Disclaimer: This piece merely reflects my own understanding of this deity based on my research and experiences.

📜 Ercol in early English manuscripts

In the early 11th century homily XLII Dē temporibus Anticrīstī, Wulfstán, archbishop of York, gives examples of

The designation of ent for this Erculus is not unique to this text. In the early 10th century Old English redaction of Paulus Orosius’ Historiae adversus pāgānōs, the Latin Herculēs is twice rendered as Ercol se ent ^❦2 cap I §x & cap II §viiii , with no prompting from the Latin original for the inclusion of Old English ent. Calling Herculēs a “giant” may seem strange given Hēraklês’ role of aiding the gods in defeating giants in the Gigantomachy, but there may be precedent for this designation.

In Ælfríc of Eynsham’s late 10th century Lives of the Saints, Herculēs is described as a giant with violent inclinations. ^❦3 Skeat (ed) 1881-1900, p 384; Irvine 2003, p 181-183; cf. Yorke 2017, p 57-58 The late 7th or early 8th century Liber monstrōrum dē dīversīs generibus, probably created in connection with abbot Ealdhelm of Malmesbury (by himself or a student of his), ^❦4 Lapidge 1982, p 151-192; cf. Yorke 2017, p 58 , lists Herculēs as both a monster and a monster-slayer. Another Latin text from (probably 8th c.) England, the Ēnigmata Eusebiī, includes a riddle for the Hydra that contains the line sed mē ardente gigās combusserat herculēs igne ‘but the giant Herculēs had consumed me with a brilliant flame.’ ^❦5 Ēnigmata Eusebiī XLI; cf. Fahey 2019, p 265

These early English and Latin texts from England seem to agree on Herculēs’ status as a giant or monster. Another interesting feature of the Old English sources is his status as a god — Wulfstán lists him among heathen gods; King Ælfrǽd’s translation of Boethius twice names him Erculus Iobes sunu ‘Herculēs son of Jove’ with no qualification of him as a demigod, including instead a euhemerizing explanation (not present in the original) of Jove as a king who had been misperceived as a god. ^❦6 Irvine 2003, p 180-181

It is possible to view these few Old English mentions of Erculus/Ercol as a novel incorporation of a classical figure into the (rather exclusive) discourse of early English literature; this very well may reflect the reality of the situation. However, some of the idiosyncratic attributes of this Old English version of Herculēs, like his ent status and his godhood, might be better understood when contextualized as a unique episode in a long history of Herculēs syncretism in early Germanic and Celtic cultures.

🏛️ Classical cults

The veneration of Ἡρακλῆς Hēraklês held a special position in the classical world. While his mythological appearances clearly depict him as a demigod of half-human parentage, his worship was not quite the same as that of other demigod heroes. Due to his ascension to Olympus after his great labors ^❦7 Burkert 1987, p 75-76 , he was worshipped, at times separately ^❦8 Winiarczyk 2013, p 30 , and at times simultaneously, ^❦9 Burkert 1977, p 208 , as both a hero and a god. In his divine capacity, he held a special role as patron to young men, warriors, and athletes, and his cult probably absorbed that of other figures in Greece with similar features. ^❦10 Hornblower & Spawforth & Eidinow 2014, p 367 Based on his four wives and numerous male and female paramours in mythic sources, he also seemed to have developed an association with lovers, particularly by way of his lover Iolaos; Plutarch writes that lovers pledged their faith to one another in front of Iolaos’ tomb. ^❦11 Plutarch 75· Amatorius, 761d: ἡρακλέους δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἔρωτας ἔργον ἐστὶν εἰπεῖν διὰ πλῆθος· ἰόλαον δὲ νομίζοντες ἐρώμενον αὐτοῦ γεγονέναι· μέχρι νῦν σέβονται καὶ τιμῶσιν, ἔρωτος ὅρκους τε καὶ πίστεις ἐπὶ τοῦ τάφου παρὰ τῶν ἐρωμένων λαμβάνοντες·; Plutarch 75· Pelopidas

The Etruscans adopted many attributes of the Greek Hēraklês into their cult of 𐌇𐌄𐌓𐌂𐌋𐌄 Hercle. For example, at one foot of the Cista Ficoroni, a 4th c. BC bronze ritual vessel, there is a depiction of Hercle and Iolaos with Eros standing between them. One interesting attribute of the Etruscan Hercle is the depiction of him, as an adult, attaining godhood by suckling the breast of Uni, the goddess often identified with Roman Jūnō and Greek Hḗrā. ^❦12 Bonftante 2006, p 9-26 It was most likely from the Etruscans that the Romans first heard of the figure, as early variants of Roman Herculēs include Herclēs and Hercelēs.

As early as the 6th century BC, stories of Herculēs can be found in Rome. Once again, many of the attributes of his cult in Greece were carried into Roman tradition. For example, a continued connection with love may be evidenced by the ‘knot of Herculēs’ with which women tied their wedding dresses. ^❦13 Mata 2013, p 138 n 12 Much as in Greece, the Roman Herculēs seems to have absorbed local cults, including one of a giant shepherd called Garanus or Recaranus. His ascension to godhood is emphasized by Dionysius of Halicarnassus ^❦14 Dionysius of Halicarnassus 7.72.13-14; cf. Rüpke 2012, p 41 , and Virgil’s Æneid ^❦15 VIII, l 275 calls him a commūnis deus ‘god for the common people.’ It is perhaps this status of “common god” that contributed to his wide appeal to the Romans and to those with whom they came into contact.

Throughout the Roman Empire, we find votive inscriptions and depictions of Herculēs. In sub-Roman Britain in particular, we find 19 votive inscriptions dedicated to Herculēs ^❦16 Brit. 32.18· Benwell; RIB 67· Silchester; 648· York; 796· Haile; 892· Old Carlisle; 1781· Carvoran; 1199, 1200· Whitley Castle; 1213, 1214, 1215· Risingham; 1264· High Rochester; 1580· Housesteads; 2040· Burgh-by-Sands; 2140· Mumrills; 2177· Auchendavy; 2432.5· Brancaster; 2489.70H· Bubbenhall; 3181· Brough-on-Noe and 10 visual depictions of him. ^❦17 RIB 418· Caer Gai; 723· Brough-by-Bainbridge; 806· Burrow Walls; 810· Maryport; 1241· Risingham; 1284· High Rochester; 1300· Wallsend; 2414.29· Traprain Law; 2423.27· Malton; 2433.7· Caerleon We also have evidence of several possible local cults which were syncretized with the Roman Herculēs.

👅 Herculēs Ogmios & Ogma

The 2nd century Syrian writer Lucian of Samosata gives an account of a peculiar depiction of a Herculēs in Gaul. This Gaulish Herculēs has typical Herculean attributes, such as a lion-skin over his shoulders, a club in one hand, and a quiver in the other. However, this Herculēs is also depicted as a smiling old man with dark skin leading a crowd of men by way of chains attaching their ears to the tip of his tongue. A Gaulish interlocutor explains to Lucian that he is called Ogmios, and that the tongue-to-ear chains are representative of his status as a god of wisdom and eloquence, which his old age is also meant to express. ^❦18 Lucian of Samosata Hēraclês; for an English translation, the Fowler & Fowler (1905) edition is easily accessible online.

Lucian is not our only witness to a Gaulish deity called Ogmios. Two dēfīxiōnēs (curse tablets) have been found in Cisalpine Gaul (in what is now Bregenz, Austria) which invoke Ogmios (along with other deities). ^❦19 EDCS-38700261· Bregenz; CIL III:11882· Bregenz; cf. Mees 2009, p 89-91 Mees (2009) interprets Ogmios here as a chthonic god being invoked to punish the victim of the curse tablet. ^❦20 Mees 2009, p 90

Many scholars have commented on the apparent similarity between the Gaulish Ogmios and the Old Irish deity Ogma, a champion of the Túatha Dé Danann. ^❦21 MacKillop 1998, p 310 His epithets include grianainech ‘sun-faced,’ trenfher ‘strongman,’ and griain-éigis ‘shining sage.’ ^❦22 Lebor Gabála Érenn & Táin Bó Cúailnge; Do Cath Mag Tuired; Foras Feasa ar Éirinn The trenfher epithet seems most Herculean, while griain-éigis is reminiscent of Ogmios’s description as a wise old man. MacCulloch (1911) also compares grianainech with the smiling face of Ogmios. ^❦23 MacCulloch 1911, ch 5 Ogma is also credited with the creation of the ogham writing system, another potential relation with eloquence and wisdom.

Despite these similarities, some scholars such as Thurneyson (1928, 1937) have argued that Ogmios and Ogma cannot be connected on linguistic grounds. ^❦24 Thurneyson 1928, p 299; Thurneyson 1937, p 195-196 Stifter (2023) refutes Thurneyson’s phonological argument against the connection, but still rejects a connection between Ogmios and the ogham script, the later of which he derives from a Proto-Celtic *ogmo- ‘groove, furrow’ from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂éǵ- ‘impel, drive.’ ^❦25 Stifter 2023 However, Ogmios need not be related to ogham in order to have some relation to the figure of Ogma, as the connection between Irish Ogma and the ogham script may be partially rooted in a folk etymology. Indeed, Mees (2009) suggests the same root for Ogmios as Stifter (2023) does for ogham, comparing Ogmios (“the god of ‘leading’ or ‘conveying’” with eloquence) to Ancient Greek ὄγμος ógmos ‘furrow’ and Latin agere ‘to lead, to drive.’ ^❦26 Mees 2009, p 93

Etymological connection or no, there do appear to be remnants of Herculean attributes in the Irish Ogma, even if they are not as overt as the Gallo-Roman syncretism of Herculēs Ogmios. However, this Ogmios is not the only figure in the northern Roman empire to be equated with Herculēs.

🪦 Herculēs Magusanus

In chapter 3 of Tacitus’s Germānia (c. 98 AD), he writes:

Later, when describing the beliefs of the Suebī in chapter 9, he writes that they primarily worship Mercurius, Herculēs, and Mārs, among others (notably Isis). Many critics have taken these references to be instances of Tacitus employing interpretātiō rōmāna, equating Mercurius, Herculēs, and Mārs with early variants of *Wōdanaz, *Þunraz, and *Tīwaz, respectively. The chief arguments for this equation are the prominence of these gods in later Germanic sources, attributes shared between Herculēs and Norse Þórr (e.g. physical strength, wielding a club/hammer), and parallel myths (e.g. battling giants). ^❦27 Simek 1984, p 171; For another recent look at the Germanic and Roman correspondences between *Þunraz and Herculēs, see Nico Solheim-Davidson (2023) “Send Thunder From The Sky: Thore, More Than A Northern Hercules?

Whether a correspondence with *Þunraz was Tacitus’ intention or not, there is indeed evidence that Herculēs was worshipped amongst his Germanic contemporaries under various regional epithets. Under the names Herculēs Saxānus ^❦28 CIL XIII 7697-7712· Brohntal; 7716-7720; cf. Simek 1984, p 173 and Herculēs Maliātor ^❦29 CIL XIII 6619· Oberburg; cf. Simek 1984, p 173 , he seems to have been worshipped as a patron of stone-workers near Bonn and Köln. The much later Herculēs Deusoniānus, appearing on mid-3rd century coins of emperor Postumus, has been related to the Batavian town of Deusō. ^❦30 Simek 1984, p 172; Simek suggests that Deusō may be the origin of the unclear first element of modern Doesburg, while others have suggested an identification with modern Diessen. Emperor Postumus himself may have been of Batavian origin, and he also had coins bearing the name Herculēs Magusanus

Perhaps the most widely-discussed Germanic Herculēs cult is found originally in Batāvia: that of Herculēs Magusanus. ^❦31 CIL XIII 8010· Bonn; 8492· Köln-Duetz; 8705· Nijmegen; 8771· Ruimel; 8777· Westkapelle; van Es & Hessing 1990, p 81 The earliest instance of this figure comes in the form of an altar from Ruimel dating to the mid-1st century AD ^❦32 Derks 1998, p 89 , which reads [M]AGVSA[N]O HERCVLI, the only example with the name of Magusanus preceding Herculēs. Another early inscription is from c. 100 AD, found near Empel, reading MAGVSEN[VS]. Many more examples are found in the Lower Rhine area, and seem to have spread to Rome, Dacia, and even Roman Britain ^❦33 RIB 2140· Mumrills (c. 140-165 AD) , most likely by Germanic soldiers in or adjacent to the Roman army. ^❦34 Toorians 2003, p 14; Simek 1984, p 172–173

While this figure seems to have been worshipped by the Baetasiī, Gugernī, Marsacī, Tungrī, and Ubiī, his worship seems to point to an origin (at least among Germanic peoples) with the Batāvī. ^❦35 Roymans 2009, p 234; Neumann 1999, p 125 Simek (1984) located the main settlement of the Batāvī, Noviomagus (= Nijmegen) as the center for the Magusanus cult. Several scholars have given the cult of Herculēs Magusanus an important role in the construction of the Batavian ethnic identity ^❦36 Derks 1991, p 255; Roymans 2009, p 231-233; however, see Rey 2014, p 72-74 , noting the military and athletic association of Herculēs, the fact that many votive inscriptions were made by soldiers, and the practice of leaving weapons in the sanctuary of Herculēs Magusanus at Empel. ^❦37 Roymans 2009, p 224, p 231-233

Nico Roymans (2009) argues that Tacitus’ report that the Pillars of Herculēs are located in Friesland along the North Sea and his account of Herculēs importance among warriors in Germānia are part of a larger theme that “Hercules had preceded the Roman armies in exploring and socialising the Germanic frontier,” ^❦38 p 224 and that the taking up of Herculēs by the Batāvī may have built on this Roman view of his “role as the first explorer of the Germanic frontier and, by virtue of his sexual escapades, as the mythical forebear of the barbarian peoples.” ^❦39 p 231; cf. Mata 2013, p 134

Karim Mata (2013) stresses the colonial relationship between the Batāvī and the Romans, and suggests that the cult of Herculēs Magusanus may have served as a way to consecrate the Roman-Batavian relationship, and that the “multivalence of Hercules allowed for the continued relevance of his cult on the frontier, with ‘Hercules the conqueror’ of barbarity gradually becoming ‘Hercules the protector’ of a prosperous and eternal Roman Empire.” ^❦40 p 142-143; cf. Genèvrier 1986, p 374-375

We can see in Herculēs Magusanus the continuation of classical elements, such as the club and the lion-skin over his shoulder. ^❦41 Roymans 2009, p 228; Simek 1984, p 172-173 We also find what may be an echo of the classical association with love and marriage in a dedication to Herculēs Magusanus and Haeva by a married couple for the protection of their children. ^❦42 Roymans 2009, p 233; Mata 2013, p 144

The ultimate origin of Magusanus has been long debated, as a Germanic and Celtic etymology are both possible. Norbert Wagner (1977) hazards a reconstruction of Proto-Germanic *Magus-naz ‘powerful one.’ ^❦43 Wagner 1977, p 417–422; cf. Neumann 1999, p 125; Simek 1984, p 172–173 Another posibility, noted by Toorians (2003) ^❦44 p 17 is a compound *Magusenaz comprising of *maguz ‘boy, servant’ and *senaz ‘old.’ A Gaulish reconstruction of *Magusenos ‘old lad, old servant’ ^❦45 Jackson 1953, p 521 has also been put together by Celtic linguists ^❦46 Lambert 1994, p 60; Delamarre 2001, p 181, p 229 , and the Llanboidy stone in Wales bearing the apparently cognate name Mavohenos ^❦47 Jackson 1953, p 521 seems to corroborate this reconstruction. ^❦48 Matasović (2009, 274) notes that the a vowel in Gaulish Magu- from Proto-Celtic *mogu- is unexplained, as it also appears in Magurīx and Maguntia

Toorians (2003) suggests that the area where the earliest Magusanus inscriptions have been found was originally inhabited by Celtic or Gallo-Germanic Eburōnēs who worshipped a Gaulish deity Magusenos, and once the (chiefly Germanic-speaking) Batāvī came to prominence in the region, they interpeted the penultimate-stressed Magusénos as a long vowel Magusēnos, which in West Germanic shifted to a form Magusān, thus explaining the e/a alternation found in the Roman inscriptions. ^❦49 p 17-18 The mixed Celto-Germanic nature of the Lower Rhine region has been attested not only by the evidence from Magusenus/Magusanus, but also by various other inscriptions revealing ambiguously Celto-Germanic cults, particularly those of the Mātrōnae/Mātrēs.

The semantic interpretation of Magusenus/Magusanus is also somewhat problematic. The variance between Germanic and Celtic compound order (and variance within the Celtic languages) makes the interpretations ‘old lad/servant’ or ‘servant/lad’s old one’ equally feasible. Even taking a step back from this confusion, we find that either meaning appears to be contradictory. However, the confusion may be lessened when we compare it to similarly contradictory designations found in other sources. Toorians (2003) notes that the phrase puer senex ‘old lad’ is used in the life of Saint Benedict ^❦50 Gregory I 6th c.· Dialogues II, prologue , and similar “contradictory” phrasings denote one who has both the vigor of youth and the wisdom of age. ^❦51 Toorians 2003, p 20 This meaning becomes even less strange when we remember Lucian’s account of Herculēs Ogmios, who had both outward attributes of the more youthful Hēraklês and the countenance of an old man, eloquent and wise. ^❦52 Toorians 2003, p 20; Goldberg 2009, p 134

Simek (1984) suggested that Magusanus with a Germanic etymology could have been an epithet for *Þunraz ^❦53 p 172-173 , but it may instead be the case that the northern Gallo-Germanic Herculēs Magusenos was actually an epithet or variant for the southern Gaulish Herculēs Ogmios. It is far from certain that we can connect these two figures directly, but if the Celtic or remodelled Germanic etymologies are correct, there is at least evidence that two instances of syncretism conferred onto Herculēs attributes of wisdom and eloquence along with a continued association with warriors and protection.

🪙 The migration of Herculēs

With the collapse of the Roman Empire and the eventual rise of Frankish society, we might expect the relevance of the Herculēs cult to vanish from Germanic culture. To an extent, this is what we can see: Christianity would come to dominate the region, and Carolingian society would develop a more negative view of Herculēs. ^❦54 Irvine 2003, p 185-188; Nees 1991; Mata 2013, p 146 This negative view appears to have extended even into the late 7th to early 8th century England, given Herculēs’ place as a monster in the Liber monstrōrum dē dīversīs generibus (though he was also listed as a monster-slayer in that text). However, there also appears to have been a continued place for Herculēs in Migration era Germanic cultures.

Evidence of markings reflecting the Herculēs constellation (among others) have been found in Frisian settlements ^❦55 Therkorn 2004, p 88 , and Herculēs’ club amulets (Herkuleskeule), which could be found throughout the Roman Empire (including Roman Britain), continue to be found during the Migration era in the form of jewelry worn by women and children for protection (Donarkeule). ^❦56 Werner 1964; Therkorn &al 2009, p 107; cf. Mata 2013, p 146 n 34 Three such pendants have been reportedly found in early English settlements ^❦57 Lethbridge 1951, p 18, p 36; Werner 1964, p 176-197; Meaney 1981, p 34 , though it is sometimes difficult to tell if these are in fact associated with Herculēs, Donar/Þunor, or no one in particular. ^❦58 cf. earlymedievaldigs 2017

We also see in early Old English art a revival of early Celtic art from the British Isles, ^❦59 Gannon 2003, p 123 and included in this revival was the modeling of coins after the style of Roman British coins, including some coins depicting Herculēs. ^❦60 Abdy & Williams 2006, p 11-17; cf. Gannon 2020, p 121-122 One coin example depicts a personification of Victory, apparently modeled on a Roman British Herculēs coin; several Roman British inscriptions name Herculēs as Victor/Invictus. ^❦61 RIB 946· Carlisle; 1200· Whitley Castle; 1215· Risingham; 2489.70H· Bubbenhall; cf. Gannon 2020, p 129

These archæological traces of Herculēs veneration (or recognition at least) appear to contradict the general attitude of contemporary writing condemning Herculēs as a monster. However, even the written record is ambiguous on Herculēs, as he is seen as both a monster and monster-fighter (as noted above), and his attributes of strength and courage were popular ones for Germanic heroic figures, even during a period of Christianization. ^❦62 Orchard 1995, p 86-115, p 265-267; cf. Yorke 2017, p 57-58 It is also possible that the continued relevance of Herculēs was helped by some of the new attributes his cult had acquired in the Germanic and Celtic contexts.

🛡️ Welsh Ercwlf

Middle Welsh literature records mentions of Ercwlf (= Herculēs), most notably in Ystoria Dared, an adaptation of the Latin Historia Darētis Phrygii dē excīdiō Trōiae which tells of the fall of Troy. The colofneu ercwlf ‘Pillars of Herculēs’ are also mentioned in the Brut y Brenhinoedd (‘Chronicle of the Kings’).

Most notably, in the 14th century Llyfr Taliesin (‘Book of Taliesin’), which contains poems that may date to the 10th century of earlier, we find an elegy to Ercwlf:

This elegy reveals several interesting attributes of Ercwlf. He is described as famous and daring, bold and crazed — all descriptions applicable to the classical Herculēs. However, he is also a ‘lord of baptism’ and a ‘sage.’

Based on an Irish legend that the Picts were descended from Gileoin Mac Ercail (‘Gileoin son of Herculēs’), William Forbes Skene (1868) believed that this poem probably referred to a Pictish hero. ^❦63 Skene 1868, p 416 However, it is difficult not to note the parallels between this Ercwlf and the descriptions of Herculēs Ogmios and Ogma. His status as a sage may be a parallel with Ogmios’ status as a god of wisdom. ^❦64 The ‘four columns of equal height’ may even be an oblique reference to the ogham script The reference to the sun’s heat may be related to the ‘sun-faced’ Ogma in Irish sources.

In addition to attributes of Ogmios, this elegy also emphasizes the ‘columns of Ercwlf’ and their invincibility. The poem also calls Ercwlf a breaker of the mur ‘fortification, rampart, wall’ (an early loan from Latin mūrus ‘[city] wall(s)’) and of the shield of the mordei ‘courts, mansions.’ However, a connection between Herculēs and fortified structures is not isolated to this Middle Welsh source.

🪨 Ercol the ent

In Ælfrǽd’s Boethius translation, the references to Herculēs in the Latin original are adapted in some intriguing ways. For example, when Ercules drowns king Bosiris in Egypt, he does so swíðe ryhte be Godes dóme ‘very rightly by God’s judgment.’ ^❦65 cap XIV §ii; cf. Yorke 2017, p 57 When se foremǽra (‘the renowned’) Erculus surrounds the Hydra with a wooden pyre, he does so by virtue of his cræft. ^❦66 cap XXXIX §iv; cf. Irvine 2003, p 174-176; Yorke 2017, p 57 Susan Irvine (2003) compares this depiction of Herculēs to Ælfrǽd’s view of his own role as king, concluding that Ælfrǽd is adapting the figure of cræftig Herculēs into a sort of heroic model. ^❦67 p 175; Yorke 2017, p 57

Herculēs also undergoes unique adaptation in the Orosius translation. Here, when recounting Alexander the Great’s campaign in India, we are told that:

Here we see Ercol as a fort-breaker worthy of Alexander’s emulation. This aspect of Herculēs is included in the Latin original, but (as discussed above) the designation of ent is not, and Orchard (1995) argues that this connects the OE Orosius Ercol with the Liber monstrōrum dē dīversīs generibus and other instances of ent in Old English. ^❦68 Orchard 1995, p 125; cf. Fahey 2019, p 48 As I have argued elsewhere, figures referred to in Old English literature as ents or giants are often morally ambiguous historical or mythical characters associated with craftsmanship ^❦69 cf. Frankis 1973, p 260-261; Shaw (2002, p 140 n 29) translates ent in Wulfstán’s homily as “mighty man from a former period” and/or ancient stone-builders associated with (especially Roman) ruins. ^❦70 cf. Neidorf 2022, p 388 We can see aspects of the former in the Herculēs of Ælfrǽd’s Boethius and in the OE Orosius, but he seems to be the antithesis of the latter in these texts.

However, the OE Orosius also gives us another reference to Ercoles syla (= Herculis columnae) ‘the Pillars of Hercules.’ ^❦71 cap I §i Victoria Walker (2016) argues that this reference emphasizes “the material and spatial contact between past and present […] that exist in the ‘expanded now’ of the present middangeard conceived of by the Anglo-Saxons.” ^❦72 Walker 2016, p 33 In other words, Ercol’s association with the pillars is exemplary of a wider association with the historical foundations of the known world. Such a connection is more in line with the Old English enta geweorc ‘work of giants’ we would expect of Ercol se ent. Here we might also recall the early Romano-Germanic syncretism of Herculēs Saxānus/Maliātor, a patron of stone-workers.

In addition to the entish attributes these Old English references confer onto Ercol, we might note some parallels with the Welsh Ercwlf, such as his status as a fort-breaker ^❦73 Ercwlf as breaker of the Latin-derived mur ‘fortification’; cf. Skene 1868, p 416 and the importance of his columns. These similarities may be more than coincidence.

Andrew Breeze (1991, 1992, 2020) has argued that the translator of the OE Orosius was an Old English speaker of Cornish origin, possibly dictating to a West Saxon scribe. ^❦74 Breeze 1991, p 151-154; Breeze 1992, p 271-273; Breeze 2020, p 140; cf. Redgate 2014, p 38 Breeze cites Brythonicisms such as the the use of continuous verb tenses ^❦75 Breeze 2020, p 144; cf. Tristram 2007, p 192-214 , the lenition of Latin Lampito to Lampida and Lydorum to Lyda ^❦76 Breeze 2020, p 145 , and the vowel o in Ercol as “conclusive” of a Cornish (rather than Welsh, cf. Ercwl(f)) origin. ^❦77 Breeze 2020, p 146 This notion of Cornish influence is not without its detractors, such Peter Kitson (1996) and Francisco Álvarez López (2018), who argue against external influence on the Old English of the text. ^❦78 Kitson 1996, p 3-35; Álvarez López 2018, p 12

If the Cornish hypothesis does prove to be correct, it could indicate that these attributes of Ercwlf were present in more than one Brythonic milieu, and that an Ogmian Ercwlf~Ercol tradition was brought into contact with the entish Ercol~Erculus concept of early English speakers.

Beyond the possibility of Cornish influence, we can see in Old English literary references to Ercol~Erculus another example of the incorporation of Herculēs into a unique cultural role, as we have seen with the Gaulish Ogmios, the Gallo-Germanic Magusanus, the Romano-Germanic Herkuleskeule tradition, and the Welsh Ercwlf.

📝 A quick summary

Below is a quick summary of some of the key points presented in the earlier sections of this page:

• • In his few explicit appearances in Old English literature, Erculus/Ercol has some idiosyncratic attributes, such as his status as a euhemerized god and his being called an ent.
•  
• • Classical cults of Hērakês/Hercle/Herculēs in Greece, Etruria, and Rome emphasized his ascension to godhood, an association with warriors, and an association with lovers and marriage. His status as a “god for the common people” made him apt for absorbing similar god cults.
•  
• • The southern Gauls appear to have worshiped a Herculēs Ogmios, a god of wisdom and eloquence that may be reflected in the very similar Irish god Ogma.
•  
• • Tacitus records that the god Herculēs was imporant among Germanic warriors. Roman-era inscriptions have local Germanic variants of the Herculēs cult associated with stone-workers, and the important cult of Herculēs Magusanus, which extended from Batāvia across Germānia and into Roman Britain, continued the classical association with warriors and may have a philological connection with the cult of Ogmios.
•  
• • Archæological evidence in Migration era Germanic cultures reveals references to the Herculēs constellation, continued production of Roman-era Herculēs (or Herculēs-inspired) coins, and the wearing of Herculēs club-pendants on the Continent and in early England.
•  
• • The Ercwlf of Middle Welsh literature had attributes which may be similar to those of Ogmios/Ogma as well as a relationship with fortified buildings.
•  
• • The Old English references to Erculus/Ercol se ent give him an ambiguous status as a breaker of forts as well as an important stone craftsman. There may be some connection with the earlier Germanic syncretism of Herculēs as a patron of stone-workers, and there may also have been Cornish influence in the Old English Ercol, possibly connecting him with Welsh Ercwlf.

---

🍂 Notes

• ^❦1 Shaw 2002, p 145; Doane & Hussey & Pulsiano (ed) 2004
• ^❦2 Old English Orosius, cap I §x & cap II §viiii
• ^❦3 Skeat (ed) 1881-1900, p 384; Irvine 2003, p 181-183; cf. Yorke 2017, p 57-58
• ^❦4 Lapidge 1982, p 151-192; cf. Yorke 2017, p 58
• ^❦5 Ēnigmata Eusebiī XLI; cf. Fahey 2019, p 265
• ^❦6 Irvine 2003, p 180-181
• ^❦7 Burkert 1987, p 75-76
• ^❦8 Winiarczyk 2013, p 30
• ^❦9 Burkert 1977, p 208
• ^❦10 Hornblower & Spawforth & Eidinow 2014, p 367
• ^❦11 Plutarch 75· Amatorius, 761d: ἡρακλέους δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἔρωτας ἔργον ἐστὶν εἰπεῖν διὰ πλῆθος· ἰόλαον δὲ νομίζοντες ἐρώμενον αὐτοῦ γεγονέναι· μέχρι νῦν σέβονται καὶ τιμῶσιν, ἔρωτος ὅρκους τε καὶ πίστεις ἐπὶ τοῦ τάφου παρὰ τῶν ἐρωμένων λαμβάνοντες·; Plutarch 75· Pelopidas
• ^❦12 Bonftante 2006, p 9-26
• ^❦13 Mata 2013, p 138 n 12
• ^❦14 Dionysius of Halicarnassus 7.72.13-14; cf. Rüpke 2012, p 41
• ^❦15 Virgil· Æneid VIII
• ^❦16 Brit. 32.18· Benwell; RIB 67· Silchester; 648· York; 796· Haile; 892· Old Carlisle; 1781· Carvoran; 1199, 1200· Whitley Castle; 1213, 1214, 1215· Risingham; 1264· High Rochester; 1580· Housesteads; 2040· Burgh-by-Sands; 2140· Mumrills; 2177· Auchendavy; 2432.5· Brancaster; 2489.70H· Bubbenhall; 3181· Brough-on-Noe
• ^❦17 RIB 418· Caer Gai; 723· Brough-by-Bainbridge; 806· Burrow Walls; 810· Maryport; 1241· Risingham; 1284· High Rochester; 1300· Wallsend; 2414.29· Traprain Law; 2423.27· Malton; 2433.7· Caerleon
• ^❦18 Lucian of Samosata Hēraclês; for an English translation, the Fowler & Fowler (1905) edition is easily accessible online.
• ^❦19 EDCS-38700261· Bregenz; CIL III:11882· Bregenz; cf. Mees 2009, p 89-91
• ^❦20 Mees 2009, p 90
• ^❦21 MacKillop 1998, p 310
• ^❦22 Lebor Gabála Érenn & Táin Bó Cúailnge; Do Cath Mag Tuired; Foras Feasa ar Éirinn
• ^❦23 MacCulloch 1911, ch 5
• ^❦24 Thurneyson 1928, p 299; Thurneyson 1937, p 195-196
• ^❦25 Stifter 2023
• ^❦26 Mees 2009, p 93
• ^❦27 Simek 1984, p 171; For another recent look at the Germanic and Roman correspondences between *Þunraz and Herculēs, see Nico Solheim-Davidson (2023) “Send Thunder From The Sky: Thore, More Than A Northern Hercules?
• ^❦28 CIL XIII 7697-7712· Brohntal; 7716-7720; cf. Simek 1984, p 173
• ^❦29 CIL XIII 6619· Oberburg; cf. Simek 1984, p 173
• ^❦30 Simek 1984, p 172; Simek suggests that Deusō may be the origin of the unclear first element of modern Doesburg, while others have suggested an identification with modern Diessen. Emperor Postumus himself may have been of Batavian origin, and he also had coins bearing the name Herculēs Magusanus
• ^❦31 CIL XIII 8010· Bonn; 8492· Köln-Duetz; 8705· Nijmegen; 8771· Ruimel; 8777· Westkapelle; van Es & Hessing 1990, p 81
• ^❦32 Derks 1998, p 89
• ^❦33 RIB 2140· Mumrills (c. 140-165 AD)
• ^❦34 Toorians 2003, p 14; Simek 1984, p 172–173
• ^❦35 Roymans 2009, p 234; Neumann 1999, p 125
• ^❦36 Derks 1991, p 255; Roymans 2009, p 231-233; however, see Rey 2014, p 72-74
• ^❦37 Roymans 2009, p 224, p 231-233
• ^❦38 " p 224
• ^❦39 " p 231; cf. Mata 2013, p 134
• ^❦40 Roymans 2009 p 142-143; cf. Genèvrier 1986, p 374-375
• ^❦41 Roymans 2009, p 228; Simek 1984, p 172-173
• ^❦42 Roymans 2009, p 233; Mata 2013, p 144
• ^❦43 Wagner 1977, p 417–422; cf. Neumann 1999, p 125; Simek 1984, p 172–173
• ^❦44 Toorians 2003, p 17
• ^❦45 Jackson 1953, p 521
• ^❦46 Lambert 1994, p 60; Delamarre 2001, p 181, p 229
• ^❦47 Jackson 1953, p 521
• ^❦48 Matasović (2009, 274) notes that the a vowel in Gaulish Magu- from Proto-Celtic *mogu- is unexplained, as it also appears in Magurīx and Maguntia
• ^❦49 Toorians 2003, p 17-18
• ^❦50 Gregory I 6th c.· Dialogues II, prologue
• ^❦51 Toorians 2003, p 20
• ^❦52 Toorians 2003, p 20; Goldberg 2009, p 134
• ^❦53 Simek 1984, p 172-173
• ^❦54 Irvine 2003, p 185-188; Nees 1991; Mata 2013, p 146
• ^❦55 Therkorn 2004, p 88
• ^❦56 Werner 1964; Therkorn &al 2009, p 107; cf. Mata 2013, p 146 n 34
• ^❦57 Lethbridge 1951, p 18, p 36; Werner 1964, p 176-197; Meaney 1981, p 34
• ^❦58 cf. earlymedievaldigs 2017
• ^❦59 Gannon 2003, p 123
• ^❦60 Abdy & Williams 2006, p 11-17; cf. Gannon 2020, p 121-122
• ^❦61 RIB 946· Carlisle; 1200· Whitley Castle; 1215· Risingham; 2489.70H· Bubbenhall; cf. Gannon 2020, p 129
• ^❦62 Orchard 1995, p 86-115, p 265-267; cf. Yorke 2017, p 57-58
• ^❦63 Skene 1868, p 416
• ^❦64 The ‘four columns of equal height’ may even be an oblique reference to the ogham script
• ^❦65 Ælfrǽd’s Boethius, cap XIV §ii; cf. Yorke 2017, p 57
• ^❦66 Ælfrǽd’s Boethius, cap XXXIX §iv; cf. Irvine 2003, p 174-176; Yorke 2017, p 57
• ^❦67 Irvine 2003, p 175; Yorke 2017, p 57
• ^❦68 Orchard 1995, p 125; cf. Fahey 2019, p 48
• ^❦69 cf. Frankis 1973, p 260-261; Shaw (2002, p 140 n 29) translates ent in Wulfstán’s homily as “mighty man from a former period”
• ^❦70 cf. Neidorf 2022, p 388
• ^❦71 Old English Orosius, cap I §i
• ^❦72 Walker 2016, p 33
• ^❦73 Ercwlf as breaker of the Latin-derived mur ‘fortification’; cf. Skene 1868, p 416
• ^❦74 Breeze 1991, p 151-154; Breeze 1992, p 271-273; Breeze 2020, p 140; cf. Redgate 2014, p 38
• ^❦75 Breeze 2020, p 144; cf. Tristram 2007, p 192-214
• ^❦76 Breeze 2020, p 145
• ^❦77 " p 146
• ^❦78 Kitson 1996, p 3-35; Álvarez López 2018, p 12

---

📚 Bibliography

• 🔖 Álvarez López, FJ 2018· “Bilingual Manuscripts in Late Anglo-Saxon England: The Bilingual Copies of the Regula Sancti Benedicti,” MJ Esteve Ramos & JR Prado-Pérez (ed) Textual Reception and Cultural Debate in Medieval English Studies
• 🔖 Abdy, R & Williams, G 2006· “A catalogue of hoards and single finds from the British Isles, c. AD 410-575,” B Cook & G Williams (ed) Coinage and History in the North Sea World (c. 500-1250)
• 🔖 Bonftante, L 2006· “Etruscan inscriptions and Etruscan religion,” N Thomson de Grummond & E Simons (ed) Religion of the Etruscans
• 🔖 Breeze, A 1991· “Cornwall and the Authorship of the Old English Orosius,” Notes and Queries ccxxxvi
• 🔖 ——— 1992· “Cornish ‘Ligore’, ‘Loire’, and the Old English Orosius,” Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 93,2/4
• 🔖 ——— 2020· “Cornish Symptoms in the Old English Orosius,” Mostly Medieval: In Memory of Jacek Fisiak
• 🔖 Burkert, B 1977· Greek Religion
• 🔖 ——— 1987· Ancient Mystery Cults
• 🔖 Delamarre, X 2001· Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise
• 🔖 Derks, T 1991· “The perception of the Roman pantheon by a native elite: The example of the votive inscriptions from Lower Germany,” Images of the Past: Studies on Ancient Societies in Northwestern Europe
• 🔖 ——— 1998· Gods, Temples and Ritual Practices. The transformation of religious ideas and values in Roman Gaul
• 🔖 Doane, AN & Hussey, MT & Pulsiano, P (ed) 2004· Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts in Microfiche Facsimile, VIII: Wulfstan Text and Other Homiletic Materials
• 🔖 earlymedievaldigs 2017· “The mysterious Anglo-Saxon Donarkeule,” Early Medieval Digs
• 🔖 Fahey, R 2019· “Enigmatic Design and Psychomachic Monstrosity in Beowulf,” PhD dissertation, U Notre Dame
• 🔖 Frankis, PJ 1973· “The thematic significance of enta geweorc and related imagery in The Wanderer,” Anglo-Saxon England 2
• 🔖 Gannon, A 2003· The Iconography of Early Anglo-Saxon Coinage (6th-8th centuries)
• 🔖 ——— 2020· “Insular numismatics: the relationship between ancient British and early Anglo-Saxon coins,” TF Martin & W Morrison (ed) Barbaric Splendour: The use of image before and after Rome
• 🔖 Genèvrier, M-L 1986· “Le culte d’Hercule Magusanus en Germanie Inférieure,” Les grandes figures religieuse : fonctionnement pratique et symbolique dans l’Antiquité, Annales littéraire de l’Université de Besançon 329
• 🔖 Goldberg 2009· Contextualising Ritual Practice in Later Prehistoric and Roman Britain
• 🔖 Hornblower, S & Spawforth, A & Eidinow, E 2014· The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
• 🔖 Irvine, S 2003· “Wresting with Hercules: King Alfred and the Classical Past,” C Cubitt (ed) Court Culture in the Early Middle Ages
• 🔖 Jackson, K 1953· Language and History in Early Britain: A Chronological Survey of the Brittonic Languages 1st to 12th c. AD
• 🔖 Kitson, P 1996· “The dialect position of the Old English Orosius,” Studia Anglica Posnaniensia XXX
• 🔖 Lambert, P-Y 1994· La langue Gauloise
• 🔖 Lapidge, M 1982· “Beowulf, Aldhelm, the Liber monstrorum, and Wessex,” Studi Medievali 23
• 🔖 Lethbridge, TC 1951· A Cemetery at Lackford, Suffolk: Report of the Excavation of a Cemetery of the Pagan Anglo-Saxon Period in 1947
• 🔖 MacCulloch, JA 1911· The religion of the ancient Celts
• 🔖 MacKillop, J 1998· Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
• 🔖 Mata, K 2013· “Colonial entanglements and cultic heterogeneity on Rome’s Germanic frontier,” VG Koutrafouri & J Sanders Ritual Failure: Archaeological Perspectives
• 🔖 Matasović, R 2009· Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic
• 🔖 Meaney, AL 1981· Anglo-Saxon Amulets and Curing Stones
• 🔖 Mees, B 2009· Celtic Curses
• 🔖 Nees, L 1991· A Tainted Mantle: Hercules and the Classical Tradition at the Carolingian Court
• 🔖 Neidorf, L 2022· “Woden and the English Landscape: The Naming of Wansdyke Reconsidered,” Folklore 133
• 🔖 Neumann, G 1999· “Germani cisrhenani — die Aussage der Namen,” H Beck & D Geuenich & H Steuer (ed), Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht
• 🔖 Orchard, A 1995· Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf Manuscript
• 🔖 Redgate, AE 2014· Religion, Politics, and Society in Britain, 800-1066
• 🔖 Rey, S 2014· “L’identité religieuse des conquis. Les effets de la conquête romaine en pays Batave (à propos de quelques ouvrage récents),” Cahier du Centre Gustave Glotz 25
• 🔖 Roymans, N 2009· “Hercules and the construction of a Batavian identity in the context of the Roman empire,” N Roymans & T Derks (ed) Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition
• 🔖 Rüpke, J 2012· Religion in Republican Rome: Rationalization and Ritual Change
• 🔖 Shaw, P 2002· “Uses of Wodan: The Development of his Cult and of Medieval Literary Responses to It,” PhD dissertation, U Leeds
• 🔖 Simek, R 1984· Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie
• 🔖 Skeat, WW (ed) 1881-1900· Ælfric’s Lives of the Saints, II
• 🔖 Skene, WF 1868· The Four Ancient Books of Wales, containing The Cymric Poems attributed to the Bards of The Sixth Century II
• 🔖 Stifter, D 2023· “What does the word ogam mean and where does the name come from?” OG(H)AM
• 🔖 Therkorn, LL 2004· Landscaping the powers of darkness and light. 600 BC - 350 AD settlement concerns of Noord-Holland
• 🔖 Therkhorn, LL &al 2009· Landscapes in the Broekpolder: excavations around a monument with aspects of the Bronze Age to the Modern
• 🔖 Thurneysen, R 1928· “Auraicept na nÉces,” Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 17
• 🔖 ——— 1937· “Zum ogom” Beiträge zur geschichte der deutschen sprache 61
• 🔖 Toorians, L 2003· “Magusanus and the ‘Old Lad’: A Case of Germanicised Celtic,” North-Western European Language Evolution 42,1
• 🔖 Tristram, H 2007· “Why Don’t the English Speak Welsh?” N Higham (ed) Britons in Anglo-Saxon England
• 🔖 van Es, WA & Hessing, WAM 1990· “Herculi Magusano: een wijaltaar uit Houten,” Rentenaar (ed) Feestbundel aangeboden aan prof dr. D.P. Blok
• 🔖 Wagner, N 1977· “(Hercules) Magusanus,” Bonner Jahrbücher 177
• 🔖 Walker, VEH 2016· “The Old English Orosius: Writing an Anglo-Saxon History of the World,” PhD dissertation, King’s College London
• 🔖 Werner, J 1964· “Herkuleskeulen und Donar-Amulett,” Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 11
• 🔖 Winiarczyk, M 2013· The “Sacred History” of Euhemerus of Messene
• 🔖 Yorke, B 2017· “King Alfred and Weland: Tradition and Transformation at the Court of King Alfred,” C Insley & GR Owen-Crocker (ed) Transformation in Anglo-Saxon Culture

---

wihta

gield