John wrote:
>Human sacrifice at springs is
>found in both Celtic and Germanic contexts. The idea that Matrona
>as "Mother of the Rivers" means a non-religious sense, thus is
>unlikely given Celtic "river-worship". River names may become
>divinities and divinities may subside into River names in such
>circumstances. Chris what do you think here?
I would tend to agree, John.
For another Celtic correlate, note the river Sequana (Seine) - Sequana was
worshipped as a goddess (known from inscriptions to Dea Sequana) and had a
shrne at the source of the river. In fact, she survived Christianity,
showing up as St. Sequanus (with an apparent sex change - but note the
Germanic goddess Nerthus having a masculine name as well). It is also likely
that the Irish river Sinend (Shanann) is another such divinity, for we see
an Irish mythic female Sinend giving her name to the river (which was known
by Ptolemy as Senos - which looks to be from the Celtic root Sen- "old").
-Chris
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