Rosmerta

In the religion Gallo-Roman, Rosmerta was a goddess of the fertility and abundance.

Its worship was attested by the discovery of statues and inscriptions bearing its name. Among his attributes one finds the famous Horn of plenty or Cornucopia. Its worship was sometimes associated to the god Mercure in Gallo-Roman mythology but one also found testimonys of isolated worship.

Statues

In this low-relief, Rosmerta sat and holds a Horn of plenty. On the right Mercure is held, holding the Patera or patère.

A low-relief of Eisenberg (Deyts p.119) watch Mercury on the right and Rosmerta on the left. Rosmerta holds a purse in the right hand and a patère in the left hand. The inscription (AE 1905, #00058, to see below) makes it possible to identify with certainty the figure being at the Mercury side. In a pair of statues coming from Paris, one representing Mercury and other Rosmerta, this one holds a Horn of plenty and a fruit basket.

Rosmerta is represented in a bronze of Ends of Annency, is only sitting on a rock and holding a purse, its head singularly crowned by the Mercury wings. On a Escolives-Holy-Camille stone low-relief with (Deyts pp. 120-121) it holds at the same time Patère and a Horn of plenty.

Inscriptions

Jufer and Luginbühl (p.60) indexed 27 inscriptions mentioning Rosmerta in France, Germany and Luxembourg, is a geographical sector corresponding roughly to old the Roman Provinces of Gallia Belgica and Germania Superior. Two additional inscriptions are known, including one coming from Dacie (AE 1998, #01100).

The following inscriptions are typical: first of Metz (LASH 13 is, #04311) and the second comes from Eisenberg:

Deo Mercurio and Rosmertae/Musicus Lilluti wire (ius) and sui (S) ex voto

Deo Mercu (Rio)/and Rosmer (tae)/M (arcus) Adiuto/rius Mem/{m} gold D (ecurio) C (ivitatis) St ()/S (uit) L (ibens) m (erito)

In two inscriptions (LASH 13, #04683 and LASH 13,04705, both coming from the Gallia Belgica ) Rosmerta sees itself allotting the epithet sacrum (approx.: crowned ).

This more detailed inscription (LASH 13, #04208; AE 1967, #00320; AE 1987 #00771) comes from Wasserbillig (“biliacum” in Gallia Belgica):

Deo Mercurio deae Ros/mertae aedem C signis decorated/mentisque omn fecit/Acceptus tabul VIvir/Augustal donavit? /item hospitalia that/brandorum gr. pro libe/risk am ded 3/Iulias Lupo Maximo Co (N) S (ulibus)

Etymology

It is about a name Gaulois, being able to be broken up into ro-smert-a . Smert meaning occupying itself of or prodigant and also finding themselves in other Gallic names such as AD-smerio, Smertu-litani, Smerius, Smertae, Smertus, etc (Delamarre p.277). Ro- is a superlative prefix (within the meaning of “really” “very” “much” as found in Ro-bili (“very-good”), Ro-cabalus (“Large Horse”: to see “Great Horse” English of the Middle Ages) (Delamarre pp. 261-2). the suffix - has being the female typical Gaulois singular. Rosmerta is thus “Large Dispensiatrice” or “the Very Generous one” what agrees extremely well with its attributes.

See too

Visucia

References

Year Epigraphique volumes 1967,1987,1998
Corpus inscriptionum latinarum (LASH), volume 13, Very Galliae
Delamarre, X. (2003). Gallic Dictionary Language . 2nd edition. Paris, Editions Wandering. ISBN 2-87772-237-6
Deyts, S. (1992) Images of the gods of Gaulle . Paris, Editions Wandering. ISBN 2-87772-067-5
Jufer, NR. and T. Luginbühl (2001) Repertory of the Gallic gods . Paris, Editions Wandering. ISBN 2-87772-200-7

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