Abandinus

Abandinus was a name used to refer to a Celtic god or male spirit worshipped in Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire during the Romano-Celtic period.

Epigraphic evidence

Abandinus is represented in Britain on a single altarstone. He is unknown throughout the rest of the Roman Empire and is therefore thought to have been a local god of the Roman fort at Godmanchester in Cambridgeshire, possibly associated with either a natural spring or a stream in the neighbourhood [ [http://www.roman-britain.org/rbgods.htm The Gods Of Roman Britain ] ]

The Roman fort at Godmanchester, a strategic site on Ermine Street at the crossing of the River Great Ouse, is thought to have been called Durovigutum [ [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/durovigutum.htm#rib230a Dvrovigvtvm ] ] . The god is known only from an inscribed bronze feather, very likely some sort of votive object, dedicated to him [ [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/durovigutum.htm#rib230a Dvrovigvtvm ] ] .The inscription on the bronze feather reads:

"DEO ABANDINO VATIAVCVS D S D"

*‘To the god Abandinus, Vatiacus dedicates this out of his own funds’ [ [http://www.roman-britain.org/places/durovigutum.htm#rib230a Dvrovigvtvm ] ] .

Semantics of the theonym

The semantics of the theonym are unknown. All the same, linguistic knowledge of Proto-Celtic lexis permits a narrowing of the likely possibilities of the theonym’s semantics. The name could be interpreted as an extended form of a stem composed of Proto-Celtic elements deriving from Proto-Indo-European roots *"ad"- ‘to’ [Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch:entry 7, Indogermanisches Wörterbuch, 2.] + either *"bʰend"- ‘sing, rejoice’ [Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch:entry 226, Indogermanisches Wörterbuch, 118.] or *"bʰendʰ"- ‘bind’ [Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch:entry 227, Indogermanisches Wörterbuch, 118.] . Along these lines, the name would mean ‘(the god) who sings to (something/someone)’ or ‘(the god) who binds (something/someone) to (something/someone).’ However, it is also possible to see the name as an extended form of a variant form of the Proto-Celtic word *"abon"- ‘river,’ derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *"ab"-, *"h₂eb-" ‘water, river’ [Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch:entry 2, Indogermanisches Wörterbuch, 1.] . The Romano-Celtic name for the Humber is documented as having been "Abus" [(q.v. History section of the Wikipedia article on the Humber) ] which suggests that a shorter element *"abo"- existed in the Proto-Celtic lexicon as a word for ‘river’ or ‘water.’ This *"abo"- element could have been the source of the "Ab-"- element in the theonym "Abandinus". So the name can also be analysed as *"Ab-Andinus" ‘Andinus of the River,’ Andinus being a theonym attested elsewhere in the ancient Roman Empire.

References