Gaul: Goddesses of the Village of the Flood
The Vacallinehae are mother goddesses (Matronae) known from a large number of inscriptions discovered in the region of Pesch, Germany. In most of these they are invoked as Matronis Vacallinehis though seventeen of the inscriptions (fourteen from Pesch, one from Inversheim, one from Leessenich and one from Antweiler) invoke the goddess without her epithet of matronis. The remaining inscriptons are derived from Antweiler, Pesch, Aachen, Endernich, Iülich, Iversheim, Lessenich, and Saltzvey (all in Germany). Over 67% of these inscriptions are derived from Pesch.
At Pesch the Vacallinehae are also invoked as the Vacallinehae Leudinae on two inscripions [CIL XIII 12020 and AE 1968, 359]. Further inscription at Pesch (AE 1968, 341) invokes the [Matronis] Vocall[i]n[e]habus and (CIL XIII 12029) M[a]t[ro]n[i]s Vo[c]all[i]n[e]his; which undoubtedly represent the same deity. Three further inscriptions dedicated to Vocallineihis (without the Matronis honorific) havalso been discovered at Pesch (AE 1968, 351; AE 1968, 357 and CIL XIII 12022). The term Leudinae may be related to the reconstructed proto-Celtic element: *leuko- (white) possibly with the connotation 'blessed'. Thus the Vacallinehae Leudinae could be the 'Blessed Leudinae'.
Little is known about the attributes of these goddesses, though some of the altars dedicated to them at Pesch are decorated with loaves of bread: which could be either fertility or abundance symbols. The consensus seems to be that the Vacallinehae are local goddesses of either a settlement or a river and this is supported by one possible interpretation of their name, which can be derived from the reconstructed proto-Celtic lexical elements: *wīko-/wīku- (village), the vocative particle ā and *lījant (flood, sea). Thus the Vacallinehae are the 'Goddesses of the Village of the Flood', which would indicate that they were local deities and that their main sphere of influence was the flood plains of a river. This river probably being the Erft that flows through Pesch itself.
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.
