- Alaunus
In
Gallo-Roman religion , Alaunus or Alaunius was aGaulish god of the sun, healing and prophecy. His name is known from inscriptions found in Lurs in southernFrance (in the dative form polytonic|Αλα [υ] νειουι) and inMannheim in westernGermany . In the latter inscription, Alaunus is used as an epithet of Genius Mercury. [L'Arbre Celtique, entries for [http://www.arbre-celtique.com/approfondissements/divinites/inventaire-div/div_liste.php?nomdiv=Alaunus Alaunus] and [http://www.arbre-celtique.com/approfondissements/divinites/inventaire-div/div_liste.php?nomdiv=Alaunius Alaunius] .] __NOTOC__Etymology
The
Proto-Celtic "Alaunos" is believedWho|date=October 2007 to mean ‘shining one’, which has led Dr. John Koch at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies to suggest that this personality may be another name forBelenos orDagda -Sucellos . This theory, if it is correct, would account for the associations with the sun and the apparent mental brilliance of the ability to heal and tell the future.Fact|date=October 2007Theo Vennemann compares this god’s name with Basque arau ‘order, regularity’, which he asserts is fromProto-Vasconic "Alaunu" meaning ‘order’.Fact|date=October 2007Notes
References
*Ellis, Peter Berresford, "Dictionary of Celtic Mythology"(Oxford Paperback Reference), Oxford University Press, (1994): ISBN 0-19-508961-8
*Wood, Juliette, "The Celts: Life, Myth, and Art", Thorsons Publishers (2002): ISBN 0-00-764059-5ee also
*
Aelian us
*Aelius
*Aelia gens
*Helios External links
* [http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf Proto-Celtic — English lexicon]
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