Vagdavercustis is a Germanic goddess known from a dedicatory

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

on an altar found at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(Köln),

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The stone dates from around the 2nd century CE and is now in a museum in Cologne.

Name

The meaning of the name remains unclear. The element ''Ver-custis'' may be interpreted as the root ''wer-'' ('man') attached to the verbal noun ''*kusti-'' ('choice'; cf.

Old Icelandic Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their ...

''mann-kostr'' 'male virtue'), but the meaning of the suffix or

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Vagda'' is uncertain.

Cult

The inscription appears on the front of the altar above a carved relief of five male figures carrying out a ritual. The officiant in the center is wearing a

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

and has his head covered ''(

capite velato The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

)''. He extends his hand toward an altar in order to burn incense, a box of which is held by a boy to the left. Behind them is an

aulos An ''aulos'' (plural ''auloi''; , plural ) or ''tibia'' (Latin) was a wind instrument in ancient Greece, often depicted in art and also attested by archaeology. Though the word ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or as " double flute", ...

-player, whose music would be intended to "drown out inauspicious noises." The figure between the aulist and the officiant is worn and reveals little. The fifth, to the far right, is bearded and wearing a garment that is not a toga; he carries something slung over his right shoulder. The inscription reads as follows: ::Deae ::Vagdavercusti ::Titus Flavius ::Constans Praef ::Praet EMV Roughly translated into English, the inscription can be read as: ::To the Goddess ::Vagdavercustis, ::Titus Flavius ::Constans, Prefect ::of the Praetorians, edicated thisin his distinguished memory." The altar was dedicated by a

Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome () was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, traditions, and cu ...

, and the iconography is that of a traditional Roman

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

, but Vagdavercustis was most likely a native Germanic or Celtic goddess.Ansuharijaz (2003) ''Forgotten Gods'', on the Reginheim website.
/ref> It was not unusual, and perhaps even customary, for Roman officials in the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

to honor local gods as a way to maintain local goodwill. There is some evidence that Vagdavercustis was worshipped by the

Batavians The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several mil ...

(a Germanic tribe reported by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

to have lived around the Rhine delta, in the area that is currently the Netherlands) in the region between the present-day

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and Cologne (Köln). The paucity of evidence pertaining to Vagdavercustis has led to abundant interpretations of her significance. Trees are depicted on the side panels of the altar, suggesting a vegetative function. She may be related to

Virtus () was a specific virtue in ancient Rome that carried connotations of valor, masculinity, excellence, courage, character, and worth, all perceived as masculine strengths. It was thus a frequently stated virtue of Roman emperors, and was perso ...

, the Roman god of military virtue. Other than a votary inscription dedicated by a Batavian auxiliary in Pannonia, no dedications to the goddess have been found outside Lower Germany. The name has been taken to mean "protectress of war dancers," with Vagdavercustis characterized as a

war goddess ''War Goddess'' (also known as ''The Amazons'' and ''The Bare-Breasted Warriors'') is a 1973 adventure film directed by Terence Young and starring Alena Johnston, Sabine Sun, Rosanna Yanni, Helga Liné, and Luciana Paluzzi. It was a co-produc ...

.Michael Speidel, ''Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan's Column to Icelandic Sagas'' (Routledge, 2004), p. 102, citing Jan de Vries, ''Religionsgeschichte'' II, 1957, 325.

References

Bibliography

* {{Citation, last=Neumann, first=Günter, title=Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht, year=1999, editor-last=Beck, editor-first=H., chapter=Germani cisrhenani — die Aussage der Namen, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=te3fDzkb3uAC&pg=PA107, publisher=Walter de Gruyter, isbn=978-3110164381, editor2-last=Geuenich, editor2-first=D., editor3-last=Steuer, editor3-first=H.

External links

photo of altar
Germanic goddesses Roman altars Latin inscriptions Ancient Roman religion Germanic deities