Lessico
Camerius Crescens
The
Galli
were priests of the moon, Cybele
the mother of gods, whose worship was carried from Phoenician and Phrygia to
Carthage, and thence to Rome; their chief was called Archigallus. These
priests were also called Agyrtae, Metragyrtae, and Menagyrtae, from gyrare,
‘to turn about in circles,’ as the Druids are said to have done.
Camerius
Crescens, according to Gruter, was the name of an Archigallus. In these names
we recognise the Chemarim or Cymry,
and the crescent, the recognized emblem of moon-worship. Hesychius calls
Cybele (the moon) “Cimmeris.” She is also called Enthea mater, the
‘frantic mother,’ from the frantic mode of conducting her rites. Martial
shows us what this was: “Et sectus ululat matris Entheae Gallus.” [Epigrammaton
liber V,41,3], meaning, ‘And howls the lacerated priest of the
infuriated mother.’
The Sectus Gallus, the ‘lacerated (priest) Gaul’ (they are synonymous) pointing to the way in which these sun-moon worshippers lacerated themselves, as described in 1 Kings 18:28. In short, these few words of Martial convey exactly the sense and spirit of that passage, exhibiting a remarkable coincidence between sacred and profane history, and explaining the uses of those flint knives which we so invariably find in the sacrificial and sepulchral monuments of the British Gauls. Prudentius, Lactantius, and Juvenal, mention the fanatics of Bellona (another name for the moon, the female impersonation of Bel) lacerating themselves with knives. We learn from M. Morier that cutting with knives and lancets in certain religious ceremonies is used in Persia to the present day.
(An extract from: Our British ancestors: who and what were they? An inquiry serving to elucidate the traditional history of the early Britons, by means of recent excavations, etymology, remnants of religious worship, inscriptions, craniology, and fragmentary collateral history. By the Rev. Samuel Lysons, M.A., F.S.A., Published by John Henry and James Parker, Oxford and London, 1865. Extract from pages 174-181.)
Martial,
Epigrammaton liber V,41:
Spadone
cum sis eviratior fluxo,
et concubino mollior
Celaenaeo,
quem sectus ululat matris entheae Gallus,
theatra loqueris et gradus et edicta
trabeasque et Idus fibulasque censusque,
et pumicata pauperes manu monstras.
Sedere in equitum liceat an
tibi scamnis
videbo, Didyme: non licet maritorum.
(www.thelatinlibrary.com)
Nome delle popolazioni celtiche del Galles e dello Strathclyde, dette anche Cumberland, porzione di quest'ultima regione. In origine aveva il significato di “compatrioti”. Nel 616, dopo la sconfitta di Chester contro gli Angli, i Cimri del Galles vennero separati da quelli dello Strathclyde.
Cimrico
Dal gallese cymraeg, che appartiene ai Cimri; in particolare riferito alla lingua: lingua cimrica (o solo cimrico, come singolare maschile); lo stesso che gallese: proprio del Galles; abitante o nativo del Galles, oppure, la lingua parlata in tale regione. Il gallese č una lingua celtica insulare del ramo britannico, nota anche col nome di cambrico o cimrico (dal nome indigeno Cymry che designa gli abitanti di lingua celtica del Galles). Vi si distinguono tre fasi cronologiche: quella del gallese antico fino al sec. XI, quella del gallese medio dal sec. XII, quella del gallese moderno dal sec. XVI. Questa lingua, che vanta un'interessante letteratura medievale, risente oggi della forte concorrenza dell'inglese, ma č ancora insegnata nelle scuole ed č usata anche nella stampa locale e in alcune trasmissioni radiofoniche e televisive.
