West Germanic deities
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Deities of pre-Christian German and Anglo-Saxon (West Germanic) mythology, or from accounts in High German (Old High German, Old Frankish), Old Low Franconian, Old Saxon,
Comparison with Norse deities, as well as what little evidence there remains of East Germanic (Gothic) and Lombardic sources, allows reconstruction of some of the Common Germanic deities.
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[edit] Deities
| Anglo Saxon | Old German | Norse |
|---|---|---|
| Woden | Wuotan | Óðinn |
| Þunor | Donar | Þórr |
| Tiw | Zîu | Týr |
| Seaxneat | Saxnôte | - |
| Geat | Gausus | Gautr |
| *Frige | Frîja | Frigg |
| *Eostre | *Ôstara? | - |
| Ing | - | Yngvi/Freyr |
| - | Phol | Baldr |
| Fricco | Frigg | |
| Sigel | Sunna | Sol |
| Irmin | ||
| Hama | Heimdall | |
| Fosite | Forseti |
The major gods can be identified by their influence on the English weekday names Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday which come from Tiw, Wóden, Þunor, and Fríge respectively, through the Old English names Tíwesdæg, Wódnesdæg, Þunresdæg and Frígedæg.
The Osses correspond to the Norse Æsir: Woden, the leader of the Wild Hunt and the one who carries off the dead. He was one of the chief gods of the Angles and Saxons before the Christian era. He was held to be the ancestor of Hengist and Horsa, two legendary figures from early English history and most of the early Anglo-Saxon kings claimed descent from Woden. He gives us the modern Wednesday ("Woden's day").
Thunor, (AS Þunor). He is the god of thunder, who rules the storms and sky. He also protects mankind from the giants. He was the god of the common people within the heathen community. His name gives rise to the modern Thursday.
Fríge is the goddess of love, and is the wife of Woden. She is one of the most powerful Goddesses, this position being threatened only by Freyja. Her day is Friday, due to her associations with Venus.
Tiw is the god of warfare and battle, and gives us Tuesday. There is some speculation that he is a sky-god figure and formely the chief god, displaced over the years by Woden.
The Wones correspond to the Vanir: Ingui Fréa was one of the most popular Gods, after Thunor and Woden. He is above all the God of fertility, bringing abundance (wone) and fruitfulness to the crops, herds, and the Folk. Though he is a fertility God, he is also connected to warfare to a degree; however, this warfare is defensive, as opposed to offensive, and is not to create strife and havoc. After all, peace is necessary for a good harvest and a productive community, while needless warfare destroys any prospect of peace and abundance. The Yngling royal line of Sweden claimed descent from him.
Freo is said to be the most beautiful of all the goddesses, and is therefore described as the Goddess of Love. She is not to be mistaken with Frige, however; Freo's dominion is erotic love, whereas Frige's is love expressed within marriage. Being a goddess of unbridled passion, it is not surprising that she also takes half the slain of the battlefield, with the other half taken by Woden . Like her brother, Fréa, she is connected to abundance and wealth; however, her wealth is primarily in precious metals and gems. She is also a Goddess of Magic, having taught Woden seiðr.
Neorð is Frea and Freo's father, and is the God of the seas and commerce. He is called upon by fishermen and sailors who depend upon good seas. Like his son and daughter, his realm is that of wealth; namely, the wealth of the sea. He married the giantess Sceadu, though the marriage was not successful as neither of them could tolerate the other's element; Sceadu her mountains, and Neorð his sea.
Eorðe, whose name means "Earth," is the wife of Woden, by whom she gave birth to Þunor. She is also the daughter of the Goddess Niht. Her worship is generally passive, as opposed to active, though she is called on for "might and main." Her latent strength can be seen in her son, Þunor.
Eostre, according to Bede, is a Goddess tied with the "growing light of spring," and embodies purity, youth, and beauty, as well as the traditional rebirth and renewal concepts. Her symbols are hares and eggs, which symbolize the beginning of life and fertility. The current Christian festival of Easter is thought to contain elements of a pre-Christian festival in honour of Eostre; hence the name Easter.
Niht is the Goddess of Night, and also the mother of Eorðe. The Norse night was the daughter of Narvi. She was married three times; the first to Naglfari by whom she had Aud; the second, to Annar by whom she had Eorðe; and the third to Dellinger Daeg.
Sigel is the Goddess of the Sun, called Sunna by modern Heathens. Her day is, of course, Sunday.
[edit] Heroes
Hengest and Horsa, who are named in historical sources as leaders of the earliest Anglo-Saxon incursions in the south, may also have been or acquired deific status. The name Hengest means "stallion" and Horsa means "horse"; the horse in the Anglo-Saxon mythos is a potent and significant symbol. It should be borne in mind that the Anglo-Saxons are attributed with the huge horse carvings on chalk hillsides, notable examples being the White Horse of Uffington and the Westbury Horse. Less well known, and now largely lost, but thought to have been similar in sze to those two, is the Red Horse of Tysoe near Banbury in Oxfordshire. The name Tysoe means Tiw's hill, the hill of the god of war.
[edit] Literature
- Jacob Grimm: Deutsche Mythologie. 1835.
- Wolfgang Golther: Handbuch der Germanischen Mythologie. Stuttgart 1908.
- Jan de Vries: Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. Berlin 1956.
- Åke V. Ström: Germanische Religion. Stuttgart 1975.
- M. Axboe; U. Clavadetscher; K. Düwel; K. Hauck; L. v. Padberg: Die Goldbrakteaten der Völkerwanderungszeit. Ikonographischer Katalog. München 1985-1989.
- Rudolf Simek: Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie. Stuttgart 2. Aufl. 1995. ISBN 3-520-36802-1.
- Rudolf Simek: Religion und Mythologie der Germanen. Darmstadt 2003. ISBN 3-354-16910-7.
