Belisama (Gaulish Belesama; epigraphically Bηλησαμα) is a Celtic goddess. She was identified by Roman commentators with Minerva by interpretatio romana.

Name

photograph of the "Segomaros" inscription

The Gaulish theonym Belesama has been traditionally interpreted as meaning 'the very bright', stemming from the Indo-European root *bʰelH- ('white, shining'; cf. Lith. báltas 'white', Greek φαλόσ phalós 'white', Arm. bal 'pallor', goth. bala 'grey') attached to the superlative suffix *-isamā. As for Belenos, however, this theory has come under increasing criticism in contemporary scholarship.[1][2]

Xavier Delamarre notes that the proposed cognates stemming from *bʰelH- do not seem to connote 'shining', but rather 'white, grey, pale', and proposes to derive the name from the Gaulish root belo- ('strong, powerful'), rendering Belesama as 'the very strong' (cf. Sanskrit baliṣṭhaḥ 'the strongest').[2] Alternatively, Peter Schrijver has conjectured a connection with the stem for 'henbane', *beles-, attached to an unknown suffix -ma, by comparing the name with the Gaulish theonym Belisa-maros. According to him, this is "formally attractive and semantically possible (if *Belesama = Lat. Minerva medica) but not supported by direct evidence".[3]

The toponyms Beleymas, Bellême, Balesmes, Blesmes, Blismes, and Velesmes are based on the theonym.[4][2] The name also appears in various river names of Gauls and Britain, including Belisama (River Ribble) and Le Blima (Tarn).[2][5] The Galatian personal name Blesamius, from an earlier *Belesamios, may also be added to the comparison.[2]

Attestations

photograph of the Saint-Lizier inscription

A Gaulish inscription found at Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence (RIG G-172) shows that a nemeton was dedicated to her:[6]

СΕΓΟΜΑΡΟС/ ΟΥΙΛΛΟΝΕΟС/ ΤΟΟΥΤΙΟΥС/ ΝΑΜΑΥСΑΤΙС/ ΕΙѠΡΟΥ ΒΗΛΗ/СΑΜΙ СΟСΙΝ/ ΝΕΜΗΤΟΝ
Segomaros Ouilloneos tooutious Namausatis eiōrou Bēlēsami sosin nemēton
"Segomarus Uilloneos, citizen [toutius] of Namausus, dedicated this sanctuary to Belesama"[4][7]

The identification with Minerva in Gallo-Roman religion is established in a Latin inscription from Saint-Lizier (anciently Consoranni), Ariège department (CIL XIII, 8):[8]

Minervae / Belisamae / sacrum / Q(uintus) Valerius / Montan[us] / [e]x v[oto?]

The presence of the goddess in Ancient Britain is more difficult to establish. Based on Ptolemy's reference to a "Belisama estuary" (Βελισαμα), River Ribble in England seems to have been known by the name Belisama in Roman times.[2][5][9]

Theories

The attestation of the theonym as a river name may indicate that she was a lake- and river-goddess.[5] Belisama has also been speculatively claimed as companion of Belenos, whose name seems to contain the same root.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Schrijver 1999, pp. 29–30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Delamarre 2003, pp. 71–72.
  3. ↑ Schrijver 1999, pp. 30–31.
  4. 1 2 Schrijver 1999, p. 29.
  5. 1 2 3 MacKillop 2004, s.v. Belisama.
  6. ↑ Michel Lejeune. Recueil des Inscriptions Gauloises (RIG) 1: Inscriptions Gallo-Grèques. G-153.
  7. ↑ Delamarre 2003, p. 300.
  8. ↑ Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL) 13: Tres Galliae et Germanae. 0008
  9. ↑ Ronald Hutton (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Oxford: Blackwell. p. 218. Hutton also suggests that the name of Samlesbury may derive from a corruption of the name.
  10. ↑ Birkhan 1997, p. 613.
Bibliography
  • Birkhan, Helmut (1997). Kelten: Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-7001-2609-6.
  • Birkhan, Helmut (2006). "Belenos/Belinos". In Koch, John T. (ed.). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-440-0.
  • Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695.
  • MacKillop, James (2004). A dictionary of Celtic mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-860967-1.
  • Schrijver, Peter (1999). "On Henbane and Early European Narcotics". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 51 (1): 17–45. doi:10.1515/zcph.1999.51.1.17. ISSN 1865-889X. S2CID 162678252.
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