Veraudunus is the name of a
Celtic god
The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheon ...
known only from two votive inscriptions found in
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. One of these inscriptions suggests that ‘Veraudunus’ may have been an epithet of the important
Treveran god
Lenus
Lenus ( grc, Ληνός) was a Celtic healing god worshipped mainly in eastern Gaul, where he was almost always identified with the Roman god Mars.
Name
The theonym ''Lenos'' may derive from a stem ''lēno''-, which could mean 'wood, bocage' (c ...
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 ...
. In both inscriptions, Veraudunus is invoked along with
Inciona Inciona is a little-known Celtic goddess of the Treveran region. Her name is recorded as one of a pair of deities on two votive inscriptions from Luxembourg.
On the large stone slab from Mensdorf on the Widdebierg, pictured at right, she is inv ...
.
On the large stone slab from
Mensdorf
Mensdorf () is a small town in the commune of Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. , the town has a population of 765.
Local associations
Mensdorf is home to a fanfare band, Fanfare de Mensdorf, which was founded on 1952. It is member of the Uni ...
on the
Widdebierg
Widdebierg is a hill in the commune of Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. At 386 metres, it is one of the highest points in the canton of Grevenmacher. It is in the centre of a nature reserve (named ''Widdebierg'' after the hill), which lies bet ...
, pictured at right, the god Veraudunus (
DEO VERAVDVNO) and Inciona are invoked in honour of the imperial family in fulfilment of a vow made by Marcus Pl(autius?) Restitutus' mother Alpinia Lucana.
[Musée d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg. 1974. ''Pierres sculptées et inscriptions de l'époque romaine'', catalogued by Eugénie Wilhelm, p.71.]
The second inscription is a small bronze votive plaque from Kaul in Luxembourg, which reads:
:
EO MAR Ibr>VERAVDVN(O) ET
INCION(A)E MI
TIVS PRIS
CINVS EX VOT(O)
If the letters
NO MAR can be restored as ''Leno Marti'', then ‘Veraudunus’ appears to be an epithet of
Lenus
Lenus ( grc, Ληνός) was a Celtic healing god worshipped mainly in eastern Gaul, where he was almost always identified with the Roman god Mars.
Name
The theonym ''Lenos'' may derive from a stem ''lēno''-, which could mean 'wood, bocage' (c ...
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 ...
,
the tribal protector of the
Treveri
The Trēverī (Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fringe ...
who inhabited what is now Luxembourg.
The name of the Widdebierg itself has been said to derive from ‘Veraudunus’.
[« Deux inscriptions indiquent qu'il enus Marsporte le surnom local de Veraudunus dont est dérivé le toponyme Widdenberg ». From a wall plaque at the Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg.]
References
See also
* ''Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend.'' Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997
Gaulish gods
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