh, muscle' (cf. Old Breton ''cic''-, Middle Welsh ''cig'' 'meat') and, by
metonymy
Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
Etymology
The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
, 'breast' (cf. Middle Irish ''cích''). It could be translated as 'Big-Muscle' or 'Great-Breast'.
Cult
In the
Gallo-Roman religion
Gallo-Roman religion is a fusion of the traditional religious practices of the Gauls, who were originally Celtic speakers, and the Roman and Hellenistic religions introduced to the region under Roman Imperial rule. It was the result of selective ...
, Cicolluis is thought to be a common
epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
for Gaulish
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
.
[Evans, Dyfed Lloyd. “Cicolluis: A Gaulish and Irish God, Also Known as Cicollus, Cicolus, Cichol (Great-Breasted).” ''Celtnet: Nemeton''. 22 May 2007 .] A
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
dedicatory inscription from
Narbonne
Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...
(which was in the far south of Gaul), France, bears the words
MARTI CICOLLUI ET LITAVI (“Mars Cicolluis and
Litavis
Litavis (Gaulish: ''Litauī'' 'Earth', lit. 'the Broad One') is a Gallic deity whose cult is primarily attested in east-central Gaul during the Roman period. She was probably originally an earth-goddess.' In medieval Celtic languages, various term ...
”).
[Koch, John T. ]
Ériu, Alba, and Letha: When Was a Language Ancestral to Gaelic First Spoken in Ireland?
''Emania: Bulletin of the Navan Research Group'' 9 (1991): 17–27.,[Gwinn, Christopher. “Re: Litavi.” '']LISTSERV
The term Listserv (styled by the registered trademark licensee, L-Soft International, Inc., as LISTSERV) has been used to refer to electronic mailing list software applications in general, but is more properly applied to a few early instances of ...
15.0: OLD-IRISH-L Archives''. 31 Dec. 2000, 13:48:19 −0500. L-Soft
The term Listserv (styled by the registered trademark licensee, L-Soft International, Inc., as LISTSERV) has been used to refer to electronic mailing list software applications in general, but is more properly applied to a few early instances of ...
. 22 May 2007 . “Mars Cicolluis” has dedications in
Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel.
Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...
, Germany, and
Aignay-le-Duc
Aignay-le-Duc () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aignacois'' or ''Aignacoises''.
Geography
The commune of Aignay-le-Duc is locate ...
(where his consort is given as Litavis) and
Mâlain
Mâlain () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.
Population
Sights
* The Château Fort Saint-Georges, or Château Fort de Mâlain, is a ruined castle with origins from the 11th century.
See also
*Communes of the Cô ...
(where his consorts are given as Litavis and
Bellona Bellona may refer to:
Places
*Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy
*Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia
*Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands
Ships
* HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...
, Roman goddess and personification of war) of the
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.[Chassey
Chassey () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Côte-d'Or department
The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France.
The communes cooper ...]
, Côte-d'Or,
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
, France, and a partial inscription from
Ruffey-lès-Echirey, Côte-d'Or, France, may be dedicated to Cicolluis. In
Windisch, Switzerland
Windisch is a municipality in the district of Brugg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.
Etymology
Windisch is situated at the site of the Roman legion camp Vindonissa. Originally a Celtic God, the name ''Vindos'' points to a widespread preh ...
, he is known as “Cicollus,” and in
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
, Côte-d'Or, France, he is known as ''Mars Cicoluis''.
Cicolluis may also be compared to
Cichol or Cíocal Gricenchos, the earliest-mentioned leader of the
Fomorians
The Fomorians or Fomori ( sga, Fomóire, Modern ga, Fomhóraigh / Fomóraigh) are a supernatural race in Irish mythology, who are often portrayed as hostile and monstrous beings. Originally they were said to come from under the sea or the eart ...
or Fomóiri (the semi-divine initial inhabitants of Ireland) in
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...
. According to the seventeenth-century Irish historian Seathrún Céitinn (also known by the English name
Geoffrey Keating
Geoffrey Keating ( ga, Seathrún Céitinn; c. 1569 – c. 1644) was a 17th-century historian. He was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and is buried in Tubrid Graveyard in the parish of Ballylooby-Duhill. He became an Irish Catholic priest and a ...
), Cichol arrived in Ireland with fifty men and fifty women on six boats a hundred years after the
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
. There, his people lived on fish and fowl for two hundred years until
Partholón
Partholón (Modern spelling: 'Parthalán') is a character in medieval Irish Christian legend. By tradition, he is credited with leading a large group to settle in Ireland. "Partholón" comes from the Hebrew name "Bartholomaeus" or "Bartholomew". T ...
and his people (who brought the plough and oxen) invaded and defeated the Fomorians in the Battle of
Magh Ithe
Mag Itha, Magh Ithe, or Magh Iotha was, according to Irish mythology, the site of the first battle fought in Ireland. Medieval sources estimated that the battle had taken place between 2668 BCE and 2580 BCE (''Anno Mundi'' 2530 or 2618). The opposi ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
A sectionof the
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...
relating to Ciccul Gricenchoss and its translation into English by Jonathan Slocum, Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel, and Caren Esser
Etymological translationsof “Cicolluis,” “Cicollus,” “Cicos,” etc. by Patrick Cuadrado (in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
automatic Google translation into English
{{Celtic mythology (ancient)
Gaulish gods
Tutelary deities
War gods