Veleda
This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (January 2020) |
Veleda (fl. AD 69–84) was
Name
The name Veleda (pronounced
Life
The name may be Celtic and generic title for a prophetess (from
Batavian Uprising
The Batavian leader Civilis originally raised his force as an ally of Vespasian during the Roman power struggle in AD 69, but when he saw the weakened condition of the legions in Romanized Germany he openly revolted. It is not clear whether Veleda merely prophesied the rebellion or actively incited it; given the Germans' adoration of her as a goddess, remote in her tower, the distinction may not have been clear at the time. Early in AD 70 the revolt was joined by Julius Classicus and Julius Tutor, leaders of the Treviri who like Civilis were Roman citizens. The Roman garrison at Novaesium (now Neuss) surrendered without a fight, as did the one at Castra Vetera (near modern Xanten in Niederrhein, Germany).[6] The commander of the Roman garrison, Munius Lupercus, was sent to Veleda, though he was killed en route, evidently in an ambush. Later, when the praetorian trireme was captured, it was rowed upriver on the Lippe as a gift to Veleda.[7]
A strong show of force by nine Roman legions under
In AD 77 the Romans either captured her, perhaps as a hostage, or offered her asylum. According to
Legacy
In her 1795 novel Velleda, ein Zauberroman (Velleda, a Magic Novel),
Other 19th-century works incorporating Veleda/Velleda/Welleda included
More recently, Veleda's story was fictionalized by Poul Anderson in Star of the Sea (1991), and by Lindsey Davis in The Iron Hand of Mars (1992) and Saturnalia (2007). Veleda is also referenced as a prophetess turned saint/goddess in The Veil of Years (2001) by L. Warren Douglas. She is also a character in The Dragon Lord (1979), by David Drake.
On November 5, 1872,
See also
References
- ^ Delamarre 2003, p. 311.
- ^ Delamarre, Xavier, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, 2nd ed., Errance, 2003, p. 311
- ^ Koch, John (ed.), Celtic Culture, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 1728
- ^ Harry Thurston Peck, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, 2nd edition, p. 1640. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc., 1965. Originally published in this form in 1897.
- ^ a b Sir James George Frazer, The Golden Bough. A Study in Magic and Religion, One-volume abridged edition, p. 97. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947. Originally published in this form in 1922.
- ^ ISBN 0-684-13821-2
- ^ a b Lendering, Jona. "Veleda". Livius. Retrieved December 2, 2006.
- ^ Statius, Silvae 1.4, line 90; J.G.W. Henderson, A Roman Life: Rutilius Gallicus On Paper and In Stone. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press, 1998.
- ^ Année Épigraphique 1953, 25.
- ISBN 0-85668-716-2
- ISBN 0-8032-6181-0
Bibliography
- ISBN 9782877723695.