Inancient Celtic religion,Ialonus Contrebis orIalonus orGontrebis was a god (or perhaps two related gods) worshipped in what are nowLancashire andProvence. Ialonus is thought to be the god of clearings and/or meadows.
The nameIalonus, which may have designated a god of clearing, derives from the Celtic stemialo(n)- ('cleared place, clearing'; cf. Middle Welshial 'clearing',an-ial 'wasteland').[1][2] The stemialon- also had the meaning 'village' inGaulish. In the words ofXavier Delamarre, "In forest-covered Gaul, a village was essentially established by clearing a wood."[1]
The nameContrebis is based on the prefixcon- ('with, together') attached to the root-treb- ('settlement'; cf. Old Irishtreb, Middle Welshtref, Old Bretontreff 'town, dwelling-place'). It can be compared with theCeltiberian place nameContrebia, meaning 'conurbation'.[3][4]
He is known from three dedicatory inscriptions. One, atLancaster, was dedicated (in the dative) toDeo Ialono Contre Sanctissimo ("to the holiest god Ialonus Contre[bis]");[5] another, atOverborough or Over Burrow nearKirkby Lonsdale, toDeo San Gontrebi ("to the holy god Gontrebis").[6] In the third inscription, found atNîmes inProvence, Ialonus was invoked in conjunction with the goddessFortune.[7]
