Nodens

Nodens (Nudens, Nodons) is a Celtic deity associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs. He was worshipped in ancient Britain, most notably in a temple complex at Lydney Park in Gloucestershire, and possibly also in Gaul. He is equated with the Roman gods Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Silvanus, and his name is cognate with that of the Irish mythological figure Nuada and the Welsh Nudd.

Etymology

The name Nodens probably derives from a Celtic stem *noudont- or *noudent-, which J. R. R. Tolkien suggested was related to a Germanic root meaning "acquire, have the use of", earlier "to catch, entrap (as a hunter)". Making the connection with Nuada and Lludd's hand, he detected "an echo of the ancient fame of the magic hand of Nodens the Catcher". Similarly, Julius Pokorny derives the name from a Proto-Indo-European root *neu-d- meaning "acquire, utilise, go fishing". Ranko Matasović has proposed that the name of this deity may come from proto-Celtic *snowdo-, meaning "mist, clouds". The transition from *snoudo- to Nodons happened because the particle sN was changed to N in P-Celtic languages, such as Gaulish and Brittonic. Furthermore, Nodons' name - which is in the nominative case - appears in inscriptions as "Nodontī" due to a change to the dative case. However, sN- was not reduced in Old Irish in which the cognate is attested as Núada ~ Núadat not *Snúada, which evidence reinforces Tolkien's derivation.

Nodens (Cthulhu Mythos)

Nodens (Lord of the Great Abyss or Nuada of the Silver Hand) is a fictional character in the Cthulhu Mythos. Based on the Celtic deity, Nodens, he is the creation of H. P. Lovecraft and first appeared in his short story "The Strange High House in the Mist" (1926).

Summary

And upon dolphins' backs was balanced a vast crenelate shell wherein rode the grey and awful form of primal Nodens, Lord of the Great Abyss… Then hoary Nodens reached forth a wizened hand and helped Olney and his host into the vast shell.

Nodens is one of the Elder Gods and appears as an elderly, human male with white hair—gray-bearded and hoary yet still vital and strong. He often rides in a chariot formed from a huge seashell pulled by some great beasts of legend. Nodens is served by the Nightgaunts.

As a hunter, he will chase down evil creatures in the Dreamlands, such as the Shantaks. He prefers to hunt the servants of the Great Old Ones or Nyarlathotep because they are usually the most intelligent and offer the best sport, but not necessarily because he wants to help humans being attacked by them. He has, however, been known to deliberately help humans, such as when he offers advice to assist Randolph Carter against Nyarlathotep in The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath: "Out of the void S'ngac the violet gas had pointed the way, and archaic Nodens was bellowing his guidance from unhinted deeps," later followed by "And hoary Nodens raised a howl of triumph when Nyarlathotep, close on his quarry, stopped baffled by a glare that seared his formless hunting-horrors to grey dust."