Re: [tied] Digest Number 1222

From: alex_lycos
Message: 18530
Date: 2003-02-07

John L. Berry wrote:
> This is much later than your time period, but I am dealing with a
> confusing issue about the Italic attitude to Rivers. The present
> Volturno in Campania was known to the Romans of Volturnus. However,
> several authors I have consulted say that Volturnus was also the name
> of the "Tutelary Divinity" of the Tiber. It was also the name of a
> God, whose festival in Rome was celebrated on the 27th Aug.
> Volturnus had a "flamen", so he was presumably a fairly important God
> in Archaic Rome. It was also the name of a wind from the "southeast
> by one-third south" (i.e. from 150 deg.). This wind blows in the
> spring (according to an article in January's "Geoscientist" (magazine
> of the Geol Soc London), not around the end of August. The wind
> Volturnus is capable, under the right meteorological conditions, of
> bringing a "dry fog" of sulfurous, ash-laden volcanic air from
> Stromboli over Rome and as far as the Po Valley. As far as I know,
> the etymology of the word "Volturnus" is not known (if anyone knows -
> please tell me): it is one of the Latin words around which
> controversy over a possible Etruscan origin has raged for years. It
> has also been connected with "vultur" (vulture, and also a mountain
> near the source of the Volturno (which, however, I cannot find any
> maps). I can give refs for all of this

Dear John, maybe could help Romance here. "Vâltoare" should be a
possible word but the missing of the nasal is quite problematic.
"Vâltoare" is a phoenomen which is corelated with watter but because of
the often semanticaly shift from Latin to Romanian, maybe shold be a
right word.

Vâltoare= whirlpool, eddy

Alex