Overview
In Celtic mythology, Arduinna (also Arduina, Arduinnae or Arduinne) was the eponymous goddess of the Ardennes Forest and region, represented as a huntress riding a boar (primarily in the present-day regions of Belgium and Luxembourg). Her cult originated in what is today known as Ardennes, a region of Belgium, Luxembourg and France. She was later assimilated into the Gallo-Roman mythology of goddess Diana.
In The Gods of the Celts, author Green states that some depictions of Arduinna show her riding a boar (Green 1986, p. 180). However, Deyts notes that the bronze Gallo-Roman statue of a woman in a short belted tunic, riding a boar sidesaddle and holding a knife (Boucher fig.292, or here), bears no inscription, and was simply assumed to be Arduinna by the 19th century antiquarian who discovered it?perhaps because the modern symbol of the A rdennes region is also a boar (Deyts 1992, pp. 46?47).
Inscriptions
Arduinna is known from two inscriptions:
- D?ren, Germany deae Ardbinnae (CIL XIII, 07848)
- Rome, Italy Arduinne (CIL VI, 00046)
Etymology
The name Arduinna derives from the Gaulish arduo- meaning height (Delamarre p. 51). It is also found in several placenames, such as the Ardennes Woods (Arduenna silva), the Forest of Arden in England, in personal names Arduunus and Arda ? the latter from coinage of the Treveri, (RIG-4, 36-43) ? and the Galatian ??d?. The name Arduenna silva for "wooded heights" was applied to several forested mountains, not just the modern Ardennes: it is found in the d?partemen ts of Alleuze, Haute-Loire and Puy-du-D?me (Delamarre pp. 51?52).
It has also been suggested that the gemination nn is typical to a Belgae language,[1] being different from Celtic and thus impelling a Nordwestblock etymology that is also assumed to be closer to Germanic.
Historical references
In 565, St. Walfroy (Wulfila?c) preached to the local population of Villers-devant-Orval to persuade them to abandon worship of Arduinna.
s today known as Ardennes, a region of Belgium, Luxembourg and France. She was later assimilated into the Gallo-Roman mythology of goddess Diana.In The Gods of the Celts, author Green states that some depictions of Arduinna show her riding a boar (Green 1986, p. 180). However, Deyts notes that the bronze Gallo-Roman statue of a woman in a short belted tunic, riding a boar sidesaddle and holding a knife (Boucher fig.292, or here), bears no inscription, and was simply assumed to be Arduinna by the 19th century antiquarian who discovered it?perhaps because the modern symbol of the Ardennes region is also a boar (Deyts 1992, pp. 46?47).
Inscriptions
Arduinna is known from two inscriptions:
- D?ren, Germany deae Ardbinnae (CIL XIII, 07848)
- Rome, Italy Arduinne (CIL VI, 00046)
Etymology
The name Arduinna derives from the Gaulish arduo- meaning height (Delamarre p. 51). It is also found in several placenames, such as the Ardennes Woods (Arduenna silva), the Forest of Arden in England, in personal names Arduunus and Arda ? the latter from coinage of the Treveri, (RIG-4, 36-43) ? and the Galatian ??d?. Th e name Arduenna silva for "wooded heights" was applied to several forested mountains, not just the modern Ardennes: it is found in the d?partements of Alleuze, Haute-Loire and Puy-du-D?me (Delamarre pp. 51?52).
It has also been suggested that the gemination nn is typical to a Belgae language,[1] being different from Celtic and thus impelling a Nordwestblock etymology that is also assumed to be closer to Germanic.
Historical references
In 565, St. Walfroy (Wulfila?c) preached to the local population of Villers-devant-Orval to persuade them to abandon worship of Arduinna.
References
- ^ e.g. M.Gysseling, De Vroegste geschiedenis van het Nederlands: een taalkundige benadering in Naamkunde 2, 1970, p157-180
- Boucher, S. (1976 ) Recherches sur les Bronzes Figur?s de Gaule Pr?-romaine et Romaine (Research on the Bronze Figures of Gaul, Pre-Roman and Roman). Paris, Ecole Fran?ais de Rome.
- Colbert de Beaulieu, Jean-Baptiste and Fischer, Brigitte (1998) Receuil des Inscriptions gauloises (RIG) 4: les l?gendes mon?taires. Paris, Editions du CNRS
- Delamarre, Xavier and Lambert, P.Y. (2003). Dictionaire de la Langue Gauloise (Dictionary of the Gaulish Language). 2nd edition. Paris, Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-237-6
- Deyts, Simone (1992) Images des Dieux de la Gaule (Images of the Gods of Gaul). Paris Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-067-5
- Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), volume 6, Italia
- Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL), volume 13, Tres Galliae
- Green, Miranda (1986) The Gods of the Celts. Stroud, Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-1581-1
External links
Taxonomy
The Genus Arduina is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 17 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in the Genus Arduina: A. acuminata · A. bispinosa · A. campenoni · A. carandas (Karanda) · A. edulis · A. erythrocarpa · A. ferox · A. grandiflora · A. haematocarpa · A. inermis · A. laxiflora · A. macrocarpa · A. megaphylla · A. schimperi · A. sicula · A. tetramera · A. xylopicron
References
- ^ e.g. M.Gysseling, De Vroegste geschiedenis van het Nederlands: een taalkundige benadering in Naamkunde 2, 1970, p157-180
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