The Matres or Matronae were ancient deities venerated in northwestern Europe in Roman and earlier times. They are believed to have originated in Celtic cultures.
Matronae were representations of motherhood, often displayed with fertility symbols such as baskets or cornucopias of fruit and bread, or babies. They are usually depicted wearing long garments with one breast bared.
The cult of the Matres was widespread, with monuments to them having been discovered in Gaul, Germania, northern Italy and northern Spain. It is believed to have had Celtic origins. Just as the religion had a wide range of adherants, so were the identities of the Matronae widespread. They differed widely from place to place, with a great many names; there were Alaferhuic, Cartovallensic, Rumaneheic and Vatviaic-Nersihenic mothers, among many others. In Glanum, Provence they were called the Glanicae. Their number was most likely influenced by the Celtic tradition of triplism, which deemed the number three to be particularly auspicious.
Matres lectionis (Latin "mothers of reading", singular form: mater lectionis) are an early method for indicating vowels in the Hebrew alphabet.
Later, it became clear that the system of matres lectionis did not suffice to indicate the vowels precisely enough, so that supplemental vowel pointing systems (diacritic symbols indicating vowel pronunciation and other important phonological features not written by the traditional basic consonantal orthography) were developed accordingly.
In general terms, it is observable that early Phoenician texts have very few matres lectionis, and that during most of the 1st millennium B.C.E. Hebrew and Aramaic were quicker to develop matres lectionis than Phoenician.
Feeds |
Contact