Celtic Gods: The Gaulish and Brythonic god, Loucetius (Flashing Light)

Loucetius
A Gaulish and Brythonic God, also Known as Leucetius or Leucutios: Flashing Light

Loucetius (Leucetius, Leucutios, Lluch) is a Gaulish and Brythonic god known from inscriptions found in Germany, France and Britain and he may be a deity of lightning who survived as the Cymric (Welsh) figure of Lluch.



Synonyms: Leucetius, Leucutios or Lluch
Gaul: Flashing Light

Loucetius is known from several locations across Europe. Most notably from Worms (CIL XIII 06221), Ober-Olm (AE, 1990, 750), Marienborn (CIL XIII 07241), Groß-Gerau (AE 1991, 1272) and Eisenberg (where his consorts are given as Nemetona and Roman Victory) in Germany, Angers in the Maine-et-Loire (CIL XIII 03087) and Strasbourg (CIL XIII 11605), Bas-Rhin, France as well as in Bath, Somerset (where his consort is again given as Nemetona [RIB 0140]). As Leucetius this deity is invoked at Ober-Olm, Marienborn, Klein Winternheim, Frauenstein and Großkrotzenburg (where his consort is given as Victory), all in Germany. In each case Loucetius is associated with Mars by Interpretato Romana. Leucutions, known from an inscirption at Néris-les-Bains, Allier, France is probably a homonymic theonym for the same deity where he is assimilated with the Gaulish deity Epadatextorix.

The altar dedicated to Mars at Bath reads PEREGRINVS SECVNDI FIL CIVIS TREVER LOVCETIO MARTI ET NEMETONA VSLM (Peregrinus, son of Secundus, citizen of the Treveri, for Loucetius Mars and Nemetona, willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow). The worship of Loucetius and Nemetona is concentrated in the regions of the Continental Treverii tribe (centred on Trier on the Moselle in modern Germany) and the single British inscription may have been dedicated by a homesick Gaul or it may represent the introduction of the cult into Britian. However, Mars Loucetius would seem to be a healer deity, as indicated by his association with Nemetona. The major sites of his cult are also assiciated with thermal springs (Bath being a good case in point) and again association with thermal springs is a feature of a healer deity.

Theis deity's name is probably derived from one of the various reconstructed proto-Celtic roots *leuxs- (light), *luko (bright), *lou(k)bro- (light) and *loukno-/*louxsno-. The name also seems related to the Middle Cymric word lluched (flashing). Thus the name has the connotaion of 'bright' and 'light' and may be rendered as 'Flashing Light'. For this reason it has been proposed that Loucetius was a deity of lightning. In this respect, Loucetius may suvive in the Middle Cymric figure of Lluch who is named as a leader of the host in the poem Cad Goddeu (Battle of the Trees from the Llyfr Taliesin.



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