Gaul: He who is the Greatest
Solitumarus is a god known from a number of inscriptions found at Pfalzburg, Bas-Rhin, France where he is named as Visucius Solitumarus and invoked along with Jupiter Optimus Maximus and Apollo. He is also invoked at Châteaubleau, Seine-et-Marne, France where he is invoked by Interpretato Romana as Mercury Solitumarus.
Etymologically Solitumarus would seem to be the masculine counterpart of the goddess Solimara and his name can be derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic elements: *sollo- (all), the preposition *tu- (to) and *māro- (large, great) along with the Latinized masculine ending -us giving us an interpretation of 'He Who is the Greatest'. Solitomarus' assimilation into the cults of both Mercury and Apollo would suggest that, in common with Solimara, he was considered a healer deity and his assimilation with the cult of Jupiter suggests that he was considered as one of the 'high gods' of the region, a deity of the 'protector of the tribe' type.
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.
