Ricagambeda
Ricagambeda is a Germanic goddess who is only attested by an inscription on a holy stone from the 2nd century.
In the temple area of Fort Blatobulgium on Hadrian's Wall near the Scottish town of Birrens, this consecration stone stands next to other stones donated by Roman and Celtic deities ( Mars, Minerva, Viradesthis ). Next to the ricagambeda there is a stone that can also be assigned Germanic: that of the goddess Harimella .
Siegfried Gutenbrunner sees the single evidence of a Germanic attributability and possible breakdown of the name ( Rica-gamb-eda, Rica-gam-beda, Ric-agam-beda ) several options of interpretation. The first link to Germanic * rīka = powerful, rich . The other part can be easily divided into two parts; either in -gambe-da , or -gam-beda . The option -gambe can be set to Anglo-Saxon (Old English) gambe = tribute , and -gam-beda to the name of the goddess Beda ( the mistress ) as the “strong mistress”. Gutenbrunner leaves the interpretation open, but excludes a function as the goddess of war. Of all possible interpretations, Rudolf Simek sees the form “the strong mistress” as the most appropriate.
See also
literature
- Siegfried Gutenbrunner : Germanic god names of the ancient inscriptions . Niemeyer, Halle / S. 1936.
- Rudolf Simek : Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X .
- Norbert Wagner : Ricagambeda. In: Contributions to Name Research New Series , 53 (2018), pp. 339–342.