Mogons
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Mogons or Moguns was a Celtic god worshiped in Roman Britain and Gaul. The main evidence is from altars dedicated to the god by Roman soldiers.
Etymology
According to J.T. Koch at the University of Wales, the various alternations of the name Moguns derive from the Romano-Celtic dialectal reflexes of Proto-Celtic *mogont-s (a derivative of the Proto-Indo-European root *megH2- "to be great, mighty"), an Indo-European *-nt- -stem cognate with Sanskrit mahānt and Avestan mazant ‘great’.Koch, J.T. (2005:1300) Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia ABC-CLIO Ltd (15 Mar 2006); 978-1851094400
Centres of worship
Altar-stones raised to Mogon, with varied spellings, have been recovered in the United Kingdom, such as the stones found at the following locations.{{cite book |last=Birley |first=Eric |chapter=The Deities of Roman Britain |title=Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt (ANRW) |trans-title=Rise and Decline of the Roman World |volume=18/1. Teilband Religion (Heidentum: Die religiösen Verhältnisse in den Provinzen) |editor=Wolfgang Haase |pages=3–112 [52] |location=Berlin, Boston |publisher=De Gruyter |date=1986 |doi=10.1515/9783110861464-002|isbn=978-3-11-086146-4 }} The number is the catalog number of the artifact and the name in parentheses is the word as it appears on the stone, not necessarily (and probably not) in the nominative case. Most are datives, to be translated as "to the god":
- Voreda (Old Penrith): 921 (Mogti), 922 (Mounti)
- Castra Exploratorum (Netherby, Cumbria): 971 (Mogont Vitire)
- Habitancum (Risingham): 1225 (Mogonito, dative of *Mogonitus, adjective formed from *Mogons),{{cite journal |title=Bretagne |journal=L'Année Épigraphique |volume=1975 |date=1978 |pages=137–48 [147 (entry nr. 580)] |jstor=25607071 |lang=FR}} 1226 (Mouno, *Moguno, dative of *Mogunus)
- Bremenium (High Rochester): 1269 (Mountibus, *Moguntibus, dative plural of *Moguns)
- Vindolanda (Chesterholm): 1722d (Mogunti et Genio Loci).
Modern Mainz takes its name from Castrum Moguntiacum, a Roman base placed there. It is hypothesized that Moguns gave his name to it. The inscription at Habitancum identifies the troops stationed at that location as being from the Vangiones, the Gaesati and Rhaeti from Germania Superior. Mainz was in the territory of the Aresaces, a Celtic tribe probably part of the Treveri.
The Habitancum inscription contains also the expression Deo Mogonito Cad... with the letters following Cad missing. As the region is in the territory of the historic Scottish tribe called the Gadeni, centered around Jedburgh (Jed possibly from Cad), the Cad.. is interpreted as some case of Cadeni. One speculation is that the Cadeni were a section of the Vangiones. Some derive Cadeni from Gaedhal, or Gael. A third theory derives Cad from catu-, "battle", with a sense "to the battle god, Mogon...".{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Locations of artifacts
References
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External links
- [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/voreda.htm Voreda]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130806175940/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/castra_exploratorum.htm Castra Exploratorum]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080925203958/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/habitancum.htm Habitancum]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120414183611/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/bremenium.htm Bremenium]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060927083346/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/vindolanda.htm Vindolanda]
{{Celtic mythology (ancient)}}