<< message forwarded by listowner, David Wilson-Okamura >>
Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 16:30:02 +0800
From: Peter J Dennistoun Bryant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> > Is the name 'Maro' Celtic, or does it have a long and respectable
> > history as a Roman name?
> > Patrick Roper
Apparently "Maro" has a meaning in Etruscan as a a word denoting an
Etruscan magistrate. W.F. Jackson Knight(p.56, "Roman Vergil") speculates
that one of Virgil's ancestors held such an appointment. Larissa Bonfante
("Etruscan"BMP,1990) gives the Etruscan form as "maru" and compares Umbrian
"maron-" and Latin "maro".The appearance of the name in the "Gododdin" is
probably just as much a coincidence as its appearance in the "Odyssey" as
the name of a priest of Apollo.
> However, Vergil's (or Virgil's)
> nomen is, off course, Celtic; it is the same as the Irish name 'Feargal'
> ('bright/outstanding man').
> Terry Walsh
It is not at all certain that Virgil's name is Celtic (in spite of
similarities to "Vercingetorix " etc): it may be Etruscan.
Best wishes
Peter J Dennistoun Bryant
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Perth
Western Australia
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