Cathubodua (Proto-Celtic: *Katu-bodwā, "battle crow") is the name of a Gaulish battle goddess.

Etymology

Cathubodua is the name of a Gaulish goddess derived from a single inscription at Mieussy in Haute Savoie, eastern France,^[1] which actually reads ATHVBODVAE AVG SERVILIA TERENTIA S L M.^[2] The text's restitution as Cathubodua depends on the assumptions that an initial C has been lost^[3] and that the personal names ATEBODVAE, ATEBODVVS and ATEBODVI in 3 other inscriptions in modern Austria and Slovenia^[4] are unrelated.

In the Gaulish language, the name Cathubodua is believed to mean battle-crow.^[5][1] Etymological lexical forms reconstructed in the University of Wales' Proto-Celtic lexicon, suggest that the name is likely to be ultimately derived from the Proto-Celtic *Katu-bodwā, a word that could be interpreted as ‘battle-fighting’.^[6][7] Nonetheless it is this second element *bodwā which appears to be the Proto-Celtic root of the later form of the name Badhbh.^{[citation needed]} The masculine form *bodwos ('fighting') developed in Gaelic into Bodb.^{[citation needed]}

She appears to be similar to the Irish goddess Badb Catha; under this identification, Badb Catha would foresee the fate of warriors before the battle.

References