The Celtic god Cernunnos was possibly one of the most important gods in Celtic culture. He was probably known as the ruler of nature and the forest. Around sixty depictions of him have been found, with well-known examples being the Pillar of the Boatmen, the Gundestrup Cauldron, and possibly a rock carving from Valcamonica. But much about Cernunnos remains unknown and is open to interpretation and debate.
It is believed that Cernunnos was originally a proto-Celtic god and was venerated by both Celtic and Gallo-Roman peoples. Cernunnos is often depicted with antlers, sitting cross-legged, and is associated with deer, horned snakes, dogs and bulls. Cernunnos typically holds a torc and sometimes carries a bag of coins (or grain) and a cornucopia.
Trigger warning: contains nudity
The name
The Gallic variant of his name is Karnonos, derived from the stem karnon, which means 'horn' or 'antler'.
Iconography
Due to the lack of written Gallic sources about Cernunnos, his specific role in religious traditions is unknown. Interpretations vary from a god of animals, nature, fertility and prosperity to a symbol of authority, strength, endurance and masculinity. He is also seen as a god of travel and trade, or associated with crossroads, the underworld and reincarnation, symbolizing the cycle of life and death. The 9th-century Stuttgart Psalter possibly shows an image of Cernunnos as Lord of the Underworld.
Cernunnos is often depicted with a deer or a snake with ram's horns. Less commonly, there are depictions with bulls, dogs and rats.
Some scholars describe Cernunnos as the Lord of the Animals or the Lord of the Wild Things, while others see him as a peaceful god of nature and fertility. He is also regarded as a god of bidirectionality and a mediator between opposites.
The Pillar of the Sailors (Pilier des nautes) connects him with sailors and trade, suggesting that he was also associated with material wealth. This is also evident from the bag of money he holds on the Altar of Cernunnos from Reims, and the deer standing next to him on the stèle of Niedercorn, which vomited coins.
Cernunnos in the Middle Ages
In later Christian literature, the characteristics of Cernunnos are associated with the life of Saint Ciarán of Saighir, where animals recognize him as their leader. Because Cernunnos continued to be used in pagan cults after the introduction of Christianity, he was possibly equated with the devil.
Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed (Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed), the first branch of the Mabinogion, tells among other things about Arawn, king of Annwn, the underworld. The main character of the story, Pwyll, drives away with his hounds the hounds of Arawn from a deer they have caught. Arawn becomes angry about this, and as compensation Pwyll agrees to take Arawn's place in the underworld for a year and defeat his arch-enemy. Thus Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, also becomes head of Annwn.
In the story Owain, neu Iarlles y Ffynnon (Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain), Kynon, a knight of King Arthur, tells of his encounter with a black man with only one eye and one leg. He dwells in a forest and is surrounded by animals. This is possibly a parallel to Cernunnos, or to the motif of the Lord of the Forest.
The story of Owain is probably directly or indirectly based on Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion (Yvain, or the Knight of the Lion) by Chrétien de Troyes. Local Welsh poets have woven elements from their own folklore into it. Because the story was written down by Franciscan monks, the pagan aspect of this black man was greatly weakened and simplified.
Composition
In our Cernunnos composition, we chose to present Cernunnos as the Lord of the Forest in both male and female form. This composition can be seen as a representation of the god Cernunnos or as a pagan expression in honor of the god Cernunnos. All photos of this composition were taken in 'wild' nature in sparsely populated areas.
The antlers
Antlers have been used since the Stone Age in shamanic religions. An example is the antler headdress from Biesdorf, dating from 9000 BCE. A similar Mesolithic headdress with antlers was found in Star Carr. Both antlers come from red deer.
In this composition we made a headdress from roe deer antlers. We glued these antlers to a hairband with adhesive and reinforced them with leather ties.
The torc
The torc was a status symbol in Celtic culture. Many torcs have been found in among others France (ancient Gaul), Ireland and the British isles. We used two torcs in our photos, based on the original from Snettisham and a torc with dragon heads, which is actually more based on Viking art style.
Male Cernunnos
Trousers
The Thorsberg trousers are trousers from the 3rd century CE.
Belt
The wide belt is decorated with Celtic knots.
Fur collar
Make-up
We based the make-up on early Celtic and proto-Celtic art styles: the sun wheel and stylized depictions of daily life.
Female Cernunnos
Skirt + top
The clothing of the female Cernunnos is made from natural materials: leather and fur. This symbolizes the wildness of nature.
Armband
The armband is made from twisted brass and is made in the La Tène style. The nice thing is that it's adjustable in size, making it suitable for all types of people.
Make-up
The make-up is inspired by the famous Celtic knotwork.
