Celtic Gods: The Cymric and Brythonic god, Brâg (The Brewer)

Brâg
A Cymric and Brythonic God, also known as Braciaca: The Brewer

Brâg (Braciaca) is a deity known from an inscription found at Derby in England. He is equated with Roman Mars and is a god of battle, referring to the ancient Celtic practice of getting drunk before going into a battle.



Synonyms: Braciaca
Cym, Bryth: The Brewer

Brâg in modern Cymric or Braciaca in Brythonic is known from a single inscription on an altarstone found at Haddon Hall, Derby, Derbyshire, DEO MARTI BRACIACAE Q. SITTIUS CAECILIANUS... (To the god Mars Braciaca, Quintus Sittius Caecilianus, Praefect of the first cohort of Aquitani, performs his vow).

Nothing is known of this deity apart from this inscription, though the modern Cymric word for malt is brag and brewing bragu. It is reasonable to propose therefore that Braciaca was a god of brewing. Indeed, it is inconcievable that a culture where the consumption of beer was held in such high esteem did not have a brewer deity and the god survived in later Cymric folklore as the brewer Brâg.

As for Braciaca’s association with Mars, this is not all that surprising as gods of drunkenness such as Meduio and Dyfed are warrior deities. This comes from the Brythonic practice of getting drunk before going into battle as detailed in the poem, Y Gododdin by Aneirin.



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