ONE LAST TIME FOR THE GOD VETERES: THE BEST OF SEVERAL POSSIBILITIES

I've long been convinced that it was important to learn more about the Northern British Veteres precisely because I believe the Gwythyr ('Victor') of the Uther Pen story is none other than this deity.  In other words, the name Victor was substituted for the theonym.  

But I've gone back and forth with different etymologies and identifications for the god for quite awhile.  Most recently, I proposed he was named for Castra Vetera of the Cugerni, who were in Britain and on Hadrian's Wall.  This seemed reasonable, and I was content with the solution to the problem.

Alas, a more thorough study of Veteres now has me thinking that an earlier idea may have been correct, and the proposed relationship with a genius loci of Castra Vetera is wrong.   I will post at the bottom of this article the complete discussion of Veteres as found in http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6643/2/6643_3946-vol2.PDF.  For now, here are a few important points I have derived from that study...

First, the majority of the dedications to Veteres were done by people who appear to have born Celtic names.  Only a few arre perhaps Germanic.  Second, no dedication survives from anyone who is demonstrably either of the Cugerni or Batavii. Third, this appears to be a native cult.  Fourth, we have two dedicants whose names contain Celtic Sen-, 'old', suggesting Veteres is simply to be derived from Latin vetus, 'old.' And fifth - and perhaps most importantly - the center of the cult is in the Tyne Gap.  

All of this leads me to believe that I was right to associate Veteres with the god Esus who is honored in the Roman fort name Aesica at modern Chesters.  See https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-new-identification-of-north-british.html, https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/myrddin-on-pole-and-god-esusvitiris_29.html and https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-new-theory-on-goddess-creiddylad-of.html.

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[Kindly ignore the format problems; I had to retrieve this from a PDF.]

This is the god that on one variation of the name may be called 9Veteris 9 (figo10o3~ noo17)o All told~ there are fifty=nine dedications to this enigmatic godo As can be seen by a glance at the map (figol0o3)~ the example at York is very much an outliero The main distribution of the dedications is within the Tyne Gap~ along the Hadrianic frontier line with most examples clustering within the central sectoro At least thirteen come from the Wall fort at Carvoran (noso8a~m)~ although since three of these are by one and the same dedicator~ namely~ Necalemes (noso8a~ 8b and 8i)~ for comparison sake~ this total could be reduced to eleven o Chesterholm has yielded the next highest total~ namely, nine (noso6a=i)o As the distribution thins out~ the main spread continues down the eastern side of the region~ into the Wall hinterland of Durham and beyondo One dedication actually occurs quite outside the region~ at Thistleton in Leicestershire (noo18)o Despite the Thistleton dedication it is quite clear that the cult of Veteris should be regarded as belonging to Central Britain as defined o Furthermore~ it was popular in the northern part of the region and it is there that an important~ perhaps indeed, the main cult centre is to be locatedo Such a distribution as this, with no dedications abroad~ argues strongly in favour of the view that Veteris was a deity native to Central Britaino The name itself is subject to many variations in spelling~ as well as differences in gender and number. These have been tabula ted in fig. 10.4. On thirty-seven occasions~ the deity is referred to in the singular and on twenty-two occasions~ in the plural. There are seven cases where the deity name possesses an intrusive 'h 1 ~ six being in the singular and two in the plural. Mostly~ the deity is marked out as male by the presence of 1 deo 1 or 1 dibus'. On two occasions~ however 9 both in the plural 9 on altars from Chester-le-Stree t 9 County Durham (fig. 10.3 9 nos. 14b and c) 9 a female concept is indicated. On nine occasions 9 the deity is not specified as being either male or female (nos.lb 9 2c 9 Sc 9 6e 9 6f 9 6i 9 8j 9 9 and 11). Since most of the dedications are 9 as noted 9 to a male deity it may be that this was what was intended. It is possible 9 however 9 that on some or all of these examples the neuter form was intended 9 as if the deity concept was so vague and amorphous as to defy definition. With regard to variations in spelling 9 two main categories can be distinguished 9 ignoring the presence of an 1 h' • First are those names which begin with 've', and second those that begin with 'vi'. There are thirty-three of the former and twenty-five of the latter. That leaves the form 'votri' from Chesters (no.3d) in its own. There is no marked preponderance in favour of either main category. Subdividing within the two main categories 9 the two most frequent forms are 'Veteris' and 'Vitiris' with virtually 475o equal numbers of each o Consideration of the find places of these variations can detect no patterns which might indicate for example dialect differences to account for pronunciation changeso On one altar only is there a formal epigraphic equation with another god 9 namely 9 on that from Netherby with the non=Roman Mogontes (or Mogons) (noolOa)o In another case 9 also from Netherby 9 an equation with Hercules may be intended by reason of the symbols on the sides of the altar depicting scenes from his labours (noolOb)o A third altar from Nether by is perhaps associating 'Hv [ e] teris' with 'Jupiter Optimus Maximus' for the dedication to the former has been cut over the main part of the text pertaining to the latter but without erasing the vital 'IoOoMo' (noolOc)o In eight instances 9 the epithet sanctus 9 'holy' 9 is employed" With regard to 'Veteris' worshippers 9 only two betray military connections» one from Lanchester in Coo Durham (nool3b) and one from Carvoran (noo8c)o The former is by a princeps and the latter by an imaginifer o Only one undoubted female devotee is recorded» namely 'Romana' from Great Chesters 9 who dedicates her altar to a male plural form (noo7c)o Two other cases 9 however 9 may involve female dedicators: Ivixa from Carvoran 9 dedicating also to the male plural form 9 (noo81) and Mocux[s]oma from Thistleton 9 dedicating to a singular Veteris (noolB)o There is a fourth possibilityo The secondary dedication 476o from Netherby mentioned above 'to Hv[e]ter(is)'~ the dedicant may be either 'Fortunat[a] 1 9 a woman 9 or 'Fortunat[us]' 9 a man (noalOc)a Twenty of the dedications have been set up without the intention of providing dedicators' names 9 that is 9 in effect one third of the total knowno Of the named worshippers 9 only five have (nosa5c~ 8C 9 8g 9 lOa and 16)o Latin nomen and cognomen Twelve possess single Latin names including such common names as Regulus~ Tertulus and Vitalis (noso3a~ 5e and 14b)o There is little or nothing which can be learned about the origins of such worshippers (Birley Aq 1979 9 108). However 9 one of these twelve reveals his origins in that his name is Celtic with a Latin suffix; this is Senaculus on an altar from Chesterholm (noo6e) o The rest of the named dedications are by people with barbarian names, mostly deemed to be Celtic, but with a couple of apparently German examples (Birley Ao, 1979, 107; Haverfield, 1918, 34)o It seems clear that most of the god's worshippers were male, of low status and civiliano The small size and poor quality of the altars and variations in the deity name support this conclusiono A few of the altars are crudely ornamented on the sideso One from Benwell has jug, patera, knife and axe (noala) and another, from Carvoran, has knife and quadruped, probably an ox (8a)o Animals are also depicted on other 477. altars. Such carvings lend themselves to interpretation as the implements and animals involved in sacrificeo However 9 the representation of bird (Ebchester~ nool2a) and even more of serpent (Carvoran 9 noo8m) cannot belong to this category and urges reconsideration of the meaning of the symbolismo The serpent on this Carvoran altar (no.8m) has been wrongly identified by Wright (RIB 1805) as a dolphin o No doubt the reason for this error is because it possesses a fish tailo The reference to water is clear and the composite creature is reminiscent of examples of ram-headed serpents with fish-tails known from Gaul (Thevenot~ 1955 9 21-22). On the same altar is depicted a boar which in this context should be interpreted as being a Celtic rather than a classical sacred symbol o It may stand for the hunt~ sexual and physical potency~ and the Otherworld (cf. Ross~ 1967~ 308- 321). The boar appears again on the Ebchester altar mentioned above with the bird figure on it (no.12a)o The boar and serpent appear yet again on the Netherby altar~ referred to above~ showing scenes from the labours of Hercules (no.10b)o On one side is shown a tree encircled by a serpent and on the other the front part of a boar. E. Birley has interpreted the first scene as standing for the apple tree of the Hesperides and the second one as a reference to the Erymanthean boar ( 1986 ~ 83) o No doubt these aspects of the mythology associated with Hercules were chosen because they provided a meaningful symbolism - serpent, boar and trees - for the non-classical deity. 478o With regard to dating none of the dedications can be closely datedo As Haverfield pointed out (1918 9 35) Aelius Secundus on the Netherby altar (noo10a) should post~date the reign of Hadrian (AD 117-138)0 Again bearers of the name 'Aurelius' (noso5d and 16) will belong to a period not preceding the region of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161=180) o In her study of Roman domestic altars Kewley assigned several discussion (nos o 7b ~ 8g 9 of the altars under 13a~ 14a-c) to the present masons' workshops at Chester=le~Street and Lanchester 9 County Durham~ which were in production during the third century (Kewley 9 1974)o Names such as Aurelius 9 Victor and Julius were indeed very popular during the third century (A. R o Birley 9 1979 9 109) o The third century seems to be the period when the cult flourished 9 at least in the Romanised form surviving in the recorded dedicationso How long it continued in that form is impossible to decide given the poor quality of the altars and their lettering o Continuation into the fourth century is a distinct possibilityo Turning now to the nature and origins of the deity~ an appeal to the meaning of the name is not very helpful for there is no agreement concerning its origin 9 much less its meaningo One view has been that 'veteri' and 'veteribus' are the datives of the Latin adjective 'vetus' ~ 1 old' (Haverfield» 1918~ 35). Based on this the argument went that the dedications were 'to the Old God (or Gods)' 9 contrasting Christianityo the pagan gods with The variations in the the new name 479o religion of that ex is ted could be accounted for by reason of the dedicators not being very literateo Haverfield 9 however 9 felt that this argument had to be abandoned because of the examples occurring where the name contained the intrusive 'h' (Haverfield 9 1918 9 36)o Collingwood too pointed out that the 'Old Gods' in the sense required would be rendered not by veteres but by antiguio He also felt that it was very unlikely that the many and various pagan gods would be lumped together in this way (Collingwood 9 1926 9 23)o In attempting to account for the intrusive 'h' a Germanic origin has been suggested by Hodgson and Haverfieldo The former suggest vithrir 9 'The weather god' 9 an epithet for Odino Haverfield pointed to philological difficulties raised by German scholars (Hodgson 9 1840 9 140 9 200 cited by Eo Birley 9 1986 9 63; Haverfield 9 1918 9 3 7) o Other suggestions are Old Nordic hvitr 9 meaning 'white' or 'shining' 9 or hvethr-ung 9 'son of a giantess' 9 epithet of the fire-god Loki 9 equivalent of Vulcanus (A oRo Birley 9 1979, 108) o As Anthony Birley has pointed out this last suggestion is attractive because of its appropriateness in the context of frontier settlements where the work presided over by a Smith-god would be of such importanceo Ross has very tentatively suggested that the intrusive 'h' may have arisen from aspiration which occurred after the vocative form of the nameo As an example 9 she instanced the modern form 'Hamish' 9 from the original aspirated vocative form of the Gaelic name 'Seumas' (Ross~ 1967~ 374) 0 Thus the name (or names) employed poses (pose) real difficulties in interpretation and this approach is no real help with regard to the nature or origin of the god. It may be that the name belongs to a pre-Celtic stratum of language which could help account for its variations and for the confusion of modern scholars. The equation with the god 'Mogons' (or Mogontes) whose name is said to mean 1 the Powerful One' 9 or 1 the Great One' (Ross 1967 9 201) 9 does not add much information. Such a name is rather general in its implication and does not specify the source of the god's power. The reference to Hercules on the Nether by altar (no. lOb) may provide more specific information. Hercules too was a powerful god who fought against monsters and was therefore useful in protecting his worshippers. However~ the symbolism on this altar 9 may~ as has been seen~ fall into line with that on other altars to indicate a connection with waters and healing (serpent) as well as with hunting~ fertility and the Otherworld (boar). A further hint of the healing aspect may be provided by the use of the formula 'pro sa(lute)' on the altar from Catterick (no.16); the formula 'pro (se) et suis' on one of the Housesteads altars (no.Sf) perhaps indicates the role of family protector. 481o Thus it is that the god Veteris (in whatever variation of the spelling) was a god who appealed to the lower strata of societyo The cult in its Romanised form flourished mainly on the Hadrianic frontier probably during the third century AD and perhaps beyondo It is possible that Veteris was imported from abroad by auxiliary soldiers but more probable that an indigenous deity is in questiono Addressed by 'his 1 votaries in various forms - singular and plural~ masculine and feminine and perhaps even neuter - the deity seems ill-defined and amorphous as might befit a vague and primitive spirit of natureo Yet the Celtic symbolism detected on some of the altars suggests a concern with hunting and fertility, healing and protectiono There is a similarity to the dedications to Belatucadrus~ yet to be discussed, and it may be that, as will be suggest for Belatucadrus~ Veteris should be regarded as the god of a specific communityo If of course Veteris is regarded as imported, then that community is not likely to represent an indigenous tribal grouping but rather an assemblage of incomers o On the other hand~ if the indigenous nature of Veteris is accepted, then a native. tribal group is the likely source of the culto That this tribal group was not the same as that belonging to Belatucadrus is suggested by the fact that despite some overlapping, the distribution of the dedications to the two deities does not coincide (figsol0o3 and 10o6)o A location within the Tyne Gap would seem called foro In addition, from what has been said, the attractive hypothesis suggests itself that the deity belonging to this tribal group was not only pre-Roman but pre-Celtic. This could account for some of the difficulties in interpretation and~ while it cannot be proved~ the possibility of such antiquity should be recognised.  

MYRDDIN ON A POLE AND THE GOD ESUS/VITIRIS

Mogons Vitiris Altar Dedicated by Aelius Secundus, Netherby, Cumbria

In the past, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that Myrddin (the later Merlin) was either  Lugus/Lleu himself or an avatar of that god.  However, I also called into question this identification because of three factors.  One, Myrddin's lord Gwenddolau belonged very near the Netherby Roman fort, where the god Vitiris (and several alternate spellings) was worshipped.  Vitiris, whether the Willow-king or the Hunter-king (or even simply 'the Old One'), appears to be an honorific for the god Esus of Aesica, the Greatchesters Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall.  And, second, the place of Myrddin's death is a Willow Pool - in this case, the one on the Esk near its confluence with the Liddel Water.  [The Liddel's Tweeden Burn and the Willow Pool were relocated in legend to the Tweed and Powsail Burn much further north.]  Third, Myrddin's other name, Llallogan/Llallog, means the same thing as Latin Secundus, the name of a man who dedicated an altar to Vitiris at Netherby.

To explore the possibility that Myrddin may have some connection with Esus the Willow God (who appears to have been identified with the Classical Orion the Hunter; see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-bull-and-three-cranes-extrapolation.html), I needed to more thoroughly investigate the former's apparent connection with the willow.  The god Lleu in Welsh tradition, in the guise of a dead Jupiter-eagle, is perched atop an oak tree.  NOT a willow tree.

Fortunately, the early Welsh sources preserve a tradition about Myrddin being suspended (or impaled?) on a pole.  The pole in question is part of a fish weir, and we know that willows were often used for posts as well as fish traps or baskets.  According to the Classical writers (see p. 46 of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A DRUID PRINCE by Anne Ross and Don Robins), victims were sacrificed to Esus by being "hanged from sacred trees or stabbed to death or both."

The following is from P. 571 of P.C Bartram's A CLASSICAL WELSH DICTIONARY:

"Myrddin on a Pole

There are some obscure references in Welsh poetry and prose to Myrddin ar Pawl, ‘Myrddin on a Pole’. There was a proverb: To talk as much as the son of seven locks [of hair], To talk as much as Myrddin on a Pole. (See Thomas Parry, Gwaith Dafydd ap Gwilym, p.538). The ‘pole’ seems to have been the pole of a weir although this may have been forgotten in some of the allusions. There are references in poetry to Myrddin's talking ‘on a pole’ and to his dying on the pole of a weir: More he says without ceasing ... than Myrddin ... son of seven locks. (Gwaith Dafydd ap Gwilym, p.347), and in Gwaith Lewys Môn, p.17: I am Myrddin ... dignified, who was in torment on the top of a pole. And again in Cwrtmawr MS.14 p.18: Myrddin when he went to his end on the Pole of the Weir, there was his destiny. The whole prophecy went with Scolan. In the dialogue between Myrddin(?) and Ysgolan in the Black Book of Carmarthen (BBC p.81) are the words: For a whole year I was placed in wattle on the pole of a weir. Eurys Rowlands considers that the references can only be reconciled by supposing that Myrddin lived in agony, transfixed on a pole for a period and died on it in the end. There is a clear connection here with the death of Lailoken, transfixed on a pole in a fishpond (see Llallogan). Also perhaps with the birth of Taliesin. See also s.n. Ysgolan. ‘Son of seven locks’ was presumably a surname of Myrddin referring to his wild appearance and dishevelled hair. See articles by Eurys Rowlands in Llên Cymru, IV.117-9, V.87-88, and by Thomas Jones in Llên Cymru, IV.179-180."

If we are to allow for Myrddin being associated with Esus, I would hazard a guess that originally he was a sacred warrior serving under Gwenddolau (or in the region of Gwenddolau, as this last means 'White Dales').  He may have been named Llallogan (hypocoristic form Llallog) in honor of the Vitiris-worshipping Secundus of the Netherby altar.  Prior to or during the Battle of Arderydd (the 'Height of the Ford', modern Arthuret Knowes), he was "given" to Esus through hanging/impalement on a willow pole, perhaps to help ensure victory in battle.  His name Myrddin means 'Specter-man', and may be a designation given to him only after he began a post-death existence among the 'wild ones' (gwyllon) and 'pale wanderers' (sing. hwimleian) of the Scottish Lowland forest.

Myrddin's sister Gwenddydd or 'White Day', like the Welsh goddess Goleuddydd, 'Bright or Shining Day', is probably a manifestation of Diana/Artemis the moon goddess, perhaps as Diana Lucina (see https://books.google.com/books?id=3GL6XjgU0HoC&q=lucina#v=snippet&q=lucina&f=false).  The Classical writer Lucan (PHARSALIA) mentions Diana in the context of the barbaric worship of Esus:

And those who pacify with blood accursed
Savage Teutates, Hesus' horrid shrines,
And Taranis' altars cruel as were those
Loved by Diana, goddess of the north...

AN APOLOGY FOR ARTICLE RETRACTION: WHY I WAS WRONG ABOUT PTOLEMY'S SELGOVAE SITES

Ptolemy's Britain from Alastair Strang, With Four Selgovae Sites Highlighted in Red

Sometimes, no matter how hard on tries not to, you still end up going down a rabbit hole.  The consequences of such a journey can be embarrassing.

In an effort to pinpoint the four cities of the Selgovae mentioned by Ptolemy, I resorted to a new study by Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews.  Unfortunately, after publishing several findings based upon my research, I've come to realize that the methods he employed are faulty.  And, as a result, his conclusions are neither compelling nor satisfying.  

The realization came when I recognized that his identification of the Ravenna Cosmography's Loxa with Aberlosk was incorrect. I did this by drawing upon the earlier, much more careful work of Rivet and Smith.  They had identified the Loxa with the Lossie in far northern Scotland.  To confirm their idea I had only to find the Locatreue/Locatrebe which immediately follows the Loxa in the RC list.  And there it was on the map - Loch Trevie, a small lake that is part of the source of the Lossie.

What this meant is that other names were also properly placed in the far north.  An example is the Smetri (*Smerti), a tribe located there by Ptolemy, but which Fitzpatrick-Matthews tries to find as a place-name in Lowland Scotland.  Other RC place-names are equally in doubt, and many are hopelessly corrupt or seriously scrambled in a geographical sense or lost and so can't possibly be associated with extant place-names.  Even the Lindum Fitzpatrick-Matthews would related to the Lyne fort on the Tweed is almost certainly Ptolemy's Lindum at Drumquhassle in Stirlingshire.  Etc.

So... I had to go back to the drawing board.  And the best source to use was once again Alastair Strang's masterful "Explaining Ptolemy's Roman Britain" (Britannia, Vol. 28 (1997), pp. 1-30).  This study aims to "adjust" Ptolemy's map by applying very complex geographical principles.  The result is a splendid rearrangement of Ptolemy's sites which has a very high probability of being accurate.

While a proponent of etymology, this the case of the RC positional computation has a much better chance of yielding valuable results.  A good example of the limitations of toponymastics in this particular application can be demonstrated by the place-name Alitacenon.  Rivet and Smith discuss their belief on why this name should be emended as *Alaunacelum, 'the headland/promontory/spur of [a river called] Alauna.'  I wrongly linked Alaunacelum to Castle O'er at Allangill Burn, while Fitzpatrick-Matthews opted for the Ale Water.  Of course, there are many Alaunas, so even this proposed form doesn't get us very far.  But years ago I asked Dr. Graham Isaac, a noted Celtic linguists and place-name specialist about Alitacenon.  This was his take on the problem:

The Ravenna Cosmography’s Alitacenon could be corrupt beyond redemption, but if it is accurate, then both elements are unproblematically found elsewhere: alita- 'shining [river]' gives W Aled (RN), and -cenon is a common toponym element, of admittedly uncertain meaning. I asked Dr. Isaac about –cenon in the context of Alitacenon. If Alita- meant originally the "Shining" (-river), could not -cenon be from Proto-Celtic *cen-je/o, "rise (from)"? In other words, Alitocenon was at the headwaters of a stream called Alito, the place where the waters of the river rose from. To which he responded, “This is not impossible.”

Needless to say, we know of no Alito- site in the North.  As with *Alaunocelum, we are at a loss when it comes to placing this name on the map.

Now to turn our attention to Strang's identications of the Selgovae sites.  He quite reasonably makes the following identifications:

Carbantoritum - Raeburnfoot

Uxellum - Rubers Law?

Corda - Crawford

Trimontium - Newstead (replacing the native hillfort of Eildon North Hill; this is a confirmed site)

Newstead is beyond doubt Trimontium, named for the three Eildon Hills. Some have thought the Tweed to be the border river between the Selgovae and the Votadini.  However, given that both Traprain Law and Edinburgh, the chief seats of the Votadini, are north of the Lammmuir Hills, it is likely the Selgovae controlled both sides of the Tweed basin. 

As for Carbantoritum or 'Chariot for' at Raeburnfoot, I think he may well be correct. The Rae Burn is a tributary of the Esk, and the Esk for the historical period has always been a border river.  In fact, it is known as the Border Esk precisely because it divided NW England from Scotland.  It is probable that the Selgovae border with the Novantae lay here.  Incidentally, there are a few major hillforts just south of Raeburnfoot. We know the Anavionenses lived in Annandale, the next river valley to the west, and the former are believed to be a sub-group of the Novantae.  Hence the Selgovae lands could not have extended to the Annan.

Strang rightly only tentatively suggests Rubers Law.  I'm not sure he is right here, as his rearrangement of Ptolemy's sites leaves Uxellum on almost exactly the same latitude as Raeburnfoot and more to the west of the longitudinal line on which we find Trimontium.  This does not fit Rubers Law.  

A better fit would be Burgh Hill, site of a hillfort, stone circle and numerous satellite settlements, some of which continued in use up through the Dark Ages.  For the sake of comparison only, I have plotted these sites, as well as Milton in Annandale (which while it looks good in one sense, cannot have been Selgovae for the reason I've already mentioned above). 

I would, then, solely on the basis of Strang's meticulous correction of Ptolemy's map, choose Burgh Hill for Uxellum and his Raeburnfoot for Carbantoritum.  According to Canmore (https://canmore.org.uk/site/54016/burgh-hill):

"The nearby hills were quite well settled in the iron age by British tribes, and subsequently by Northumbrians for whom the Catrail (NT 4804- 4904: a considerable linear earthwork just visible from Burgh Hill towards The Pike, south-east across Dod Burn) may have been a temporary 'frontier' before the mid 12th century."

For more on the Catrail, see https://canmore.org.uk/site/86604/catrail.

If we MUST have a Roman site associated with a native one, then the only Uxellum I can think of in the right general area if Woden Law hillfort with its multiple Pennymuir Roman camps.  This is, however, quite a bit further to the east than Rubers Law. [https://canmore.org.uk/site/83741/pennymuir, https://canmore.org.uk/site/58068/woden-law]. The Pennymuir camps on Dere Street sit at the foot of the Cheviots, and it is probable that this range of hills marked the southeastern boundary of the Selgovae,  No Roman fort has been found at Rubers Law, either.

Which leaves us with Corda (or Coria, if one accepts Rivet and Smith's emendation).  Crawford has never made sense to me for a Selgovae 'hosting place' or administrative center.  It is in upper Clydesdale, and while it's always dangerous to try and see in Dark Age kingdom boundaries the earlier Roman period tribal boundaries, the very name Strathclyde suggests strongly that the Clyde belonged to the Dumnonii.  On the other hand, the Selgovae seem to be confined to the Tweed Catchment Basin.  Lyne/Easter Happrew on the upper Tweed - which, ironically, is Rivet and Smith's choice for Carbantoritum! - looks to be a very good Corda.  

Granted, on Strang's reconstructed map, Corda is lower in latitude than Trimontium.  This fact definitely favors Crawford.  But we've seen that Uxellum and Carbantoritum are on the same latitude according to Strang, yet it is clear Raeburnfoot is somewhat lower than Burgh Hill.  If we allow for a similar, but opposite latitudinal error for Lyne, it would be exactly where we find it on Strang's map.

Alternately, we could opt for Dreva Craig further south on the Tweed as Corda.  This is an area replete with hillforts and standing stones.  It might better satisfy the requirement of Strang's map, although he doubtless would have preferred it be further west.  See https://canmore.org.uk/site/49881/dreva-craig.  According to Richard Feachem (GUIDE TO PREHISTORIC SCOTLAND), Dreva Craig commanded "the eastern mouth of the Biggar Gap, the valley 7 miles in length which affords easy communication between the upper reaches of the Rivers Clyde and Tweed."

The four cities of the Selgovae could then be situated thusly, with what may have been the royal cemetery of Yarrow at the center of the kingdom:

Tweed Catchment Basin

DR. CHRISTOPHER BOWLES ON THE YARROW STONE

The Yarrow Stone

I wrote to Scottish Borders Archaeology for information on the Yarrow Stone and received the following wonderful response from Dr. Christopher Bowles.  As my readers my know by now, I have identified the Liberalis of this stone with Senyllt father of Neithon/Nethawc father of Uther.

I'm currently corresponding with Dr. Bowles on the location and extent of Rheged.  He has recently, based upon excavation work, offered Trusty's Hill in ancient Novantae territory as the capital of Rheged.  I had previously shown that Rheged is semantically related to the name of the river Annan, and that the references to Mabon and Modron in connection with Urien of Rheged's family again points to Annandale, in and near where we find the Mabon cult center and place-names.  It may be that are respective discoveries complement each other, as the Annavionenses of Annandale seem to have been a sub-group of the larger Novantae tribe.  I will post any interesting conclusions we reach during our discussion of this kingdom.   

***

Many thanks for getting in touch regarding the Yarrow Stone. Your e-mail certainly highlights one of the many unanswered questions about the early historic period in the area. You’re correct in saying that there are no major settlements in the vicinity of Annan Street. This begs quite a few compelling questions about the nature of the site, its status in the early medieval and how the sons of Liberalus came to be buried there in the first place.

The nearest settlements of possible early historic date (bearing in mind that precious few of our hillforts or other sites have been excavated) are in the Tweed Valley, with a scattering of other possible candidates in the Ettrick and Ale Water valleys. That said, there was an ogham inscribed stone found near Selkirk, itself an oddity as an outlier, and there is a large complex that is thought to be Anglian at Philiphaugh which is in the valley to the west of Selkirk. The Philiphaugh settlement saw some small excavation, but this located later medieval buildings. There’s supposedly a cemetery and a number of Roman period finds have come from the site. But none of this conclusively says the settlement would be contemporary with the broadly 5th-6th century AD date of the Yarrow Stone.

We did have all the fields around the Yarrow Stone undergo geophysics survey which was largely inconclusive, although there are hints of possible circular structures further to the east near the cottage called Warrior’s Rest. Just next to Warrior’s Rest cottage is another standing stone thought to be Neolithic/Bronze Age. The name Warrior’s Rest supposedly links to the burial of a warrior having been found with weaponry nearby. This could be Bronze or Iron Age in date, but no archaeological record was made of the discovery. Another standing stone sits in the Glebe field to the west of Warrior’s Rest and is, again, ostensibly prehistoric.

The discovery of the Yarrow Stone was recounted in the 2nd Statistical Account of Scotland (I believe) and it seems clear that the stone formed a cap to a burial which may still exist. The inscription was seemingly face down. This suggests the stone was either never meant to be seen in the landscape OR that it was taken down and re-used in burial at a later date. But I have no doubt that the stone was originally one of the prehistoric standing stones in the valley. Where it was placed in relation to the other two is unknown, but its current location is a Victorian decision taken when it was found.

So, what is it? My ‘feeling’ is that Liberalus’ family were expressing profound and complex meaning when they carved the stone. As a re-used standing stone in a valley with others suggests that the stone complex retained (or was re-inscribed) a meaning into the early medieval period. Who knows what the meaning was – ancestral, spiritual, or a combination? Another possibility, and similar to what is thought about Pictish stones, is that it was a boundary marker for some polity. If this is the case then based on evidence it’s likely that the people who carved the stone came from the Selkirk area, rather than from further up the Yarrow valley. It could be that the standing stones always formed a traditional boundary between the Ettrick/Tweed and the Yarrow/Ettrick Forest. The burial and stone is thought to be Christian because of the name Liberalus, use of Latin and the phrase ‘hic iacet’ (here lies). But this is by no means certain as there’s no overt Christian symbolism in the stone, its placement or its location. The only thing that’s reasonably clear is that the stone, meant to be seen or not, was very special.

Dr. Christopher Bowles
BA, Msc, PhD, MCIfA, FSA(Scot)
Archaeology Officer
Regulatory Services
Scottish Borders Council

***

For more on the ancient cemetery on Annan Street Moor, see https://canmore.org.uk/site/53056/annan-street, https://canmore.org.uk/site/53078/whitefield-yarrow-stone, https://canmore.org.uk/site/53061/the-glebe-stone-whitefield and https://canmore.org.uk/site/53054/warriors-rest.

According to https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/108609.pdf:

"The name 'Annan Street' in the Yarrow valley, which is also accompanied by a road-side cemetery, may indicate the presence of another lateral route, paralleling those in the valleys of Tweed and Lyne, and to the south over Craik Moor to Raeburnfoot, connecting Trimontium to the head of the Annan."

                      

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NORTHERN ROMANO-BRITISH GOD VETERES

Map of Castra Vetera (Courtesy https://www.livius.org/pictures/a/maps/map-of-xanten/)

Well, I've spilled a lot of ink over the identify of the Veteres, a god found on Hadrian's Wall.  Several theories have been floated, some of them my own.  But having looked very closely into the military units who served along the Wall for a prototype of Veteres, it would appear I have found a simple solution to this problem.

The Cugerni tribe lived around the Roman city of Castra VETERA (see https://www.livius.org/articles/people/cugerni/, https://www.livius.org/articles/place/xanten/ and https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/search?qv=cugerni&submit=).  Whitle Vetera in the context of the place-name may mean "old", it may also be a Latinization of a local native word.  

The Cugerni were in Britain and, most importantly, on Hadrian's Wall, being first stationed at Carrawburgh and later at Newcastle.  I would credit them with the introduction of Veteres, probably originally a genius loci or protective spirit of the castle at the confluence of the Rhine and Lippe.  The Cugerni were later absorbed into the Batavian confederacy and we know the Batavi were active along Hadrian's Wall for many years (see https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/search?qv=Batavi&submit=).  They garrisoned Carrawburgh up to the time of the writing of the Notitia Dignitatum. 

As long ago as 1918, Professor Haverfield suggested that Veteres was a deity of place, perhaps imported by troops serving in Britain from the Continent.  His work on the subject may be found here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0jjktml0ze5tu08/AAAPDA9OFWfauPB8MvybdsKua/3rd%20Series_Vol%2015?dl=0&preview=archael315-022-043-haverfield.pdf&subfolder_nav_tracking=1

Vetera or Veteres was paired with Mogons at Netherby in Cumbria.  Mogons could be either Celtic or Germanic, but if the later, it may be the same name as the attested deified form found in the place-name Mainz (Moguntiacum), a city on the Rhine at the confluence with the Main (see https://www.livius.org/articles/place/mogontiacum-mainz/).  

My own feeling at this point, as the Cugerni were at Newcastle Upon Tyne, is that the place-name Castra Vetera may have been associated with the River Wear, Ptolemy's VEDRA.  The following selection is from Rivet and Smith's THE PLACE-NAMES OF ROMAN BRITAIN under the entry for Vedra:

"Ekwall ERN 442 thinks the analogy doubtful, and prefers to derive the name from a root *ued- 'wet' (Walde-Pokorny I. 252), found with r- formation in Vedra, in Greek Odwr, udra, Umbrian utur 'water', Anglo-Saxon wœter, otr, etc. The German river-name Wetter is then a precise equivalent of present Vedra. See also E. P. Hamp in EC, XII (1971), 547-50, on primitive *uodr/n 'water'; and for further discussion of the group, Nicolaisen in BZN, VIII (1957), 236."

As it happens, the Wetter is a right tributary to the Nidda which itself is a right tributary of the Main. The same River Main which has at its confluence with the Rhine the city of Mainz.  Mogons Vitiris would then be something like 'Water, the Great One' or perhaps simply 'the Great Water.'

Three inscriptions to Veteres have been found at the Chester-le-Street Roman fort on the River Wear. (RIB 1046, 1047 and 1048).

CEREDIG SON OF CUNEDDA AND THE FOUNDING OF WESSEX (REVISED BOOK)

I've revised this title - one that originally incorporated a 'Southern Arthur' theory that I've since abandoned. But there was so much still of value in the work, I decided it would be a shame to let it lapse into obscurity.   

https://www.amazon.com/Ceredig-son-Cunedda-Founding-Wessex/dp/1976431492/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ceredig+son+of+cunedda+and+the+founding+of+wessex&qid=1560432700&s=gateway&sr=8-1  

https://www.amazon.com/Ceredig-son-Cunedda-Founding-Wessex-ebook/dp/B075PR1X52/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1560432700&sr=8-1

Pen son of Nethawc = Uther Pen it is!

William Frederick Yeames, Cordelia, 1888

I've now had word from Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales that he agrees with the author of the following study when it comes to the name Pen[n] son of Nethawc of the MABINOGION tale "Culhwch and Olwen."

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/40632/05.pdf?sequence=8

I've pasted the relevant section from the study below.  But suffice it to say that I have no reason to doubt at this point that the Pen son of Nethawc (= Nwython/Nechton/Neithon/Neidaon) who fought with Gwythyr against Gwyn for Creiddylad is the same as the Uther Pen who fought alongside Gwythyr in the MARWNAT VTHYR PEN poem. Given the sphere of Uther and Arthur's activity in the North, the only plausible father for Nethawc - geographically AND genealogically speaking - is Senyllt.  The latter is thought to be the 'Liberalis' of the Yarrow Stone.

We also need to remember that Bromwich and Thompson make the following comment on the name Penn (in the English edition of CO, published in 1992; information courtesy Will Parker via personal correspondence):

"Penn uab Nethawc: some element appears here to be lacking. Pen(n) is itself an unlikely personal name."

They say this because Penn looks to be an epithet.  And that is because, in all likelihood, the name Uther has dropped out, perhaps precisely because it was mistaken for an adjective.  

VETERES, ESUS AND ORION THE HUNTER: A CONVERGENCE OF FORM AND FUNCTION?

In two past blog posts, I explored the natures of the British god Veteres and that of Esus:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-new-identification-of-north-british.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/04/the-bull-and-three-cranes-extrapolation.html

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-).

A NEW NORTHERN PEDIGREE FOR ARTHUR

For details on this proposed line of descent, please see the following blog posts:

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/05/uther-pen-son-of-nethawcnwython.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/uther-pen-son-of-nethawcnwython-part-two.html

https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/06/is-penn-son-of-nethawc-merely.html

A NEW THEORY ON THE GODDESS CREIDDYLAD OF CULHWCH AND OLWEN

Altar to Gallia from Vindolanda/Chesterholm

Gwythyr, for whom Uther Pen appears to have fought, is linguistically the Welsh equivalent of Roman Victor.   However, as he is decidedly a Northern figure and is made to battle Gwyn son of Nudd, himself either a deity or a divine hero, there’s a good chance Gwythyr was substituted for the theonym Viteris or Veteres (and other variant spellings). This last was a very popular god along Hadrian’s Wall and the regions just to the north and south of the Wall during the Roman period.  

The Roman fort of Vindolanda, modern Chesterholm just south of Hadrian's Wall, has the second largest number of dedications to Viteris  Given that Vindo- means ‘white’ and is the British word that yielded the personal name Gwyn, I would hazard a guess that it was here that Gwythyr and Gwyn fought each other over Creiddylad.  

Creiddylad contains Welsh craidd, ‘center, middle, heart (GPC). She is a late reflection of the goddess Gallia of Vindolanda.  The dedication to Gallia reads:

CIVES GALLI
DE GALLIAE
CONCORDES
QUE BRITANNI

"The citizens of Gaul to the goddess Gallia, and the (citizens) of Britain in harmony, (dedicated this). [RIB3332]"

The word concordes means, literally, 'hearts together', from the assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + cor (genitive cordis) "heart," from PIE root *kerd- "heart."

In other words, Concordes was at some point misunderstood and thought in the context of the dedication to be an epithet for Gallia.  This would have been easy to do, as there was a Roman goddess named Concordia. Thus, in a really strange way, Creiddylad = Gallia. Creiddylad is the daughter of Lludd, a Welsh variant of the Nudd who is Gwyn’s father.  Nudd, in turn, derives from the British theonym Nodens.

For more information on the altar to Gallia, see https://www.persee.fr/doc/antiq_0770-2817_2008_num_77_1_3718.

There are only a few extant inscriptions to Concordia in Britain (see https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/search?qv=concordia&submit=). The story about the ripping out of the heart of Cilydd son of Celyddon is a play on the Latin word discordia, "hearts apart", the opposite of concordia.

IS PENN SON OF NETHAWC MERELY A CORRUPTION OF RUN SON OF NWYTHON?

My main concern at this juncture is Rachel Bromwich's suggestion that Penn son of Nethawc (my new candidate for Uther Pen, father of Arthur) may merely be a corruption of Run son of Nwython.  The only way for me to know whether this was possible was to consult the actual MS. containing 'Culhwch ac Olwen', viz. THE RED BOOK OF HERGEST.  So that's what I did!

817 for Run son of Nwython
837c for Penn son of Nethawc

https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/inquire/Discover/Search/#/?p=c+0,t+,rsrs+0,rsps+10,fa+,so+ox%3Asort%5Easc,scids+,pid+9bf187bf-f862-4453-bc4f-851f6d3948af,vi+b704febf-c9c4-4f23-8312-cb7cd67ef6c6

http://www.rhyddiaithganoloesol.caerdydd.ac.uk/en/ms-page.php?ms=Jesus111&page=200v

What follows are the two screen saves of the names as they are found in the MS. itself.

While this kind of thing always requires a subjective judgment, to my eye Run is not at all likely to have been corrupted into Penn.  But, then again, I'm not a trained paleographer. Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales is such, and when I told him that I didn't think these two names were even close, he replied only with "I agree."

It is still my contention that Penn son of Nethawc, a warrior serving under Gwythyr in C&O, is Uther Pen, who fights with Gwythyr in the 'Marwnat Vthyr Pen.'   And Nethawc is simply a pet-name for Nwython/Neithon.

I've now had word from Dr. Simon Rodway of The University of Wales that he agrees with the author of the following study when it comes to the name Pen[n] son of Nethawc of the MABINOGION tale "Culhwch and Olwen."

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/40632/05.pdf?sequence=8

I've pasted the relevant section from the study below.  But suffice it to say that I have no reason to doubt at this point that the Pen son of Nethawc (= Nwython/Nechton/Neithon/Neidaon) who fought with Gwythyr against Gwyn for Creiddylad is the same as the Uther Pen who fought alongside Gwythyr in the MARWNAT VTHYR PEN poem. 

We also need to remember that Rachel Bromwich and D. Simon Evans make the following comment on the name Penn (in the English edition of CO, published in 1992; information courtesy Will Parker via personal correspondence):

"Penn uab Nethawc: some element appears here to be lacking. Pen(n) is itself an unlikely personal name."

They say this because Penn looks to be an epithet.  And that is because, in all likelihood, the name Uther has dropped out, perhaps precisely because it was mistaken for an adjective.  

UTHER PEN, SON OF NETHAWC/NWYTHON? - PART TWO

The Yarrow Stone, Whitefield, Scotland

In my last blog post (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/05/uther-pen-son-of-nethawcnwython.html), I argued that Uther Pen, Arthur's father, may be the Pen mentioned in the MABINOGION story "Culhwch and Olwen."  The latter was the son of Nethoc, a pet-form of the Irish and Pictish Neithon.  The context of C&O plainly shows (see Cyledyr son of Nwython as Irish Cilledara/"Kildare") that the Neithon intended was the 5th century Pictish king of that name. Unfortunately, there is no reason to assume that the famous Arthur's grandfather was a Pict of the Highlands.

There is another Neithon we should take a look at, however. This is Neithon son of Senyllt of the North.  He may well have been the brother of Nudd Hael, that is Nudd the Generous or Liberal, who appears on the Yarrow Stone near Whitefield in Scottish Borders.  Many good pages describing this stone can be found online. Here are three:

https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/selkirk/yarrowstone/index.html

https://canmore.org.uk/site/53078/whitefield-yarrow-stone

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/stone/yarrw_1.html

Readers will note that Nudd is not called 'the Liberal', but rather his father is called Liberalis.  The probability that the father of Nudd Hael was called Senyllt Hael is discussed in Bartrum's note  to Jesus College Ms 20, 19 in "Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts," pp 140 (information courtesy http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id21.html).

We learn more of this Neithon son of Senyllt from the following Website:

http://www.old-north.co.uk/Holding/source_jesus.html

"Rhodri Mawr was a 9th century king of Gwynedd who claimed descent, not from the royal line of Cunedda, but from other northern characters. Here is given as a descendant of the probably legendary poet Llywarch Hen who is described here and in the Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd as one of the Coeling.

Rodri Maỽr mab Mervyn mab Guriath mab Elidyr mab Celenion merch Tutwal Tuclith mab Anaraỽd Gỽalchcrỽn mab Mervyn Maỽr mab Kyuyn mab Anllech mab Tutwaỽl mab Run mab Neidaon mab Senilth Hael tryd hael o'r gogled. Senilth mab Dingat mab Tutwaỽl mab Edneuet mab Dunaỽt mab Maxen Wledic val y mae vchot.

In this pedigree Rhodri Mawr claims descent from Maxen Wledig (Emperor Maximus) via Neidaon (i.e. Neithon) son of Senyllt Hael, described here as one of the Tri Hael or 'Three Generous Ones' of the north. Elsewhere - in poetry, the Triads and Bonedd y Saint - it is Senyllt's son Nudd who has the epithet Hael and it may be that Neidaon is a mistake for Nudd or that two brothers have been confused. [See https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/ for Macalister's reading of Nudogenos on the Yarrow Stone, rather than Nudus.] The name Nud Hael occurs in the manuscript, as an ancestor Morgan ab Owain, founder of Morgannwg (Glamorgan), but this is a mistake for Iudhael (W. Ithael)."

So if this Neithon son of Senyllt is an actual historical entity, and his son was Uther PEN[N], then we would for the first time know exactly where Arthur came from.  For Yarrow and Selkirkshire are firmly in the ancient tribal territory of the Selgovae, 'the Hunters.'

Interestingly enough, my plotting out of the battles of Arthur run precisely north, east and south of the Selgovae kingdom.

A caution to any who may jump to the conclusion that I've finally found Arthur's real heritage and that it places him in the North.  While I think the case is fairly strong for identifying Uther Pen of the MARWNAT VTHYR PEN who fought with Gwythyr in the North with the Pen son of Nethawc/Nwython/Neithon who served Gwythyr in C&O, we cannot be certain there even was a Neithon son of Senyllt.  Furthermore, there are some significant chronological issues that must be dealt with.  The Yarrow Stone (see https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/cisp/database/) is dated c. 500-599.  If we are to allow for Neithon being Nudd's brother (or even a mistake for Nudd), then it is hard to insert Uther Pen son of Neithon and Arthur into this genealogy without ignoring the fact that the two dated Arthurian battles (Badon and Camlann, respectively) belong to the years c. 516 and c. 537.

In passing, I recently wrote a piece on Arthur and the god Alator (see https://mistshadows.blogspot.com/2019/04/arthur-and-god-alator-of-south-shields.html).  If Holder is correct and Alator was a hunter-god, then Arthur's special relationship with the latter may have something to do with his descent from the Selgovae.

The Yarrow Stone stands only 20 odd kilometers WSW of the Selgovae oppidum at the Eildon Hills, and the Roman city of Trimontium at Newstead which replaced it. See https://canmore.org.uk/site/55668/eildon-hill-north and https://canmore.org.uk/site/55620/newstead.

A NOTE ON GWYTHYR OF THE NORTH

Celtic linguists insist that Gwythyr must come from Latin Victor.  Certainly, this is philologically and phonologically correct.  However, I long ago suggested that Gwythyr was a substitute for the very popular Northern Roman-British god Veteres (and numerous variant spellings).  Over the years I have proposed different etymological theories to account for this divine name.  Gwyn son of Nudd, Gwythyr's opponent in C&O, is beyond doubt a divinity or, at the very least, a divine hero.  He has been compared with the Irish Fionn mac Cumhail.  The theonym Nudd comes from British Nodens.

If Veteres is represented in C&O and the MARWNAT VTHYR PEN by Gwythyr, and Penn son of Nethawc is of the Selgovae, the best possible derivation for Veteres was suggested to me by Dr. Simon Rodway of The Unversity of Wales:

“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”.

Veteres was worshiped almost entirely along Hadrian's Wall, and especially at forts along the western half of the Wall.  The southern border of the Selgovae was Hadrian's Wall.

The Roman fort of Vindolanda, modern Chesterholm, has the second largest number of dedications to this god.  Given that Vindo- means ‘white’ and is the British word that yielded the personal name Gwyn, I would hazard a guess that it was here that Gwythyr and Gwyn fought each other over Creiddylad.  Creiddylad contains Welsh craidd, ‘heart’, and she may have been manufactured from the Selgovae city name Corda , this last being fancifully related to the Latin word for heart, viz. cor, cordis.

It might be going too far to suggest that the 'Hunters of Banna' (see https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/1905)  is a Latinized title for a group of Selgovae at the Birdoswald Roman fort.

RACHEL BROMWICH ON SENYLLT, NUDD HAEL AND NEITHON:

From her "Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain":

I would only add that in Irish tradition, Nechtan appears to be a byname of the god Nuadu, the latter being the equivalent of the Welsh Nudd.