Celtic God of healing, hunt, dogs and sea. In Irish mythology he could be the equivalent of Nuada, first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, while the Welsh one is Nudd.
Even though it has been tried to equate him to some classic mythological figures, such as Ares, Mercury, Silvanus, even to Ascleipus, it seems that Nodens is a British god and it seems that human representations of him are non-existent. However, the dog’s statues that represent him were found in his sites of worship, even though historians are undecided if they represent the God or his animal.
The main worshipping place of Nodens is in Lydney Park, situated on a steep bluff overlooking the Severn Estuary, in England.
Other centres of worship are in Cockersand Moss in Lancashire, in Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall and in Mainz, Germany.
Maynooth, a town in north Co. Kildare in Ireland is an anglicisation of Magh Nuad, The Plain of Nuadu.
