Litavis (Gaulish:Litauī 'Earth',lit. 'the Broad One') is aGallic deity whose cult is primarily attested in east-centralGaul during theRoman period, where she mainly appears as the consort ofMars Cicolluis. She was probably originally an earth-goddess.[2][1][3] The divine pair Mars Cicolluis–Litavis was likely associated with fertile and nourishing land, an interpretation supported by the meanings of both divine names.[4] In medieval Celtic languages, various terms derived from the name*Litauia (meaning 'land' or 'country') came to designate theBrittany Peninsula.[2]
TheGaulish divine nameLitauī ('Earth',lit. 'the Vast One') is generally derived fromProto-Celtic*flitawī ('broad'; cf.Old Bretonlitan,Middle Welshllydan), itself going back toProto-Indo-European*Pl̥th₂éwih₂.[5] This form is commonly interpreted as an epithet of the Proto-Indo-EuropeanEarth-goddess*déʰǵʰōm. Cognates are found in the Vedic Earth-goddessPṛithvīMātā (पृथ्वी) ('Mother Earth, the Vast One') and in Ancient GreekPlátaia (Πλάταια), a naiad described as the consort of Zeus, as well as in ritual expressions such asOld Hittitepalḫiš dankuiš daganzipaš ('broad dark earth-genius') andYoung Avestanząm pərəθβīm ('broad earth').[6][7]
Cassius Dio, in his account of the events of the Gallic War in 52 BCE, cites anAeduan bearing this name,Litaouikou (Λιταουίκου).Julius Caesar likewise mentions several Gauls whose names derive fromLitavis, includingConvictolitavis andLitaviccus.[4] The latter represents the Latinized form of GaulishLitauicos, meaning 'sovereign' (literally 'possessor of the land'), a formation that is cognate with WelshLlydewig ('pertaining to Brittany'), pointing to a shared Proto-Celtic term*Litauī-kos built with the determinative suffix*-kos.[1]
The medieval Celtic names for theBrittany Peninsula (Old IrishLetha,Old WelshLitau,Old BretonLetau, LatinizedLetavia) all stem from an earlier*Litauia, meaning 'Land' or 'Country'.[2] In the Middle IrishLebor Bretnach (11th c.),Bretain Letha denotes the 'Britons of the Continent or Armorica', i.e. the Bretons. LinguistRudolf Thurneysen proposed that these forms reflect a semantic development from an Ancient Celtic term meaning 'broad land, continent', applied in theInsular Celtic languages to the part of the European mainland nearest theBritish Islands.[1]
A goddess Litavis, consort of the GaulishMarsCicolluis, is attested on several stelae from the region ofAignay-le-Duc and especially fromMâlain, inBurgundy. These finds situate her cult on the frontier between the territories of theLingones and theMandubii. Among thePetrocorii, a dedication toCobledu-Litavus, a god associated with springs, is also recorded. A protected-spring fibula, discovered atAlesia, bears the inscriptionLitaiccos.[4] A Latin dedicatory inscription fromNarbonne (southern Gaul) likewise records the formulaMARTI CICOLLUI ET LITAVI, meaning 'To Mars Cicolluos and Litavis'.[8][9]
The divine pair Mars Cicolluis–Litavis was probably connected with fertile and nourishing land, sinceCicolluis has been interpreted as meaning 'the Nourisher' (cf. Middle Irishcích 'breast'), and the etymology ofLitavis points to the Proto-Indo-European name for the deified Earth,*pleth₂wih₁.[4]
