Camulus or Camulos is a Celts, Celtic deity who was identified with Mars (mythology), Mars via ''Interpretatio graeca , interpretatio romana''. Camulus was an important god of Roman Britain and Gaul, especially among the Belgae and the Remi, a Gaulish people living in the region that is now modern Grand Est around Reims.

Name

The etymology of the name is uncertain. It has been compared with the Old Irish ''cumall'', meaning 'champion'.

Attestations

Evidence of Camulus' popularity can be seen in several place-names, notably Camulodunum. Camulus is named in combination with Mars in inscriptions coming from Reims, Arlon, Kruishoutem, Rindern, Mainz, Bar Hill Fort near the Antonine Wall, Sarmizegetusa, Hunedoara, Sarmizegetusa, and Southwark, Southwark, London. The town Camulodunum (now Colchester) in Essex may have been named after him (and is the conjectured basis for the legendary city of Camelot). Camulodunum is a Latinisation of names, Latinised form of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic ''Camulodūnon'' from ''Camulos'' plus ''dun, dūnon'' "(hill)fort, stronghold", a reference to the town's extensive Iron Age earthwork defences.

Theories

Attempts from the 20th century and earlier to link the name ''Camulus'' with the nursery rhyme character Old King Cole, and with Irish mythological Cumhall, the hero Fionn mac Cumhaill, Fionn's father, have been rejected by contemporary scholars.

References

;Biblioography *

Name

Attestations

Theories

References

Further reading