Aernus was a theonym used for a god in the Celtiberian pantheon.[1] The use of this theonym was confined to worship in the vicinity of Bragança.[2] Around this area, a number of inscriptions to a god hailed by this name have been recorded.[3] One inscription, found in Castro de Avelãs, Bragança,[4] was dedicated by the ‘ordo Zoelarum,’ [3] and this leads Tranoy [5] and Roux [6] to conclude that this god was probably the protector of the Zoelae.[6] Another inscription was also found in Castro de Avelãs,[7] while yet another was found in Malta in Macedo de Cavaleiros, also in the District of Bragança.[8] While epigraphic evidence for Aernus is scarce, its concentration in a reduced territory in association with homogeneous aspects of material culture indicates to Olivares [9] a homogeneity in the cultural area of the Zoelae. The meaning of the name is still unknown but compare the Proto-Indo-European roots *aper- ‘behind, at the back’ and *āpero- ‘bank’ [10] with the regular phonological developments in Celtic.

References

  1. ^ Page 4 of Juan Carlos Olivares Pedreño (University of Alicante) ‘Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula’ Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies Volume 6; available at [1] Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Page 6 of Juan Carlos Olivares Pedreño (University of Alicante) ‘Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula’ Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies Volume 6; available at [2] Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Page 14 of Juan Carlos Olivares Pedreño (University of Alicante) ‘Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula’ Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies Volume 6; available at [3] Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum II 2606
  5. ^ Page 296 of Tranoy, A. 1981. La Galice romaine. Recherches sur le nord-ouest de la Péninsule Iberique dans l´antiquité. Paris: Boccard.
  6. ^ a b Pages 179-180 of Le Roux, P. 1992-93. Vicus et castellum en Lusitanie sous l´empire. Studia Historica Hispania Antiqua 10-11 : 151-160.
  7. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum II 2607
  8. ^ Pages 184-186 of Alves, F.M. 1909. Memorias archeológico-históricas do distrito de Bragança. Porto: Tip. da Emprêsa Guedes.
  9. ^ 2002b. El dios Aernus y los Zoelas. Iberia 5: 65-77.
  10. ^ "Köbler, Gerhard, 'Indogermanisches Wörterbuch: a,' available at" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-30. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
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