Vosegus
Vosegus , also Vosagus , Vosacius (?), Was a Celtic god who is considered the origin of the name of the Vosges ( French Vosges ) and the Wasgau , thus a mountain deity. On a depiction without an inscription, found in Reichshoffen near Strasbourg , which is possibly supposed to represent Vosegus, he appears in a heavy coat ( sagum ), with a bow, arrow and shield, and accompanied by a dog. This could also indicate a hunting deity.
History and etymology
Like many Celtic deities, Vosegus was only worshiped locally; the center was around Mount Donon , on the top of which stood a Vosegus temple . Functionally, the deity corresponded to the Roman Mercurius or the Greek Hermes . When the Romans occupied Gaul , they took over the deity and gave the area of distribution the names vosegus mons ("mountain [of] Vosegus") and vosegus silva ("forest [of] Vosegus"). From these emerged the French Vosges and the Middle High German Wasigen (forest); from Wasigen later developed the concept Wasgau .
Uncertain name interpretations of the word stem * seg-os- or * seq- (y) o , dt. Sow, explain the partial equation of the god Vosegus with Mercurius, who originally began as the god of the grain trade and harvest. Another, equally uncertain interpretation derives the name from * vo-sego , the great power .
The French Benedictine abbot and scholar Augustin Calmet equated him with Bugius in the 19th century , although the latter was unable to provide evidence.
Inscriptions
There are a total of five inscriptions with the name Vosegus, three of which were found in France and two in Germany - four of them from the Roman province of Germania superior . In both German ( Neustadt an der Weinstrasse and Bad Bergzabern ) and two of the French finds ( Gœrsdorf and Zinswiller ), Vosegus and Vosego Sil ( Vosegus Silvanus ) were mentioned as a single deity. The fifth inscription comes from the Donon (Roman province Gallia Belgica , today in Alsace ) - here Vosegus is mentioned together with Hekate .
See also
literature
- Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. 2nd, corrected and enlarged edition. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
- Bernhard Maier : The Celts. Your story from the beginning to the present. CH Beck, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-406-46094-1 .
Web links
- Patricia Monaghan: The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore . Infobase Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-4381-1037-0 , pp. 465 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 8, 2017]).
- Achim Bourmer, Beate Szerelmy: Baedeker Allianz travel guide Alsace, Vosges . In: Rainer Eisenschmid, Beate Szerelmy (Hrsg.): Baedeker Allianz travel guide . 9th edition. Baedeker Allianz Travel Guide, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8297-1231-6 , p. 17 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed January 8, 2017]).
- Gallo-Romanesque exhibition in Langensoultzbach (statue below right) ( Memento from December 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b AE 1938, 00082 Vosego / Iulius Vi / tunis v (otum) / s (olvit) l (ibens) l (aetus) m (erito)
- ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 , p. 683.
- ↑ Bernhard Maier: The Celts. Your story from the beginning to the present. P. 332.
- ^ Vosegus / Vosagus (Vosges et Monts-Faucilles / Vôge?) On Arbre-Celtique. (French)
- ^ Augustin Calmet: Notice de la Lorraine , 1745–1757, p. 359.
- ↑ CIL 13, 06080 Vosego / Maxsii / minus (!) / V (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) m (erito)
- ↑ CIL 13, 06059 Vosego Sil [vestri] / Car (antus?) Vin [dilli (?)] / V (otum) s (olvit) [l (ibens) m (erito)]
- ↑ CIL 13, 06027 Vo [se] go Sil (vestri) s (acrum) Adnam / us Nertomari fil (ius) / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens l (aetus) m (erito)
- ↑ CIL 13, 04550 Merc (urio) Vos (ego) (H) ecate / L (ucius) Sulpicius Ocelio / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens) la (etus) m (erito) / [Imp (eratore )] Traiano Daci (co?) V [co (n) s (ule)]