Moritasgus is a Gaulish language epithet for a healing god found in four epigraphy at Alesia.[Jacky Bénard et al., Les agglomérations antiques de Côte-d'Or (Annales Littéraires de l'Université de Besançon, 1994), p. 251 online.] In two inscriptions, he is identified with the Greco-Roman god Apollo.[ CIL 13.11240 and 11241; Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture (Alfred Kröner, 1994, 1997, translation Boydell & Brewer 1997), p. 198 online.] His hieros gamos was the goddess Damona.
Etymology
The name
Moritasgus, shared by a 1st-century BC ruler of the
Senones,
[Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.54.] has been analyzed variously. The particle
-tasgus has been derived by scholars from a
Proto-Celtic stem
*tazgo-,
[ Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.] or
*tasko- 'badger'.
[ Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.] proposed that the complete name means "Sea Badger", from
Gaulish language mori 'sea' +
tasgos (also
tascos or
taxos), 'badger'.
The
European badger produced a secretion used in Gaulish medicaments, hence a possible connection with a healing god.
[See Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise (Éditions Errance, 2003), pp. 229, 292–293, and D. Ellis Evans, Gaulish personal names: a study of some Continental Celtic formations (University of Michigan Press, 1967), p. 103. For further discussion, see .]
Shrine in Alesia
Alesia was an
oppidum of the
Celts Mandubii in present-day Burgundy. A dedication to the gods alludes to the presence of a shrine at the curative spring, where sick pilgrims could bathe in a sacred pool. The sanctuary itself, located near the eastern gate of the town just outside the city wall,
[James Bromwich, The Roman Remains of Northern and Eastern France: A Guidebook (Routledge, 2003), pp. 49 and 133 online et passim.] was impressive, with baths and a temple. In addition, there were
, where the sick possibly slept, hoping for divine visions and cures.
Numerous votive objects[See ex-voto and Milagro (votive) for analogous Christian practices.] were dedicated to Moritasgus. These were models of the pilgrims and the afflicted parts of their bodies: these included limbs, internal organs, genitals, breasts, and eyes. Surgeons' tools have also been found, suggesting that the priests[The druids were the priesthood of the ancient Celts.] also acted as surgeons.
Selected bibliography
-
Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend. Miranda Green. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. 1997.
Further reading
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Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
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Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
