Celtic Gods: The Gaulish Goddess, Perta (She of the Copse)

Perta
A Gaulish Goddess: She of the Copse

Perta is a Gaulish goddess known from a single inscription found at Uchaud, France where she seems to be the goddess of the sacred grove and may have been the tutelary goddess of Perth in Scotland.



Synonyms:
Gaul: She of the Copse

Perta is a Gaulish goddess known from a single inscription found at Uchaud in the Gard region of France (ILGN 519). Though little is known about this goddess save her name, we are presented in this case with an instance where the name does lend us considerable information about this deity's characteristics.

The name Perta is ultimately derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic element *kwert- (bush) which with the kw to p shift in P-Celtic yields the Cymric perth (bush, copse) and the Gaulish pert which with the feminine ending -a yields the name of the goddess, Perta which can be interpreted as 'She of the Copse'. Thus it can be assumed that Perta was the goddess of a sacred grove or copse and in this respect would be similar in attributes to Nemetona.

The same name also occurs in the town of Perth, eastern Scotland (which lay in Manaw Gododdin, the kingdom of the Gododdin or Votadani). It is interesting to note that a Romano-Celtic shrine may have existed at what is now North Inch, Perth (this was close both to the river Tay and the Roman fort at Bertha [itself a variant or a mutated form of Pertha]) thus there was almost certainly a sacred grove or perth in the locale, which lent its name to Perth, though whether the goddess Perta (or Pertha to use her insular form) was venerated there may never be known for certain.



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