Borvo orBormo (Gaulish: *Borwō,Bormō) was an ancient Celtic god of healingsprings worshipped inGaul andGallaecia.[1][2] He was sometimes identified with the Graeco-Roman godApollo, although his cult had preserved a high degree of autonomy during theRoman period.[3]
TheGaulishtheonymBoruō means 'hot spring', 'warm source'. It stems from theProto-Celtic verbal root *berw- ('boil, brew'; cf.Old Irishberbaid,Middle Welshberwi), itself fromProto-Indo-European *bʰerw- ('boil, brew'; cf. Latinferueō 'to be intensely hot, boil', Sanskritbhurváni 'agitated, wild').[4][5] TheBhearú river (River Barrow) in Ireland has also been linked to this Celtic root.[6]
The variantBormō could have emerged from a difference insuffixes or fromdissimilation.[4][2] Known derivates includeBormanicus (Caldas de Vizela), from an earlier *Borwānicos, andBormanus orBorbanus (Aix-en-Diois,Aix-en-Provence), from an earlier *Borwānos.[7][8] A goddess namedBoruoboendoa, perhaps reflecting the Gaulish theonym *Buruo-bouinduā or *Buruo-bō-uinduā, has also been found inUtrecht.[9]
The toponymsBourbon-l'Archambault,Bourbon-Lancy,Bourbonne-les-Bains,Boulbon,Bormes,Bourbriac,La Bourboule andWorms are derived fromBorvo or from its variantBormo.[4][2][7] The names of various small rivers in France, such asBourbouillon,Bourban, andBourbière, also stem from the theonym.[7]
InGaul, he was particularly worshipped atBourbonne-les-Bains, in the territory of theLingones, where ten inscriptions are recorded. Two other inscriptions are recorded, one (CIL 13, 02901) fromEntrains-sur-Nohain[10] and the other (CIL 12, 02443) fromAix-en-Savoie inGallia Narbonensis.[11] Votive tablets inscribed ‘Borvo’ show that the offerers desired healing for themselves or others.[12] Many of the sites where offerings to Borvo have been found are inGaul: inscriptions to him have been found inDrôme atAix-en-Diois,Bouches-du-Rhône atAix-en-Provence,Gers atAuch,Allier atBourbon-l'Archambault,Savoie atAix-les-Bains,Saône-et-Loire atBourbon-Lancy, inSavoie atAix-les-Bains,Haute-Marne atBourbonne-les-Bains and inNièvre atEntrains-sur-Nohain.[13]
Findings have also been uncovered in theNetherlands atUtrecht,[14] where he is called Boruoboendua Vabusoa Labbonus, and inPortugal atVizela and atIdanha-a-Velha, where he is called Borus and identified withMars.[13] AtAix-en-Provence, he was referred to as Borbanus and Bormanus but atVizela inPortugal, he was hailed as Bormanicus,[13] and atBurtscheid and atWorms inGermany as Borbetomagus.
Borvo was frequently associated with a divine consort, usuallyDamona (Bourbonne, Bourbon-Lancy), but sometimes alsoBormana when he was worshipped by the name Bormanus (Die, Aix-en-Diois).[15][2] Bormana was in some areas worshipped independently of her male counterpart, such as atSaint-Vulbas.[16][2]
Deo Apol/lini Borvoni / et Damonae / C(aius) Daminius / Ferox civis / Lingonus ex / voto
— Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL),13: 05911. Bourbonne-les-Bains.
Bormano / et Borman[ae] / P(ublius) Sappinius / Eusebes v(otum) s(olvit) / l(ibens) m(erito)
— Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL),12: 01561. Boubon-Lancy.
Borvo bore similarities to the goddessSirona, who was also a healing deity associated with mineral springs.[17] According to some scholars, Sirona may have been his mother.[15]
In other areas, Borvo's partner is the goddessBormana. Bormana was, in some areas, worshipped independently of her male counterpart.[18] Gods like Borvo, and others, equated with Apollo, presided over healing springs, and they are usually associated with goddesses, as their husbands or sons.[19] He is found inDrôme atAix-en-Diois withBormana and inSaône-et-Loire atBourbon-Lancy and inHaute-Marne atBourbonne-les-Bains withDamona but he is accompanied by the ‘candid spirit’Candidus inNièvre atEntrains-sur-Nohain.[13] In theNetherlands atUtrecht as Boruoboendua Vabusoa Lobbonus, he is found in the company of aCeltic Hercules,Macusanus andBaldruus.[13]
