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Belisama
A Gaulish and Brythonic Goddess: Summer Bright
Belisama is known from several inscriptions found in France, where she is equated with Roman Minerva and depicted as Belenus' consort. Her name is also associated with the river Ribble in Lancashire. She seems to be a solar deity, associated with high summer. |
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Bryth, Gaul: Summer Bright
A Gaulish goddess, she is known from Romano-Gaulish inscriptions that equate her with the Roman goddess Minerva. An example being the inscription MINERVAE BELISSIMAE SACRUM (sacred to Belisama Minerva) from Vaison-la-Romaine, France, which strongly indicates that Belisama's nemeton was located here.
In Gaulish mythology she is the consort of the god Belenus and this (along with her name) has led to the proposition that she is a goddess of all types of fire (including sun- and moon-light) as well as of crafts. However, her equation with the Roman goddess Minerva and the fact that she seems to be bearing serpents in her statue representation (shown to the left) would indicate that she was a goddess of wisdom and healing and as a light-bearer she might have been the goddess of the forge (which again is not incompatible with her association with Minerva as a goddess of crafts). Whether Belisama engendered one or all these diverse roles may never be known with certainty.
Some have associated her with the river Mersey because Ptolemy, in his map of Northern Britain called has an Estuary called Belisama Aest about where the Mersey should be. However, based on his placement of Deva (modern Chester), the Mersey estuary is probably a more southerly river on his map, called Seteiae Aest and the local goddess was probably Sequana, patroness of the Seine. This probably makes Belisama Aest the estuary of the modern river Ribble in Lancashire.
Belisama's name can be interpreted as being formed from the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements *belo- (bright) and samo- (summer), yielding the interpretation 'Summer Bright'.
If you would like to try the foods of the time of the ancient Celts, then why not have a look at the ancient recipes section of this site. For the foods of the time when some of these tales were written down, take a look at the Medieval recipes section of the site and, in particular, the recipes from The Forme of Cury.
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