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Matunus or Matunos was a god in Brythonic
Celtic polytheism Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism, was the religion of the ancient Celts, Celtic peoples of Europe. Because there are no extant native records of their beliefs, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, ...
. His name may be derived from the same root as
Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...
''*matu-'' meaning
bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...
. He was worshipped in
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 altar-stones raised to him have been recovered in the United Kingdom, such as at High Rochester (1265 D213 and at Risingham. The god may be parallel with Mercury Artaius, who might also have ursine connotations. A similarly named Gaulish god, Matutinus, is attested in at least three inscriptions from Switzerland; in all three he is identified with Mercury, and in one he is also identified with Cissonius.Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl. 2001. ''Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie.'' Editions Errance, Paris.


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{{Celtic mythology (ancient) Gods of the ancient Britons Animal gods