Abnoba
|
|
In Celtic mythology, Abnoba was a forest and river goddess, worshipped in the Black Forest and surrounding areas. Her name is the source of the River Avon and others. She was associated with the Roman goddess Diana.
Etymology of the name
The reconstructed lexis of the Proto-Celtic language as collated by the University of Wales [1] (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf) suggests that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic **Abon-noiboā. This Proto-Celtic word connotes the semantics of ‘River-Sacred One.’ This apparent semantic connotation has led Dr. John Koch at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies to suggest that this venerated personality may well personify either “river-fed woodland” or supposed “fluvial sanctity” as perceived by Celts at that time. This theory, if it is correct, would account for the associations with rivers and, by extension, the woodlands surrounding them. Since river-fed woddland areas tend to attract plenty of wildlife, this theory may also account for her association with Diana who, like Greek Artemis, appears to have personified "Wildness."
Bibliography
- Ellis, Peter Berresford, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology(Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN: 0195089618
- MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0192801201.
- Wood, Juliette, The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art, Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN: 0007640595
External Links
[2] (http://www.mythome.org/celtic.html) [3] (http://www.paralumun.com/celticgod.htm) [4] (http://www.daire.org/names/deities.html) [5] (http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf) gl:Abnoba