| Cernunnos | |
|---|---|
 Cernunnos on the Gundestrup cauldron (plate A). He sits cross-legged, wielding a torc in one hand and a ram-horned serpent in the other. | |
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Other Names |
Dīs |
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First Appearance |
Celtic Mythology |
Origin[]
18th century drawing of Cernunnos as depicted on the Pillar of the Boatmen.
Cernunnos (known as Dīs by Romans) was the name given to the "Horned God" of Celtic mythology. He is interpreted as a god of fertility and hunting. He was a god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. The name itself is only attested once, on the 1st-century Pillar of the Boatmen, but he appears all over Gaul, and among the Celtiberians. Cernunnos is depicted with the antlers of a stag, sometimes carries a purse filled with coin, often seated cross-legged and often associated with animals and holding or wearing torcs, are known from over 50 examples in the Gallo-Roman period, mostly in north-eastern Gaul.
The Pillar of the Boatmen is a Gallo-Roman carved pillar discovered in 1711 under the choir of Notre-Dame de Paris. It is a religious monument, with depictions of Roman gods (Jupiter, Vulcan, and Castor and Pollux) alongside native Gaulish deities (such as Esus and Smertrios), dedicated by a corporation of boatmen from the city of Lutetia (Roman Paris). The dedication dates it to the reign of Tiberius (14-37 CE). Legends below the images identify the Roman and Gaulish deities by name. In fact, this is the only monument on which Celtic deities are identified by name with captions.
Not much is known about the god from literary sources, and details about his name, his followers or his significance in Celtic religion are unknown. Speculative interpretations identify him as a god of nature, life or fertility.
Cernunnos has been tentatively linked with Conall Cernach, a hero of medieval Irish mythology, and some later depictions of cross-legged and horned figures in medieval art.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Cernunnos from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Art Appearances[]
- The Pillar of the Boatmen (1st-century)
Notes[]
- Within Neopaganism, specifically the Wiccan tradition, the Horned God is a deity that is believed to be the equal to the Great Goddess and syncretizes various horned or antlered gods from various cultures. The name Cernunnos became associated with the Wiccan Horned God through the adoption of the writings of Margaret Murray, an Egyptologist and folklorist of the early 20th century.