In Gallo-Roman religion

Gallo-Roman religion

Gallo-Roman religion was a fusion of the traditional religious practices of the Gauls, who were originally Celtic speakers, and the Roman and Hellenistic religions introduced to the region under Roman Imperial rule. It was the result of selective acculturation....

, Bricta or Brixta was a Gaulish

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

 goddess

Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....

 who was a consort of Luxovius

Luxovius

In Gallo-Roman religion, Luxovios, Latinized as Luxovius was the god of the waters of Luxeuil, worshipped in Gaul. He was a consort of Bricta...

, god of the waters of Luxeuil-les-Bains

Luxeuil-les-Bains

Luxeuil-les-Bains is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France.-History:Luxeuil was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings at the time of its destruction by the Huns under Attila in 451...

 (in antiquity, Luxovium). Nicholson (1999) has suggested however that if "Bricta is a title incorporating Bríg, it may actually be a title assigned to Sirona

Sirona

In Celtic mythology, Sirona was a goddess worshipped predominantly in East Central Gaul and along the Danubian limes. A healing deity, she was associated with healing springs; her attributes were snakes and eggs. She was sometimes depicted with Apollo Grannus or Apollo Borvo...

 rather than a separate goddess".

Inscriptions

Bricta is recorded in the following inscriptions from Luxeuil-les-Bains :

[Lus]soio / et Brictae / Divixti/us Cons/tans / v(otum) s(olvit) (ibens) m(erito)

"To Lusso(v)ios and Bricta, Divixtius Constans freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow." (CIL 13, 05425)

Luxovio / et Brixtae / G(aius) Iul(ius) Fir/manus / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)

"To Luxovios and Brixta, Gaius Julius Firmans freely and deservedly fulfilled his vow."

(AE 1951, 00231; CIL 13, 05426)

Etymology

This Gaulish

Gaulish language

The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...

 theonym is derived from the word brixtom or brixta meaning a curse. The word also appears on the inscription of Chamalières

Chamalières

Chamalières is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.Chamalières is the third-largest town in the department and lies about from Lyon.-History:...

. (Delamarre pp.76-77 with references and comparative etymology)