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Blotugus
A Brythonic God: Bringer of Flour/Flowers, Bringer of the Year
Blotugus in a Brythonic god known from inscriptions on silver spoons found at Thetford in Norfolk. In most cases Blatugus is conflated with Roman Faunus, and indicates that he was a god of fertility and the renewed year. |
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Bryth: Bringer of Flour/Flowers, Bringer of the Year
Blotugus is a god known from inscriptions found on five of the silver spoons found within a hoard of 33 spoons (most dedicated to the Roman god Faunus) discovered at Thetford, Norfolk. Most of these spoons were inscribed and the specific inscriptions that concern us here are as follows: [RIB II, 2/2420.24] dei (Blo)tugi; [RIB II, 2/2420.6 and RIB II, 2/2420.7 and RIB II, 2/2420.8] Blo(tugi) and [RIB II, 2/2420.14] dei Fau(ni) Blotugi. In the last of these, Blotugus is conflated with the Roman deity, Faunus by Interpretato Romana; however, the inscriptions to Blotugus alone may well indicate that the deity had a separate identity, though he was brought within the cult of Faunus. The Roman deity Faunus himself was a god of fertility and the lord of all the wild places. In the later Roman period, Faunus assumed many of the characteristics of the satyr, Pan.
Unfortunately, apart from his conflation with Faunus we have nothing on which to base the attributes of Blotugus save his name. This can be interpreted on the basis of the the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements: blƒtu- (flower/flour) or blŒdan- (year) along with *duk-e/o- (bring). Thus Blotugus is the 'bringer of the year' or the 'bringer of flowers/flour'. All aspects of the renewed year, which links with the fertility aspect of Faunus' cult.
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