Celtic Gods: The Gaulish and Germanic Mother Goddesses, Alagabiae, They who Hold the Newborn
Alagabiae
Gaulish/Germanic mother goddesses, Alagabiae: They who hold the newborn

These deities are known from a single inscription found at Bügel, near Solingen, Germany and she is obvously a compound mother goddess deity type, an aspect of the Matres or mother goddess.

Synonyms:

Gaul: They who hold the newborn

The Alagabiae are Matronae (mothers) known from an inscription on a votive stone dating from the fourth century CE found at Bügel, near Solingen, Germany. This inscription [CIL XIII 859] invokes this goddess as Matroni[s] Alagabiabus (the Aligabian Mother). Thus invoking a single aspect of what was probably a triple goddess.

There is some controversy about the origin of this goddess, in that it has been interpreted as Germanic and meaning 'the one who gives everything'. However, a derivation from the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements: *al-o- (feed, raise [with an implied meaning of newborn] and *gab-yo- 'take, hold' thus the Alagabiae could be interpreted as being a Celtic name meaning: 'They who hold the newborn' which would be an apposite epithet given the usual attributes of the matres.



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