Hludana

Hludana (or Dea Hludana) is a Germanic goddess attested in five ancient Latin inscriptions from the Rhineland and Frisia, all dating from 197–235 AD.

Three of these inscriptions come from the lower Rhine (CIL XIII, 8611; CIL XIII, 8723; CIL XIII, 8661), one from Münstereifel (CIL XIII, 7944) and one from Beetgum, Frisia (CIL XIII, 8830). The name appears as Hluθena[1][2][3] on the Iversheim inscription from Münstereifel, and as Hlucena on that from Monterberg in the lower Rhine. The name is abbreviated in an inscription from Nijmegen on the lower Rhine ([H]lud.); it appears as Hludana in the inscriptions from Xanten (lower Rhine) and Beetgum. The Beetgum inscription, dedicated by a group of fishermen,[1] originally accompanied a carving of a seated goddess, of which only the bottom can now be seen.[2][4]

There is no proven connection between Hludana and Holda. Jacob Grimm suggested in Deutsche Mythologie that Hludana was to be identified with the Norse earth-goddess Hlóðyn.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johann Baptist Keune: Hludana. In: Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE). Vol. VIII, 2, Stuttgart VIII, 2, Col. 2128 (text).
  2. 1 2 U. Ph. Boissevain (1888). "De inscriptione Romana apud Frisios reperta". Mnemosyne (Brill) 16: 440. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
  3. ↑ The letter θ, sometimes transliterated as ð, represents the tau gallicum.
  4. ↑ "Photo". © Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum – BBAW. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
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