Coventina
– Celtic Goddess of Healing and Springs
Coventina
was a goddess of wells and springs in northern Britain, southern Gaul
and northern Spain.
Historians
believe Coventina was possibly a goddess of healing, springs and
protection. There has been difficulty in establishing the divine
attributes as the evidence found of Coventina are vague.
No
other evidence has been found of the goddess in Britain.
A
shrine and numerous offerings dedicated to the Coventina was
discovered at an old Roman fort at Carrawburgh near Hadrian's Wall in
northern Britain.
The
Brigantes were most associated with Coventina and paid homage
to the goddess during the Iron Age. They were possibly responsible
for the strength of the cult of Coventina as the largest tribe in
northern Britain.
The
Brigantes were a confederation of smaller tribes who were regarded by
the Romans as a threat to their occupation of the Roman province.
The
goddess, Coventina, was later widely venerated by the Roman soldiers
stationed at Hadrian's Wall from the second century AD.
The
soldiers joined local people who visited the shrine of Coventina and
prayed to the goddess as the divine guardian of the well and spring.
Twelve
inscriptions invoking Coventina were present at an open-air shrine
dedicated to the goddess at Carrawburgh Fort in northern Britain.
Carrawburgh Fort was one of the Roman forts which guarded Hadrian's
Wall.
The
large, stone shrine devoted to Coventina indicated Carrawburgh was
the centre of the goddess's cult.
The
Romans built a temple over the site of an earlier sacred pagan shrine
around a freshwater spring. The waters of the spring flowed into a
well in the middle of the temple.
The
most significant finds in Coventina's Well included sixteen thousand
Roman coins which were dated from the building of the shrine in 128
AD and continued until 388 AD. The number of items found suggested Coventina was venerated as an important local pagan goddess for
hundreds of years.
The
coins were votive offerings thrown into the well from devotees who
sought the aid of the goddess.
Inscriptions
to Coventina, were also discovered on a wide range of gifts in the
well. The offerings included jewellery such as brooches, bracelets
and rings, sculptures of a dog and a horse, hairpins, glass beads,
animal bones including deer, wild boars, oxen and sheep and shoes.
The
shoes were possibly a prayer for the protection of Coventina during a
journey over the land. Some theories claimed the shoes belonged to a
loved one who had died. The protection of the goddess was sought to
guide the soul of a loved one in the afterlife.
The
presence of part of woman's skull in the well suggested she was
buried in the waters after her death. Others believe a severed head
was ritually placed in the well to enhance the spiritual energy of
the waters.
Coventina
was venerated as a Celtic deity in her own right. The shrine and the
inscriptions indicated Coventina was recognised as an important local
and regional goddess by the Romans.
An
inscription on a vase made by a Roman soldier described Coventina as
“Augusta” meaning “most venerable” . The phrase Sancta, or
“sacred” was also used to describe Coventina.
“Coventina
Augusta” enjoyed a high status as a goddess among the Romanised
Celts and Germanic tribes in the legions stationed around Hadrian's
Wall.
The
Roman soldiers and officers who venerated Coventina at the shrine
were from an area known today as the Netherlands. They joined native
Britons who undertook pilgrimages to the shrine of Coventina from the
furthest parts of northern Britain.
Coventina
was identified by an inscription as a water nymph on an altar built
by her grateful followers at Carrawburgh (Wikimedia Commons
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hope-coventina02.jpg ).
A
relief on a wall of another altar portrayed Coventina in the form of
a triple goddess (Wikimedia Commons
-https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hope-coventina01.jpg ).
The
items in the well together with depictions of Coventina as a triple
goddess suggested she was associated with childbirth, fertility,
protection and healing.
There
is some ambiguity concerning the attributes of Coventina other than
she was venerated as a goddess, or guardian spirit, of the waters of
the spring.
Celtic
goddesses as, for example, Sulis in Bath were often associated with
healing springs and sacred wells.
Springs
and wells held great mystical and spiritual power as they were
thought to be entrances to the Otherworld. The supernatural forces of
the Otherworld flowed through the waters of springs and wells.
Those
who bathed in the waters were granted divine gifts such as healing,
fertility, prophecy and protection by the god, goddess or nature
spirit who made the well or spring their home. The divine being of
the sacred well or spring was also able to influence nearby
vegetation, animals and even the weather.
Altars
and inscriptions to the goddess, Coventina, were also unearthed at
Lugo in northern Spain. There seems to have been a strong Celtic
tradition in some part of Spain as Lugo was named after the Celtic
god, Lugh.
The Gallaeci was
a large confederation of Celtic tribes in Iberia, or present-day
Spain and Portugal.
Coventina
was one of the well-known Celtic deities of Europe who were honoured
in the territories of the Gallaeci during the era of the Roman
Empire.
An
inscription mentioning Coventina was evidence that the cult of the
goddess flourished in the Roman town of Narbo, or present-day
Narbonne, in southern Gaul.
Narbonne
was the first Roman colony in Gaul and founded during the early
second century BC. The seaport of Narbonne became prosperous through
trade.
The
importance of Coventina's Well in northern Britain was evidence that
Christianity made little impact on the Celtic tribes in Britain
during the Roman occupation.
Some
historians believe the culture and religion of the Celts in northern
Britain remained almost untouched by the changes brought by the
Romans.
Constantine
was the first Roman Emperor to be sympathetic to Christianity and
converted on his deathbed in 337 AD. He passed the Edict of Milan in
313 less than ten years after becoming Emperor (306 AD).
The
Edict of Milan made Christianity an official religion of the Roman
Empire. The persecution of the Christians which began under Nero in
68 AD finally ended during the reign of Constantine.
Christianity
became the only official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD.
Paganism was outlawed in the Roman provinces.
The
Roman legions withdrew from Britain following the fall of Rome in 410
AD. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes migrated in huge numbers to the
shores of Britain during the mid-fifth century. Their descendants,
the Anglo-Saxons, ushered in an age of paganism dominated by the
Germanic gods.
Coventina
remained a popular goddess of the Celtic tribes in northern Britain
throughout the Iron Age and era of the Roman Empire.
The
longevity and widespread devotion to the shrine of the goddess in
Carrawburgh suggested Coventina was a well-known deity in the Roman
province of Britannia.
The
strength of the cult of Coventina ensured the goddess survived into
the modern era as a familiar deity. Coventina is a mysterious,
fascinating pagan goddess who was held in the highest esteem by her
numerous followers and admirers for thousands of years.
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more information on the Celtic gods and goddesses of Britain, Ireland
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