Cathubodua (Proto-Celtic: *Katu-bodwā, "battle crow") is the name of a Gaulish battle goddess.

Etymology

Cathubodua is the name of a Gaulish goddess derived from a single inscription at Mieussy in Haute Savoie, eastern France,[1] which actually reads ATHVBODVAE AVG SERVILIA TERENTIA S L M.[2] The text's restitution as Cathubodua depends on the assumptions that an initial C has been lost[3] and that the personal names ATEBODVAE, ATEBODVVS and ATEBODVI in 3 other inscriptions in modern Austria and Slovenia[4] are unrelated.

In the Gaulish language, the name Cathubodua is believed to mean battle-crow.[5][1] Etymological lexical forms reconstructed in the University of Wales' Proto-Celtic lexicon, suggest that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Katu-bodwā, a word that could be interpreted as ‘battle-fighting’.[6][7] Nonetheless it is this second element *bodwā which appears to be the Proto-Celtic root of the later form of the name Badhbh.[citation needed] The masculine form *bodwos ('fighting') developed in Gaelic into Bodb.[citation needed]

She appears to be similar to the Irish goddess Badb Catha; under this identification, Badb Catha would foresee the fate of warriors before the battle.

References

  1. ^ a b "Cathubodua". L'Arbre Celtique. 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  2. ^ W. M. Hennessey (1870). The Ancient Irish Goddess of War.
  3. ^ Pictet, Adolphe (1868). "SUR UNE NOUVELLE DÉESSE GAULOISE DE LA GUERRE". Revue Archéologique. 18: 1–17. ISSN 0035-0737. JSTOR 41733071.
  4. ^ CIL III, 5247; CIL III, 4732; CIL III, 5386; [1] Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Dottin, Georges (1918). La Langue Gauloise, Grammaire, Textes et Glossaire. Paris: Librairie C. Klincksieck. p. 235, 244.
  6. ^ "Proto-Celtic—English lexicon" (PDF). Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. University of Wales. 12 June 2012. p. 16. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2006. Retrieved 27 May 2005.
  7. ^ "Project 5: The Celtic Languages And Cultural Identity: A Multidisciplinary Synthesis". The University of Wales. 22 December 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
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