Editing Abandinus

'''Abandinus''' was a theonym used to refer to a [[Celtic polytheism|Celtic god]] or [[Celtic polytheism|male spirit]] worshipped in [[Godmanchester]] in [[Cambridgeshire]] during the [[Romano-Celtic]] period.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofgo00jord|url-access=registration|title=Encyclopedia of gods : over 2,500 deities of the world|last=Jordan|first=Michael|date=1993|publisher=New York : Facts on File|others=Internet Archive|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofgo00jord/page/1 1]}}</ref>

==Epigraphic evidence==
Abandinus is represented in Britain on a single altarstone. He is unknown throughout the rest of the [[Roman Empire]] and is therefore thought to have been a local god of the Roman fort at [[Godmanchester]] in [[Cambridgeshire]], possibly associated with either a natural spring or a stream in the neighbourhood.<ref>[http://www.roman-britain.org/rbgods.htm The Gods Of Roman Britain<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The Roman fort at [[Godmanchester]], a strategic site on [[Ermine Street]] at the crossing of the [[River Great Ouse]], is thought to have been called [[Durovigutum]].<ref name="roman-britain.org">[http://www.roman-britain.org/places/durovigutum.htm#rib230a Dvrovigvtvm<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402104508/http://www.roman-britain.org/places/durovigutum.htm#rib230a |date=April 2, 2008 }}</ref> The god is known only from an inscribed bronze feather, very likely some sort of votive object, dedicated to him.<ref name="roman-britain.org"/>
The inscription on the bronze feather reads:

<blockquote>
"DEO ABANDINO VATIAVCVS D S D"

*‘To the god Abandinus, Vatiacus dedicates this out of his own funds’.<ref name="roman-britain.org"/>

</blockquote>

==Semantics of the theonym==
The [[semantics]] of the [[theonym]] are unknown. All the same, [[linguistics|linguistic]] knowledge of [[Proto-Celtic]] [[lexis (linguistics)|lexis]] permits a narrowing of the likely possibilities of the theonym's semantics. The name could be interpreted as an extended form of a stem composed of [[Proto-Celtic]] elements deriving from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] roots *''ad''- ‘to’<ref>[[Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch]]:entry 7, [http://www.koeblergerhard.de/idgwbhin.html ''Indogermanisches Wörterbuch''], 2.</ref> + either *''bʰend''- ‘sing, rejoice’<ref>[[Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch]]:entry 226, ''Indogermanisches Wörterbuch'', 118.</ref> or *''bʰendʰ''- ‘bind’.<ref>[[Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch]]:entry 227, ''Indogermanisches Wörterbuch'', 118.</ref> Along these lines, the name would mean ‘(the god) who sings to (something/someone)’ or ‘(the god) who binds (something/someone) to (something/someone).’

However, it is also possible to see the name as an extended form of a variant form of the [[Proto-Celtic]] word *''abon''- ‘river,’ derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root *''ab''-, *''h₂eb-'' ‘water, river’.<ref>[[Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch]]:entry 2, ''Indogermanisches Wörterbuch'', 1.</ref> The shorter element *''abo''- likely existed in the [[Proto-Celtic]] hydronomy as a word for ‘river’ or ‘water.’ It is evident in Romano-Celtic as an unspecific variant name for the rivers flowing into the [[Humber]], documented as ''Abus''. This element developed in [[Modern Welsh]] as ''aber''- meaning ‘river estuary’.  This *''abo''- element could have been the source of the ''Ab-''- element in the theonym ''Abandinus''. So the name can also be analysed as *''Ab-Andinus'' ‘[[Andinus]] of the River,’ [[Andinus]] being a [[theonym]] attested elsewhere in the ancient [[Roman Empire]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Celtic mythology (ancient)}}

[[Category:Gods of the ancient Britons]]
[[Category:Godmanchester]]