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Vicribus
A Brythonic god: King of the Fight
Vicribus (Vicrus) is a Brythonic god known from a single inscription discovered at Old Penrith, England. He may represent a local god of military combat. |
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Bryth: King of the Fight
Vicribus is a god known from a single inscription discovered at Black Gate, Old Penrith, Cumbria during 1813. The find represents the bottom of a pillar which is severely damaged, but it does contain the following fragmentary inscription [RIB 925]: VICRIBVS T... S... V • SLM ([To the god, Vicribus T... S... willingly and deservedly fulfills his vow). What seems to be missing is the name of the dedicator and the name of the god himself is intact. However, we only have this single inscription attesting to this deity, who may have been a local god.
Based on the reconstructed proto-Celtic lexicon it's possible to interpret the name of this deity as being formed from the components: *wik-o- (fight) and rīg- (king, which gives the Irish rí and the Cymric rhi). Thus Vicribus is the 'King of the Fight'. This might suggest a martial deity, but it could be derived from a much earler age and reflect the Celtic practice of using heroes in single combat to decide the fate of a battle.
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