Camulus or Camulos is a
Celtic deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
who was identified with
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
via ''
interpretatio romana
, or "interpretation by means of Greek odels, refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign deities with their own gods. It is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cult ...
''.
Camulus was an important god of
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Julius Caes ...
and
Gaul
Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
, especially among the
Belgae
The Belgae ( , ) were a large confederation of tribes living in northern Gaul, between the English Channel, the west bank of the Rhine, and the northern bank of the river Seine, from at least the third century BC. They were discussed in depth b ...
and the
Remi,
Gaulish tribes that originate from the areas of modern day Belgium, Luxembourg, Northern France and parts of Germany and the Netherlands.
Name
The etymology of the name is uncertain. It has been compared with the
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
, meaning 'champion'.
Attestations
Evidence of Camulus' popularity can be seen in several place-names, notably
Camulodunum.
Camulus is named in combination with Mars in inscriptions coming from Reims,
Arlon,
Kruishoutem,
Rindern,
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
,
Bar Hill Fort near the
Antonine Wall,
Sarmizegetusa, and
Southwark, London.
The town
Camulodunum (now
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
) in
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
may have been named after him (and is the conjectured basis for the legendary city of
Camelot).
Camulodunum is a
Latinised form of the
Brittonic ''Camulodūnon'' from ''Camulos'' plus ''
dūnon'' "(hill)fort, stronghold", a reference to the town's extensive
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
earthwork defences.
Theories
Attempts from the 20th century and earlier to link the name ''Camulus'' with the
nursery rhyme character
Old King Cole, and with Irish mythological
Cumhall, the hero
Fionn's father, have been rejected by contemporary scholars.
References
;Bibliography
*
Further reading
* .
Gaulish gods
War gods
Roman Colchester
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