Visucius

 ( Gaulish Gods ) 

Visucius was a Gallo-Roman god, usually identified with Mercury. He was worshipped primarily in the east of Gaul, around Trier and on the Rhine; his name is recorded on about ten dedicatory inscriptions. One such inscription has also been found in Bordeaux. Visucius is, along with Gebrinius and Cissonius, among the most common indigenous epithets of the Gaulish Mercury.Nicole Jufer & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Paris: Editions Errance. .

The name has sometimes been interpreted as meaning "of the ravens"Mary Jones. "Uisucius" Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia, 2004. or "knowledgeable"; MERCURIUS - L'inventore di tutte le arte from Bifröst (in the original, Sapiente). cf. the Proto-Celtic roots * wesāko- 'raven, grebe' (cf. Old Irish disyllabic fiach, Welsh gwyach) and * witsu- 'knowing'.Matasovic, Ranko, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Brill, 2008, pp. 415-416 Proto-Celtic—English lexicon and English—Proto-Celtic lexicon. University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. (See also this page for background and disclaimers.)

The variant or mistaken spelling Visuclus is also attested.Table of results for Visucius, Visuclus, and Visugius from L'Arbre Celtique.

In a Latin inscription from Rheinzabern, Germany ( CIL 13, 5991) dedicated to Jupiter, Apollo, and Visucius, the name SOLI T... appears after Visucius, perhaps originally standing for Solitumarus, an epithet of Mercury's in an inscription (AE 2001, 1388; AE 2008, 901) found at Chateaubleau, France.

Another inscription is co-dedicated to Sancta Visucia, as well as to Mercurius Visucius. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum XIII:6404, transcribed on Bifröst . This goddess, apparently a companion or analogue of Visucius, has sometimes been likened to Rosmerta or Maia, who also accompany Mercury on many Gaulish dedications.

One inscription dedicated to Visugius has also been found at Agoncillo in Spain; this may perhaps refer to the same deity.

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Comparisons A place known as Hill of Uisneach in Ireland was said to be a very sacred place to the Dagda, and was home to one of Ireland's most important sacred trees, the Tree of Uisneach. Schot, Roseanne (2006). "Uisneach Midi a medón Érenn: a prehistoric cult centre and royal site in Co. Westmeath". Journal of Irish Archaeology, issue 15. pp.39-46 The name means "Place of the Ash," from Uiseann, a common term for the Ash tree.

Coincidentally, it's possible Dagda is the same figure as a very uncommonly referenced figure in Irish mythology known as Esarg, which may mean that Dagda, Esarg, Visucius and Esus are all the same deity.

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