Veteris/Vitiris: a Brythonic god/gods (The Knowing, The Prophet/Seer)

Synonyms: Vitiris, Veteriae, Vitiriae, Viteris, Hviteris, Hveteris
Bryth: The Knowing, The Prophet/Seer

Veteris is a god attested from almost fifty inscriptions known in the Britiish isles; many of which occur together in groupings. For the ancient authors of these inscriptions there seems to have been some considerable ambiguity about the god's name and plurality. For example, the inscriptions from Magnis (Carvoran, Northumberland) name the diety in both singluar and plural forms and as well as the common forms of Veteris and Vitiris he is also invoked as Vetiris [RIB 1796], Viteris [RIB 1804], Vetirius [RIB 1797] and Viterinus [RIB 1798]. At Cataractibium (Catterick, North Yorkshire), he is invoked as DEO SANCTO VHETERI PRO SALVTE AVR MVCIANI VSLM (To the Divine god Veterus, for the well-being of Aurelius Mucianus, (who) willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow) [RIB 727]. The spelling here seems Germanic and Veteris has been identified as a Germanic deity. However many of the peoples named Germanic were often 'Celtic'. They simply resided in the region around the Rhine that the Romans had termed Germania. Indeed, as will be discussed below, the name Veteris strongly suggests a Celtic origin.

The god is also known from inscriptions found at Vindolanda (Stanegate Fort, Chesterholm, Northumberland). Two of the inscriptions [RIB 1679 and RIB 1698] are to Veteris; however three of the inscriptions, as exemplified by [RIB 1699] VETERIBVS POSSENACVLVS (To the Veterian [gods], placed by Senaculus) employ the plural form (the other inscirptions being: [RIB 1722e and RIB 1722f]). Four further inscriptions have been discovered at Cilurnum (Chesters, Northumberland) which are dedicated to Vitiris [RIB 1455] as well as the Veterian Gods [RIB 1456] and the Vitirian Gods [RIB 1457]. A further dedication at Cilurnum to Votrius (SVADNVS VOTV F D VOTRI V S "Suadnus makes this offering to the god Votrius in fulfillment of a vow") [RIB 1458] also probably represents the same deity. At Aesica (Hadrian's Wall Fort and Settlement, Great Chesters, Northumberland) there are three inscriptions. Two to the Veterian Gods [RIB 1729, RIB 1730] and one to Vetiris [RIB 1728]. The inscriptions from Vercovicium (Hadrian's Wall Fort, Housesteads, Northumberland) are particularly interesting from an ethnographic viewpoint. There are three inscriptions to Veteris (or the Veterae). The first of these [RIB 1602] reads: DEO HVETERI SVPERSTES ET REGVLVS VSLM (To the god hVeteris, the survivors and Regulus willingly and deservedly fulfill their vow). Which might suggest that Veteris was a martial deity and that the survivors were the survivors of a conflict. The next inscirption [RIB 1603] is dedicated to hVitiris. Both inscriptions contain the Germanic form of the god's name and were probably dedicated by Germanic tribesmen of the Frisian formation stationed at this fort. These were the same peoples who made a dedication to the Alaisiagae (who are addressed by both Germanic and Celtic names. This suggests some cross-over of the deities and that the Frisians may have been influenced by Celtic neighbours. The Germanic forms of the names of the Veterae helps strengthen this argument.) Also, the fact that both Veteris and Vitiris are named in Germanic forms suggests that these may be two separate deities who are both part of the Veterae (as a dual form). Do we therefore have an instance of deities which form a duality (Veteris and Vitiris) and who can be called in the dual form of either (ie Vitiriae or Veteriae)? It's certainly an interesting possiblility and the evidence certainly points towards this being the case. Indeed, the remaining inscriptions at Housesteads are all to the 'Veterian Gods'.

The deity is also known from Condercum (Benwell, Tyne & Wear) where he is invoked in the plural form as Vitiriae [RIB 1336]. At Brocolitia (Carrawburgh, Northumbria), inscriptions are made to Veteris [RIB 1548] and the hViteriae [RIB 1549]. At Corstopitum (Stanegate Fort, Corbridge, Northumberland) there are three sinscriptions: one to Veteris [RIB 1139] and two to Vitiris [RIB 1141, RIB 140]. Other inscriptions have been found at Piercebridge, Durham (to diio Viiteri [AE 1977, 251]) and Thistleton, Leicestershire (de(o) Vete(ri) [RIB II, 3/2431.3]). At Longovicium (Lanchester, Durham) two inscriptions, both dedicated to Vitiris, have been found [RIB 1087 and RIB 1088] with the longest inscription [RIB 1088] reading: DEO VITIRI VNTHAV. PR POS PRO SE ET SVIS (To the god Vitirius, Unthau[...] prefect, set this up for himself and his family). At Concangis (the Roman fort of Chester-le-Street, Durham) there are three inscriptions, one [RIB 1046] dedicated to Vitiris and the other two [RIB 1047 and 1048] dedicated to the Vitiriban gods. At Vindomara (Ebchester, Durham) there are two inscriptions to Vitiris [RIB 1103, RIB 1104]. There are two further inscriptions from the region of Hadrians Wall (though the precise source of neither is directly known). The first of these [RIB 2068] is to DEO VETERI and the second [RIB 2069] is dedicated to HVITIRIBVS VOTVM (an offering to hViteris).

Apart from the inscriptions described above there are two further inscription where Veteris is invoked as the epithet of another god. The first of these comes from Arbeia (Roman Fort at South Shields, Tyne & Wear) [RIB 1070c] DEO ANSV VITIRI CR... (To the god Ansus Vitiris, Cr[...]). Ansus is not known from any other dedication, but it may be related to the proto-Gothic *ansus (ancestor deity). Thus the inscription might be to 'the ancestral god Vitiris'. At Castra Exploratum (Netherby, Cumbria) the inscription [RIB 971] is dedicated to: DEO MOGONT[i] VITIRE SAN[cti] AEL[ius] SECVND[us] V[otum] S[olvit] L[ibens] M[erito] (To the venerable god Mogons Vitiris, Aelius Secundus willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow). Mogons may be an archer/hunter deity who is also a possible hunter deity and horned diety and the link of Vitiris/Veteris to this deity may indicate that he shared some of Mogons' various attributes. (The site also has two further dedications to hVeteris [RIB 969] and hVetiris [RIB 973].)

Most of the sites where Veteris was named were stations of Belgic tribes, however there are no dedications to this deity in the homelands of the Belgic tribes (north-western Gaul). Nor are there dedications in the homelands of the Germanic tribes stationed in Britain, which suggests that the god was a local deity adopted by the garrisoned troops; some of whom Germanicized the name. We also see a deity who has two main forms to his name (Veteris and Vitiris) and who are also invoked in the plural: Veteriae and Vitiriae. Thus it is possible that the Veteriae/Vitiriae are a compound of the gods Veteris and Vitiris and the confusion in the spellings may be due to the way the names were heard by the foreign troops, with the similarities between 'e' and 'i' sounds leading to considerable confusion. If the names Veteris and Vitiris are different, then how could they be interpreted? The easiest to interpret is Veteris which can be derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic *wāti-/*wāto- (poet/seer). Thus Veteris can be interpreted as 'The Poet/The Seer'; from which the Latin vātēs is derived. Vitiris is a little more difficult to interpret, though it may be related to the Latin vētus (ancient). But it could also be related to the proto-Celtic *witsu- (knowing). Could Vitiris, therefore, be 'the wise'. In Celtic society wisdom was associated with age, however. Thus Vitiris might be the old and wise aspect of the Veteriae and Veteris might be the seer/prophet aspect. Together they form a deity whose combined aspect are very similar to those of Ogmios. As well as being a prophet/seer and bard Ogmois was also a warrior deity, which might explain the popularity of the Veteriae in military contexts.

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