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Rigæ
A Brythonic God: King
Ricagambeda (Ricagumbeda) is a Brythonic Goddess known from single inscribed altarstone found at Birrens, Scotland. Evidence suggests that her funtion was that of a psychopomp, guide to the spirits of the departed to the next realm. |
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Bryth: Queen of the Valley [realm] of Death, Queen of the Battle Grave
Ricagambeda is a goddess known [RIB 2107] from a single altarstone inscription found at the Roman fort of Blatobvlgium (Birrens, Dumfries and Galloway) which reads: DEAE RICAGVM BEDAE PAGVS VELLAVS MILIT COH II TVNG VSLM (To the goddess Ricagambeda, [the tribesmen] of the district of Vellauvia serving in the Second Cohort of Tungrians willingly and deservedly fulfilled their vow).
There is still considerable debate as to whether this goddess is of Celtic or Germanic origin; however, her name can be interpreted as if it were derived from Celtic roots, though the situation is made more complex, depending on the redering of the Latin from. If the name is interpreted as Ricagambeda then it can be interpreted as containing the following reconstructed proto-Celtic elements *riga- (queen), *kumbƒ- (valley) and *bedu- (grave) giving us 'Queen of the Valley [realm] of Death'. However, if the name is interpreted as Ricagumbeda then it can be constructed from the following proto-Celtic elements: *riga- (queen), *āgu- (fight, battle), *bedu- (grave) giving us 'Queen of the Battle Grave'. Interestingly both etymologies are essentially cognate and suggest that the goddess was a psychopomp, in the sense that she was a warror deity who took the spirits of the fallen to the other nether realm. As such her role might have been similar to that of the Germanic Valkyrie (whose name literally means 'Choosers of the Slain'.
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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