Celtic Gods: The Gaulish God, Veradunus (Utter Darkness)

Veradunus
A Gaulish god (also known as Veraudunus): Utter Darkness

Veradunus (Veraudunus) is a Gaulish god known from two inscriptions found at Mensdorf, Luxembourg. In the second of which he is associated with Roman Mars. He would appear to be a dark, ancestral, deity of the underworld.



Synonyms: Veraudunus
Gaul: Utter Darkness

Veraudunus is a god known from two inscriptions, both found at Mensdorf, Luxembourg. In the first of these he is invoked alone as d[e]o Verauduno (F 69). The second inscription is more interesting, as the god is invoked, by Interpretato Romana as [ LE]NO.MARTI VERAVDVN. °E°T INCIONE. MILITIVS. PRISCINVS. EX°V°OT (To Mars Lenus Veradunus and Inciona the soldier, Priscinius, offers this in fulfilment of a vow). In this inscription he is also invoked along with the goddess Inciona. This is interesting as Mars Lenus occurs in both martial and healing contexts and may be a deity both of healing and smithcraft.

This, unfortunately, leaves us with a problem in interpreting Veradunus' name: is he a deity of healing or of war? Even the name is difficult to interpret, but it may be composed of the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements: *wēro- (true) and *dunno (dark, brown) or d3no (fort, rampart). Thus we have two possible interpretations 'true darkness' (as in 'utter darkness') which would make Veradunus the equivalent of the Cymric Afagddu who certainly had martial aspects. Alternatively Veradunus can be interpreted as 'true fortress' with the sense of 'defender'. Personally I prefer the former interpretation, which would place Veradunus in the same gorup of deities as the Irish Donn; dark ancestral deities of death and the underworld. Though many of these dark netherworld deities do have healing aspects to their cults, which would tie-in with the complex nature of Mars Lenus' cult.

It should also be noted that Veradunus/Veraudunus also has a feminine counterpart, Verauduna, known from a single inscription found at Widdenberg, Luxembourg which would suggest that they were a local pairing.



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