Celtic Gods: The Gaulish God, Adsmerius, The Provident One
Adsmerius
A Gaulish god, also known as Atesmertius and Atesmerius: The Provident One or The Glittering One

This deity is known from two inscriptions in France where he is invoked as both Mars and Apollo. Thus Adsmerius was probably a healer deity (a provider of good health).

Synonyms: Atesmertius, Atesmerius
Gaul: ?The Provident One, ?The Glittering One

Adsmerius is known from Poitiers in the Vienne region of France where he is invoked as Mercury Adsmerius at the ancient temple site of the Roman city of Lemonum Pictonum (Pictavis, the precursor of modern Poitiers). The same deity is also probably invoked as Atesmerius at Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France and as Apollo Atesmertius at Le Mans, where he is invoked along with Serona Sivelia.

Beyond his name and his assimilation with Roman Mercury and Apollo by interpretatio Romana nothing is known of this deity save his name. Even this is problematic in terms of interpretation. The first syllable ad is simply the preposition 'to' and -us is a masculine ending. The problem comes with the interpretation of the second syllable smeri-. The reconstructed proto-Celtic lexicon provides us with *smer- (glitter) and *smeru- (fat). Moving further afield into the reconstructed proto Indo-European lexicon we have the root *(s)mer- (to remember, with its implication of 'to mourn') and *(s)mer- (to attain a share of). Thus we have two possible meanings. The first would be 'The Glittering' and the second, with its connotations of 'fat' and 'to share or provide' thus the name could be rendered as 'The Provident One' in the sense of 'He who Provides'. This would make this deity's name etymologically linked with that of the goddess Rosmerta who is generally named as the consort of the Gaulish Mercury (though in his guise as Lugus). If this etymology is correct then Adsmerius is an aspect of Gaulish Mercury as healer — literally a 'Provider of Good Health'.



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