Editing Abundantia (section)

==Possible survivals==
It has been suggested that the [[Ancient Celtic religion|Gallic goddess]] [[Rosmerta]] had a functional equivalence to Abundantia, but the two are never [[interpretatio romana|directly identified]] in inscriptions.<ref>Paul-Marie Duval, "Rosmerta," ''American, African, and Old European Mythologies'' (University of Chicago Press, 1993), p. 221.</ref> [[William of Auvergne (bishop)|William of Auvergne]] (d. 1249), a [[bishop of Paris]], mentions a Domina Abundia ("Mistress Abundia"), who also appears in the ''[[Roman de la Rose]]'' as "Dame Habonde." The bishop derives her name from ''abundantia''. At night the ''dominae'' enter houses where offerings have been set out for them. They eat and drink from the vessels, but the contents are undiminished.<ref>Edward Burnett Tylor, excerpt from ''Primitive Culture'', in ''Understanding Religious Sacrifice: A Reader'' (Continuum, 2003, 2006), p. 22.</ref> If they are pleased, they bring prosperity and fertility. William regarded these practices as a form of [[idolatry]].<ref>Alan E. Bernstein, "The Ghostly Troop and the Battle over Death: William of Auvergne (d. 1249)," ''Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions'' (Brill, 2009), p. 144.</ref> [[Folklorist]]s of the 19th century saw these figures as [[Celtic polytheism|Celtic]] [[fairy|fairies]].<ref>Benjamin Thorpe, ''Northern Mythology'' (London, 1861), vol. 1, p. 281; [[Jacob Grimm]], ''Teutonic Mythology'' (English translation London, 1880), pp. 283–288.</ref>

[[Nicholas of Cusa]] reports that on his travels through the [[French Alps]] in 1457, he met two old women who told him they were in the service of Domina Abundia. They identified themselves as [[apostate]] Christians, and had been imprisoned for [[witchcraft]]. Nicholas felt that they had been deluded by the [[devil]], but should be allowed to receive [[penance]] rather than [[burning at the stake]].<ref>Hans Peter Broedel, ''The'' Malleus Maleficarum'' and the Construction of Witchcraft: Theology and Popular Belief'' (Manchester University Press, 2003), p. 109.</ref>