Rigisamus, also Rigisamos, was a deity in
Gaulish
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...
and
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a ...
who, according to the
Interpretatio Romana, was connected with
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
.
Mythology and Etymology
Rigisamus is mentioned in two inscriptions, one in
Bourges
Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry.
History
The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
(
Cher department, Region
Center-Val de Loire in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
), and the other in
West Cocker (in
Yeovil
Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...
, district of
South Somerset in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
) together with a picture of God and the following text:
''Roman Inscriptions of Britain'' 1, 187.
/ref>
: ''Deo Marti , Rigisamo , Iu (v) entius , Sabinus , v (otum) s (olvit) l (aetus) l (ibens) m (erito)''
: ("Juventius Sabinus gladly and deservedly fulfilled the vow for the god Mars Rigisamus")
The name Rigisamus is derived from a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
root ''* rīg'' ("king", "royal") and a second, ''* -samo'', ''* samali'' ("unique"). Rigisamus would therefore mean "the most royal", or "king of kings". The Irish word ''rí'' R'iː and the Gallic ''rix'' īg-s (both also mean “king”) are directly related to this.
It is unknown which properties of Mars are attributed to Rigisamus.
See also
* List of Celtic deities
The Celtic deities are known from a variety of sources such as written Celtic mythology, ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, religious objects, as well as place and personal names.
Celtic deities can belong to two categories: gene ...
* Ancient Celtic religion
*Gaulish gods
Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerl ...
References
{{Celtic mythology (ancient)
Gaulish gods