In two past blog posts, I explored the natures of the British god Veteres and that of Esus:
Given that the "hunter-king" etymology proposed by Dr. Simon Rodway for Veteres would now seem more desirable (given this deity's connection with Arthur's father, for which see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/uther-pen-son-of-nethawcnwython-part-two.html), a new idea has occurred to me: as Esus seems to have been identified with the Classical Orion the Hunter, Veteres as the Hunter King could still be another name or honorific for Esus.
The Hadrian Wall fort at Great Chesters was called Aesica, 'the place of Esus.' It lies pretty much exactly between Birdoswald/Banna and Chesterholm/Vindolanda. I've recently suggested that Vindolanda is where Gwythyr and Gwyn fight over Creiddylad (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-new-theory-on-goddess-creiddylad-of.html).
On the following map of the Veteres dedications in North Britain, we see that all the major concentrations surround Aesica. Conspicuously absent are any inscriptions to Esus by name.
It may also be that Veteres and Esus as theonyms are semantically related. From http://www.chronarchy.com/esus/aboutesus.html we learn that one possible root for the name Esus is Indo-European *ais, "to wish, desire, ask/search for" (oldest form *h2eis‑, colored to *h2ais) - this according to Jan de Vries in his Keltische Religion. Stuttgart, Germany: W. Kohlhammer, 1954. The GPC has under Dr. Rodway's Welsh gwid *ui-to- 'hunted, gathered, collected', but also 'desired, wished for, longed for'. *ui-ti-, by comparison, 'a hunting, hunt, chase, pursuit' or 'to take, seize, take possession, enjoy or take delight in possession of.' We are reminded that the Latin words for desire and hunting come from the same IE root (see https://www.etymonline.com/word/*wen-).
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