Requalivahanus

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Requalivahanus is the name or surname of a male, Germanic , perhaps also Celtic deity , about whom nothing is known except this name. The sparse information goes back to a stone that was discovered in 1883 near Blatzheim and thus in the Roman province of Germania inferior , which bears a Latin inscription.

Found data

Geographical location

The site was found in a former Roman settlement near Blatzheim , which was presumably on the former connection road between Cologne and Maastricht . A stone altar with the above-mentioned inscription was found in an excavated country estate that had obviously belonged to a wealthy man . The find is now in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Bonn .

description

The rectangular limestone altar is 31 cm high, 28 cm wide and 12 cm deep. It has a base and cornice , remains of a little gable as well as volutes and patera . The construction of the altar can be dated to the 2nd century.

inscription

The Latin, partly abbreviated inscription reads:

"Deo Requalivahano Q. Aprianus Fructus ex imp (erio) pro se et suis v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)"

In German translation:

“ Quintus Aprianus Fructus dedicated this altar to the god Requalivahanus by order for himself and his followers (and) gladly and appropriately fulfilled his vows. "

The proper name suggests a Roman citizen , probably a magistrate , i.e. a higher administrative officer. Otherwise nothing is known about Quintus Aprianus Fructus.

The divine name Requalivahanus , which occurs here in the dative , is composed of Germanic, possibly also Celtic parts of the word. An exact translation is not possible, especially since the Latinized form vahanus cannot be clearly assigned. If the first part of the name is to be interpreted in Germanic, then it denotes darkness or darkness (cf. Germanic * rekvaz and Gothic riqis , Old Norse røkkr , originally related to Old Greek erebos ). In that case the beginning of the name would refer to night or underworld .

An assignment of the name to one of the known Germanic deities is not possible, among other things, because the Germanic religion knew no male god of the underworld apart from the goddess Hel . Connections with Vidar , the forest god of the Teutons, or Wotan as guardian of the whale place remain speculative. Requalivahanus could just as well be an independent deity that was otherwise completely forgotten.

meaning

Even if no clarity can be gained about the deity of Requalivahanus, the find shows the adaptability of Roman religiosity , which allowed Quintus Aprianus to include a god, from his point of view as a local deity, into the worship of his household gods and after him the pattern of the “ do ut des ” obviously in anticipation of divine consideration for the vow - to erect an altar in his estate.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hans Lehner : The ancient stone monuments of the Provincial Museum in Bonn. Cohen, Bonn 1918, p. 117 No. 243 ( digitized version ).
  2. ↑ CIL 13, 08512 .
  3. ↑ Paul Herrmann : German mythology in a common understanding. W. Engelmann, Leipzig 1906, p. 275 ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ See also Jan de Vries : Old Germanic Religious History. 3rd unchanged edition. Volume 2. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1970, ISBN 978-3-11-002807-2 , p. 286 f. Section 520 (accessed via De Gruyter Online).