Mogons

MogonsorMogunswas a Celtic god worshiped inRoman BritainandGaul.The main evidence is from altars dedicated to the god by Roman soldiers.

Etymology

According toJ.T. Kochat theUniversity of Wales,the various alternations of the nameMogunsderive from the Romano-Celticdialectalreflexes ofProto-Celtic*mogont-s(a derivative of theProto-Indo-Europeanroot*megH2-"to be great, mighty" ), anIndo-European*-nt--stemcognatewithSanskritmahāntandAvestanmazant‘great’.

Centres of worship

Altar-stones raised to Mogons have been recovered in theUnited Kingdom,such as the stones found at the following locations. The number is the catalog number of the artifact and the name in parentheses is the word as it appears on the stone, not necessarily (and probably not) in thenominative case.Most aredatives,to be translated as "to the god":

• Voreda (Old Penrith):921 (Mogti), 922 (Mounti)
• Castra Exploratorum (Netherby,Cumbria): 971 (Mogont Vitire)
• Habitancum(Risingham): 1225 (Mogonito, dative of *Mogonitus, adjective formed from *Mogons), 1226 (Mouno, *Moguno, dative of *Mogunus)
• Bremenium(High Rochester): 1269 (Mountibus, *Moguntibus, dative plural of *Moguns)
• Vindolanda(Chesterholm): 1722d (Mogunti et Genio Loci).

ModernMainztakes its name fromCastrumMoguntiacum, a Roman base placed there. It is hypothesized that Moguns gave his name to it. The inscription at Habitancum identifies the troops stationed at that location as being from theVangiones,theGaesatiandRhaetifromGermania Superior.Mainz was in the territory of theAresaces,a Celtic tribe probably part of theTreveri.

The Habitancum inscription contains also the expressionDeo Mogonito Cad...with the letters followingCadmissing. As the region is in the territory of the historic Scottish tribe called theGadeni,centered aroundJedburgh(Jed possibly from Cad), the Cad.. is interpreted as some case of Cadeni. One speculation is that the Cadeni were a section of the Vangiones. Some derive Cadeni from Gaedhal, orGael.A third theory derives Cad from catu-, "battle", with a sense "to the battle god, Mogon...".

Considering that the gods worshipped in the futureAlsace,then home of the Vangiones, were Celtic, such asGrannus,Moguns is currently taken to be Celtic.The -uns is a specifically Celtic suffix. As for the historic Gadeni, their origin is not known. They could be the remnants of the Vangiones or possibly among the indigenes. Perhaps the future discovery of additional inscriptions or the future publication of inscriptions already known but unpublished will shed further light on Mogons.

Locations of artifacts

• PenrithMuseum, Cumbria,England.
• CarlisleMuseum, Cumbria,England.

External links

• Voreda
• Castra Exploratorum
• Habitancum
• Bremenium
• Vindolanda