InGallo-Roman religion,Arduinna (also Arduina, Arduinnae or Arduinne) was theeponymoustutelary goddess of theArdennes Forest and region, thought to be represented as a huntress riding aboar (primarily in the present-day regions ofBelgium andLuxembourg). Her cult originated in the Ardennes region of present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. She wasidentified with theRoman goddessDiana.[1]
InThe Gods of the Celts,Miranda Green states that some depictions of Arduinna show her riding aboar.[2] However, Simone Deyts[3] notes that the bronze Gallo-Roman statue of a woman in a short belted tunic, riding a boarsidesaddle and holding a knife, conserved in theMusée des antiquités nationales,St-Germain-en-Laye,[4] bears no inscription, and was simply assumed to be Arduinna by the 19th centuryantiquarian who discovered it—perhaps because the modern symbol of the Ardennes region is also a boar.[5] Another such bronze, from the collection ofRichard Payne Knight, has been in theBritish Museum since 1824; it is traditionally identified as "Diana".[6] Both bronze statuettes are now headless.
Arduinna is directly attested from two inscriptions:
The name Arduinna derives from theGaulisharduo- meaning height.[7] Also Latin:Ardua- steep. It is also found in several placenames, such as the Ardennes Woods (Arduenna silva) and theForest of Arden in England, in personal namesArduunus andArda — the latter from coinage of theTreveri[8] — and the GalatianΑρδή. The nameArduenna silva for "wooded heights" was applied to several forested mountains, not just the modern Ardennes: it is found in the départements ofHaute-Loire andPuy-de-Dôme and in the French commune ofAlleuze.[9]
It has also been suggested that thegemination-nn- is typical to a language of theBelgae,[10] being different from Celtic and thus suggesting aNordwestblock etymology, which, generally speaking, is also assumed to be closer toGermanic.[citation needed]
In 585,Walfroy (Wulfilaich) preached to the local population ofVillers-devant-Orval in the Ardennes to persuade them to abandon the worship of Diana. On the hill nearMargut, there was, according toGregory of Tours, a large stone statue of Diana where people would worship. Worshippers would also sing chants in Diana's honour as they drank and feasted. After some difficulties, Walfroy and his followers succeeded in pulling down the statue, which they demolished with hammers.[11]
TheMain beltasteroid394 Arduina, discovered on 19 November 1894, is named for Arduinna.
The French-Belgian television seriesBlack Spot, set in the Ardennes, features a group of eco warriors named the Children of Arduinna (Les Enfants d'Arduinna).[12]
