Bande

Camino de San Rosendo y la Reina Santa

Ourense · OrenseGalicia

Of disputed etymology: from the Gallaecian theonym Bandua —⁠a pre-Roman deity worshipped in the region⁠— or from the genitive of a Latin personal name, '(the estate) of Bandus'.

The name may come from a god. In pre-Roman Gallaecia Bandua (or Bandi) was worshipped, an Indo-European deity whose root *bhendh-, 'to bind', it shares with 'bond': half a dozen altars were dedicated to it in today's province of Ourense, and one appeared precisely at Santa Comba de Bande. Hence one etymology. The other is more earthly: a possessor toponym, the villa of a certain Bandus in the genitive, unrelated to the cult. There is no consensus, and the two coexist in the literature. What is not debated is the jewel the place keeps: the church of Santa Comba de Bande, of the 7th century, Suevo-Visigothic, among the oldest still standing in Galicia, raised beside the river Limia where the Roman road passed.

Evolution of the name

  1. Bandua / (villa) Bandi pre-Roman / Latin debated
  2. Bande Galician modern

Reflections, to the letter

Bande may be named for a god or for an owner. In this region Bandua was worshipped, a pre-Roman deity of whom several altars appeared —⁠one at Santa Comba de Bande itself⁠—⁠; hence one etymology. The other is simpler: the villa of a certain Bandus. No one has settled it. What you can see is Santa Comba, a 7th-century church, among the oldest standing in Galicia, beside the Limia and the old Roman road this Camino reuses.

Languages of origin

Themes

Origin status

disputed

Sources

  • Wikipedia — «Iglesia de Santa Comba (Bande)» y «Bandua» (para el debate teónimo/antropónimo)
  • Nomenclátor de Galicia (Xunta de Galicia)

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Camino de San Rosendo y la Reina Santa

  1. Ourense
  2. A Merca
  3. Celanova
  4. Bande
  5. Lobios