Moritasgus

{{Short description|Celic epithet attached to Apollo, signifying a possible healing deity}}

Moritasgus is a Celtic epithet for a healing god found in four inscriptions at Alesia.Jacky Bénard et al., Les agglomérations antiques de Côte-d'Or (Annales Littéraires de l'Université de Besançon, 1994), p. 251 [https://books.google.com/books?id=kKB4Cd_Dq4YC&dq=Moritasgus+OR+Moritasgos&pg=RA1-PA251 online.] In two inscriptions, he is identified with the Greco-Roman god Apollo.CIL 13.11240 and 11241; Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (Alfred Kröner, 1994, 1997, translation Boydell & Brewer 1997), p. 198 [https://books.google.com/books?id=7AvdTqwucfwC&dq=Moritasgus+OR+Moritasgos&pg=PA198 online.] His consort was the goddess Damona.

Etymology

The name Moritasgus, shared by a 1st-century BC ruler of the Senones,Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.54. has been analyzed variously. The particle -tasgus has been derived by scholars from a Proto-Celtic stem *tazgo-,{{cite journal |last=Mac an Bhaird |first=Alan |title=Varia II. Tadhg Mac Céin and the Badgers |journal=Ériu |volume=31 |date=1980 |pages=150–55 [154] |jstor=30008220}} Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.{{cite book |last=Grzega |first=Joachim |title=Romania Gallica Cisalpina: Etymologisch-geolinguistische Studien zu den oberitalienisch-rätoromanischen Keltizismen |location=Berlin, New York |publisher=Max Niemeyer Verlag |date=2001 |page=240 (entry "*tazgo-") |language=DE |doi=10.1515/9783110944402|isbn=978-3-484-52311-1 }} *tasgos or *tasko- 'badger'.{{cite book |title=La langue gauloise: description linguistique, commentaire d'inscriptions choisies |first=Pierre-Yves |last=Lambert |publisher=Editions Errance |date=1994 |page=199 |isbn=9782877720892 |language=FR}}{{cite journal |last=Katz |first=Joshua T. |title=Hittite Tašku- and the Indo-European Word for 'Badger.' |journal=Historische Sprachforschung |trans-journal=Historical Linguistics |volume=111 |issue=1 |date=1998 |pages=61–82 [68–69] |jstor=41288957}} Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.{{Cite book |first=Xavier |last=Delamarre |title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise |publisher=Éditions Errance |date=2003 |page=291 |language=FR}}{{cite book|author=Jacques Lacroix|year=2007|title=Les noms d'origine gauloise - La Gaule des dieux|publisher=Errance|isbn=978-2-87772-349-7|pages=93–94, 96 |language=FR}} Xavier Delamarre proposed that the complete name means "Sea Badger", from Gaulish mori 'sea' + tasgos (also tascos or taxos), 'badger'.{{Cite book |first=Xavier |last=Delamarre |title=Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise |publisher=Éditions Errance |date=2003 |pages=229, 292–293 |language=FR}} The European badger produced a secretion used in Gaulish medicaments, hence a possible connection with a healing god.See Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise (Éditions Errance, 2003), pp. 229, 292–293, and D. Ellis Evans, Gaulish personal names: a study of some Continental Celtic formations (University of Michigan Press, 1967), p. 103. For further discussion, see Tasgetius: Name and badger lore.

Shrine in [[Alesia (city)|Alesia]]

Alesia was an oppidum of the Celtic Mandubii in present-day Burgundy. A dedication to the gods alludes to the presence of a shrine at the curative spring, where sick pilgrims could bathe in a sacred pool. The sanctuary itself, located near the eastern gate of the town just outside the city wall,James Bromwich, The Roman Remains of Northern and Eastern France: A Guidebook (Routledge, 2003), pp. 49 and 133 [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2Xp-sggLToC&dq=%22spring+sanctuary+near+the+eastern+gate%2C+dedicated+later+to+apollo+moritasgus%22&pg=PA133 online] et passim. was impressive, with baths and a temple. In addition, there were porticoes, where the sick possibly slept, hoping for divine visions and cures.

Numerous votive objectsSee ex-voto and Milagro (votive) for analogous Christian practices. were dedicated to Moritasgus. These were models of the pilgrims and the afflicted parts of their bodies: these included limbs, internal organs, genitals, breasts, and eyes. Surgeons' tools have also been found, suggesting that the priestsThe druids were the priesthood of the ancient Celts. also acted as surgeons.

Selected bibliography

Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997.

Moritasgus

Etymology

Shrine in [[Alesia (city)|Alesia]]

Selected bibliography

References

Further reading