Maponos
Encyclopedia
In ancient Celtic religion
, Maponos or Maponus ("divine son") is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul
. In Roman
times he was equated with Apollo
.
The Welsh
mythological figure Mabon ap Modron
is apparently derived from Maponos, who by analogy we may suggest was the son of the mother-goddess Dea Matrona
. The Irish god Aengus
, also known as the Mac Óg ("young son"), is probably related to Maponos, as are the Arthurian characters Mabuz and Mabonagrain.
, mapos means a young boy or (more rarely) a son. The suffix -on is augmentative. Besides the theonym Maponos, the root mapos is found in personal names such as Mapodia, Mapillus, and Maponius; mapo is also found in the Carjac inscription (RIG L-86). The root is Proto-Indo-European
. (Delamarre 2003 pp. 216-217).
In Insular Celtic languages
, the same root is found in Welsh
, Cornish
and Breton
mab meaning son (Delamarre 2003 pp. 216-217), derived from Common Brythonic *mapos (identical to Gaulish). In Old Irish, macc also means son; it is found in Ogham
inscriptions as the genitive maqui, maqqi, maqui (Sims-Williams 2003 pp. 430-431) with a geminative expressive doubling . (This is the source of Scottish and Irish names starting Mac or Mc).
He therefore personified youthfulness, which would explain the syncretism with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo
.
at Bourbonne-les-Bains
(CIL 13, 05924) and at Chamalières
(RIG L-100) but is attested chiefly in the north of Britain
at Brampton
, Corbridge
(in antiquity, Coria
), Ribchester
(In antiquity, Bremetenacum Veteranorum) and Chesterholm (in antiquity, Vindolanda
). Some inscriptions are very simple such as Deo Mapono (to the god Maponos) from Chesterholm (AE 1975, 00568). At Corbridge are two dedications (RIB 1120 and RIB 1121) Apollini Mapono (to Apollo Maponos) and one (RIB 1122) [Deo] / [M]apo[no] / Apo[llini] (To the god Maponos Apollo). The inscription at Brampton (RIB 2063) by four Germans is to the god Maponos and the numen
of the emperor:.
This inscription (RIB 583) by a unit of Sarmatians
based at Ribchester shows the association with Apollo and also can be precisely dated to the day (pridie Kalendas Septembres, or 29 August in the Roman calendar
) and the year (241 CE, by mention of the two consuls).
The preceding inscriptions are all in Latin. The name is also found on the inscription from Chamalières, which is a relatively long magical text (12 lines) written in Gaulish
on a rolled lead sheet. The second line calls for the help of Maponos (here in the accusative singular, Maponon: artiu maponon aruerriíatin (RIG L-100).
Two items of place-name evidence also attest to Maponos in Britain. Both are from the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography
. Locus Maponi (Richmond & Crawford #228) or "the place of Maponos", is thought to be between Lochmaben and Lockerbie (the name Lochmaben may be derived from Locus Maponi, with the p to b sound shift). Maporiton (Richmond & Crawford #163) or "the ford of Maponos" is thought to be Ladyward, near Lockerbie. The Lochmaben Stone
lies near Gretna on the farm named Old Graitney, the old name for Gretna. The name Clachmaben, meaning 'stone of Maben or Maponos', has become corrupted to Lochmaben. This stone was probably part of a stone circle and the area is thought to have been a centre for the worship of Maponus.
, Apollo Anicetus Sol, Apollo Grannus
and Apollo Maponus (the latter showing a Latinising influence, -os becoming -us). It can thus be difficult to tell from a simple dedication to Apollo whether the classical deity is meant or whether a particular Celtic deity is being referred to under a classical name. The situation in Gaul is even more complicated, with at least twenty epithets being recorded. (Jufer & Luginbühl pp. 94-96).
, as Mabon
, son of Modron
, who is herself the continuation of Gaulish Matrona
(“Matronly Spirit”). The theme of Maponos son of Matrona (literally, child of mother) and the development of names in the Mabinogi
from Common Brythonic
and Gaulish
theonyms has been examined by Hamp (1999), Lambert (1979), and Meid (1991). Mabon apparently features in the tale of a newborn child taken from his mother at the age of three nights, and is explicitly named in the story of Culhwch ac Olwen.
His name lives on in Arthurian romance in the guise of Mabon
, Mabuz, and Mabonagrain.
would seem to be Mac(c) ind Ó‘c
(Hamp 1999) (“Young Son”, “Young Lad”), an epithet of Angus or Oengus, the eternally youthful spirit to be found in Newgrange
called Bruigh na Bóinne
, a pre-Celtic Neolithic
barrow
or chambered tomb. Irish mythology
portrays him as the son of the Dagda
, a king of the Irish gods, and of Boann
, a personification of the River Boyne
. In Irish mythology
, the Macc Óc frequently features as a trickster and a lover.
Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
, Maponos or Maponus ("divine son") is a god of youth known mainly in northern Britain but also in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
. In Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
times he was equated with Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
.
The Welsh
Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
mythological figure Mabon ap Modron
Mabon ap Modron
Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's warband. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. His name is related to the Romano-British god Maponos, whose name means...
is apparently derived from Maponos, who by analogy we may suggest was the son of the mother-goddess Dea Matrona
Dea Matrona
In Celtic mythology, Dea Matrona was the goddess of the river Marne in Gaul.In many areas she was worshipped as a triple goddess, and known as Deae Matres , with a wider sphere of believed influence...
. The Irish god Aengus
Aengus
In Irish mythology, Óengus , Áengus , or Aengus or Aonghus , is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and poetic inspiration...
, also known as the Mac Óg ("young son"), is probably related to Maponos, as are the Arthurian characters Mabuz and Mabonagrain.
Etymology of the name
In GaulishGaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...
, mapos means a young boy or (more rarely) a son. The suffix -on is augmentative. Besides the theonym Maponos, the root mapos is found in personal names such as Mapodia, Mapillus, and Maponius; mapo is also found in the Carjac inscription (RIG L-86). The root is Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
. (Delamarre 2003 pp. 216-217).
In Insular Celtic languages
Insular Celtic languages
Insular Celtic languages are those Celtic languages that originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of mainland Europe and Anatolia. All surviving Celtic languages are from the Insular Celtic group; the Continental Celtic languages are extinct...
, the same root is found in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
and Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
mab meaning son (Delamarre 2003 pp. 216-217), derived from Common Brythonic *mapos (identical to Gaulish). In Old Irish, macc also means son; it is found in Ogham
Ogham
Ogham is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the Old Irish language, and occasionally the Brythonic language. Ogham is sometimes called the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.There are roughly...
inscriptions as the genitive maqui, maqqi, maqui (Sims-Williams 2003 pp. 430-431) with a geminative expressive doubling . (This is the source of Scottish and Irish names starting Mac or Mc).
He therefore personified youthfulness, which would explain the syncretism with the Graeco-Roman god Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
.
Evidence for Maponos
The evidence is mainly epigraphic. Maponos (“Divine Son”) is mentioned in GaulGaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
at Bourbonne-les-Bains
Bourbonne-les-Bains
Bourbonne-les-Bains is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France.-Spa:Bourbonne is a health resort due to hot springs. These thermal springs were known to the Gauls and to the Romans who built baths...
(CIL 13, 05924) and at Chamalières
Chamalières
Chamalières is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.Chamalières is the third-largest town in the department and lies about from Lyon.-History:...
(RIG L-100) but is attested chiefly in the north of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
at Brampton
Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria
Brampton is a small market town and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England about 9 miles east of Carlisle and 2 miles south of Hadrian's Wall. It is situated off the A69 road which bypasses it...
, Corbridge
Corbridge
Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, situated west of Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages in the vicinity include Halton, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe.-Roman fort and town:...
(in antiquity, Coria
Coria (Corbridge)
Coria was a fort and town, located south of Hadrian's Wall, in the Roman province of Britannia. Its full Latin name is uncertain. Today it is known as Corchester or Corbridge Roman Site, adjoining Corbridge in the English county of Northumberland...
), Ribchester
Ribchester
Ribchester is a village and civil parish within the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Ribble, northwest of Blackburn and east of Preston.The village has a long history with evidence of Bronze Age beginnings...
(In antiquity, Bremetenacum Veteranorum) and Chesterholm (in antiquity, Vindolanda
Vindolanda
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth...
). Some inscriptions are very simple such as Deo Mapono (to the god Maponos) from Chesterholm (AE 1975, 00568). At Corbridge are two dedications (RIB 1120 and RIB 1121) Apollini Mapono (to Apollo Maponos) and one (RIB 1122) [Deo] / [M]apo[no] / Apo[llini] (To the god Maponos Apollo). The inscription at Brampton (RIB 2063) by four Germans is to the god Maponos and the numen
Numen
Numen is a Latin term for a potential, guiding the course of events in a particular place or in the whole world, used in Roman philosophical and religious thought...
of the emperor:.
- Deo / Mapono / et n(umini) Aug(usti) / Durio / et Ramio / et Trupo / et Lurio / Germa/ni v(otum) s(olverunt) l(ibentes) m(erito)
This inscription (RIB 583) by a unit of Sarmatians
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
based at Ribchester shows the association with Apollo and also can be precisely dated to the day (pridie Kalendas Septembres, or 29 August in the Roman calendar
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
) and the year (241 CE, by mention of the two consuls).
- Deo san(cto) / [A]pollini Mapono / [pr]o salute d(omini) n(ostri) / [et] n(umeri) eq(uitum) Sar/[m(atarum)] Bremetenn(acensium) / [G]ordiani / [A]el(ius) Antoni/nus |(centurio) leg(ionis) VI / vic(tricis) domo / Melitenis / praep(ositus) et pr(aefectus) / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito) / [de]dic(atum) pr(idie) Kal(endas) Sep(tembres) / [Im]p(eratore) d(omino) n(ostro) Gord[i]/[ano A]ug(usto) II e[t] Pon[peia]no(!) co(n)s(ulibus)
The preceding inscriptions are all in Latin. The name is also found on the inscription from Chamalières, which is a relatively long magical text (12 lines) written in Gaulish
Gaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...
on a rolled lead sheet. The second line calls for the help of Maponos (here in the accusative singular, Maponon: artiu maponon aruerriíatin (RIG L-100).
Two items of place-name evidence also attest to Maponos in Britain. Both are from the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography
Ravenna Cosmography
The Ravenna Cosmography was compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around AD 700. It consists of a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland. Textual evidence indicates that the author frequently used maps as his source....
. Locus Maponi (Richmond & Crawford #228) or "the place of Maponos", is thought to be between Lochmaben and Lockerbie (the name Lochmaben may be derived from Locus Maponi, with the p to b sound shift). Maporiton (Richmond & Crawford #163) or "the ford of Maponos" is thought to be Ladyward, near Lockerbie. The Lochmaben Stone
Lochmaben Stone
The Lochmaben Stone is a megalith standing in a field, nearly a mile west of the Sark mouth on the Solway Firth, three hundred yards or so above high water mark on the farm of Old Graitney in Dumfries & Galloway in Scotland. Map reference: NY 3123 6600. The area is also known as Stormont...
lies near Gretna on the farm named Old Graitney, the old name for Gretna. The name Clachmaben, meaning 'stone of Maben or Maponos', has become corrupted to Lochmaben. This stone was probably part of a stone circle and the area is thought to have been a centre for the worship of Maponus.
Other Celtic epithets of Apollo
In Britain, dedications have been found to Apollo AnextiomarusAnextiomarus
Anextiomarus is a Celtic epithet of the sun-god Apollo recorded in a Romano-British inscription from South Shields, England. The form is a variant of Anextlomarus 'Great protector', a divine style or name attested in a fragmentary Gallo-Roman dedication from Le Mans, France...
, Apollo Anicetus Sol, Apollo Grannus
Grannus
In the Celtic polytheism of classical antiquity, Grannus was a deity associated with spas, healing thermal and mineral springs, and the sun. He was regularly identified with Apollo as Apollo Grannus...
and Apollo Maponus (the latter showing a Latinising influence, -os becoming -us). It can thus be difficult to tell from a simple dedication to Apollo whether the classical deity is meant or whether a particular Celtic deity is being referred to under a classical name. The situation in Gaul is even more complicated, with at least twenty epithets being recorded. (Jufer & Luginbühl pp. 94-96).
Welsh mythology
Maponos surfaces in the Middle Welsh narrative, the MabinogionMabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
, as Mabon
Mabon ap Modron
Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's warband. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. His name is related to the Romano-British god Maponos, whose name means...
, son of Modron
Modron
In Welsh mythology, Modron was a daughter of Afallach, derived from the Gaulish goddess Matrona. She may have been the prototype of Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend...
, who is herself the continuation of Gaulish Matrona
Dea Matrona
In Celtic mythology, Dea Matrona was the goddess of the river Marne in Gaul.In many areas she was worshipped as a triple goddess, and known as Deae Matres , with a wider sphere of believed influence...
(“Matronly Spirit”). The theme of Maponos son of Matrona (literally, child of mother) and the development of names in the Mabinogi
Mabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
from Common Brythonic
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
and Gaulish
Gaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...
theonyms has been examined by Hamp (1999), Lambert (1979), and Meid (1991). Mabon apparently features in the tale of a newborn child taken from his mother at the age of three nights, and is explicitly named in the story of Culhwch ac Olwen.
His name lives on in Arthurian romance in the guise of Mabon
Mabon ap Modron
Mabon ap Modron is a prominent figure from Welsh literature and mythology, the son of Modron and a member of Arthur's warband. Both he and his mother were likely deities in origin, descending from a divine mother–son pair. His name is related to the Romano-British god Maponos, whose name means...
, Mabuz, and Mabonagrain.
Irish mythology
His counterpart in Irish mythologyIrish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
would seem to be Mac(c) ind Ó‘c
Aengus
In Irish mythology, Óengus , Áengus , or Aengus or Aonghus , is a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably a god of love, youth and poetic inspiration...
(Hamp 1999) (“Young Son”, “Young Lad”), an epithet of Angus or Oengus, the eternally youthful spirit to be found in Newgrange
Newgrange
Newgrange is a prehistoric monument located in County Meath, on the eastern side of Ireland, about one kilometre north of the River Boyne. It was built around 3200 BC , during the Neolithic period...
called Bruigh na Bóinne
Brú na Bóinne
is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.-The site:...
, a pre-Celtic Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
or chambered tomb. Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
portrays him as the son of the Dagda
The Dagda
The Dagda is an important god of Irish mythology. The Dagda is a father-figure and a protector of the tribe. In some texts his father is Elatha, in others his mother is Ethniu. Other texts say that his mother is Danu; while others yet place him as the father of Danu, perhaps due to her...
, a king of the Irish gods, and of Boann
Boann
Boann or Boand is the Irish mythology goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn she was the daughter of Delbáeth, son of Elada, of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Her husband is variously Nechtan, Elcmar or Nuada. Her lover is the Dagda, by whom she had...
, a personification of the River Boyne
Boyne
Several terms incorporating the word "Boyne" include:* Boann, the Irish goddess after whom the river is named* Boyne River * Boyne Falls, Michigan,* Boyne Resorts, a ski resort company in Michigan...
. In Irish mythology
Irish mythology
The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...
, the Macc Óc frequently features as a trickster and a lover.