UTHER AND THE GOD VETERES: MORE EVIDENCE FOR THE PENDRAGON IN THE NORTH?

Serpent on Veteres Altar

Boar on Veteres Altar

In my book THE MYSTERIES OF AVALON, I made an argument for the Gwythyr or Gwythur of Arthurian tradition being the god Veteres, worshipped in North Britain during the Roman period.  While it is true that strictly from a linguistic standpoint Gwythyr should be from Latin Victor, in this instance the name seems to have been substituted for that of the deity.

In the Elegy of Uther Pen, we are told

Neur ordyfneis-i waet am Wythur,
I was used to blood[shed] around Gwythur,

The following listing on Gwythyr is from P.C. Bartram's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY:

"GWYTHYR ap GREIDIOL. (Legendary). He is mentioned in the tale of ‘Culhwch and Olwen’. Before Culhwch's story begins, Creiddylad ferch Lludd Llaw Ereint had been going with Gwythyr ap Greidiol, but before he had slept with her Gwyn ap Nudd came and carried her away by force. Gwythyr gathered a host and went to fight Gwyn, but Gwyn prevailed, took many prisoners and ill-treated them. When Arthur heard of this, he went to the North [emphasis mine], summoned Gwyn, set free the prisoners, and made peace between Gwyn and Gwythyr. This is the A WELSH CLASSICAL DICTIONARY 407 peace that was made: ‘the maiden to remain in her father's house, unmolested, and Gwyn and Gwythyr to do battle every calends of May for ever and ever till doomsday; and the one who should be victor on doomsday, let him have the maiden.’ (RM 134). It is perhaps not inconsistent with this that Gwythyr and Gwyn are both named among those at Arthur's Court when Culhwch arrived (WM 460, RM 106). It is later told that while Gwythyr ap Greidiol was walking across a mountain he heard a grievous lamentation, and saved an anthill from fire by smiting it off level with the ground with his sword. In gratitude for this good deed the ants helped Arthur to achieve one of the tasks set by Ysbaddaden Pencawr, namely to collect nine hestors of flax seed from a tilled field and resow it in new land (RM 132; WM 481, RM 121). The grave of Gwythur is mentioned in the Stanzas of the Graves in the Black Book of Carmarthen, but the site is not given (No 44 in SG p.126). The horse of Gwythur is mentioned in a poem in the Book of Taliesin (BT 48 l.6). See TYP p.c. In these two cases no patronymic is given to Gwythur. According to the triad of ‘Arthur's Three Great Queens’ all named Gwenhwyfar, Gwythyr ap Greidiol was the father of the second one listed (TYP no.56). His genealogy is given in the expanded ‘Hanesyn Hen’ tract. See Greidiol Galofydd. The name Gwythyr is equivalent to Latin Victor (John Rhys, Hib. Lect., p.561; TYP p.403)."

I've pasted below the entire section on the god Veteres from my book.  If I'm right about Gwythyr/Gwythur or 'Victor' being a substitute for the god name, then Uther's fighting alongside Gwythur would be yet more evidence for the former's presence in the North.

NOTE:  There is a Victor featured in the story of St. Paul of Leon.  He was a lord of Domnonia in Brittany and was of 5th-6th century date.  See the entry for Paul in P.C. Bartram's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY, pp. 604-606.  We should also not forget Victor son of Magnus Maximus, yet another in a string of British usurpers.  

Vitiris

The god Veteres is found in North Britain, especially in the area of Hadrian’s Wall.  My interest in this deity stems from his being conflated with Mogons at Netherby, site of the Roman fort Castra Exploratum hard by Liddel Strength, the Arderydd fort of Myrddin/Merlin.  In an earlier version of this book, I attempted to relate this god’s name to an ancient British name for a willow branch.

While authorities have thought the name rather transparently drew upon the Latin veteres or veteris, meaning in this context something like “the Old One”, there is a significant problem with this interpretation.  Some of the spellings of this deity's name have an initial H-.  Now, the H- could be intrusive, i.e. merely something German-speaking worshippers of a Celtic god added to the beginning of the name.  If this is so, I thought it might be possible to derive the god’s name from a known Celtic root meaning ‘to hunt’.  My query on this possibility was answered by Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales as follows:

“Welsh gwid derives from a participle *wi-to- 'hunted, desired' or *wi-ti- 'the hunt, enjoyment (of food)' according to GPC. The second form looks compatible with the forms in Viti-, but does not explain those in *Vete- (unless these are examples of Vulgar Latin <e> for <i>). As for the ending -ris, it could be from -ri:x 'king'. Kenneth Jackson (LHEB 535, 625) states that -x (i.e. /xs/) had become -s in Brittonic 'by the fifth century'. This is rather late, and at any rate it has been challenged by Patrick Sims-Williams. However, one might compare a 3rd century inscription from Housesteads on Hadrian's Wall: CVNARIS < *Cunori:x 'hound-like king'. Here the change of composition vowel /o/ > /a/ suggests this is probably an Irish name. So, Irish influence could account for -x > -s in your name too. Alternatively, there are Vulgar Latin examples of -s for -x, e.g. felis for felix.”

If this is so, we might suppose Veteres to be something like “Hunter-king”. 

However, attractive as this idea is, I think there is a better etymology for this particular god-name.  Recent correspondence with Professor Ranko Matasovic, a leading Celticist, helped open the way to this more attractive meaning.

The H- spellings of Veteris are listed in Guy de la Bedoyere’s “Gods and Goddesses of Roman Britain”:

Hveterus/Hviteres, and variants.

Carrawburgh: altar to the Hviteres. RIB 1549

Hadrian's Wall (exact location unknown): altar to the Hvitires. RIB 2069

Housesteads: altar to Hveteris by Superstes and Regulus. RIB 1602

Housesteads: altar to Hvitris by Aspuanis. RIB 1603

Netherby: altars to Hveterus and Hvetirus. RIB 969 and 973

The other forms/spellings, and distribution of the dedications (from the same source), are as follows:

Veter/Veteres/Vheteris/Viter/Vitiris/Votris, variously male or female, singular or plural, and numerous other variants.

Benwell: altar to Vetris. RIB 1335

Benwell: altar to the Vitires. RIB 1336

Carrawburgh: altar to Veteris by Uccus. RIB 1548

Carvoran: altar to Veteris by Necalames. RIB 1793

Carvoran: altar to Veteris by Necalames. RIB 1794

Carvoran: altar to Vetiris by Julius Pastor, imaginifer of cohors II Delmatarum. RIB 1795

Carvoran: altar to Vetiris by Andiatis. RIB 1796

Carvoran: altar to Veteris. RIB 1797

Carvoran: altar to Viteris. RIB 1798

Carvoran: altar to Vitiris by Menius Dada. RIB 1799

Carvoran: altar to Vitiris by Milus and Aurides. RIB 1800

Carvoran: altar to Vitiris by Ne[ca]limes (sic, but see 1793-4 above). RIB 1801

Carvoran: altars to the Veteres. RIB 1802-4

Carvoran: altar to the Vitires by Deccius. RIB 1805

Catterick: altar to Vheteris by Aurelius Mucianus. RIB 727

Chester-le-Street: altar to Vitiris by Duihno. RIB 1046

Chester-le-Street: altar to the goddesses the Vitires by Vitalis. RIB 1047

Chester-le-Street: altar to the goddesses the Vit(ires). RIB 1048

Chesters: altar to Vitiris by Tertulus. RIB 1455

Chesters: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1456

Chesters: altar to Vitiris. RIB 1457

Chesters: altar to Votris. RIB 1458

Corbridge: altar to Vetiris. RIB 1139

Corbridge: altar to Vitiris. RIB 1140

Corbridge: altar to Vit(iris) by Mitius. RIB 1141

Ebchester: altar to Vitiris by Maximus. RIB 1103

Ebchester: altar to Vitiris. RIB 1104

Greatchesters: altar to Vetiris. RIB 1728

Greatchesters: altar to the Veteres by Romana. RIB 1729

Greatchesters: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1730

Hadrian's Wall (exact location unknown): altar to Veteris. RIB 2068

Housesteads: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1604

Housesteads: altar to the Veteres. RIB 1605

Housesteads: altar to the Veteres by Aurelius Victor. RIB 1606

Lanchester: altar to Vit(iris). RIB 1087

Lanchester: altar to Vitiris by [....], princeps. RIB 1088

Piercebridge: altar to Veteris. Brit. v (1974), 461, no. 3

South Shields: altar to Vitiris by Cr[...]. Brit. xviii (1987), 368, no. 7

Thistleton: silver plaque to Vete[ris] by Mocux[s]oma. RIB 2431.3

Vindolanda: altar to [V]ete[r]is. RIB 1697

Vindolanda: altar to Veteris. RIB 1698

Vindolanda: altar to the Veteres by Senaculus. RIB 1699

Vindolanda: altar to the Veteres by Longinus. Brit. iv (1973), 329, no. 11

Vindolanda: altar to the Veteres by Senilis. Brit. iv (1973), 329, no. 12

Vindolanda: altar to Vetir. Brit. vi (1975), 285, no. 6

Vindolanda: altar to Ve[ter]. Brit. vi (1975), 285, no. 7

Vindolanda: altar to the Vitirum. Brit. x (1979), 346, no. 8

York: altar to Veter by Primulus. RIB 660

This is the inscription with the conflation with Mogons at Netherby:

971 (altar)

DEO

MOGONT

VITIRE SAN

AEL SECUND

V S L M

And the dedications at Netherby to Hveterus and Hvetirus, alluded to already above:

969 (altar; secondary inscription)

D[EO] HV[E}TER[I]

973 (altar)

DEO HVETIRI

When I looked at the initial H-, I first thought of an aspirate, such as the H- we now use conventionally for the Greek name Hekate, originally ‘ekata.  I also thought about the Irish H-prothesis.  Neither of these ideas seemed very helpful, but I did have one last possibility come to mind: what about something akin to Old English hwyttre, hwitere, forms of the word hwit, meaning “white”? I thought of this because the Chesterholm Roman fort was called Vindolanda, the ‘White Moor/Heath’.  This fort has the second highest concentration of dedications to Veteris; only Carvoran has more.  And this means Vindolanda could, conceivably, be the cult center of Veteres.  Netherby, where we find Mogons Veteres, is hard by the ‘White Dales’ (Gwenddolau) of Myrddin.  His sister was named Gwenddydd, and Gwythyr was the father of one of the Gwenhyfars.  Gwen-, of course, is the feminine form of Gwyn, 'White.'

Old English hwīt (comparative hwītra, superlative hwītost),  “white”

Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kweit-. Cognate with Old High German wīz (German weiß), Old Norse hvítr (Swedish vit).

Spellings in declension such as hwitre, etc.

When I wrote to Professor Matasovic about this, he responded thusly:

“OE hwitere is a good formal match to Viteris. But the word for 'white' is inherited in Germanic, of course (cf. its correspondent in Lith. kviečiai 'wheat'); it is not a borrowing from Celtic. Irish h-prothesis is much older, and in Greek h- is from *s- or *sw-, so the spelling hv- in Vitires probably indicates that the name is not Celtic. The connection with Vindolanda seems attractive, if this god was really worshipped there, but the etymology will work only if the name is Germanic. Were there Germanic mercenaries or auxiliary troops in Vindolanda and other places where Vitires is attested? If so, the connection of Vitiris with 'white' is quite convincing, as far as etymologies of proper names go.”

The answer to his question about Germanic units being present at Vindolanda, etc., could be answered with a resounding YES.

Here is a nice summary regarding the Germanic Tungri and Batavii at Vindolanda (from ‘Archaeological and Historical Aspects of West-European Societies”, ed. Marc Lodewuckx, 1996):

“… from AD 90 at the latest the cohors I Tungrorum was stationed in the fort at Vindolanda.  The unit remained there, with only a brief interruption, most likely until 122 or possibly even until AD 140… It was originally assumed that very soon after AD 90 the Cohors I Tungrorum was relieved from Vindolanda by the Cohors IX Batavorum under the command of Flavius Cerialis… It was not clear, however, exactly where the Cohors I Tungrorum was stationed.  A. K. Bowman and J.D. Thomas do not rule out the possibility that the Cohors I Tungrorum and the Cohors VIIII Batavorum were partially stationed together at Vindolanda.”

Other sources confirm the long-term presence of these two Germanic units at Vindolanda.  The excellent Website roman-britain.org has considerable information on these Germanic tribes and their connection with Vindolanda:

“Timber Fort 2 - Built hastily and with poor quality timber upon the site of Timber Fort 1 which was demolished in preparation, this new fort extended more to the west and covered an area of just over 5 acres (c.2ha); possibly garrisoned by Cohors IX Batavorum.  …from the period AD 97-103, when the fort was occupied by IX Batavorum and its sister unit III Batavorum, both 'quingenary' units approximately 500 strong.

Cohors Primae Tungrorum - The First Cohort of Tungri

The original garrison of Vindolanda is not known, and the earliest identified unit at the site has only recently been revealed on one of the Vindolanda writing tablets. The garrison of the mid-second century was Cohors I Tungrorum, an infantry unit from the Tungri tribe who inhabited the north-western fringes of the Arduenna Silva in Gallia Belgica (the Ardennes Forest on the border between Belgium and Germany). This unit had been active in the campaigns of Agricola in Central Scotland, and saw action in the final battle at Mons Graupius which resulted in the near-total destruction of the Caledonian tribes. During this time the First Cohort of Tungrians was known to be a cohors quingenaria peditata, a five-hundred strong infantry unit, but by the mid-second century the complement had been increased by half again to a total strength of over 750 men (vide supra).

Cohors Primae Tungrorum [milliaria]

The First Cohort of Tungri, (one-thousand strong)

This was a regiment of tribesmen from the Tungri tribe of eastern Belgica who inhabited the western fringes of the Arduinna Silva, in the Brabant and Hainailt districts of Belgium south-east of Brussels. Their capital was Atuatuca, now Tongres or Tongeren near Maastricht in Belgium. They are mentioned on four military diplomata dating to the beginning of the second century and are first attested on stone at the Carrawburgh fort on Hadrian's Wall in the period AD122-138 also nearby at Chesterholm/Vindolanda on the Stanegate, and it appears likely that the unit was split between these two forts during Hadrianic times. They are next recorded on the Antonine Wall in the Central region of Scotland between AD139-161, seemingly again split between the forts at Cramond and Castlecary. They are finally recorded back on Hadrian's frontier at Housesteads on a building inscription dated to AD205-208, and were to remain there until the end of the fourth century as recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum.

Evidence for the Cohort in Britain

CIL XIII.3606; Ager Nerviorum - Diploma, dated c.AD98.

Burn 95; CIL XVI.48; military diploma dated January 19th AD103.

Burn 100; CIL XVI.65; military diploma dated July 17th AD122.

CIL VII.1195 privilegia militvm, dated September 16th AD124.

L'Année Épigraphique 1997.1779b diploma dated c.AD126.

Chesterholm (Vindolanda writing tablet; Hadrianic).

Carrawburgh (RIB 1563b AD122-138).

Castlecary (RIB 2155 AD139-161).

Cramond (RIB 2135 altar).

Housesteads (RIB 1578-1580, 1584-1586, 1591, 1598, all altars; 1618/1619 tombstones; 1631b AD205-208; Notitia Dignitatum).”

An important inscription occurs at Vindolanda, and this may be significant for the Mogont Vitire dedication found at Netherby:

DEO MOGVNTI ET GENIO LOCI LVPVL V S M

"For the god Moguns and the Guardian Spirit of This Place, Lupulus deservedly fulfils his vow." (RIB 1722d; altarstone; Britannia iv (1973), p.329, no.10)

The Romans portrayed the “Guardian Spirit” of a place IN SERPENT FORM.  I have proposed that the Arthurian period northern hero Gwythyr, who fights an eternal May Day battle with Gwyn (from Celtic Vindo, ‘White’), may not be from the Latin name Victor, as is usually claimed.  Instead, I chose to see in Gwythyr a late Welsh form of the god Vitires.  As the battle between Gwythyr and Gwyn matched that of the battle of the Red and White Dragons/pigs as found in the story of “Lludd and Llevelys”, and the altars to Vitires/Veteres show a serpent and a boar (and perhaps a serpent and a bird; see Chesters 829/CH309/CSIR 280), I quite naturally identified Gwythyr/Vitires with the Red Dragon. 

However, if Hviteres is the “White One”, and was associated with the Vindo- of Vindolanda as the Genius of the Place, then it is tempting to identify the White Serpent/Dragon with the the White Dragon/Genius of the Saxons found in Welsh tradition. 

NOTE:  Further research on the Batavians has brought to light their connection with a town called "Castra Vetera" on the Continent.  The name of this fort suggests another possible origin of Veteris/Vitiris, who otherwise seems to have been associated with Vindolanda in Britain.

Civilis and the Batavians initiated the siege of Castra Vetera in September of 69 A.D. The siege was abandoned for a short period, and Civilis threatened to attack Mogontiacum. He then besieged Castra Vetera once more and the town surrendered to him in AD 70.

Some of the Batavians who ended up at Vindolanda may have brought with them the genius of Castra Vetera, whom they immediately identified with that of the British fort.