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* Nodens , *Nodons or * Nudens (reconstructed from the Dative case Nodenti or Nodonti ) is a Celtic mythology healing god worshipped in Ancient Britain. Although no physical depiction of him has survived, votive plaques found in a shrine at Lydney Park (Gloucestershire) indicate his connection with dogs, a beast associated with healing symbolism in antiquity. The deity is known in only one other location, in Cockersand Moss (Lancashire). He was equated on most inscriptions with the Roman mythology Mars (as a healer rather than as a warrior) and associated in a curse with Silvanus (a hunting-god)., s.v. Nodons , Nudd and Nuadu Airgetlám . His name is cognate with that of later Celtic mythological figures, such as the Irish mythology Nuada and the Welsh mythology Nudd .
The philologist and author J. R. R. Tolkien was invited to investigate the Latin inscription, and scholars have noted several likely influences on his Middle-earth fantasy writings, including the Elvish smith, maker of Rings of Power, Celebrimbor, whose name, like that of Nuada's epithet Airgetlám, means 'Silver-hand'. Nodens appears, too, in the works of Arthur Machen, as well as H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
The origin of the name remains obscure, scholar John Carey noting that "it seems at any rate safe to say that no etymology so far proposed can be accepted with full confidence". The Welsh noun nudd means 'mist, haze, fog', and both Lludd and Nuadu are attached to the epithet 'of silver hand/arm', which could lead to a conjectural Proto-Celtic stem * snowdo- ('mist, haze'), from Proto-Indo-European * snewdh- ('mist, cloud'; cf. Latin nūbēs 'clouds'), perhaps also attested in the Irish snuad ('appearance, colour'). However, the sound shift sn- > n- does not seem to be attested elsewhere in Gaulish (although - sn- > - n- is known) and remains difficult to justify in Proto-Brittonic (the sound change should have occurred later than the inscriptions). Scholars have also linked the Celtic names with the stem * néud- (cf. Gothic niutan 'to catch, attain, acquire' and nuta 'catcher, fisherman', Lithuanian naudà 'property'), associating *Nowdont- with the fishing (and possibly hunting) motifs of the Lydney remains and with the silver arms of Nuadu and Lludd. However, this stem remains unattested elsewhere in Celtic, and possibly takes its origins from a pre-Indo-European language. A third alternative is the Proto-Indo-European stem * neh2u- t- (cf. Goth. nauþs 'need, compulsion, distress', Old Prussian nautin 'need'), which could be found in Proto-Celtic * nāwito- ('need'; cf. Old Irish neóit, Middle Welsh neued), although linguist Ranko Matasović finds the relation "formally quite difficult" to explain.
Nudd's son Gwyn (ruler of the Welsh Otherworld), his name meaning 'white', is an exact cognate of the Irish name Finn, who is described as the great-grandson of Nuadu mac Achi (Finn mac Umaill) or Nuadu Necht (Finn File). Although the origin of the association remains difficult to explain, Carey writes that Nodons may be seen "a god of multi-faceted but consistent character: a shining royal warrior presiding over the chaotic in nature, society and the Otherworld (water, war, the devils of Annwn)." In this view, the Middle Irish núada, núadu ('hero, champion, king poetic?')eDIL, s.v. núada, ? núadu, dil.ie/33328. may be interpreted as the Euhemerism name of the Celtic deity, with a semantic shift comparable to that conjectured for Proto-Germanic *balþaz > *Balðraz ('white, shining' > 'strong, brave, bold' > 'hero, prince'; cf. Old Norse Baldr 'brave, defiant, lord, prince' and Old English Bældæg 'shining day').
According to Arthur Bernard Cook (1906) the toponym "Lydney" derives from the Old English * Lydan-eġ, "Lludd's Island", which could connect it with Nodens. However, alternative etymologies of Lydney are offered in other sources. A. D. Mills suggests "island or river-meadow of the sailor, or of a man named *Lida", citing the forms "Lideneg" from c. 853 and "Ledenei" from the 1086 Domesday Book.
The temple complex was first excavated by Charles Bathurst in 1805, then reexcavated in 1928–1929 by Mortimer Wheeler and Tessa Wheeler, who produced an extensive report of the findings at the site. Although no anthropomorphic depiction of the deity has been discovered, a dozen figures of dogs were found at the site, presumably deposited at the shrine as offerings by pilgrims due to the healing symbolism associated with dogs. As one of these figurines has a human face, it is possible that the deity himself could have been perceived as taking the form of an animal. A bronze arm whose hand displays the spoon-shaped fingernails characteristic of someone suffering from iron deficiency gives further evidence of the healing attributes of Nodens. Findings at the site include bronze depicting a sea deity, fishermen and tritons, a bronze plaque of a woman, about 320 pins, nearly 300 bracelets, and over 8,000 coins. Also present were oculists' stamps used to mark sticks of eye ointment, like those at Gallo-Roman healing sanctuaries in antiquity. The deity was further associated with aquatic and solar imagery, similar to other curative shrines of Roman Gaul.
Several inscriptions to Nodens have been found, one on a lead curse tablet reading:
| Devo Nodenti Silvianus anilum perdedit demediam partem donavit Nodenti inter quibus nomen Seniciani nollis petmittas sanitatem donec perfera(t) usque templum Nodentis
Rediviva | To the god Nodens: Silvianus has lost his ring and given half (its value) to Nodens. Among those who are called Senicianus do not allow health until he brings it to the temple of Nodens.
(This curse) comes into force again. RIB 306. Curse upon SenicianusCIL 07, 00140 = RIB-01, 00306 (301–410 AD) |
Other inscriptions identify Nodens, in various spellings, with the Roman god Mars:
| D(eo) M(arti) Nodonti Flavius Blandinus armatura v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito) | To the god Mars Nodons, Flavius Blandinus, weapon-instructor, gladly and deservedly fulfilled his vow. RIB 305. Dedication to Mars NodonsCIL 07, 00138 = RIB-01, 00305 (301–410 AD) |
| Pectillus votum quod promissit deo Nudente M(arti) dedit | Pectillus gave to the god Nudens Mars the votive offering which he had promised. RIB 307. Dedication to Nudens MarsCIL 07, 00139 = RIB-01, 00307 (301–410 AD) |
| D(eo) M(arti) N(odenti) T(itus) Flavius Senilis pr(aepositus) rel(igionis?) ex stipibus pos{s}uit o(pitu)lante Victorino interp(re)tiante | To the god Mars Nodens, Titus Flavius Senilis, superintendent of the cult, had (this mosaic) laid from the offerings with assistance from Victorinus the interpreterCIL 07, 00137 = RIB-02-04, 02448,03 (371–400 AD) |
| D(eo) M(arti) N(odonti) Lucianus colleg(ae) Aprili Viatoris v(otum) s(olvit) | To the god Mars Nodons, Lucianus fulfilled the vow of his colleague, Aprilius Viator. RIB 617. Dedication to Mars NodonsRIB-01, 00617 = AE 1958, 00095b (71–300 AD) |
Another reads:
| Deo Marti Nodonti Aurelius ...cinus sig(illum) | To the god Mars Nodons, Aurelius ...cinus (set up) this statuette. RIB 616. Dedication to Mars NodonsRIB-01, 00616 = AE 1958, 00095a (71–300 AD) |
The legendary Welsh hero Nudd appears in the Welsh Triads as one of the three most generous men in Wales, along with his two cousins, Rhydderch Hael and Mordaf Hael. His two sons are known as Edern ap Nudd and Gwyn ap Nudd. Nudd may also be called Lludd, and seems to be linked to other figures of the same name, such as the son of Beli Mawr in Cyfranc Lludd a Llefelys.
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