Germanic Paganism

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The Evolution of and Destruction of Germanic Paganism
Franz Hofler
Copyright 2001 by Franz Hofler. All Rights Reserved.
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Table of Contents
FOREWORD
Chapter 1 Indo-Aryan origins
The Indo-Aryan speaking Kurgans
Kurgan shamanism and cosmography
Proto-Germanic Paganism
The Germanic Pagan pantheon
Germanic Pagan Priest; ritual and Religious Practices
Chapter 3 The Saxons
Saxon migration
Saxon Paganism
Nordic Paganism
Chapter 4 The Persecution of Germanic Paganism
The decline and destruction of Germanic Paganism
Odin, the original Wizard Archetype
Licensed to Philip A Suarez by eNovel.com
Hvarmal and the Eddic Lays
Witchcraft, folk magic and superstition
The Pagan Literary Influence
Conclusion
FOREWORD
The book which you are about to read is a survey of what I find to be the most important
aspects of Germanic Pagan and its History. In addition it should be noted that the study is more
specific in the cases of the northern Germanic tribes, including the Saxons, Angles, Teutons,
Cimbri, and Franks.
It is the study of the Northern Germanic form Paganism, with which we are primarily concerned.
I will discuss these tribes according to the ways in which their culture, religion, and their warrior
ethos interact throughout History.
Although we will be examining the use of warfare it will be brief, it is the study of religion and
its affect on culture which is our main subject of study. The development, establishment and
transformation of Germanic paganism in Saxony, Anglo-Saxon England, and The Nordic lands
later referred to as Holland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden.
When I remember My studies of any of the before mentioned Gods, elves, dwarves, folk lore,
romanticism, and Religious rituals, people, places. I feel that for the past fifty years Germanic
culture has been misrepresented and resented by certain factions of society for obvious reasons
related to W.W.II.
However I also feel it is in the best interest of all peoples to investigate and enjoy the great
wealth of culture and marvelous tales of the ancient Germanic peoples. I have a sense of pride
and honor for my ancestral heritage and feel that all Germanic peoples should not concentrate on
the negative aspects of history. Rather, we should set our gaze toward those miraculous sagas,
stories, and religious writing such as the Eddas, for these are the literary bases for all truly
European forms of Enlightenment. Furthermore resources such as the Germania, the gothic bible,
the writings of Caesars Gaelic wars and other scholarly materials can assist us in understanding
who the Germanic people really were Historically.
I hope the reader will take away from this reading a sense of pride in his/her heritage or a fairly
accurate understanding of the Pagan Germanic experience. While all of the information found in
folklore, legend and Sagas may not all be 100 % Historically true, this in this is not to the
point, for the truly moving aspect of these writings is that, in the midst of a growing anti-
German/Germanic form of historical research, I have tried my best to present something of the
Noble, Heroic, and Magical within Germanic culture to the reader.
In addition the Historical validity of this text is based upon archeology, linguistics, anthropology,
and history, they are tools for forming hypotheses into certain behaviors and supplying specific
information lacking in the archeological and historical record. Any literary supplements used as
tools in understanding the cultural landscape, specific habits or rituals of the religion in question
are not meant to replace or be taken for historical fact, only as witness to facts already known or
in support of views already given credence through archaeology.
We, as a people, and as the descendants of the Germanic tribes, should not be made to suffer for
the crimes of madmen of the past. I do not hate all people who have done wrong to myself in the
past. And in asking the reader to keep an open mind when studying the History of my people I
would also ask them to have the same sort of patience, open mind, and consideration which I
have given to those who have chastised myself because of my heritage.
These myths, folk tales, epics, and legends have been included in my research in order to
present an more accurate and fair view of every possible aspect in the evolution of Germanic
Paganism. Indeed they are indispensable, because of the fact that they are grounded in our
Historical past for over four thousand years. our oral history as well as our written history has
come to be something which we, and the world can be very proud of. Not only living along side
our History as a great hord of literary gems, but also adding a glimpse into the culture of our
people.
If anything has been proven in this book, it is that the Germanic peoples are and always have
been equal contributors to the European continent and its peoples, as much as any Roman, Celt,
Iberian, Slav, or Greek.
In conclusion it is this contribution which has brought forth a great sense of pride in the
Germanic people. It has installed in us a self confidence which the Germanic people have handed
down as one of our true legacys to the world. This is a legacy of Honor, glory, heroic Journeys
and Legends, which can inspire and enlighten the minds of many. May this be , only the
beginning, of many enjoyable and exciting journeys into the study of Germanic History, legend
and poetry for you! Franz Hofler.
CHAPTER ONE
Indo-Aryan origins
. The burial mounds and hieroglyphs they left behind testify to their affiliation to this group. The
caucuses near the Volga river (the Yamina), the Kurgans on the steppes of Russia, and the Indo-
Aryan remains of Kazhakstan, Uzbeckistan, and Shing-Jiang in China, are all laid out in a route
by which the earliest ancestors of the European peoples migrated from Asia to Europe.
The evidence found in Taklamakhan desert of northern central asia provides a strong repository
of proof for the existence of a separate community of Indo-Europeans prier to the settlement of
the area of Europe, these people established a large group of communities and lived there for
over two thousand years. It is my hypotheses that these Indo-Aryans from the Tarim Basin split
into two groups. One of them migrated to Europe. Around 1650 BCE, this tribe had evolved into
a various Indo-European tribes:
In its general outlines this picture is one of a patriarchal, semi-nomadic, Indo-European-
speaking group of stockbreeders who originated in the vicinity of the lower Volga and migrated
westward across much of Europe, In the process, they or related splinter groups achieved
military and/or political hegemony over many other cultures. (Anthony 1986, 291)
The particular group which I wish to focus on as an example are the group of Caucasoid bodies
found in a dried-up river bed at Lop Nor along the Konch Darya river in Tarim Basin.
One important point which should be mentioned here is that those bodies were all of the
Caucasoid race with their typical features, even though the settlements in the area were of three
different racial groups from varying time periods, with independent settlements including
Mediterranean, Mongoloid, and Proto-European Caucasoid. One of these groups which I will
refer to as the EUROPIDS were of the Nordic body type.
The well-preserved desiccated Caucasoid human remains unearthed from these tombs had deep-
set eyes, pointed noses, thin lips, and light brown hair over their shoulders. ?.The skulls were
definitely Europoid and closely resemble the Proto-European pattern with some Nordic
features.
1
Therefore it is clear from those physical features that the early inhabitants of the Tarim Basin
were primarily Caucasoid, Not only were the earliest mummies found in Central Asia are of the
Caucasoid race, but in addition nearly all of them are clothed in cloth known in Europe after the
migration.
Those woolen textiles, multi-colored robes, trousers, boots, stockings coats, various kinds of felt
hats, golden ornaments used by these Caucasoid people were similar to those of Indo-Europeans
who would be their children and grand children. In addition to this, the cloth found among these
peoples were so complex in their construction that they are among the oldest examples of finely
woven materials. These cloths bear remarkable resemblance to Germanic woolen fabrics and
Celtic Tartans.
The burial objects and ritual artifacts found in the graves of Taklamakanians are similar or
identical to those in the Kurgan graves. They lead to a better understanding of the Indo-European
branch of the Aryan language family and the peoples who used them between 3000 and 1000
BCE. The drinking vessels found next to the Taklamakanian bodies were virtually identical to
those used by Germanic tribes from their earliest times. It suggests that Taklamakanian people
used the same identical cattle horns as drinking vessels in ritual practice as the ancient Germanic
tribes. These same types of horns were also in use in Denmark as late as the twelfth century.
The geographic locations of those graves suggest a possible migration route from central Asia to
Europe. Although earlier indigenous tribes, who are only known through their Neolithic sites,
were pre-existent and can be dated back to the late Neolithic and early bronze age, these tribes
were unrelated to the speakers of Indo-Aryan who evolved culturally into the Indo-Europeans.
The before mentioned Kurgan graves extend all along the route which ancient German myth
states brought the Germanic tribes into Europe, from beyond the Russian steppes, across the
steppes, through the Caucasus and into Prussia and Saxony. This myth of the ancient Germanic
tribes tells of a homeland in Asia:
First he journeyed west to Garthariki [Russia], and then south, to Saxland [Northwestern
Germany]He took possession of lands far and wide in Saxland and set his sons to defend these
lands. Then he journeyed north to the sea and fixed his abode on an island. That place is now
called Othinsey [Othins Island], on the island of Funen.
2
This illustrates that the story of a migration west from Asia has been preserved orally for
centuries, and that the god Odin is reputed to have come from east of Russia and is associated
with the sun disk. The same sun disk shape can be seen in the wooden pillars surrounding the
Taklamakanian tombs and painted on the faces of the Taklamakanian mummies. This symbol
could be associated with the same God or archetype.
Kurgan shamanism and cosmography
(INSERT) FROM PAPER.
THE INDO-EUROPEANS
Although the Indo-Europeans were in some respects connected with the Taklamakanians, they
were not the only culture to contribute to the development of the Germanic tribes. The Kurgans,
Scythians, Saro-Sarmatian Scythians, bask, all in turn contributed to the culture which we now
refer to as the Germanic peoples.
One of these groups were known as the Germani, the Germani were one of the last tribes to
invade Europe. It was the Germani who gave their name to the land of Germany. The Germani
were however only one part of the Proto-Germanic tribes who invaded continental Europe and
then Scandinavia, these people are known as the corded battle axe or boat-ax culture. The
eminent historian Marija Gimbutas in her book bronze age cultures in central and eastern
Europe states that the Abosheva culture of the eastern Russian steppes were contemporary in
their birth as a culture with decline of the timber grave culture (pokrovsk phase) when seen in
conjunction with the article Kurgan culture by david.w.anthony in his reference to Gordon
childs use of the timber grave culture in which he states:
the spread of what was then conceived as the corded ware-battle axe tumulus burial complex, at
the beginning of the bronze age, ?he saw this complex as originating in the Ukrainian north
Pontiac steppes, a region favored by some linguist as the home for Proto-Indo-European
languages.
When seen together these two theories can be taken to illustrate the connection between the
Taklamakhanians (a Caucasian people whos tribes inhabited what is now eastern Turkistan) and
the corded battle axe complex (a Caucasian group who lived in Northern europe), which would
explain the arrival of at least one branch of the Proto-Germanic peoples.
Although we may not at this time be able to provide a answer to where all of the Proto-Germanic
tribes originated, what we can say with 100% assurety is that all across the steppes of eastern
Russia and central Asia as well as Siberia are the graves of Indo-Europeans, some of which
must have been the Proto-Germanic peoples and that this representation of a Indo-European
population pre-dates the population of Indo-Europeans in Europe. Furthermore it is clear that a
fare lesser number of similar graves can be found in Europe from the same time period, and
almost no graves of this type from previous periods.
What this implies is that in all probability the Indo-Europeans peoples invaded Europe, and that
the Proto-Germanic peoples were one such group of Indo-Europeans.
The Proto-Germanic tribes evolved from the timber grave complex into the Germanic tribes.
These were the first people in Scandinavian areas to illustrate their religious beliefs on stones
with what we call ex-ray art motifs.
These Indo-Arans refered to as the corded battle ax people were the first to bring both a more
developed form of animistic religion into Europe in addition the also brought the Indo-Aryans
language. This migration/invasion took place in two successive waves, in 3000 BCE the proto-
Celtic, from 2000-1600BCE the Proto-Germanic.
The first traces of a post Neolithic Nordic civilization are in the Bronze Age 1600 to 450 BCE.
This was a time of religious, agricultural and social advancements, when a second wave of
Germanic tribes from the south invaded and subdued the boat-ax people, producing a new
Germanic culture known today as the early Proto-Germanic culture. The graves of the Corded
Battle Axe people or the Tumulus began the tradition of the Aryan burials in Scandinavia
Following the iconography of the Bronze Age, we can see a very clear picture of vast religious
and artistic advancements. The art work alone was elevated from pictographs to the later Bronze
Age art which illustrates not only beautiful two-dimensional images from an otherwise the war-
like time, but is also the first ritualistic use of pictographs as representations of their gods.
Bronze Age Scandinavia was removed from Viking Age Scandinavia by several centuries.
During this time period the Germanic tribes divided and developed new tribal affiliations old
tribes disappeared and split into smaller ones, while new tribes rose from the fragmented older
tribes and sometimes came to dominate older tribes. It was during this time which the Goths,
Cimbri, Teutons, Vikings, Visigoths, Vandals, Saxons, Angles, Friesians, franks, Austri, and
others founded their own peoples. This was also a time of religious reformation and
reconstruction, when the groves, while still hallowed were secondary in importance to the
wooden temple now known as a Hof or Hov. But it is Only after the late Bronze Age that we first
began to recognize some of characteristics that the rest of the worldwould later associate with the
Vikings, their warrior vigor, their taste for battle, and their furious faith in belligerent gods. The
Bronze Age Scandinavians were by that time distinctly Germanic, sharing an identifiable
Germanic culture and religion including divinities such Odin, Thor, and Heimdal, etc.
During the Migration Age, an intensely violent era, when wars were raging all over Europe, the
Norse were developin the elder futhark a form of runic alphabet, and the evolution of the Nordic
mythology had begun. Throughout the Migration Age the warrior archetypes of gods like Odin,
Thor, and Heimdal dominated the warrior pantheon of the Pagan Nordic temples and by 800 CE
the earliest pagan Gothi (priests) were passing down Nordic mythology orally. It was the
Migration Age from which Viking Age Germanic paganism took root.
PROTO-GERMANIC PAGANISM
Paganism was a very complex and culturally enriching religion which dominated Nordic society
for about fifteen centuries, from 450 BCE to 1050 CE It emerged from the Steppes of Russia and
was brought into North-western Europe by the Germanic tribes. The particular myth which
supports the concept of a Germanic migrations from the Russian/Central Asian steppes comes
from the Heimskringla (history of the kings if Denmark) by Snorri Sturluson.
The power to perform such a deed as a warrior on the move from across the mountains, without
support or reinforcements, with no former knowledge of the terrain in which he was fighting
clearly illustrates that this warrior chief Woden was in fact a great warrior.
Other sources document this same warrior chieftain as being a historical figure who has passed
totality into obscurity, and is remebered only through his tales which have been assimilated as a
part of the Odin archytype.
ANIMISM
Animism was the original religious belief among the Germanic people, Shamanism was their
indigenous religion prier to migration into Europe, which developed out of the earliest form of
animal and nature-spirit worship. It originated in Siberia and later spread to Central Asia where it
became the dominant form of worship between 3,000 BCE and 1,000 CE. This early form of
Shamanism utilized animals as totems and worshipped the chi or energy in everything, such as
animals, mountains, the sky, the earth, all of nature. There are many notable examples
throughout the steppes of shaman who dressed in animal skins and horns in order to absorb the
energies of those animals.
3
The Shaman were also medicine men who healed people through their magic powers and
sometimes with herbal remedies or sweat lodges. A Shaman was a Psychopomp who could travel
to other worlds and communicate with the dead. It was believed that the spirits of disease,
illnesses, or other difficulties would manifest themselves to the shaman while on his trip to the
spirit world. The way in which the shaman traveled to the land of the spirits or dead was through
a type of transcendental meditation, induced through dancing and chanting, this sometimes
involving the use of alcohol or hemp. Belief in Shamen was gradualy replaced when a more
sophisticated and ritualistic form of polytheism which emerged in the bronze age.
Germanic paganism, as a religion was the dominant belief of the Northern European peoples for
fifteen centuries. Paganism experienced its development, its golden age, and its decline from 450
BCE to 1050 CE. After the conquest of Europe these newly arrived Indo-Europeans assimilated
the earlier arrivals who were in most likelihood a true life historical people who were physically
and culturally related to the Celtic tribes. Among these peoples the earliest were those
indigenous tribes who have no descendants, the closest known would be an ancient people who
lived in Spain and were known as bask. In fact the very earliest indigenous inhabitants who were
the ancestors of the Vanir/Celts have been shown by archeological digs to have been definitively
followers of a fertility cult who worshiped the gods of the earth and harvest. This is not
surprising when one takes into account that these people were all agriculturist and very
homogeneous staying on their farms and never wandering far enough to encounter any
significant form of warfare exept in a group as seen during the Celtic iron age.
After the assimilation of the descendants of the Vanir the Vanir cult was combined with that of
the Aesir (historically the invading Indo-Aryans), thus producing the historical incident/war
which presented the Germanic people with a folklore which would latter evolve into the basses
for a Germanic pagan pantheon. While the Vanir cult was sit very much alive well into the
eleventh century, it had changed dramatically by the Viking age, often taking on the violent
character of its Aesir compatriot.
One thousand years later in the Viking Age, Nordic paganism developed into its highest form
with ritual practices divination and temple worship. The decline of Nordic paganism came about
at the end of the Viking era as a direct result of vast economic, political and ideological
interaction with Christians and the subsequent empowerment of Christian priests by the Nordic
kings. However, many aspects of Nordic paganism continued to survive through its literary
legacies, as well as in Scandinavian folk tradition. Nordic culture can give us valuable insight
into the formation and development of the Germanic people as a whole. In turn, understanding
Nordic culture can assist us in examination of the Germanic scriptures known primarily as the
Eddas. This in turn enables us to examine the hero archetypes of Germanic Paganism.
Furthermore these heros were the models from which many medieval epics came.
THE AESIR
The Aesir were the gods brought into Europe by the invading Indo-Aryans, these were a nomadic
and warlike people. Their lives were centered around the glory of battle and the honor of victory,
it is only natural that a people who lives and livelihood depended upon victory in battle would
worship gods of war. Within the Aesir we find the Noble ethic or ethos, the call for Honor, glory
in battle, and finally justice, for themselves and for their people. All of the noble ethics would
latter be inherited and emulated by the knights of medieval Europe. Th Aesir are the indisputable
source of the warrior ethos or warrior path in Europe, this is proven in the literary, historical,
and archeological record.
The Aesir include fourteen principle gods and goddesses who all have designated abilities and
responsibilities, although freedom and wandering are often mentioned throughout the Eddas
along with occasional humor, myths, legends, etc; the need for responsibility is also stressed
repetitively throughout Germanic literature. Odin or Woden was their king according to the Elder
Eddas he led them across the Caucus mountains and into Europe. Once in Europe they conquered
all of the surrounding territorys setting Wodens sons on the throne of the Saxon lands. Next we
hear of many tales discussion their lives the manner in which the sit in council etc. Here is the
divergence of what we know as the historical Woden and the mythological Odin as well as the
mythological gods from the Disr or priest and other followers who were the companions of the
Historical Woden. The historical Woden was in all likelihood a Kurgan chieftain under pressure
from other warlike political powers moving into the central Asian plains, perhaps the Greeks or
Assyrians. In any event this historical migration legend is found best preserved in the
Hymskringla, in the section of the Ynlinga saga at the beginning, and became the seed of future
legends about Odin. Adam of Bremen, a twelfth century German cleric, also advocated the
concept of a historic Odin. Unfortunately Adam of Bremens description of Germanic paganism
and the migration legend it extremely bias in favor of Christianity and he makes no secret of that.
Moving on, we see that the most philosophical or moral teachings are those espoused in the book
of Hvarmal, which is in the elder Eddas. These discourses by Odin in the form of a wise man
speaking to us in the second person. These are the strongest proof we have that Germanic
paganism was not only a primitive form of folklore, but a living and practiced religion with a
serious form of morality and a code of behavior. In addition to the Hvarmal there are many other
documents which discuss the knowledge of the gods, for example the use of dedicated a books of
herbs to Woden in England namely the Anglo-Saxon herbal. The text states at the opening that
Woden is the god of herbs and to him came the craft of healing. Further more we find countless
nuggets of invaluable importance throughout Germanic historical literature which shed light
upon the character and ritual worship of the Germanic gods. Jacob Grimms Teutonic mythology
is a veritable treasure of such nuggets of information. When all compiled we find are selves not
looking a primitive form of tribal superstition, no, but looking at a very creative and imaginative
Pagan pantheon worshiped in the manner and through the ritual which suited its people best.
Keeping this in mind let me turn to the character of each individual god and goddess before
going on to the religion its self.
The character of each of the gods is as follows:
ODIN Odin, Woden, Wotan, Tiwaz, Tyr, Jolnir, Gondllr, etc.
He is the ruler of the gods, a godhead , the "allfather, a incarnation of ultimate power in the form
of a wizard king, a wanderer, and cleric, a warrior, a charioteer, and many others. Several
different aspects of the early predecessors of Woden which date back to the third millennium
BCE support the connection between Woden and the earliest of the Indo-Aryan tribesmen who
migrated into Europe. These are:
1. the sky wheel
2. Association with warfare
3. The power to control the elements, especially the thunder, and therefor fire as well.
The next form of Woden known, which I will examine here, is Tiwaz, Tiwaz was the name
given to the god of the late Neolithic/early bronze age Proto-Germanic tribes. Tiwazs name
varied as does Wodens, and he was associated with all of the same traits previously discussed
for the sky god. In addition to this Tiwaz was also a god of the sword/spear and of using the
sword/spear in ritualistic displays. This act is illustrated by various physical objects which show
horned men holding spears sometimes when dancing, also the remnants of bronze age rock
drawings show a god with a spear existed among the bronze age battle axe people. Tiwaz
became Tyr, Woden usurped Tyrs position and absorbed into his archetype Tiwazes traits and
Tyr became a secondary god in the widening pantheon of Germanic mythology. Woden is the
primary the god to which most nobles, warrior heros; bards/ poets, priest, commerce and
cargoes, shamanism, the berserker cult and many others worshiped. Woden was god of wisdom,
truth, clever or stealthy/cunning achievement of ends, wealth, good fortune, asceticism, judges,
the wayfarers, and many other desires, goals and professions. Wodens priest, were dedicated to
and being in his service, this meant performing dutys including but not limited to: marrying,
burring and judging the people., the art of divination, reciting the holy Eddas in song, performing
ritual sacrifices, for example the sacrifice of a wether (a young black male goat) , cow or other
animal for the price of wodans assistance.
The Performance of the blot or sacred blessing was performed by sprinkling blood upon the
intended object or person. This act was latter replaced by the concept of sprinkling holy water,
usually from a sacred pagan spring or river, other holy sites include pagan groves, hills and other
sites which can still be found in Germany, England and Scandinavia through their place names.
Names such as Ingas, ham, bryeg, burh, burg, berg, peper Harow, Besingaheard (Pagan Temple),
weoley (lay with a pagan temple), hoe, wielle, aewiell, Camberwell (known for medicinal hot
springs), etc .
Wodan was also known as Wod lord of the wild hunt, lord of the gallows, the green man, lord
of the Hofs (fanem tectum)or groves (Hofgoth)
4
, Lord of the wind etc. Odin has more names,
more literature and more deeds recorded than any other Germanic deity. His position as king of
the gods and war leader of the gods is a direct mirror image of the historical image of the warrior
chieftains or Drohtin of the Germanic peoples.
Shamanistic wizard, king of the gods, Odin enjoys wandering, his possessions include the great
spear Gugnir which can destroy anything or any one it is directed towards, a blue cloak, gray
clothing, a hood or hat pulled down over his missing eye to hide his identity, a magic staff carved
with runes he uses when traveling , a long well groomed gray beard. His purpose is to educate
men in the ways of knowledge and wisdom, to create a cast of professional wizard priest. These
priests are to guard the kings from evil and guide the people to good rather than evil. Odins
destiny is to fight the final battle of the world, a battle between ultimate good and ultimate evil,
and through the sacrifice of his life and the lives of all the heroes who were ever born, in order to
save the world. Woden is the god about whom the vast majority of prestige, history, myth and
physical evidence has been preserved. Odin was the father of many of the gods, famous kings
and heros, his position in the Germanic pantheon is paramount to the axis-mundi of the
Germanic form of cosmography.
Thor
Thor Son of Odin-God of thunder, warrior par excellence, a giant sized god with a perfect
muscular physique, Thor is the soldiers god the god of common men of war, he who confronts
and destroys evil Thor is particularly interested in destroying giants the arch enemies of the
Aesir, Thor hates giants, he is the archetype of the later giant killers in fact Thor kills more
giants in the Eddas than any hero in Germanic poetry or epics. Thor is honorable and just, good
and strong. However Thor is brash and temperamental, he carries the mighty hammer Mjolnir
that can destroy any foe and return to its owner, but no one can wield it but Thor. Thor also
possesses a magic belt which gives him great strength, his physical appearance is that he has
long red hair and a full red beard, he is very muscular and wears animal skins, his manner is that
of the haughtiest of proud warriors striding forth with pure pride. When flying through the air as
the thunder god does often Thor is pulled on his chariot by four giant rams. He is the son of Odin
and Jord the goddess of earth (now know by the name mother nature). Although in ancient
times he was worshipped a separate king of the gods among some of the Nordic tribes, this was a
position which was usurped by the cult of Odin. Thor is most famous for his courage and his
fighting abilities, although in the view of some poets not so much for his mind. This is especially
true in the lay of Harbard (long beard-a synonym for Odin) in this lay he maligned by a skald
who apparently didnt wish Thor to be placed on a equal bases with Odin. In addition to Thors
conquest in battle he is also a god of farmers (common men of the classical Germanic age were
usually farmers).
The cult of Thor was a cult of laymen, men who fought for nobles, who tilled the land, who
provided for their familys and owed allegiance to the nobility of the Germanic world. They were
in a secondary cast, not necessarily a lesser cast, but more similar to the latter vassalage system
of feudal Europe, in that they were free men who valued courage, strength, fertility in the land,
and forthrightness in their dealings. A simple strait forward way of life. Therefor it is not
surprising that the god whom they identify with and who is their patron, is a god who is imbibed
with these qualities and governs the issuance of blessing on the land, battle, and everyday life.
Thors cult was the most popular in scandinavia, and among Germanic freemen, Thor is probably
one of the longest lasting Germanic gods in the history of Germanic paganism. Thor was so
popular that there is not a single Germanic nation among all that existed who didnt have the cult
of Thor long after the rise of christianity. In fact when christianity conquered Iceland in 1100 the
cult of Thor remained strong
Balder
Second son of Odin God of celestial light, brilliance of purity, justice and valor, the patron of
pure hearted heroes which was latter idealized by the clich the white knight. Balder is also a
symbol of sacrifice and tragedy, yet his resurrection illustrates his connection with eternal life.
Balder was the least violent and the most beautiful of the gods. He was patron of pure and honest
causes, true love, the purity of youth, innocence.
Heimdal- Heimdal, faithful friend of Odin and guardian of the rainbow bridge bifrost, Heimdal
has always been a somewhat shadowy figure for historians as there exist very little literary
material written about him. Heimdals greatest lay seems to be the lay of Rigspula in which he
creates the cast of mankind and imparts the art of runes to a young prince. He possesses a great
and mighty sword and is honest, wise and creative. On the day of Ragnarok Heimdal will sound
his great horn and alert the gods of the coming of the giants and the end of the world. Not much
is said about his appearance.
THE VANIR
Chief among the Vanir gods was Njord-God of the sea and master of the Vanir, Njord was father
of Freya and Frey who were later married a deed found to be very controversial to the Aesir who
had strict rules against incest. Yet the Vanir did not view the act in this way.
Frey
Son of Njord, god of the fields and nature as a whole- the god of fertility, Frey is the gentle god,
he who cares for and protects the earth, spring, a nature god, he is the protector of peace and
balance in nature (on earth), Frey is Freyas brother and a Vanir god. Frey is often thought also
to be similar and possible connected with the Celtic figure the green man.
Freya/Nerthus/Frigga/Jord the lady, Freya-daughter of Njord/wife to Odin, after Frey and
Freya were broken up, the King of the Aesir Odin married Freya goddess of the earth (literally
mother nature) also known as Jord and Frigga. Freya is also the goddess of love, feminine
strength, intelligence, kindness, and gentle persuasion. She is the patron goddess of cats and
animals. Freya is mistress of Asgard, Frey is often seen as wearing armor or holding weapons
although I find no proof for her having actually wearing this apparel in any myth. It is possible
that during her journeys to receive her half of the chosen slain warriors of battles fought on earth,
that she may have worn armor, although such myths do not appear to have survived. If in fact
they ever did exist? However it is not her typical attire, typically she is portrayed as wearing the
usual feminine form of Germanic dress for a lady of high social standing. Cats draw her chariot
and her magic which she is reputed to have taught to Odin known as seith (along with his many
other forms of magic.) is second only to Odins.
The Proto-Germanic tribes were beginning a religious evaluation, This evolution resulted in the
development of the Germanic tribes, and was responsible for the assimilation of the indigenous
fertility cult.
One story in the elder Eddas no doubt recalls the meeting of these two peoples ??
This war was ended by the exchange of gods between the two groups and eventually the wedding
of Odin to Freya, and so once again we see the mirror image of the Historical imperical world in
that of myth.
OTHER GODS
Bragi also son of Odin and god of skalds, this seldom seen god is said to have actually been a
living historical figure named Baggi skrinalsson. In most ways the role of bragi is that of a
germanic priest. His role as one of the gods of priest, bards, and other poets is his chief position
in the Germanic pantheon.
Sif goddess of the harvest and of happiness, and family, her golden hair is supossed to be a
bright as sunshin and when lokie cut it, thor was so furious that lokie was forced to go to the
dwarves who were thoe only smiths capable of reproduceing a replacment. The dwarved
replaced hair with hair thin stings of gold and the aiser were appeased.
Idun Goddess of immortality and protector of the golden apples of immortality, there is a
strong possiblity that this tale is actually an import from the mediteranian world. The figure idun
is another godess who we know very little about.
Loki the deceiver, the evil one, blood brother to odin. Lokie is not aesir, he is of giant blood
and the sworn enemy of the gods. Loki hides his hate for the gods through stelth and trikery, he
is the very essense of a manipoulative coniving thief, lier, and backstber. The tale of lokies
flyting is the tale which gives the best summery of his evil deeds. he will lead his son fenrriss
and the other evil giants/demonds against the gods. In the end it is lokie who will ultimatly bring
death and destruction to the gods and man at ragnarock
Hod-the blind Son of Odin he is said in one rendition of the death of balder to have been
tricked into killing his brother balder. Hod is blind, and is the god of darkness, sadness, tragic
acidents.
The norns It is said in the himskringla that the norns came from the weast of the caucus
mountains and that their powers of magic and propheses are sureme. However reports on this
varie. The Norns are three??..,??., and verthandi. These three prophetesses have been acnoledged
as the very finnal source on destiny, some say they decide the futures of men, and others say they
simply see the destonies of god and men. They live next to one of the roots of yggdrasil and tend
the wounds of the life tree.
Ull Ull is the god of winter he enjoys wandering the cold snowy north and assisting those who
live there with travel and survival in the north. Winter is the season of ull, it is said that when
Odin goes wandering in the summer , ull comes to the north. Agani little is said of ull, another
intersting fact is that there is also a celtic god named ull and there is a possibility that the two are
related.
Hell Hell is the daughter of Lokie she was thrown into Hellheim by Odin and made the ruler
of Hellheim, her name is the root of the European christian term Hell and Hellheim was the
orginal version of hell although it was not considered hot, it was supossed to be very cold and
dreary. Hell herself had the beutyful body of a woman from her head to her waist, but from
below the hips to her feel was rotting flesh.
Ivaldi one dwarf in particular was very famous for creating the weapons and favored
possessions of the gods, his name was Ivaldi. Ivaldi made a deal to help Loki to create hair for
Sif from gold to replace the hair which he had cut from Sif as a very rude joke, one which her
husband Thor was not willing to forgive until rectified.
Other famous dwarves include Alvis, Durin, and Dvalin
The Germanic Pagan Priest
The priestly cast or class who maintained Hof temple among the Saxons were called Gothi or
Gothar, who were either chiefs of a tribe or land owning Nobles lords.
Any landholder could have his own temple on his estate, where he himself sacrificed to
whatever gods he honored most. At the regular general sacrifices the chief performed the office
and was known as the Gothi.
5
Saxon societywas a stratified hierarchical class system of nobles, priest, warriors, commoners
and slaves. The nobles, warriors, and priests were in what is referred to as the Jarl class, which
was the highest class. Saxon society was under the political control of Noble families. Nobles
directed work on their own farms during the fertile periods of the year and led raiding parties
into the territory of their enemies tribes. Warriors followed the chief or Drohtin. Priest
presided over the courts. They offered ceremonial prayers, performed divination, and functioned
as advisers to the Drohtin.
The priests and their power in the tribes were very well documented. The first of the early
historians to write about them was Tacitus in the first century of the common era. Tacitus writes:
Capital punishment, imprisonment and even flogging are allowed to none but the priest, and are
not inflicted merely as punishments or on the leaders orders, but in obedience to the god whom
they believe to preside over battle.
6
According to Tacitus, the position of priest of Hof temple was a multi-facetted occupation:
Then the priest of the State if the consultation is a public one, the father of the family if it
is private, after a prayer to the gods and an intent gaze heavenward, picks up three, one at
a time, an dreads their meaning from the runes scored on them.
7
From this statement by Tacitus, we can see that the priest of the Hof temple clearly had a great
deal of power in the first century. But did the same amount of power exist in the sixth centurys
Hof temple in Saxony with which we are concerned? Yes, there are several examples from
reputable sources, which tell us that, not only did the priest keep this power in Saxony but also
carried it from their homeland to distant tribal lands such as Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.
In the sixth century, priests of the Saxon Hof temple had already assumed a very large degree of
power and authority. The priest were of several types, the judges, the chiefs, the landed Nobles,
ascetics, and priestesses. The term judge here is referring to the presiding head wise man, a
Gothi, who is also a judge, and therefore he is titled Gothar. Priest who were civil administrators
and priest of the Hof temple were initiated into their positions, while common priest were like
lay priest. The Germanic tribes during sixth through the eleventh centuries CE, were at the
eventual zenith of Pagan Germanic law. The Gothar of Iceland produced an entire nation
centered and controlled by the Allthing, a national council or court. The system functioned
through a judiciary system, which was composed of five courts. Each of them represented the
jurisdiction of a locality roughly equivalent in size and organization to the German burgs. The
head of each Aett (clan) and its kindred (members of family and clan) were individually
represented by the head of their family who was a Gothi (household priest and nobleman). The
exeption would be if another more qualified or more experienced Gothi were requested by the
individual. The employing of a separate Gothi from outside the family or Aett, however, would
then obligate the recipient to remain loyal to that Gothi for a certain amount of time. This would
place the person represented under the local jurisdiction of the Gothi representing him/her rather
than the Gothi whom served their own Aett. In this way a necessity for political allegiances
among various groups of nobility were created. A brief description of the court system can be
seen through Njals Saga.
the plaintiff and defendant shall each have the right to challenge six of the four dozen judges
[Gothi] appointed to the fifth court?those who are chosen to make the law ?only the wisest and
most sensible shall be chosen?the issues all be decided by a majority vote.?Later people
assembled at the law rock to institute the new chieftanships.
8
From this we see the structure, relative fairness and organized nature of the Germanic court
system, which was in reality extremely different from the barbaric way pictured by Christians
when writing their history.
These priests held feast at the Hof temple during the solstices and in recognition of ancestors
who had been deified. They were charged with the upkeep and restoration and or any other
aspects of the temple preservation. It was the responsibility of the local members of the temple to
donate enough of an equal share of the cost in purchasing a golden or copper ring, one of the
principle alter symbols in the Hof temple. However, soothsayers and witches cannot be placed in
this category due to the fact that they had no authority concerning social matters and were not
allowed to practice their magic in the temple. The witches of this time period should not be
confused with the practitioners of Wicca. The name Wicc originates from the root word Wod,
which in Saxon is a abbreviation for Wodan or Odin. It is therefor possible that the practitioners
of Wicca originated as followers of Odin. However the witches mentioned here are far more
likely to have been followers of Finnish shamanism, a late surviving form of animism.
WARFARE, SOURCE OF THE SAXON ECONOMY
The Saxons were sea faring men who were capable of raising livestock, doing business abroad
and pirating.
This pirating profession came to be the most profitable and therefore the primary form of
supporting the people of the old Saxony. Saxon raiding parties brought back vast fortunes.
Undoubtedly, these vast hordes of booty from both war and trade were the sources which
financed the start of many Saxon Vrund or kindreds.
Among the Saxons, being sea faring raiders, which modern historians call pirates, was in
reality no different than the Viking which their northern brothers, the Danes were doing. Saxon
Vikings or black Vikings as they were known due to their black hair were quite infamous for
their exploits at sea. They were very capable seamen, so capable that the Gothic army enlisted
their assistance against the British coast in their battles with the Romanized Celtic tribes of
Britain.
The Saxon seamen were also very active in trade between the Baltic coast and the Scandinavian
lands of their Nordic brothers. In fact, they were the last link for support or assistance which the
Nordic tribes, particularly Denmark, had on the continent primarily because of their shared
culture and their common religious beliefs. It was for this reason that the Danes helped the
Saxons in their bid for freedom from the franks.
The Saxon warriors defeated countless enemies in battle when they were caught in the middle of
the Vikings, Franks, Romans and Huns, in both the continent and in Britain. The allegiance of
the Saxon warriors was to their tribal chieftains. This can be clearly seen in the example of their
commitment to Wittican, the pagan chieftain priest who fought with Charlemagne in the
following century. This war continued long after the surrender of Wittekind, until all of the
Saxon lords were either dead, in exile with Viking allies or converted to Christianity. However,
there were repeated incidents of Saxons accepting Baptism from the Franks and then
immediately rising again to revolution.
SAXON SOCIETY
In language, the Old Saxons spoke a Germanic dialect, just as their neighbors and other Nordic
relatives did. The Saxons and Danes especially were very compatible speakers of two similar
dialects and were able to communicate with only minor language difficulties.
German splits into low Franconian, which becomes Dutch (including Flemish) and low
Saxon?which in turn becomes modern low German? Their spoken Dutch has a number of
dialects as well as an official spoken form. Written Dutch evolved from the Flemish spoken in
Flanders.
9
Saxons of the sixth century owed their allegiance to an Vrund or clan, which acted in the role of
protector and political advocate, similar to the role played by Liege lords of the middle ages. The
Vrund provided food, housing, and protection from the armies of foreign warriors, and a social
solidarity which would assist in grooming young children in how to survive in a hostile world.
In some ways, the Saxons may appear quite normal to us modern people. They enjoyed winter
sports such as ice skating, skiing, tobogganing, and indoor games such as dicing, a type of
primitive checkers, and were fond of hearing heroic tales from Gothi, tales similar to Beowulf
accompanied by a lyre and recorder. Both lyre and recorder have been found by archeologist and
has been reconstructed. The lyre in particular has been identified specifically with the Saxon
tribe through motifs on the instrument.
It is a belief among many folklorists and historians that the lyres, lurs and drums were used in the
recitation of the Eddas, as indicated, for example, in Brian Branstons Gods of the North and
Haakon Sheteligs Scandinavian archeology. This accompaniment assists in proving that the
Saxons were a kulture rather than simply a tribe. The religious significants of this is paramount
when on considers that the Germanic form of polytheism is comparable to that of the Hindus and
that the singing of chants is a paralel development of two separate Indo-Aryan peoples and
could be a sign that the act its self ows its origins to a common origin, that is a common indo-
aryan form of early polytheism based on animistic or shamanistic worship.
Saxon polytheism
The dominant religion in Saxony was Gemanic paganism which came to Saxony with the sixth
century migration and existed there to the ninth century CE when it was destroyed by Holy
Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Saxon chiefs were usually the official priests to the entire
community. The duties of them were to officiate in all pubic functions, to make seasonal
sacrifices, to read the runes, and to be the representative of the gods.
On a family level all noblemen were also priest to their own families. As society developed
within the Saxon tribe, so did the development of Paganism. By the eighth century, the Saxons
were worshipping in wooden Hof temples, with their own hierarchy mirrored in the examples of
the gods they worshipped. They maintained an extensively detailed mythology and folklore.
In the north and west of Germany Odin was raised above daemonic rank and became a god of
war and victory and intellectual accomplishments. In the course of the migration period the cult
of this culture-god made its way into Scandinavia also, principally from the Saxons (compare
with the epithet Saxa Goth).
10
The worship of these gods existed on many levels, the main three of which were divination,
ritual, and temple worship. Divination was practiced by using runes, a divination tool created and
commonly used by Germanic tribes. The runes were letters inscribed onto stones, talismans,
swords and anything else one might wish to affect through sorcery. In time the runic alphabet
evolved and was manifest into several different forms of runes, including the Saxon runes. These
runes were included in many of the alphabets of European languages such as Gothic, Frank, and
Old English.
SAXON RELIGION
The introduction and development of the Hof temple in Old Saxony had a significant impact
upon the people of early Saxon society from the seventh century through the ninth century. Many
aspects of Saxon culture, warfare, and religion were all affected and altered by this temple and
the class which ran it. The hierarchical stratified clan system was a direct result of Germanic
paganism and the class system established by the religion of the Hof temple.
THE HOF TEMPLE
The Germanic Hof temple was introduced into what is now referred to as lower Saxony in the
sixth century CE and existed there to the ninth century CE when it was destroyed by Holy
Roman Emperor Charlemagne.
The Germanic Hof Temple took its roots in the ancient Shamanism which in turn developed out
from earliest form of animism and nature-spirit worship. This worship originally occurred in the
groves and forest of the Germanic world:
Their Holy places are the woods and groves, and they call by the name of god that hidden
presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence.
11
These groves were known as Hof. The modern translation of this word in Scandinavian sub-
dialects of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family is Hov (pronounced Hof).
12
There is evidence to support a theory that the archetype of Odin, the father of the gods was
imported to Scandinavia from Saxony.
In the course of the migration period the cult of this culture-god made its way into Scandinavia
also, principally from the Saxons (compare the epithet Saxa Goth). According to the current
interpretation, the myths about the war of the AEsir with the Vanir and their final reconciliation
reflect the introduction of the Othin cult and its union with the native worship of the gods of
fertility.
13
Hof temple in what is now refered to as northern Germany evolved into a wooden temple
structure quite similar to the Nordic Hofs sometimes between the sixth century and the seventh
century. The wooden structure was symbolic of the wood of the forest where Germanic people
once worshipped in.
Irminsul has also been considered by many scholars such as ?..
It is also a well-known tradition to plant the sacred ash trees next to the Germanic Hof temple.
One of the best examples of this tradition is the record of a visit made by Adam of Bremen, a
German Christian, to the Great temple at Uppsala in Sweden where he regards the trees as being
the place of sacrifice dedicated to Odin.
In reference to the construction of the Hof temple from wood as a structure which developed
sometimes between the sixth and seventh century in Saxony, some historians suggest that the
temple may have been modeled on early Irish Christian churches. However, this is highly
impractical, given that, the structural designs of long houses, forts, and a variety of other
structures had previously existed among the Germanic tribes, far prior to the introduction of
church buildings by the Irish. It therefore could not be the proto-type of the earliest Hof temples.
The use of wood as the primary material necessary in every element of the temple including very
detailed carving designs elude that these temples may have been the product of centuries of
shamanistic and early Paganistic tree veneration. In addition, implementation of the
woodworkers craft was identical in nature and origin to that of the evolving Scandinavian
craftsmanship in building. This craft developed in northern Europe and was exemplified in the
ninth and tenth century Hof temples, stave churches, and long boats of the Vikings.
By the seventh century CE, the Saxon Hof temple had evolved into a long building comprised of
a hall and an altar area which was located at the end of the hall. The alter is where the images of
their gods were placed upon a seperat pedistool enclosed by a rounded enclosure.
14
Many
differing forms of statues have been suggested, such as wood, gold, earthen, etc. However, the
most historically convincing statues are those which were made of either bronze castings in the
larger temples or made of wood in smaller and more remote temples. Bronze figures have been
found in Schleswig-Holstein and date back to the late bronze age, which is prior to the departure
of the Saxons and would place the statues in Saxon territory during the late bronze age. These
images are small and would fit in the palm of any adults hand, which infers that they may have
been a traveling mans image, small size being due to the need for mobility. However, the
important point here is that the Saxons did apparently have knowledge of bronze casting
techniques and therefore may have caste their temple gods in the same manner.
They also carry into the fray [battle] figures and emblems taken from their sacred groves.
15
It is quite possible that their god were made from wood, as we know wood was extremely holy
among the ancient Germans including the Saxons. In addition, several small wooden figures
were found in Scandinavian Pete bogs which date from the late Bronze Age. Another example
which is often unnoticed is that of the Gorbunovo culture, a branch of Indo-European people in
Russian Steppe, possessed identical idols made of wood which were used for ceremonial
purposes.
16
This illustrates that the use of wood in the making of this specific type of idol was
existent long before the disintegration of the Indo-Europeans. Therefore due to the pre existence
and identical appearance of these two idols, we may propose that its use was probably known to
the German tribes in the early centuries of the common era. Unfortunately, if any large idols
belonging to the Saxons or any other German or Germanic people existed, they have either been
lost or destroyed by Christians.
Below Alter was the stone table where the ritualistic objects were placed upon the stone table.
One of these objects was a gold or copper ring which was used for swearing oaths upon. This
ring was representative of Draupnir, an arm ring believed to belong to Odin. The stone table
was also where animal sacrifices were made. The ritual tools on the table included a blood bowel
and blautteinar or sprinkler for sprinkling the blot. It is important to note here that in many ways
the Nordic and Saxon Hofs will be identical, with exeption to the naming of certain ritualistic
items and place names, this is more pronounced in the section on Anglo-Saxon Pagans.
PRIEST, RITUAL, AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
The animistic fertility gods of indigenous population in Bronze Age northern Europe later
refered to as the Vanir were replaced when these indigenous tribes had been assimilated into the
tribes of the Corded Battle Axe culture who worshiped the gods now refered to as the Aeisir,
together these constituted a new people known as the Germanic tribes and a new religion which
is now called Germanic paganism.
It was during the Migration Age from 500CE to 700CE, that the refined and final form of Saxon
Paganism began to flourish. Throughout the Migration Age, which was an intensely violent era
when wars were raging all over Europe, the warrior archetypes of gods like Odin, Thor, and
Tiwaz/Tyr dominated the warrior pantheon of the Pagan Saxon temples.
Paganism was a very complex and culturally enriching religion which dominated Saxon society
for about one thousand years. The Saxon polytheistic system consisted of thirteen gods and
goddesses. The worship of these gods existed on many levels, the main three of which were
divination, ritual, and temple worship.
Divination was highly respected by the Saxons. During the Migration Age, the Saxons were
creating one of several Germanic runic alphabets. The runes, which were letters inscribed on
wood or stone, served as the primary divination tool of Hof temple. These letters were also used
for inscribing large stones to mark graves, as decoration and protection on talismans, and for
healing. In this way, the creation of runes also contributed to the evolution of Saxon mythology,
even though by 100CE, the earliest Pagan Gothi (priests) were still passing down Saxon
mythology orally.
Ritual in the Saxon Hof temple as in many other Germanic tribes, consisted of hallowing or
blessing through the sacrifice of the animals life, and the value which the life force within its
blood held. Whenever a sacrifice took place, the blood was retained in a bowel and sprinkled
onto an object or person as a blessing. Indeed, the very word blessing is taken from the original
root word blot which meant blood:
The technical term for sacrifice is blot, properly only the name for the slaughter of the sacrificial
beast and the sprinkling of its blood.
17
In addition, the blot was the sacrifice of a life belonging to a young animal which would have
evoked enormous difficulty in the emotions of the individual killing the animal, and more so
when it was a human. My hypothesis is that the true meaning of the sacrifice is in the sacrificing
of ones own will and feelings for the good of the tribe, and as a show of trust and faith in the
supreme powers of the gods.
Temple worship in Saxon Hof temple was demonstrated as in other Germanic tribes by Galdr,
which was the chanting runic mantras, prayers, and incantations by Gothi (priests) as described
in Scandinavian Archeology:
Like other magical figures the runes were usually associated with charms (Galdr), the recital of
rhythmic formulas of magicSuch magic songs were used for various purposes: to make a man
invulnerable, loose bonds, heal wounds, abate fire or storm, rouse love, wake the head in order to
find out future events, and many others.
18
Heimskringla, the twelfth century text which had been passed down orally from the ninth century
Denmark, describes about the Yule ritual that has its origin in a common Germanic form.
19
The
Yule celebration was held in the Hof temple and dedicated to the Saxon god Odin. Although
Danish Vikings were
not Saxons, these two tribes shared a boundary in what is now called Schleiswig-Holstein for
over 1,000 years, and were very closely related religiously and culturally through Hof temple,
and because both tribes originally Cheruchi.
Yule was originally a Pagan holiday, and was later renamed Christmas by the Christians. Vivid
descriptions of this holiday celebration can be found in Heimskringla:
It was the ancient custom that when sacrifice was to be made, all farmers were to come to the
heathen temple and bring along with them the food they needed while the feast lasted. Also all
kinds of livestock were killed in connection with it, and all the blood from them was called
blot [sacrificial blood]Fires were to be lighted in the middle of the temple floor The Odins
toast was to be drunk first, that was for victory and power to the king.
20
THE DESTRUCTION OF GERMANIC PAGANISM
From 700 882 CE, Saxon paganism developed into its highest form with ritual practices,
chanting, divination and temple worship. Ironically, the period preceding the Viking age (700-
900CE) was a time of conquest for the Franks, a Christian Germanic tribe, whose desire to
forcibly convert, and murder Pagans, was nothing short of horrible. They Saxon of this time
period were not a political grouping, But rather a religious fellowship which was comprised of
confederates with a common religious belief which bound them to common beliefs. They fought
to preserve these beliefs. The Saxons had no choice, in fact all Germanic peoples who were still
pagans had no choice, their culture and way of life depended on it.
When in 782 CE, Charlemagne forced most of the Saxon chiefs to convert to Christian. By 800
CE, all remaining Pagans were dead or refuges with their northern neighbors the Vikings, which
can be seen through the increasing numbers of Saxons who appear in Viking tales of the early
Viking age.
Ultimately, the decline of Saxon Hof temple came about as a direct result of the genocide
committed against the Pagan Saxons, Friesians and Thuringians by Charlemagne and his
Frankish Christian army.
in September, 774, at which it was decided that the Saxons (Westfali, Ostfali, and Angrarii)
must be presented with the alternative of baptism or death?then divided the Saxon territory into
Missionary districts?.in 777, many Saxon converts were baptized; Wittekind (Widukind),
however, already the leader and afterwards the popular hero of the Saxons, had fled to his
brother-in-law, Sigfrid the Dane.
But this was only the beginning of the Christian genocide against pagans, a foreshadowing of the
oncoming xenophobic Christian paranoia toward pagans. The Pagan Saxons possessed a very
different religion from the christian franks and time after time had refused to submit to
charlegmanes religion. The Saxons along with their Scandinavian cousins and the other
Germanic tribes were a people whos tribes were held together not through any hierarchical
government, but through simple worship of their gods, and the respect which they had for their
gods. Christians among the franks were told that these gods were demons and that the
government of the franks should destroy the Pagans. This is obvious in the letters of monks and
the the history of charlesemagne by arnhard his biographer (himself a christian priest). In ____
charlegmangne ordered the decapitation (removal of ones head) of over 3,500 men women and
children who refused to become christian. This slaughter was the result of the frankish armys
failure to completely crush the Pagan religious following which was responsible for the rebellion
among the Saxons and the cohesion among the Saxons who rebelled. The new direction of the
christion holy roman empire was one of pacification, the deliberate manipulation and
occupation of the Saxon people, to subdue their native culture, religion, and tribal affiliations, in
order to gain economic and governmental control over the Saxon people through the use of
religion Charlemagnes war of massacre and attrition inevitably brought about genocide of
Saxon people. It also brought about the death of Saxon culture. As the Socio-cultural life of the
clans was changed forever with the death of the commitatus and Paganism, the Saxon people
were plunged into feudalism and Saxon lords had to pay homage to the Carolingian court until a
day when they would be able to rule themselves. This set the stage for a hierarchical form of
Christianity which would reign over Saxony for over 1,000 years. The most clearly devastating
fact concerning all of the hostilities of the Saxon-Frankish war was that this was a Religious
war, not only for the Saxons but also for the Franks as well. For the Franks this war was known
as the Saxon crusade. But despite the Christian title, this war had become nothing less than
massacre of Saxons by the year 882 CE. During the ninth century the Saxons were often
religiously oppressed and violently forced to convert. These conversions would become the
destruction of the religious based clan system and thereby altering forever the economic, political
and ideological bases of the Saxon tribe as an independent culture, despite the revolution of
trying to preserve the old tradition were repeatedly raised afterwards.
Feudalism came to dominate Saxon Society as the Socio-economic system. Trade, education and
political interaction with Christians were the activities which brought about the destruction of
Paganism and the rise of Christianity in Saxony. The weakening of tribal society due to the
dominance of Franconian Christians created a far more intricate division of labor. Former
Drohtin now became vassals or Vassals (warriors owing allegiance to another warrior king),
skilled tradesmen and trade guilds came into being, and social divisions were born. The
combination of a trade-based economy which was almost completely in the hands of the emperor
and his vassals, and the urbanization of a formerly farm based economy, produced a stratified
society which was static, evolving and eventually brought about the existence of a more
advanced, class-bases society. In this sort of society, far more power rested in the hands of the
kings who were by this time no longer only war-chiefs, but kings with primary control over
entire kingdoms, and serving the king or one of his vassals was the only inroad to success. This
eventually destroyed the Saxon traditional tribal lifestyle, replacing it with a Christianized
feudalistic oligarchy.
As for the question of how the Christian religion came to be embraced by pagans as their own, it
is fundamentally an amalgamation of traits, which occurred. The aspects of the Pagan Germanic
Saxons and Germanic peoples in general were assimilated into the archetype of the Christ
figure by early Christians in order to captivate and intimidate the Pagans into maintaining
Christianity rather than returning the faith of their fathers. Two figures who figure prominently
in this are Odin and Frey, Odins is obviously the Grey bearded old wise man on the thrown
pictured in all of the mythological representations of God. God the wise, miraculous, lord of
Heaven, lord of host, and many others are epitaphs of the Wodan or Odin archetype which are
very often found attached to the God figure. One especially important one is God the Wise
who is very well represented in the Christian churches association of God and Germanic
expectations as seen in the writings of G. Ronald Murphy,s.j.:
Woden the wise will be devoured at the twilight of the gods?[by]the great wolf?Thor will be
killed by the poison of the great world serpent?The analogous Gospel incidents by which the
Heliand ingeniously selects and interprets to show Christ superiority to both the wolf and the
serpent are the resurrection and the walking on water. ?the Heliand author begins the northern
Germanic transformation as Christ who knows the secret runes(and teaches them to his
disciples)
This interpretation of the Heliand codex, referred to as manuscripts M, C, S, and V, are dated
back as far as the ninth century and were according to Murphy arranged in a traditional manner
into fitts or song unites. The Heliand was composed by a Saxon monk and was given to
Christians as a way of persuading them and pressuring them not to becomes apostates, something
which Saxon pagans were famous for after being forcible converted.
The second figure which figures prominently in the early Christian church of Germans was the
figure Frey, in all likelihood Frey was an import from the eastern part of Saxony which was
populated by Friesians.
The most solid form of evidence for a connection between Frey and the Christian church is his
association with Jesus as the god of kindness and gentility, and the attachment of his name to the
Christian churches in the early ninth and tenth centuries through the place name freyhof which
taken literally would mean Freys Temple, the term was however known to be rather another term
for church, the two obviously having become virtually synonymous.
The Woden, Wodan or early Odin figure is very frequently seen as a leader of warriors or a clan
head.
The shadow of this figure is seen in interpretation of A.F.C Vilmars Christ . Vilmar interprets
the Christ figure of the Heliand as being almost identical to Odin in this respect and if his
interpretation of this Saxon document from the ninth century vellum is correct then the Christian
identification of Odin is complete. As one of the first representations of the Christ figure in the
land of Old Saxony we now have God the war leader of the righteous (a foundation for the
coming crusades) , God the wise, god the all powerful, and god the forgiver and gentle caring
one.
The distinction of this form of Poetic tradition and its use in the dialect of old Saxon adds great
credence for the argument that the Saxons were first forcible converted and then persuasively
kept Christian by a series of compromises in the translation and conduct of Christian ethics,
ceremony and mythology. In addition it the first of two separate missuses of the archetype
Woden for the purposes of the catholic church. After Woden has been replaced by the new
Christ/Woden archetype of Jesus including certain traits of Frey as well, then the stage is set
for the first series of witch hunt which occur in the early middle ages. The second stage of the
misuse of Wodens name comes in the latter middle ages when the archetype of Woden is vilified
as seen in chapter 8.
However, in the eleventh century, a Saxon king Henry the Fouler became the first king of
Germany. And this would be the beginning of the end of Papal power over the Saxon people.
Nordic Paganism
Divination was very highly respected by the Norse. The runes (letter inscribed on wood or stone)
served as the primary divination tool. These letters were also used for inscribing large stones to
mark graves, as decoration and protection on talismans, and for healing.
When used for divination these letters were thought to reflect the will of the gods,
the Stone of Noleby (Sweden, C. 600 CE) says explicitly that the runes come from the gods.
Ritual in the Norse religion consisted of Galdre. Runes were usually associated with charms
(galdre), the recital of rhythmic formulas of magicSuch magic songs were used for various
purposes.
21
This practice included but was not limited to, publicly chanting charms, which was performed by
priests. These priests also performed the role of soothsayer. The Gothi or Priest would read the
runes and then relate the meaning to other members of the tribe.
Although these priests were members of the Jarl class,
Apparently by the Viking period all privileges allowed to the Gothi (priests) were also open to
tribal chieftains because they too were Jarls. One example of this privilege is that chieftains of a
tribe or Aett (clan) were allowed to perform Galdre rituals on behalf of their Aett. The Temple in
which most of these rituals took place in the Viking Age was called the Hof. Originally the
Norse and all other Germanic tribes worshipped in wooded groves. (Tacitus, p. ) This was a part
of their original animistic beliefs.
Their holy places are the woods and groves, and they call by the name of god that hidden
presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence.
22
By the ninth century the Norse Hof had evolved into a long tall building being comprised of a
Skalli (hall) and a Afhus (alter) which was located at the end of the hall. The Afhus is where the
images of their gods were placed. Below this was the altar where the ritualistic objects were
placed upon the stone table. Also placed upon this table was a gold or copper ring which was
used for swearing oaths upon. The ritual tools on the table included Blotbolli or blood bowel
and Blautteinar or sprinkler for sprinkling the blot. This was their way of hallowing through the
sacrifice of the animals life, and the value which the life force within its blood held.
The twelfth century text known as the Heimskringla passed down orally from the ninth century,
and includeds tales such as, the Ynlinga saga speaks about some of these rituals associated with
the Yule celebration. In the saga of Hakon the Good, one of the sagas in the Heimskringla, we
are told that Yule was originally a pagan holiday which was being celebrated in the tenth century
by King Hakon and was toasted in the name of Odin:
It was the ancient custom that when the sacrifice was to be made, all farmers were to come to
the heathen temple? livestock were killed in connection with it, horses also; and all the blood
from them was called blot [sacrificial blood]Fires were to be lighted in the middle of the
temple floor, and kettles hung overThe Odins toast was to be drunk first, that was for victory
and power to the king.
23
In addition to these ritualistic activities there were a great many

others which were termed Seith or dark magic. Seith deals with various types of divination,
spells, poisons, etc., in effect every type of magic later generations would call witchcraft.
The term Gothi means Godman whose position in the community was originally more powerful
as mentioned by Tacitus in the first century:
Apparently they were an ancient and once powerful clergy.
Silence is then demanded by the priest, who on that occasion have also the power to enforce
obedience Capital punishment, imprisonment and even flogging are allowed to none but the
priest.
24
Many of these powers were reduced with the rise of the thing. The thing was originally a war
council which gained in popularity as a place for deciding disputes, and eventual evolved into a
type of primitive court system. The term skald differs from Gothi due to several differing
functions which set them apart. Skald means singer of the Eddic lays which is recitation of the
scriptures through song. They traveled from place to place, from hall to hall, singing their holy
songs for the
edification of their belief and the amusement of various chiefs who held feast in the halls as
celebration of pagan holidays.
25
The skalds seemed to be an intermediary occupation filling the
gap between the Heathenistc tenth century and the early middle-ages, a time when Christianity
had arrived in Scandinavia, yet had not completely assimilated the populace.
During the Paganistic Age, Nordic tribes began to develop a more complexed religious
mythology of their own, and it was to a great extent a reflection of the warrior culture which
fostered these tales. The Nordic warrior clans (Aetts) were the prime protection for the Nordic
tribes. By the migration period 200 BCE to 500 CE, these tribes had developed into a type of war
council, a form of brotherhood which we now call the commitatus:
They are attached to the other chiefs, who are more mature and approved,Dignity and power
alike consist in being continually attended by a corps of chosen youths?prodigal in their demands
on the generosity of their chiefs. It is always give me that war-horse or give me that bloody
and victorious spear.
26
As a result the social hierarchy was stratified. The nobles, warriors, and priests were in what is
referred to as the Jarl class, which was the highest cast. Tradesmen were slightly below the Jarls
yet were still important due to their occupational advantage. The less fortunate common folk
were below, and the thralls (slaves) were at the bottom of the social stratum. In Nordic regions of
Europe this system lasted up into the tenth century, far longer than in other parts of Europe.
Germanic society was a stratified hierarchical cast system of nobles, priest, warriors, commoners
and slaves. The Germanic social-cultural experiences and the physical culture which resulted
from these groups are interwoven. It is through the physical remains of their culture that we are
able to open a window into their world.
Germanic society was under the control of Noble families. Nobles farmed during the fertile
periods of the year and led raiding parties into the territory of their enemies tribes. Warriors
followed the chief or Drohtin. Priest presided over the courts. They offered ceremonial
prayers, performed divination, and gave advise to the Drohtin.
Common people were separated into a lower stratum of the social world. The lives of these
people were woven together by the common bond of the Aetts (clan). The lives of the Aetts were
tied to the fortunes of their greatest warriors, who were in turn served under a Drohtin. The bond
of these tribes was the commitatus or brotherhood of warriors. The leading warriors of each
Aetts would be assembled around the Drohtin who ruled the tribe from his hall through them.
With the introduction of feudalism, this system was centralized and changed forever.
CASTE
Caste was the hierarchical system of the ruling classes in the Germanic world from 800-1000
CE.
A. Nobles Those born into families in very high standing in Aetts. Physical objects on
display in relation to nobles include: broach pins, gilded swords and daggers, crowns, etc.
B. Priest were the connection between the people and their gods, judge, and councilor to
the Drohtin. Display includes: runes (divination stones), bracelets of gold, and daggers.
etc.
C. Warriors Warriors or Viks were the protectors, fighters, enforcers and heroes of
Germanic society. Physical objects on display include: swords, spears, helmets, etc.
D. Commoners were the second lowest members of Germanic society and were primarily
farmers and foot soldiers.
E. Slaves performed the same duties as commoners but did not own any property or
belongings.
The roles of woman in Germanic society women performed various roles in Germanic society.
Some roles of women included Amazon warriors, Priestess, healers, Aetts managers. The lady
of the house was the title of the Aetts mistress who held great honor.
A. Mistress of the Aetts is the ruler of a clan household and all events or actions
connected with the interior of the clans home (the Aetts), also an honorary title respected
by others in the community.
B. Amazon warriors These warrior woman belong to the oldest groups of the Proto-
Germanic tribes who inhabited the Russian steppes just prior to the migration into
Europe.
C. Healers are usually Gotha or Seth Gotha (priestesses) who learned healing arts from
their family.
D. Priestesses are the practitioners of spells and ritual magic which were called
Sethgotha.
Germanic tribes consisted of clans called Aetts who cohabited in the long-house. They provided
shelter, safety, social and achievement based organization. Hierarchy within the Aett was based
on the caste system. Exhibits will emphasize this and explain the connections between physical
remains and their symbolism.
A. Aetts Drohtin (in Saxon) clan chief
B. Mistress of the Aetts
C. Leading warriors of the Aetts a smaller form of commitatus.
D. Commoners in service of the nobles.
MIGRATION OF SAXON TRIBES
The Germanic tribe known as the Saxons originate from the Ingvaeoni who were descendants of
the corded battle axe culture and therefore a part of the Indo-Aryan people who migrated into
Denmark in 2000 BCE and lived in a part of the Cimbrian peninsula known today as Schleiswig-
Holstein.
Here, in Schlieschwig-Holstein they developed and grew as a tribe of the early Germanic culture
until, in 451, the Saxons migrated south into northern Germany and began a long war with
another Germanic tribe known as the Franks.
In the 600 CE, the Gothic tribes were involved in a war with Huns, who were attacking from the
east. The Huns knowledge of archery and their superior knowledge of horsemanship inevitably
led to the retreat of various tribes including the Goths, Vandals, Bactrii, and Visigoths, south into
Roman territory to seek assistance from the Romans. New tribes were forming and migrating to
fill the power vacuum in the areas vacated by the Goths and other tribes in Europe. These new
tribes included the Saxons.
Saxon society from 500 CE to 900 CE was a tribal system based on warrior archetypes. These
warrior clans (Vrund) were the prime protection for the tribe. The development of this Socio-
cultural complex was based on Paganism and loyalty of the commitatus, a group of elite warriors
who were primarily men of the Jarl or earl class through whom the social hierarchy was
stratified. The nobles, warriors, and priest were of the Jarl class, which was the highest cast. The
less fortunate common folk were close to the bottom of the social scale, and slaves were at the
bottom. Slavery in Germanic society provided far more freedoms and privileges than did other
cultures, and would more properly be compared to the relationship between a sharecropper and
his landlord, than with other forms of slavery.
Saxon warriors of the commitatus were a tightly-nit group of men-hand picked by the chiefs,
the hundred.
The men whom they select from the whole force and station in the van are fleet of foot and fit
admirably into cavalry action. ?A hundred are drawn from each district, and the hundred is the
name ?a title of distinction.
27
As it is explained above in Tacitus on Britain and Germany, the hundred were the one hundred
best warriors in the tribe, and from this one hundred, the most talented ten were the Commitatus.
The commitatus would meet in council before, during, and just after a war. During these
meetings, agreements and decisions were made, and in the case of the last meeting after the
battle or war, gifts were given. The king reserved the right to any valuable booty found or taken
from the enemy. But often the custom was that the king would give to his finest warriors or those
who had done well in a battle a gift which could be a horse, or a sword, or a slave. These tokens
were the kings way of bestowing extra wealth upon those warriors whom he felt he could rely
upon and believed in. In return, these men would fight by his side for honor, glory and treasure.
Dignity and power alike consist in being continually attended by a corps ?The companions are
prodigal in their demands on the generosity of their chiefs.
28
This, however, was not the only reason for a Saxon warrior to lay down his life. Another
important reason was for a place in Valhalla, heaven of the Saxon war god. This is clearly
manifest in the verse spoken by Odin in the Eddas, the holy book of all Germanic tribes:
In Valland was I and waged battles, Urged on the athelings, nor ever made peace. Gets
Othin all earls slain by edge of swords, But Thor, the breed of thralls.
29
Saxon warriors were very fierce, yet the strongest among them were berserks. The berserks were
a group of young men who practiced Shamanic magic and were a special class of priest to
Wodan, segregated from society. It was believed that the berserks could transform themselves
into wild beast. In reality the berserks, Sethgotha, and Gothi were all practitioners of northern
European shamanism in its final form.
The primary weapon of noble warriors was the sax. The sax was a single edged saber which
resembles a Mongolian scimitar except that it is strait and has a wider blade. The Sax was shorter
than a strait sword and bore its keen edge on the strait side rather than the curved.
The name Saxons came from this weapon and made the tribe unique in having is as their name,
this name also refers to the god Saxnot who is reputed to be the son of Wodan and the ancestor
of all Saxons-. among Germanic peoples. The Saxon infantry man fought in the same manner in
which their ancestors had, with spear framea, shield, and sword if they were wealthy enough
to own one. The wealthiest of the nobles had leather, and occasionally metal armor.
Only a very few use swords or lances. The spears that they carry Framae is the native
word?only shields are picked out with carefully selected colors Few have breast-plates; only
here and there will you see a helmet of metal or hide.
30
Saxons fought independent in a similar fashion to Japanese samurai, one man against one man.
However, certain rules were carefully obeyed, such as never gather more glory and honor than
the chief , never drop your shield on the battle field, never to contract any agreement without
wearing ones war gear. The first two rules were under threat of death, as described in Tacitus:
"To throw away ones shield is the supreme disgrace; the guilty wretch is debarred from sacrifice
or council. Men have often
survived battle only to end their shame by hanging themselves.
31
"
THE DECLINE OF NORDIC PAGANISM
The decline of paganism came about later than with the Saxons in the Nordic societies it was
primarily due to vast economic, political and ideological interaction with Christians in the
eleventh and twelfth centuries. From the end of the tenth century, while Nordic society was still
tribal, southern Christian nations had already developed a form of feudalism with more advanced
economy. Many Vikings adopted Christianity in order to do business with the Christians. Njals
saga mentions this practice:
In general the Vikings, pragmatist that they were, cheerfully submitted to provisional
baptismThis was a common action of the time, both among merchants and among those
mercenaries who joined up with Christians, since those who accepted provisional baptism had
full communion with Christians and pagans alike." (Magnusson 1980, 36)
During the eighth and ninth centuries, Viking raiding parties brought home vast fortunes.
Undoubtedly, these hoards of booty from both war and trade were the sources which financed
quite a few Nordic kingships:
There are also cases where kings took part in actual trading enterprisesThroughout the Viking
Age the products of plunder and taxes levied abroad constituted an important source of income,
and a number of kings acquired their thrones by means of wealth gathered from expeditions to
the east or west." (Roesdahl 1992, 39)
The weakening of tribal society which was due to a dramatic increase in trade created a far more
intricate division of labor. Former Aett chiefs, tribal chieftains and war band leaders became
vassals, skilled tradesmen set up shops, and labor divisions of all sorts were being drawn. This
was a society which was evolving, and the driving forces of kingship and Christianity both
brought about the existence of a more complexed class based society in Scandinavia. With the
rise of feudalism, far more power rested in the hands of the kings.
The combination of a trade based economy, which was almost completely controlled by the
kings and their vassals, and the urbanization replaced a formerly farm based economy. In this
society serving the king or his vassals was the only possible way for any types of societal
mobility. This developing new society was the beginning of feudal society in Scandinavia, as
indicated by Mr. Samson:
During the period 1000-1300 Sweden was incorporated into a wider and European and catholic
culture and a class society with a predominant, feudal mode of production developed. The social
and political functions of kingship changed and royal power increased profoundly. At the end of
the thirteenth century privileged estates emerged." (Samson 1991, 137)
Many of these kings converted to Christianity for political reasons. Rulers in the tenth century
found it politically expedient or spiritually comforting to affect baptism. And they also made
Christian priests and bishops their advisers and empowered them to encouraged their followers
to convert as well through coercion.
King Olaf certainly brought considerable pressure to bear down on Iceland. He sent missionaries
and priests, ?And held the sons of prominent Icelandic pagans as hostages until at a fateful
session of Icelandic parliament in the summer of the year1000 the two opposing parties agreed to
put their dispute to arbitration
32
Due to the stratified cast system in Nordic society at the time and the enormous power which
these kings possessed, most people in Scandinavia converted. In most cases this occurred due to
a need for social acceptance and security. To be Christian was to be socially acceptable while to
be pagan became an offense which was punishable by law. Indeed there were cases of violently
forced conversions among the Nordic people.
Some of these kings sent there sons to England in order to learn from the Christians. Unforeseen
however was the affect that Christian schools would have upon these young men. While the
previous kings of Nordic nations had usually been only marginally Christian who continued to
drink, maintained concubines, and so on, their sons would be quite a different sort of Christian
kings.
The full force of feudalism and Christianity overwhelmed Scandinavia, changed its economic,
social and ideological systems, and pulled it into the mainstream of medieval Europe, where the
Viking nations were unable to compete.
They did not have the economic recourses of their rivals; they had no national institutions,
neither Socio-political nor religious, to compare with those of the long-established and unified
empires of Europe.
33
In addition the Catholic Church of the ninth century had a 900 year old tradition which had
grown, evolved and inherited its basic analytical and philosophical knowledge from the Greek
and Roman scholars. They had monasteries all over Europe. Each individual monastery was a
fortress of knowledge both political and religious. They had monks who could read, write,
record, research, debate, and present their philosophies with the utmost skill in rhetoric.
This in conjunction with a life of a cloistered and austere life style gave the decisive educational
edge over the pagans. Thus outlawed and socially deviant, paganism faded into the woodwork of
folklore and literature.
Origin of Woden the Wizard Archetype
For over six thousand years the Germanic tribes have worshiped the sky god Woden, first in his
Prazryk form as Tungus which is the equivalent in other Indo-Aryan languages to his other tittles
such as, Djives, Deus Pitar, Zeus, Deva, and many others. Latter he was known as Tiwaz, Irmin
and Othin/Woden. Woden or wod of history evolved in the minds of men according to what they
would have him appear to be an act which is known as anthropomorphism.
Anthropomorphism is literally the making of a symbolic physical god in the image of man and
furnished him with the desired superior traits. At this point we see his character change and
evolve from Woden
the terrible, powerful, protective, and thundering , into, calm, wise, sacrificing, magical,
ruling, and royal, a god of poets, heroes, and noblemen.
In examining the archetype of the most important of the Germanic gods, Woden, we see that this
archetype is a shaman or wizard, a sky god who rules as king among a pantheon of other lesser
gods. Woden, the mythical Woden is first mentioned through the retelling of a ancient oral tale in
the Ynlinga sagas.
This tale explains his migration to Europe with his tribe whom he brought to Europe from the
east of gariktha which is roughly equivalent to modern day turkey. Therefor we can only
assume he came from central Asia or the Russian steppes, according to this folk tale. After
viewing the overwhelming historical and literary evidence to support the concept we must accept
that the Woden Archetype began its evolution at this point. In addition if we look closely at the
wizard like behavior and the earliest connections to the Historical Woden or person whom the
myth has sprang up around, we will see that he was in fact , originally, a Shaman possibly from
Central Asia, and most probably a Taklamakhanian Chieftain.
If we look at the central Asian concept of an eight-legged horse which carries the shaman to the
land of the dead and the horse used by Woden there is a undeniable parallel. In addition I submit
the following information in order to supplement the archeological record and historical
information linking the Germanic tribes with the Taklamakhanian as seen in chapter one. In
addition this assist in forming a basses of support to the theory which I have just purposed.
Through his various faces Woden is capable of presenting a role model to all noble in the
Germanic social structure (kings, Jarls- warrior nobles who posed land, and Gothi-priest).
Wodens origin myth tells us that he came from beyond the Russian steppes, in Asia.
Most of Wodens prominent traits are that of a shaman, wandering ascetic, and warrior king.
These attributes are usual displayed under various guises such as Vegtam the wanderer this
particular aspect has evolved from a later Norse myth, and is related to the image of Woden in
the Volsunga saga.
The most Prominent feature of Germanic cosmography from the bronze age until the common
era, was their continued interest in both mythology and the historical religious leaders or ascetic
practitioners of magic later known as wizards (Wizard = Ger. Weiss art =wise,
prophet/soothsayer).
Of the many aspects of Germanic paganism which existed throughout all of these periods the
most prominent symbol, was the life tree (Yggdrassil) which translated means literally Wodens
horse. Yet we know quite clearly that the name of Wodens horse was sleipnir. What then does
this term Wodens horse mean? Symbolically it has been suggested by H. R. Ellise Davidsson
in her book Viking and Norse mythology that this may imply that the world tree was Wodens
means of transcendental travel from this world to the world of the dead through a type of
Shamanistic meditation. Although I accept a different hypotheses concerning the type of
meditation used, I do agree with the basic concept, that Wodens horse implies through
symbolism, that it was a vehicle for some sort of transcendental meditation.
However it is my view that the world tree (as the axis mundi) for Germanic paganism was not a
physical vehicle, but, rather a meditative motif for a historical Germanic sage named Woden
believed by the Germanic peoples to be (the incarnation of Woden himself.) An avatar very
similar to Sakamoni Buddha in that, he was connection to the
life tree symbol. This symbol was probably used as a meditative symbol, similar to a primitive
mandala or Hex sign. Because of his own animistic views on the sacredness of trees. And
because of the location of these beliefs it is very likely that this was linked to a over abundance
of wooded areas in north-central Germany. Which makes logical sense when one considers that
Northern Germany was where the Bronze age Woden aspect of the allfather/Odin archetype
Originated.
The Shamanistic characteristics of the god Woden are very solidly represented in Germanic
mythology. In the Prose and elder Eddas we see Woden performing many Shamanistic deeds
such as transcendental meditation, spirit travel to the under world and other places in the nine
worlds. Other abilitys which link him to shamanism are, control of the elements, travel through
the sky, his talent as a healer (merisburg charm), his shape shifting abilitys which he shared with
his followers, especially the Berserkers. The berserks were a group of young men who spent
most of their young lives devoted to the worship of Woden, and warfare. They were said to have
been one of the most dangerous groups of men in history, they went into battle with no armor, no
shield.
The myths state that berserks could not be killed by swords, knives, or spears, because they were
protected by Woden and that they possessed special powers from him such as the ability to take
on the shape of wolves, bears, or ravens.
The archetype of Woden was originally that of a sky god, representative of the sun, sky, fire (via
lightning) warmth of the summer months, and of course the lord of lord and ruler of heaven
(Valhalla, hell, nieflheim etc.).
Woden is an archetype for all wizards and sorcerers whom we encounter in later folk tales. The
cultural identification of Woden and all his special skills such as magic, shape shifting, prophecy
are due to his reputation as a Shaman. This explains his association with the Germanic wizard
archetype, which has been transmitted from generation to generation by means of literary motifs.
Those motifs, in turn, reoccur in various renditions of legends and folk tales. The most obvious
example of this is the character Merlin the Magician from the medieval legend Mort d Arthur.
Legends and folk tales have often been the only way of preserving ancient stories, which feature
magic, mythical creatures and aspect of fantasy. The medieval legends and folk tales are in part
based on pagan beliefs of the ninth century and consist of polytheistic motifs which link them to
the Eddas, a collection of stories of elves, dwarves, fairies, sorceresses, gods and heroes prior to
the Viking Age. Many of these motifs have been altered and undergone various transformations
within the various Germanic cultural settings.
Sometimes they come to us as fairy-tales, sometimes as superstitions.
Between the 1100s and the 1400s, the shift from Paganism to marginal Christianity and finally to
Christianity was under way. By the middle fifteenth century, most of the general populous was
converted to Christianity. With the dominance of Christianity and the outlawry of pagan worship
came seclusion and gossip about those who continued to worship the old gods. They became a
vilified archetype, created initially by superstition surrounding their isolationism and peculiar
practices such as healing and using charms or spells. They were vilified, the priest as wizards,
and priestesses as witches.
The Christians could not help but cater to the superstitious needs of the Germanic masses
through their creation of mythical Wizards/Sorcerers/warlocks to whom disgruntled masses
often turned to when abandoned, failed or dominated by the church. Long after Germanic
paganism was destroyed, a self-imposed need for ancestral legends continued, and many were
willing to be pagan and Christian. This was manifest through the wizard archetypes that the
Germanic people idealized in their legends and immolated. Although Christian motifs existed
within some, there were examples illustrating an unwillingness of the people to discontinue
certain aspects of their Pagan beliefs, as shown in Jacob Grimms Teutonic Mythology:
Here is a strange jumble of heathen and Christian worship. In an oratory built in honor of St.
Aurelia, three heathen statues still stand against the wall, to which the people continue to
sacrifice.
34
During this time, several literary genres were popular and seem to be very instrumental in
maintaining the archetypes, which had previously dominated the sagas and legends of the
Germanic peoples. Of these several were famous such as Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, Tristan De
Solt, Parzival, the Niebelungonlied, and Mort de Arthur. One of the archetypes which did not
dominate the scene but was nevertheless included and not excluded was the wizard or wandering
sage. This archetype is for the most part still closely linked to the magical aspects of pagan
literature while drifting further and further from the religious message of paganism. One example
is Merlin the Magician in Morte D Arthur, who is a secluded and mysterious figure inherited his
main motifs from pagan wizard Woden.
There are four distinctively clear motifs in folk tales which are of primary importance in
determining the origin of the wizard archetype. They are magic, magical gift giving, shape
shifting, and prophecy. The magic motif can also be broken down into twelve different sub
categories, each of which is a manifestation of the wizards magical powers, and as such would
be classified as sub-categories of motifs according to the type index. They would be classified as
tale type number 300, with the sub categories becoming segregated according to other sub-
motifs.
Throughout the sagas and later Eddic lays, Woden is the older form of the wizard archetype, who
was portrayed as a fierce war-like wizard from the bronze age to 800CE, and was transformed by
the eleventh century into a quiet, wise, wandering sage with a long white beard and a staff, as the
tales told in Heimskringla.
35
Woden is a very powerful sorcerer according to the Eddas. His powers encompass more magic
than any other wizard throughout the history of Europe. He is the oldest wizard archetype in
Northern Europe, and possibly all of Europe.
Woden possessed a type of magical and herbal power or magic, which is one of the most
important motifs to be inherited by later wizard legends and fairy tales. Wodens magic was first
established as early as the ninth century with the Merisburg Charm in which Woden healed a
horses broken leg with a magic spell:
Phol and Woden rode into the woods, There Balders foal sprained its foot. It was
charmed by Sinthgunt, her sister Sunna; It was charmed by Freya, her sister Volla; It was
charmed by Woden, as he well knew how: Bone-sprain, like blood-sprain, Like limb-
sprain; Bone to bone; blood to blood; Limb to limb like they were glued.
36
In connection with magic or witchcraft, the legends of wizards and witches often carry granules
of historical truth concerning paganism. The Gothi priest of paganism often used spells and
charms, of course the chief archetype for immolating was Woden, the Allfather of magic
(Galdre).
With words alone he could quench fire, still the ocean tempest, sometimes even he called the
dead out of the earth ?in all such things he was pre-eminently wise. He taught all these arts in
runes, and songs which are called incantations, ?Woden understood the art? which he himself
practiced; namely what is called magic?he could know before hand the predestined fate of men.
37
Another important motif in the Wizard archetype is magic gift giving, which is best
demonstrated through the sword in the stone motif. Among the pagan tales, concerning Woden
as a sorcerer or a wizard, many are linked with his tradition of giving magical swords to heroes.
This is a motif, which has been repeated in several Legends. The sword in the stone motif first
appears in the Codex Regis and then in the Volsunga Saga.In the tale of the Volsunga, the sword
is taken from the great hall of King Seggier which is made from a giant hollowed-out ash tree
(ash is sacred to Woden). And in later versions the hall is made of stone.
He (Woden) was very tall and gray with age, and he had only one eye. He brandished the sword
and thrust it into the trunk so that it sank up to the hilt? [Woden] began to speak: he who draws
the sword from the trunk shall receive it from me as a gift.
38
The art of shape shifting is not uncommon in the Germanic world, and has existed within
Germanic literature from the very beginning. The first literary character as a shaman or shape-
shifter who is very prominent in the history is the god Woden himself, known as a hunts man or
lord of the wild hunt among Anglo-Saxon Englishmen.
39
Here is a depiction of this motif in
Woden:
Woden could transform his shape: his body would lie as if dead, or asleep; but then he would be
in shape of a fish, or worm dragon, or bird.
40
In those tales we often see Woden take on the semblance of an eagle or raven, but the most
popular of all Wodens forms was his identity as Harbard or Grey beard, an old man who
generally appeared humbly dressed yet extremely wise.
In the archetype of Woden, we also see the ability to see the future, which is often found in most
magic workers regardless of their specialty skills. In literature, the use of prophecy is as old as
literature itself, and Woden is one of the first to use it in a variety of ways:
Odin, the original Wizard Archetype
Merlin: The Final Stage?
Medieval legends and tales can often be traced back through certain traits inherent in their
characters, which become motifs in a literary genre and carried forward their altered form. The
most descriptive motifs to represent Wodens character in pagan legends and tales are manifest
in the character of Merlin the Magician.
In Morte D Arthur, the sword in the stone motif appears when Sir Gawain finds the sword in a
stone in the river next to Arthurs hall.
It is unlikely that the original form of this tale would have expected us to believe that a stone
could float. A more likely idea is that an article from the hall of some noble was said to have
been the place where the sword was stuck. It floated down a stream, which represented the
mystical values of the day attached to stones. This would be a more logical hypotheses, and
would account for both the differences in the materials used and one of the ways in which these
motifs may have been altered.
The best example of Merlin as a shape-shifter motif is in the passage which discusses Arthurs
education in ethics and how to be a noble ruler. This is taught to him by Merlin in the shape of a
woodsman dressed in exactly the type of garb which one would expect from wod (Woden).
Woden and Merlin were both shape-shifters and capable of assuming whatever form suited them.
Here are some examples:
Merlin came to ?the forest of Sherwood. Merlin was so disguised that King Arthur knew him
not, for he was all befurred in black sheepskins, and a great pair of boots?
On the morn after Candlemas day, Merlin came again in the likeness of an old man of fourscore
year of age, ?I am Merlin,? Ah, said King Arthur, ye are a marvelous man.
41
Like Woden, the character of Merlin in Morte D Arthur also carries the motif of prophecy, the
ability to see the future. For example, in this tale we have no knowledge of Merlin seeing or
being told anything about a storm, yet when the storm reaches them, Merlin has already arranged
for the treasure to be hidden. The storm is, of course, a metaphor for the oncoming battle, which
Merlin has for-knowledge of.
It is not unusual that motifs for the fifteenth century were borrowed and evolved from the earlier
legends found in Europe. With the dominance of Christianity and the destruction of the
polytheistic form of worship, the transformation of the God Woden and his followers, chiefly his
priest and priestesses, was a slow and thorough one. The more profound aspects of Germanic
pagan literature have survived through its unyielding supply of wizards like Woden and other
mythical material. The Germanic wizard motif has been transmitted from generation to
generation into the modern era by means of having been carefully tucked away in medieval tales.
Indeed this archetype has survived, continued to evolve.
In the previous sections we have discussed the role of early Proto-European gods of the bronze
age, it is Woden who more than any other god best personifies the amalgamation of the elder
gods with the newer Viking gods. In the lay of grimnir Woden speaks to prince Agnar, the
son of king Geirrod of Gotland, and tells him a list of names belonging to himself, but what
differentiates this lay from others is that Woden then declares that these names belong only to
me.
Now I am Woden. Once I was the terrible one, the Thunderer?.I was the wanderer
42
Here we see all three of the major shifts in architypical differentiations which are the Woden
archetype, the warrior/king god of war, the sky god Thunderer, and the wanderer who is first
fully manifest in the Volsunga saga. The third and last version of the Woden archetype which
evolved over several thousand years and eventually became the
Proto-type of mythical/fictional wizard characters like Merlin the magician, this figure has been
transformed as an combined archytypical motif of the Odin figure/Vegtam the wanderer and
Wizard king .
The separate accounts of these three different types of Woden are the result of a constantly
evolving archetype who despite enormous changes in the Socio-cultural development of
Germanic peoples, has managed through the ages to change and survive in the hearts of heathen
folk throughout the Germanic world. Woden The wanderer first appears on the scene of
Germanic mythology in the Viking age through the Eddas and the book Hvarmal( Hars book) in
this book Woden describes the necessity of living a clean, noble, contemplative yet moderate
life.
Other myths which illustrate the popularity of this archetype are the saga of Olaf Tyrggvasonar
43
where king Olaf is visited by a wandering wise man in the night (later in the story revealed to
have been Woden), the Volsunga saga, the Niebelungonlied, and several others. The common
factor in the connection of this archetype and his wizard counterpart is this, the Woden archetype
was transformed into the wanderer from the eleventh century to the thirteenth century, following
this the Weissart or wizard myth arises in the thirteenth century and its most popular character
the magician Merlin does not appear until the fifteenth century. In short the wanderer myth
represents the last attempts to hold onto the Woden myth during the Christian occupation of
Germanic lands. In addition the intermediate period from the twelfth to the fourteenth century
was a period when the grip of the catholic church was least powerful in Europe (as far as
earnestly prosteletiseing) due to the corrupt system of noble buying their positions as bishops,
abbots and parish priest. It was this sort of corruption which spurred onward the clinging to
traditional myths of a wandering Woden who would enlighten and assist the people. Regardless
of which image of Woden or which name of Woden one might like, the truth is obvious, the
Woden archetype has been created over several centurys, and is a folk hero, mythical god, sage,
and the priestly model for all Wodensist.
The Hvarmal, and the Eddic lays.
The Hvarmal is the most comprehensive and the most interesting of the religious documents
which have been retrieved from the archaeological record and is the foundation of any possible
religious ethos and or philosophy for the Germanic pagans. As a part of the Codex Regis the
Hvarmal constitutes the most influential of those poems. However the following tales are also
important to the overall understanding of the Germanic pantheon, cosmography and the manner
in which the gods interact in the mythology of the Germanic world.
Those sections of the Eddas are as follows, the ring of Sigurd lays, the lay of rig, the lay of
Harbarth, Skaldskaparmal, the Volupsa or the prophecy of the seeress/witch, and the flyting of
loki.
First, we examine the Hvarmal, the chantings of the high one.
In Hvarmal we see a very interesting departure in understanding from the usual Germanic myth,
we see Wodan/Odin himself speaking to the audience, telling them of his experiences, his advise,
his judgments as to in what way a man should live his life. This is the only time we see this in
pagan Germanic literature, and it is therefor the most important section of the Codex Regis and
the Eddas in general due to its central role in the philosophy of Germanic form of polytheism. In
content the Hvarmal is a primmer, it teaches you ethics, what to watch out for in the world,
edaquit, responsibilities, and uses examples to illustrate in what way simple social relationships
can turn a persons world upside down. For example, the tale of billings daughter.
The tale of billings daughter is not meant to tell a Germanic male to go out and have sex with
any girl he can find and then leave her. This is the opposite of its meaning, the true meaning of
this section is to warn young men from making the mistake of having carnal relations with a
fickled girl, and that if you dont heed the example then you will end up the husband of a whore.
Nonetheless, this is not an indictment of all females either, it is a warning to young ladies, to
be ladies and not fickled in the way they give their bodies, and that they should guard their
chastity from young rogues who would ruin their reputation.
Other sections of Hvarmal speak to the first person in a much more solemn tone, it is this variety
ways the author uses to speak to the audience which lead me to believe that this was a book
meant to lead all of the Germanic people. The Hvarmal gives the proper council, as I mentioned
above ethos, direction, and a handbook for how to live. Furthermore it is a book possibly meant
to aid in the practice of young Gothi (priest).
glad in his home, to his guest cheerful, yet shrewd should be; wise and weighty be the words of
his mouth, if wise he would be thought. a ninny is he who naught can say, for such is the
witless.
To sum up the Hvarmal is not difficult, simply this live wisely and hail Wodan.
Attached to Hvarmal is the lay of Loddfafnir and is often considered a part of the Hvarmal by
authors who wish to present them together for a more comprehensive religious book. The lay of
Loddfafnir is a discussion between Wodan and Loddfafnir a priest who is receiving knowledge
from Wodan in this the last section of Hvarmal. Interestingly there is a another character in the
Eddas with the name fafnir which appears as the suffix in Loddfafnir name. Are they related in
some way? Fafnir is the only dragon known of in the Eddas and therefor his name could be a
keening for one who wishes to be know as a dragon like person. Which brings use to the next
lay, the lay of Sigurd.
There are three lays which deal with the character of Sigurd and or his killing of the dragon
fafinir, fafnir was once a man who was a priest/wizard, the son of a Gothi (priest/wizard), and
who had two brothers all of who original followed the gods. Fafnir lost his way and was
eventually killed by Sigurd the human grandson of Wodan. These situations can be found in
stories entitled Reginsmal/ the ottars ransom, and sigrifumal/the lay if Sigurd. In this
particulare ring of lays we are learn the story of Sigurd predates the later epics because of the
existence of the oral poems of the Codex Regis and the other Eddas. Second, we learn that the
Eddas and the later epics of the early medieval epics are intimately connected to the legends of
paganism. And third we learn that the ideal archetype of a hero starts in the Eddic oral poetry of
the pagan Germanic peoples.
The lay of rig almost immediately reminds me of the Tolkin stories of hobbits and humans, it is a
fascinatingly enjoyable tale about the pro-generation of the human race and how they were
separated in to cast and why. Second it is the only poem in which we see a metaphor of the name
of Heimdal a shadowy god in Germanic paganism who is rarely spoken of and almost always in
the positive. However the character of the god portrayed in the story seems far more like one of
the wanderings of Wodan. In addition we see that the wanderer in the poem comes to a young
man a man whom he teaches the art of runes to, this too is a art which should be associated with
Wodan, in short all of the motifs typically associated with Wodan were present in the chief
character of the poem rig and therefor it is my opinion that one of two things is evident from
this poem. One, the character is Wodan and the name has been changed, or two, the character is
Heimdal and Heimdal is one of Wodans other forms.
The lay of Harbard discusses the differences between a warrior and a wise man, in the poem Har
(Wodan) desires to teach his son Thor the value of patience, intelligence and the use of
alternatives in order to bring Thor a better view of how to achieve the things he desires. In
addition he is purposely behaving in a rude and insulting manner in order to use Thors anger to
cloud his mind as another way in which the author is asserting the point of view, that, brains beat
brawn every time. The poem also illustrates the opinion of the author and perhaps the view of
some hauty priest of Wodan, that, Wodan was superior to Thor. This is of course not the
consensus of the overall Germanic pagan world, but it is important in that there could have been
a cast difference evident in the priesthood as was the case in the secular world. This is very
important when examining the priesthood as a part of the Germanic religion.
The Skaldskaparmal is important because it tells us how all the gods came to own the magical
weapons which they own, they were given to them by the dwarfs as gifts, not only this but also
it tells of something of the way in which Germanic cosmography saw the relationship of the
dwarves and gods. First of all we see that the sovereignty of Wodan is unquestioned among the
dwarves/elves. Furthermore the best of gifts are given to Wodan. The naming of all dwarves is
done in Volupsa it is important in that it gives us some very important names and a vague
description of their homeland.
they who hied them from halls of stone over sedgy shores to sandy plains.
In addition the names of two gods are mentioned as dwarves Har (Wodan) and Yngvi (Frey)
which is very interesting, it establishes another link between both Wodan and Frey with the
dwarves and elves.
so far we have seen a great deal bout the various motifs, archetypes and other elements within
the literary work we call the Eddas. However these writings could not have existed in the real
world without some sort of cohesion, and the best view for Germanic cosmography in general as
far as getting an over view is through the Volupsa and the Flyting of loki.
Volupsa is the story of the birth of the world, birth and coming to power of the gods, the battle
between the sky gods and the earth gods, and condenses several other stories about the gods, it
hints at others, it tells of the twilight of the gods and their destruction and their rising from the
ashes to build an new world, and pulls together many parts of Germanic cosmography for us.
The flyting of loki, this poem gives us important information as well it names several hard to
find members of Asguards gods, it make mention of Aegir and his hall beneath the sea, it gives
us an explanation as to why loki is bound and punished by the gods, we are told again of Wodans
relationship with loki and that he had posed as a warlock using seith magic.
From all of the sections of the Eddas it is abundantly clear that we can piece together a fairly
comprehensive view of the religious cosmography of the Germanic peoples of the Viking age
and see that at their peak these people had what amounted to a very complicated and advanced
form of polytheism, one which had it been given the same amount of time may have grown into
a equally profound and advanced form of polytheism with that of roman paganism and
Hinduism. Regardless of the fact that they were not given that time, that christianity destroyed
the majority of their holy places and organization of their religion, what we do have is enough to
say that these people were indeed practicing a firmly establish and carefully worked out form of
paganism which was far more advanced than the early form of toemism or shamanism which
they originally brought with them into Europe.
One very important thing to remember here is that these religious text are being examined by
myself in the form of a religious text which is the center of a religious tradition and is to be
viewed in the form of one part of that religion and not to be misunderstood as any literary
critique or any type of literary commentary. For our use here, the Eddas are a source of
information used to understand the intricate values and religious traits of Germanic paganism. In
the following chapters I will make mention of the Eddas in my examination of Germanic
paganism, and therefor it is very important that the reader has a basic understanding of what the
Eddas are and in what way they played a role in the development of Germanic paganism.
ANGLO-SAXON PAGANISM ITS DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION,
A MICROCOSM OF THE PAGAN GERMANIC EXPERIENCE.
In this chapter we concern ourselves with the development and evolution of Anglo-Saxon
Paganism as it evolves into English paganism, in addition we will look at English mysticism and
then we will look at English witchcraft, and the ties and influences of Anglo-Saxon Paganism on
both. The Christianization of England was the prototype for the Christianization of Scandinavia.
In fact it was the manipulation of the English chieftains and first kings of England which gave
the Christian religion the hold over the English folk society and therefor, continental European
society which it needed to spread its dogma. At the time the Christians began to usurp paganism
in England around 500CE Charlesmagne had not yet Christianized the Saxons of old Saxony or
taken control of Germany. For the Christians, transformation of England from pagan to Christian
would become the doorway to the whole of Europe.
In beguining this chapter on the Anglo-Saxons or English branch of Germanic paganism, I wish
to first speak of the Germanic warriors who first invaded Britain and latter settled and quelled
this magnificent land which was half wild, the only attempts of civilizing it having been the early
attempts by the Romans.
As we have seen in previous chapters the Germanic warrior is by spirit a magnificeint warrior of
great vigor and stout body, having been seen by the romans as nothing less than giants. Men who
stood at least 62 too 7 ft. their warrior skills were keenly honed by centurys of warfare with
other Germanic, Celtic, and the Roman armys. They were as discussed earlyer tied together
through the comitatus and through their allegiance to the their chieftain. It was this allegiance to
their chieftains and their clans, which tied into the idea of a better life in a new and fertile land
with vast gazing field and resources, which drew the Anglo-Saxons into Britain.
The anglo-Saxon warrior was different in some ways from other Germanic warriors of the past,
primarily due to the fact that first, they were consistent of self contained clans. These Clans or
Aetts traveled a great distance from their homeland, yet unlike many other Germanic groups did
not lose their Germanic culture, rather they
Anglo-Saxonized Britain. The Anglo-Saxons introduced many Germanic, concepts of gods,
charms, and religious rituals to Brittany or now what was soon to become England. For example
the belief in dwarves, elves and other Germanic little people.
The Germanic warrior carried not one but two swords, one of which was short and is refered to
as a scramSax, or a Sax. The Scamsaxa short sword is named after the pagan god Saxonot, and
may tie him to the god tyr of the nordic legends. The scramSax was pointed and bore its edge on
the flate edge of the sword blade, rather than the narrowing side as is the usual for a single edged
sword. While some believe this to be a Saxon weapon, The excavation of sutton hoo has
illustrated that in fact both Angles and Saxons wore this fine short sword. As is illustrated by the
scramaSax found in that dig, which is believed to belong to a king of the Angles. (QUOTE
SUTTON HOO)
These noble born warriors preferred cavalry to infantry, and were often buried with their trusty
steeds. In attire and war gear or armament they were for the most part indistinguishable from
their cousins in Germany, until at least the year 800CE. Aside from this we know that the tactics,
trial by single combat (a duel), navel landings (as a form of military mobilization), cavalry
running (of the losing side), ambush, and a host of other military techniques were all known, and
used by these Anglo-Saxon warriors. Furthermore the talents of their leaders Hengst and Horsa
were well know to both the historians Gildis and the venerable Bede both of whom write about
their keen minds for battle.
(QUOTE FROM GILDAS AND OR BEDE ON HENGST AND HORSA)
The Saxon warriors were the Thegns of their chiefs or Earls a term adapted later from their
Nordic cousins and is equivalent to their term Jarl which has been described in that chapter.
These Earls were in many respects very similar to the Jarls and Reikks of the past another term
used equally as often and probably has a longer history as Dhreiten, which means Noble born
warrior this term refers to those warriors who stand out in society as being a lord in their own
right although not always a chief.
When Earls and their Dhreiten were referred to as Thegns or noble warrior followers, this has
the same meaning as being a member of the Germanic commitatus. These thegns were each
given lands for settlement according to the custom of gift giving among the commitatus. These
lands were referred to as Hides and hundreds at the end of the Anglo-Saxon time between 900
and 1000CE the term Thegns came to have meaning similar to that of the medieval word
Vassal (a knight who took a king or Baron as his liege lord) the difference being that the
Thegn was ruled by Anglo-Saxon tribal custom and reserved the right to leave service of his lord
without obligation if the lord did not satisfy the Thegns concept of justice or honor.
SOCIETY
Upon these lands they built temples to their gods, Woden, Freya, and all of the other gods. These
noble warriors came to England around the time 445CE. Henceforth, for three hundred years
Paganism flourished in England and was later adopted and interwoven with the beliefs of the
Celts in the for of later English folklore. This is especial true in light of the manner in which
many of the Celtic shrines were Romanized as is seen through the Archeological finds in
England containing Celtic goddess enshrined with roman inscriptions and built in the roman
manner. Now, Given that the roman view of the gods and that of the Germanic peoples were not
so different, and that even Tacitus in the first century was capable of giving corresponding roman
names to German deities. It is perfectly logical and practical to assume that these deities had
assumed enough of a Romanized appearance within their cosmography over the course of the
roman occupation to have been easily identifiable with those corresponding Germanic deities
worshiped by the Anglo-Saxons.
THE LITERARY AFFECT OF THE ANGLO-SAXON PAGANS UPON
EARLY ENGLISH LITERATURE
The comparison between epic of the Germanic tradition and the late epic or Norman tradition is
perhaps unusual. However several key points make this comparison a valuable tool in
understanding the shift from the traditional Germanic warrior archetype as a traditional literary
motif interwoven within Pagan Germanic culture. In these two epics both the Germanic warrior
and the Germanic god/fairy king have been presented from the cultural setting, a setting which is
reflective of a specific time. Why do the characters themselves represent Pagan motifs from the
past?
There are four primary reasons why one should consider this tale to be representative of the form
of Paganism which existed from 475ce to 882ce in England. The green man is a Pagan folklore
motif, which traces its roots back to both Germanic and Celtic pre-history. This particular motif,
the God king or Fairy king is in fact a motif, which goes back to the Indo-European tradition
of oral folklore. This has been found to be true by both the diffusion and polygenises theories of
folklore Diaspora.
The Pagan Warrior Beowulf possessed all of the necessary warrior qualities and the ethos of a
Pagan Germanic Warrior in the tradition of Thor, Siegurd, Siegfried, Helgi the hunding slayer,
and others.
This is plainly illustrated for us in the sections of the story were the warrior exhibits these
qualities, In addition the innumerous examples of Pagan motifs within the narrative of Beowulf,
the Volsunga saga, and Helgi the hunding slayer, the Pagan aspects of Beowulf was obviously
the frame of the original oral poem and represents that rendition of the poem. This oral edition of
the poem has not been rewritten but rather, it has been re-framed in a Christian style, by a latter
author.
In addition, the Christian elements which were added latter can be dated through the way in
which they were placed within the text. The tone in they were used assist in dating as well.
Furthermore, the religious history of the time also lends to us a very valuable form of support for
the dating of this manuscript, through text such as the anglosaxon chronical, the history of
england by the venerable bede, the cannon episcopi, and the malleus maleficarum. The
religious/political situations of the periods and their impact upon the author as far as what could
or could not be written. All of these sources reinforce the Hypotheses of a separate origin from
the original oral poem
BEOWULF
There are two points at which we see the Pagan influence of the poem most clearly, that of the
funeral pyre of Beowulf and the mentioning of the use of magical runes cast in gold just prier to
the death of Grendal.
Beowulf is the story of Germanic warrior culture, its relationship with Germanic culture as a
whole, and its part within that culture. The lead role in this tale is Beowulf the English rendition
to the Germanic warrior archetype which has been recast many times and is primarily based on
two original Pagan personas, Thor and Seigfreid, both sons of Odin the God of War. The
development and evolution of the Germanic warrior archetype from the rough and burly Thor
slayer of giants to the heroic and almost chivalric Seigfreid is mirrored in the role of Beowulf.
Beowulfs character is an amalgamation of these two personas. This amalgmation is highly
reflective of the time in which the poem took on this hybred nature, between the time of the oral
Eddas 800-900 ce and that of the written Volsunga saga around 1200 ce, that is the early
medieval period. The development of a warrior ethos among the Germanic tribes is probably one
of the most influential social events of Germanic cultural history. This fact is quite clear in the
tale of Beowulf were we find that Beowulf is the epitome of the Germanic warrior. Beowulfs
deeds, behavior/bearing, ethos, and archetypal (and at points Mythological) exploits are a-typical
of the Germanic warrior archetype.
The place were this is best illustrated is on line420 where we se the almost superman type of
exploits which he is supposed to have accomplished.
From these passages we that the warrior archetype in Beowulf is one which has been a part of
Pagan culture in the Germanic world for several centuries and continues into the Christian era.
This continuation is not without a loss of certain motifs within the narrative however, for
example in the Song of Roland, which is arguable the most Christian of all the epics, we see the
warrior as a great warrior however much more emphases is placed upon noble bearing, not
simple strong or rugged bearing but Noble Knightly bearing. In addition this Noble
bearing is the bearing of a strong man, not a godlike or super strong Man as in the Pagan oral
poems.
Furthermore in christian poems such as those composed in monisterys we see a constant usage of
the prostalatising message of Christianity. That message is missing in Beowulf. Given yes, there
are important Christian comments within the tale
The usage of runes have long been known to have been, a form of divination among the
Germanic people. The usage of runes were mentioned by Tacitus in his Germania.
For auspices and casting of lots they have the highest possible regard?.they distinguish these by
certain runes and throw them, as random chance would have it, on a white cloth. (p. 109 Tacitus
on Britain and Germany, h. Mattingly.)
When we look at the text of Beowulf and the context in which these runes are mentioned then we
see the significance of the runes in the dating of the poem and in the origins of both the oral and
manuscript additions.
Thus on the pommel plate were placed rune-staves set in radiant gold rightly graven,
Not only are the runes fully accepted by Christians here but in addition in the previous five lines
they are linked to christianity by the story of Noahs flood. Now, we know from Tacitus that
the runes are a Pagan object of divination, we know that Noahs flood is a christian story, and we
know from logical examination of the two beliefs that the two are not from the same religious
belief. In addition there are about 20 other sections, some of a very lengthy nature which when
combined constitute the bulk of the poem. Therefor, since the bulk of the poem is Pagan and of
an oral nature, and the forms of christian commentary placed intermittently into the text seem of
a more literal nature denoting a more learned hand, it is very likely that the author of the
overlying christian sections of the poem are latter additions and come from a different time
period. What period? If we read the Anglo-Saxon chronicle we can see that the divergence from
Paganism to christianity was not a quick one as it appears externally, but actually a very long and
drawn out situation which came about. If we use the year 600 as a mark for the beginning. It took
over a course of over three hundred years, and if we include deluded regressions of Paganism
such as Wicca or witchcraft it would be extended to over eight hundred years which was when
that majority of witches in England were burnt. During the course of these events there were
periods in which Christianity was both lax and stringent on there rulings against Paganism,
dependant upon the period in question. In the latter medieval period an example of the
stringentness comes to us in the form of the outlawry of Wicca, and other forms of what they
termed idolatry, magic or heresy by the pope in 1233.
In the Anglo-Saxon chronicle we see some very amazing things which lead me to believe that the
period of laxness required to allow the runes to remain in the manuscript form of Beowulf would
very likely be from 778ce to 911ce a time in which christianity had just taken over from
Paganism and was still in its infancy in England. During this time I have noted several events,
names, and situations which lend a great deal of credence to the idea that this was an extremely
lax time in the Christian church rulings against Paganism. For example:
"A.D. 911?. king healfden; earls other and scurf; goveners Agmund, othulf, and benesing; anlaf
the swarthy, and govener Thunferth; osferth..gunferth?the daughter of ethelred, Elfwina?bishop
Elfheah?edmund atheling,
Elder of ancient race,?st. Elfgiva?Elfgar?Elfsy"
Apparently the Saxons had no qualms about using the name Elf as a prefix, in addition we see
terms like the swarthy or Atheling identical in meaning to the word aethling in Nordic, which
means a earth born son of the Pagan gods. In addition we see the name thun-ferth, the prefix of
this name is mentioned in the Eddas as one of the names of Odin and means thunderer. Other
items which point to the more accepting attitude of Christians in this time period include the fact
that many of the before mentioned people with Pagan names were aldermen, priest, even abbots
and abbesses. It goes without mention that the Saxon peoples of England knew full well that a
Pagan prefix in a Pagan name was an offering of that persons life to the god whom they were
named after. For example Thorsson, or Odinsson means to be a hereditary priest of Thor or Odin.
This was well known, and yet these persons were accepted as clergy. The combination of the
before mentioned fact illustrated the more peaceful and open way in which christians and Pagans
cohabited during the two hundred years from 600 to 800 CE, it was unfortunately the era of the
Viking invasions of the 900s which turned the sentiment of christians against laxness and toward
a more stringent attitude.
In view of what the situation of the Saxons was from 600 to900ce, we can see how it would be
far easier for an earlier author to pass on the oral poem , than for the secondary author to write it
down. The literary experts shown in the writing of this poem is more indicative of the latter
period from 1000ce to 1233ce, and therefor is a likely candidate for the second edition or
manuscript form of the poem. During this time it would have been necessary to include the
intermittent praises of the christian god into the poem in order to keep it acceptable to the leaders
of the christian community. And so the only logical conclusion is that these two have been
placed together in a, second, written edition of the poem. Since Paganism is the longer existent
religion of the two in Europe. And thus the original poem is Pagan. This is the resulting
hypothesis.
SIR GWAIN AND THE GREEN, KNIGHT?
Many consider the tale of Sir Gwain and the green knight as being a tale which is a romance.
And yet this tale is not a purly Christian tale, it is riddled with aspects of Paganism. On one hand
the larger of the two being the younger and more popular of the time, romance, and on the other
hand the, folk tale of the fairy knight or Greenman.
The Greenman as seen in the tale of Sir Gwain and the green knight is also and Amalgafication
of the three Indo-European traditions present in Norman England, the Norman
(Frankisch/Viking), English(Saxon/Angle/Jute), and the Celtic (Irish/Welsh). All of these sub
cultural groups play a role in the development of the character of the Greenman in the story and
are instrumental in the shaping of a multi-European type of Archetype. He is seen to maintain
more than any other characters in European history the essence of the green man and is present
throughout the tale in one form or another.
First, The representation of elves, giants, and other magical creatures are represented within the
poem in two totally different manners, one is that of the original Pagan view, and two is that of
the christian style of bundling the Germanic little people or Disr together with giants as devils.
Second, the views of the poem are consistent with the Germanic form of Paganism existent
during the early seventh to ninth century in England.
Third the placement of christian motifs, sayings or parses were added into the poem at a latter
date than the composition of the original oral poem.
Furthermore the archetype of the green knight can be seen repeatedly throughout English history
as the elven knight, the green man, the elf prince, the Gump, Honeythorn Gump, and his last
incarnation Robinhood.
In the northern Germanic tradition the Greenman or Elf king can be seen in his original role as
Odin the sly yet wise and stout god of poets, warriors, nobles, wise men, and wizards (from the
original Old Saxon Weis-art meaning Germanic Fortune teller). These attributes are seen in his
role as Vegtam the wanderer, king of the elves, Harbard the wise, and Wod of the wild hunt, and
of course the Greenman. The knight of green chapel is in reality according to English folklore
the king of the fairies (Gump or honeythumb gump, the elven king. In this story in particular
what we see is a return of the archetype to its original for a more Wodan like form of the
Greenman which is seen in echoes of the oral history in the storys told of the Gump being.
This is of course an identical physical description to that of Wodan in the representation given in
the Eddas in the lay of skaldskaparmal which states:
the father of battle[Odin] took the spear and raised it and looked around the hall. Nobody could
withstand his terrible gaze.
(p. 51 The Norse myths by Kevin crossly-Holland) In fact in all of my research I have found no
God or Elf accept for Odin and his Greenman counterpart with the ability of the terrible gaze
also known as fire eyes and red glowing eyes. This motif is a direct connection between the
two. This is obviously the same character motif and goes to illustrate the traditional Saxon origin
of the character in this already Saxon/Norman epic which although thought to be mainly Norman
in its story form is written in a Saxon dialect and therefor when coupled with the facts which I
have mentioned should be known as an amalgamation of the Saxon and Norman epic tradition,
making it and almost perfect syntheses of Germanic literature.
The fourth and last point is that the fairy world of the tale is intricately portrayed in a manner
consistent with the belief in weits, elves, dwarves. To make a sojourn or pilgrimage to one was a
righteous endeavor. The trip made by Gwain was one such trip and is therefor a chance for a
Pagan lesson to be taught to the young christian knight concerning the reality of chivalry.
Sir Gwain and the green knight is a attempt by the author to reconcile the still lingering
differences between Pagan and christian religious followings while exalting the christian and
respecting but still rejecting the Pagan. In line 280 the christian round table is reminded that it is
Yule and that a test of valor is the Germanic tradition which must be respected.
The point of acceptance is in the strength, honor, and stanch spirited simplicity of the Pagans.
The influence of the romance tradition did not escape either, we are continuously shown court
etiquette, elegant behavior, and overall courtly behavior by both the men and women. This of
course includes courtly love allowing the knights and ladys to, shall we say frolic.
However, the gist of this tale is that the tale was written to remind nobles of the Norman and
English court to remain dedicated to the art of war. Further more that they should remain steddfat
in the pursute of honor valor, and courage because these should hold preference over any other
duties, but that wisdom is their best shield.
This brings use to the little people a 100% undeniable aspect of Germanic cosmography. After
the Anglo-Saxons beguin to settle in their new counry they found that the beleife in the little
people called Dwarves, Elves, and latter faries was completely compatible with celtic folkore of
the little people. This does not neggate however the use of the Lagre and noble Elves, elves were
as a folklore motif originally strong and large like giants and were enormously gifted in the arts
of war such as jousting and sword play. In addition dwarves are renowned for carrying large axes
(dwarves and elves are continuously considered the same magical being by the english in
folklore. (world folklore, gilbert cross, winter 1998.)
Large of stature like a Giant and wearing green, holding a large staff and having a long beard.
His strength was great and his disposition often dubious or sly (Dr. Gilbert cross, EMU, winter
1998)
These elves were originally at least man size and great archer, and warriors, on the contrary it
strengthens the hypotheses, in the sense that, these large Elves were the bases for the change on
physical size and their appearance in folk tales such as the gump in which they appear far more
Woden like.
In the fairy world of the middle to late Medieval English Literature elves are also intricately
portrayed in a manner consistent with the belief in weits, elves, dwarves, brownies and all the
other little people. It relates in many places the use of magic, sacred springs, magical rings and
other mystical motifs, which can only be symbols of Paganism in its degenerated form. For
example the green citadel which is a keening for the fairy castle. We know it is a historical fact
that rings or groves of trees still exist in England where no one goes, and all builders refuse to
build, because those sites are considered to be the home of fairy castles. Some have been
shown to maintain the ruins of castes while others are simply rings of trees were some sort of
Pagan or Wiccan ceremonies were performed, the designation of all these sights are uncertain.
However the fact that Druids and Pagan Germanic priest called Gothi both found groves (rings
of trees) known as hoffs in early England to be a holy places. Many of these can be seen as
having connections with both the belif in Elves and in Paganism in general.
stowe pool?parallels the OE [Old English] place name elements aewiell source of a river, as
in ewelme (Oxon), and wael, a deep pool wirlpool,as in the name meadswael?all in north-east
surrey, a area later known for its medicinal spas?.surry,Works) means leah with a Heathen
temple. A sense Holy grove
44
ANGLO-SAXON GODS & HEALING
Whenever I think of English folk I imagine the God Ing, as in Ing-land or land of ing, although
perhaps not semantically proper or authentic there is a very nice ring to it, and a interesting link
between the Anglo-Saxons and Ing. Ing was another word for Irmin or Irminsul the ancient god
of the Saxons also called Saxnot, Saxnot was the son of Odin and the Saxon equivalent of Thor
prier to his import. The gods Wodan, Frey/Nerhtus, Saxnot, were all worshiped in Anglo-Saxon
England. From the helmets found in angle lands which portray great warlike boars (a symbol of
masculine force among pagans) we can also infer the worship of the male god Frey. It is not
peculiar to find Woden, Saxnot, Frey, Nerthus, and other gods along side each other in England,
primarily since the Anglo-Saxons were pagans, and the practice of paganism in reality often test
the make-believe ideas which we hang onto such as
pagans believing in all of the gods equally, the worship of various gods among Germanic
pagans is undoubtable, however Germanic Pagans also worshiped individual divinities with
special favor as patron protectors, friends, in the same way that the Christians of England
continued this tradition through the worship of saints, eventually resulting in the cult of saints.
This practice often took the form of a trinity as in other Germanic lands.
One god worshiped in England which did not make it into the cult of saints was Woden, Woden
was the chief deity of Anglo-Saxons and was displaced by the christian god jesus, thus jesus
aqiures the title Dhreiten Got or Noble warrior God another example with which this may be
compared is the Heiliand, a Saxon Christian book written in the 900s CE in Old Saxon which
attempts to Christianize Woden. In addition Frey to was identified with Jesus as can be seen in
the place name of early Christian churches referred to as FreyHof or Freys temple. Frey was
identified with god the son, The Anglo-Saxons divided the attributes of their former Gods up into
characteristics of the three figures of the trinity and those idols of the saints. God the father was
identified with the Allfahr or Odin, God the holy ghost was perceived as Odins megin/hugr or
Gods spiritual power or chi., and frey was identified with God the son or jesus, the art of these
times is often very reflective of this fact. Jesus is now seen with the brown bears, blue eyes and
white skin of frey in most of the paintings in the western world. While Woden/Odin can be seen
as the white white haired long flowing bearded god as painted sitting in his throne hisljalf on the
sistenth chapel in rome, in fact I remind you of Odins name Harbard or Greybeard.
Furhtermore his presence is retained although translated to the christian god throught the place
names which bear his name such as Godesburge in old Saxony.
Bad Godesberg From Vuodensberg for the god Woden (Wotan).
45
Therefor we know for certain that in manny cases Woden/wotan was the Pagan god whos image
was given to the christian conception of God the lord of host.
ANGLO-SAXON HEALERS
The very first healers who used Herbs, balms, oils, and other medical treatments in the Germanic
world and in England in specific were Germanic priest. The Germanic priest of the Anglo-
Saxons must have brought this art with them from their native north Germany (anglia and
Saxony). Furthermore, we see a more refined and scholarly view of Wodan as their god of
Healing, good luck and abundance presented in the 11
th
century in contrast to Wodan the god of
war and conquest in the fith century. This transformation as it has been outlined in earlier
chapters can now be brought to a close in this section were the final aspect of Wodan, Wodan
the Healer can be seen.
The examination of Anglo-Saxon Medical journals, books, and supplements to these two. The
reason I say this is that the Healing arts are recorded in the Lacnunga, Anglo-Saxon Herbal and
several other Germanic leach books which all date from the early settlment or early medieval
period. The Lacnunga itself dates from around 700CE, one hundred years latter in old Saxony we
find the Merisburgh charms in which Woden the same god of the Anglo-Saxons heals a injured
horses leg. Further more when we look at the beginning of the Lacnunga we find that Woden
himself is mentioned directly and is strait-forwardly named the lord of Herbs.
Lay of the Nine Twigs of Woden
"These nine go against nine poisons. the worm came crawling? Then Woden took nine glory-
twigs [wuldor tanas] smote then the adder that it flew apart into nine (parts). There apple and
poison brought it about that she never would dwell in the house.
46
Here it is clear that Germanic Pagans in Gerneral and especially Anglo-Saxon believed that
Woden the God of knowledge and magic, was also the god of Healing and Herbs. In addition we
can also note that while the Pagan priest of Anglo-Saxon england were not advers to using the
holy groves of england for worship, they also enjoyed practiceing the entertaining of guest in
their halls, their clothing, the manner in which they wore their beards and golden arm rings., All
of theses traites of the Anglo-Saxon preist are traites which emulate the gods and are a part of
their pagan worship, the more we investigate the more plain it is to see to be knoble, devout,
strong, wise, healing, freehanded with gifts, in control of your drinking, and basicly an all around
decent cheiftain was to be like Woden. For example when we look at Beowulf we see that all of
the main characters involved behave in this manner, both Beowulf in his maturity and Hrothgar
in his, Both of these men were extremely noble chieftains who fulfilled the act of emulating
Woden. Much to his demise Beowulf carried this emulation to the very end by dying like Woden
in the jaws of a beast.
Back to the point, when these noble priest and or chieftains who learned these traditional forms
of healing made contact with the Romano-celtic inhabitants of Britain. It is only logical that the
knowledge which they exchanged between the two groups would be those types of information
which related to both paganism and healing. These same aspects, were the ones in which they
had the most in common. This is evident in the syntheses of the Germanic form of little people
& the fairy folk or weights. This syntheses illustrates the ways in which their beliefs were
capable of growing together over a 200 year time span, and perhaps longer, well into the
christianization of England. unfortunately for the Pagans, the vast majority of this exchange of
information became fully grown and evident only after the dawn of christianity in England. With
the coming of the christians the Pagan Anglo-Saxon priest were placed in a very difficult
situation, this was the first enemy which they had to face with out a spear or sword, an enemy
who fought with their words and political domination rather than war. While the Anglo-Saxon
preist were skilled in certain herbs, the christian monks were skilled in many, while the Anglo-
Saxon preist had some temples, the chrisitans had many, and these were well organized for an
dissemination of church information stockpiled in Rome for over seven hundred years. In
addition by 745 CE the Pagan priest of England were almost all gone with exception to Sussex,
were paganism continued far longer among the scattered and unorganized country folk who
refused to give up their beliefs. However, Anglo-Saxon chieftains of whom the vast majority
converted to Christianity, but what type of chrystianity?
At the start of the Seventh century the first form of christianity in england was what is commonly
referred to as the cult of the saints. The culte of the saints was unwittingly led a group of devout
priest, monks, and nuns who set about spreading Christianity throughout England. Unfortunately
for the Christians, after having converted the Pagans of England they found that they had not
created true Christians, but iconoclast, persons who simply renounced Woden and the other gods
and replaced them with a different name and a different statue while continueing in many cases
to believe in the same archytypes, and only disguising those gods with a new face.
We adore it with such veneration only for the honor of him whose likeness it is. We respond to
them that, if the images of the saints are now venerated by those who renounced the cult of the
devil, they have not renounced their idols, but only changed their names. For if you inscribe on a
wall or if you paint images of Peter and Paul, of Jove and Saturn, or even of Mercury, ?The
error, both then and now, always remains the same? Why do you make yourself humble and bow
down before false images?
47
This comes from one of the original preist of the christian faith to preach their faith to our
ancestors.The terms "Jove, Saturn, and Mercury here refer to the roman names used by Tacitus
to identify Frey, Thor and Woden. Which leads one to ask the question, who was the Pagan and
who was the Christian?
While this man was sincere in his dislike of statues, it is ovious from this and much other church
sources that these people were in the minority until the early tenth century. Therefor what we can
say about the Pagans of the Seventh through Tenth centurys is that while they had converted to
what appears to be Christianity on the outside, it was by no means the Christianity of today.
Further more it was in all probability as Pagan in certain aspects as it was Christian.
Having concluded these findings I would like to now turn to the issue of Pagan priest whom
marginally converted in the manner which is made clear in the passage above. These monks
became healers (or continued as healers). It was obviously the men who first entered the
monasteries with a working knowledge of Anglo-Saxon herbs who began to study and combine
the Roman form of Herbal usage and the indigenous form of Herbal cures. This can be seen
clearly in books like the Anglo-Saxon Herbal. The same men who were supposedly devout
monks were also avid brewers and drinkers of beer, singers of Germanic warrior poems (Pagan
poems), herbal healers and iconoclast (Christian idol worshipers), now based on this description
I would not say that these men had changed enormously.
In the same temple he had on altar for Christian sacrifice and another small alter on which to
offer victims to devils. Ealdwulf, who was ruler of the kingdom up to our time, used to declare
that the temple lasted until his time and that he saw it as a boy.
48
However, when we say these things the reader should be advised on two things. One, as
mentioned earlier, a minority of extremely devout clergymen of the Christian faith did exist in
lesser numbers than the majority. And secondly that, to say that the monks drank or sang does
not in any way mean that they were irreverent, simply that humans occasionaly need to relax and
these men were no exception.
Furthermore the ecclesiastical history of England by the venerable bead is in itself a indication
that many of the monks residing in monasteries of England were originally pagan priest and
possessed the knowledge of herbs and their uses prier to their converting to Christianity.
Coifi, the chief of the priest, answered at once, ?I frankly admit, for my part, I have found that
the religion that we have has no virtu or nor profit in it?none of your followers has devoted
himself to more earnestly to the worship of our gods than me, ?if the gods had any power they
would have helped me more readily?therefor I advise your majesty that we should promptly
abandon and commit to flames the temples and alters which we have held sacred without reaping
any benefit?
49
The focus of this chapter will often be inter woven with the subject of medicine and the
practitioners of medicine at different intervals during the early to late medieval period 900
1600 CE in England. This will include both the early Pagans practicing of healing and the latter
practice by monks and witches or Wiccans.
The transformation from pagan to Christian priest is one which requires some examination. For
example the priest mentioned above Coifi was indeed one of the most famous or infamous of
those who made the transition from pagan to Christian. Another notable priest who switched
sides was the famous priest and warrior Wittican who led the Saxon revolt in old Saxony against
charlemagne. After the end of the war Wittican converted and became a christian priest. This
position was only one of the concessions which offered Wittican and his followers a measure of
power in the court of charlesemagne, being a priest entitled Wittican access to the great
storehouses of knowledge at the hands of the roman catholic church. This was an opportunity
which Wittican took full advantage of, as is shown by the fact that he begins to write treatises on
Christianity in his own hand proving that he had access the learning and source materials.
Further more Witticans lands and those of certain Saxon lords were returned to them in return
for what was, at least external capitulation with the Christian religion.
In England of the eighth century we often hear mention of many other aldermen, monks, priest,
and abbots who were once pagan. This is illustrated in many cases by their names, names like
elfman, or elfwina as examined earlier such names are obviously and blatantly Pagan.
Other sources for this can be seen in the stories of the early Christian English. Such as the story
of the layman poet Caedamun who is incapable of understanding the art of poetry and when the
monks are singing their poetry inside the monastery, singing of ancient warrior tales and folk
lore. Because of this, he would sneak out of the room to avoid embarrassment. We learn this
from the Venerable Bedes story of Caedmuns Hym. The fact that monks in a Christian temple
were singing Pagan folklore and warrior tales itself indicates that these men were once pagan
preist, as we know the bards or singers of Wodens songs were also his priest and that all Gothar
were referred to by the title songsmiths". Therefor given the time in which this took place, the
situations in which they take place, the back ground of the poems (pagan), the source of the first
Herbal charms which entered the monasteries, and other determining factors such as the
sanctioning of runes, we can only assume that some of these men were in fact originally pagan
priest.
WITCHCRAFT, FOLK MAGIC AND SUPERSTITION IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND
OF THE EARLY MIDIEVAL PERIOD.
Following the persecutions of Pagan Europeans from the sixth through thirteenth centuries a
second more comprehensive form of persecution came to Europe, following the Spanish
inquisition the clergy of Europe came to think of any person performing or practicing magic,
sorcery or any other form of ritualized religious activity as being a minion of the devil. Before
discussion the persecution of these healers, Pagans and innocent victims, I would like to examine
the concept of the devil".
Originally a fabrication of the catholic church the devil never actually existed in the European
culture, at least not in the for which has been misrepresented or twisted by the Christian church.
Now we must face the ugliest defaming of Woden and his cult which has existed to date, and that
is the emasculation and twisting of Wodens God-king archetype into the devil. Woden of the
early Germanic tribes was often portrayed as having ceremonial horns on the helmets of his
berserks who also wore the wolf, and bear coats or shirts representing Wodens ability to take the
form of any animal which suited him.
(QUOTE)
In addition his followers felt that this was a gift which he passed on to his servants. The human
sacrifice of enemy warriors was reserved for Woden alone, his blood blessing was practiced in
all temples throughout the Germanic world. However most of these sacrifices were animal
sacrifices and the act of human sacrifice was abandoned as the Germanic tribes grew
intellectually and socially at the dawn of the Viking Age. Other qualities which the original
Woden possessed, were the gift of magic verily he was the king of magic, The gift of healing
through magic, control of the elements, these atributes slowly gave way to the christian
propaganda of a hooved, horned, demon who looked like Woden yet also like a demon, was
associated with his position of leadership. Woden became a leading figure in the various pagan
archetypes bundled together by frightened fryers shaking in their monasteries for fear of the
powerful northmen.
These qualities or archetypal motifs of Woden were all manipulated by the Christian church in
order to transfer a honorable, strong, noble, magically powerful Woden (savior of mankind on
the day of Ragnarok), into a sniveling, conniving, warped, pretender and destroyer of mankind,
with the evil behavior of the Germanic form of trickster/evil archetype Loki. This is the
creature that the Christians dubbed the devil.
Through the course of European development from the sixth through thirteenth centuries and the
coming together of the Germanic, Celtic and Roman folk lore motifs as left over from their
pagan ancestral religions respectfully, we see the intermingling of pagan motifs take the form of
the Devil. While Woden supplied the main character or victim to be defamed, his Anglo-Saxon
form Wod lord of the wild hunt, the Celtic god Ulr, the roman Satire, and English Hern the
hunter all contributed aspects of their archetypes for the christian monstrocity refered to as
devil. In addition the Biblical presidents for a devil were provided by the Shaateen (Shay-ah-
teen) a figure of ancient Persia.
WITCH TEST
When these Christian witch hunters ran out of wealthy loners too prey upon and destroy,
they turned on old women who lived alone, midwifes, herbalist. Even more cruel and evil was
the attacking of any single woman who could gain them wealth or offer sexual amusement for
these sexually repressed Christian men. This was done through witch test which consisted of
anywhere from two to ten or more Christian men all watching while the young woman would
be striped naked in front of them all and forced to be punctured by a priker. This was a long
needle like tool with which they were supposedly capable of deciding whether she was a witch or
not.
50
Who were the people who supposedly deserved to be treated so cruelly? As far as my studies
have found thus far these women and men fall into three categories (and none of them seem to
have deserved this sort of treatment).
Category one is that of the persons who still maintained somewhat certain motifs and ritual
activities which were associated with the Germanic form of Paganism. These were the actual
practitioners of magic and fortune telling. In addition there is no reason to believe that these were
not also the practitioners of healing, herbalism, and midwifeing. The precedent for this type of
healing & herbalism can be seen in that Woden himself practiced healing, His wife Freya was
the goddess of Childbirth, as seen in previous chapters. Furthermore and the use of herbalism
among the Germanic tribes is a well established fact as can bee seen in Jacob Grimms Teutonic
Mythology under the chapter on herbs and stones and in the proceeding chapters of this book.
The second category is that of the midwives of the Germanic world who were practitioners of a
profession which was quit obviously cutting into the monetary profits of the doctors of early
Europe (who were predominantly Christians). In addition the practitioners of mid-wifing were
also a danger to the masculinity of male doctors who saw themselves as gods healers.
Herbalist were one of the most hated among those persecuted for witchcraft their use of herbs
and healing abilities not only threatened the doctors but also the clergy who feared the ability to
heal sicknesses for which the priest could not battle. In addition diseases or sicknesses which had
already been labeled demons and were scheduled for exorcism (which was also a means to
monetary gain). Therefor the herbalist who practiced was in double trouble and usually were
caught and murdered under the label of witch.
51
Now that we have adequately defined the abuse and defaming of the Woden figure by the
Christians, let us examine their treatment of his followers. Firstly did these people know who
they were worshiping? Who did and did not worship, who was ultimately blamed and
persecuted, and why?
Middle Ages
Destruction of the coherancy of Anglo-Saxon paganism and social bonds of traditional culture
began to occur when the Anglo-Saxons began to overwhelmingly accept christianity without
paganism that is to say, that prier to the early eighth century the use of both pagan motifs
andritual, identification and worship of the images of saints in place of pagan gods, and the usage
of dual worship as outlined in the previous section were prevelent from 500 to 700 ce in
england. It was therfor not until this realationship was severed that the last ties to the Germanic
pan world of the Anglo-Saxons ansestoral culture began to enter its finnal stage of degeneration.
At this poin the degeneration in Germanic cultural motifs, ideologys and religious tenates begane
to become far more flexable.
Legends are migratory ..but when text becomes rooted in and adapted to a particular place, they
are said to be localized, or local legends, ?..legends, however because they are founded on folk
belief, must be classified according to the various aspects of such belief even though the pattern
may vary
52
Tis sort of legend or folklore myth is what we see becoming of the original witches of
mythology. In the original form of witch of northern Europe we find a woman skilled in magic
yet less than ethical in his or her use of magic. These persons are mentioned in the norse sagas,
the eddas, and in Wodens Havarmal. This aspect of the witch archytype is however myth and the
product of legendary tales described in Dr. crosses book as memorates .
Memeorates accounts of experience at either first or second hand and almost always connected
with some landmark, locality or person.
53
Therfor, here we have a case of a mythological witch, and a witch based upon a historical
person or rather persons, persons whom I would identifie as being Germanic preistess known as
Seithgyjia. Furthermore it is with the degenration of Angl-Saxon paganism that we see the rise of
the folk witch or wiccan, these women were a combination of differing persons with differing
backgrounds and situations, who were unfortunatly historical recorded in a manner which simply
lumps them together without concern for their individual differences in stature or manner of
practice. The and while the Pagan preistess comes from a firmer established background the
witch of late medieval England is the result of estrangement from her true pagan roots.
withdrawn from all regulation of heathen priest, could not fail to become vulgarized, and to
appear as mere dregs of an older faith,?.we do not recognize in the devils and witches of more
modern times the higher purer fancies of antiquity disguised
The result of this was enevitably what we refer to as wicca wicca is an Anglo-Saxon tem
which has serveral meanings and is related directly to the name Wodan. Again, it is absolutly no
surize, nor is it doubltfull who the king of magic was in England, it was Woden. And from his
powerful name came the strongest cult o0f witchcraft know to european history.
Wicca is the most note worthy of the various witchcraft groups which actually existed in Europe,
The Anglo-Saxon word Wicca originates from the Germanic word wit, or Wod,
Skeats etymological Dictionary derived witch from medieval Wicche, formerly Anglo-Saxon
Wicca, masculine, or wicce, feminine: a corruption of Witga, a seer or diviner; from Anglo-
Saxon Witan
when the root of this word examined it is shown to be Witan one of the Anglo-Saxon forms of
the name Woden or Wodan. Wicca has historically been a practice, which is primarily concerned
with Seith or Witchcraft rather than the religious practices of paganism (Galdr) (although there
remain traces of Galdr in the ritual)
the devil?[was]?said to have shown himself in the shape of a beast, which possible points to the
traditional disguise of a black hairy skin, horns, hoofs, claws and a tail, in fact the same dress a
demon wore on stage?.The sabot is presided over by a demon, lord of the sabot, generally a
goat?.seated upon a haughty throne
54
The guise of a black goat worn by a man (and therefor male) is one which is very pagan in
nature. It is very symbolic of ancient cult dances performed in France, Nordic and German
regions, and Britain ultimatly descendant of the remnants of Bronze age shamistic practices
which survived after being absorbed into the Germanic form of Paganism through assimilation
and evolved into the cult of the Berserkers.
That is arises again in Anglo-Saxon England is not suppressing given that England was a focal
point where all of these cultural traditions intersected.
the sorcerers says boguet dance a country dance with ?beastial clamour; the laws of harmony
and of decency were alike rudely violated?[they]?saturate their appetites with a wolfish
feast?both meat and drink, ?The orgies were often prolonged amid circumstances of the most
beastly gluttony and drunkenness
In addition to traditional Pagan dances performed by young priest, we also see the use of animal
skins by the Berserkers, a group of young shaman who practiced among the Germanic tribes.
Furthermore the use is recorded even later into the medieval age in England where we see Merlin
the magician wearing the black pelts of goats in mort de Arthur. The continual mention of
beastial and wolfish are common references in late medieval literature and commentary
when the Europeans spoke of were wolves a mythological creature too be sure, however were
wolves have been established to have been related to the historical Berserkers mentioned above
and therefor these terms could be in reference to the behaviors and or the dress of later surviving
pagans practicing the traditional feast of pagans and utilizing what beliefs were left to them in ths
same way that the Haitians in Haiti perform a type of Paganistic practice similar to yet not
completely true to their ancestral worship in africa. If we examine the section which talks about
the usage of feasting and drinking, we will find again this is very similar to Pagan feasting
which was the way in which Pagans celebrated their religious holidays. In addition the fact that
these sabots took place on the night of Walspurgnacht which just happens to be a pagan
holiday, mayday and symbolized the coming of summer for the pagan Germanic peoples, it is
also connected with the God Wodan through its name comes from the root word Walburga
which means hall of the fallen or dead. As has been know for some time Wodan is the lord of the
dead and fallen warriors who go to Walhalla, which has the same root as Walburga, in addition
this is the night when Wod of the wild hunt" is supposed to ride the sky seeking souls to take.
Furthermore, as I have already stated the Gods of the Pagan Germanic peoples were often called
demons by the medieval Europeans and were in fact the images associated with this word.
Therefor when in the worship of the witch we see the above statement it become very clear
that the possibility of continued Pagan worship in a degenerated form could have existed well
into the medieval age. When the persecutions began both men and women were targeted (mostly
wealthy deviants) First is the category of sorcerers and witches. How do we find the links
between the practitioners of ancient Germanic Paganism and the practice of witchcraft. There are
many pieces of historical information, and if they are carefully sewn together with professional
historiography, they can assist us in viewing a fairly accurate survey of the transition of Pagan
motif from the slaughtered Germanic Priesthood to the practitioners of Witchcraft.
By the late Middle Ages the practice of Sorcery was a acceptable practice for men, but not for
women, why? Primarily due to the fact that many women of the regions were originally wise
women of clans, tribes and sometimes even leaders of clans. In the Germanic world, the
Christians feared the strength of character and independence of the Germanic woman.
Throughout the ages many woman warriors and great sorceresses have existed and been written
about among the Germanic culture. For example Brunhild, kremhild, The Valkiris of Woden,
The Amazons, all warriors and strong women. However the Germanic women did not want for
women of magic such as Freya, Heidi (author of Volupsa), guliveg, Agrippina and many others
were all-powerful sorceresses.
It was this strength of conviction placed along side of healers, midwifes, and wise women who
all resisted the primitive and restrictive dogmas of early Christianity.
The historical record left to use illustraites for us at most a shadowy figure for these last witches,
those who were not murdered by the initial bunings, toture or drownings which eleminated the
majority of the last practitioners of Anglo-Saxon paganism.
Among this group of women we find that it was most propabaly through isolation and hiding that
these women survived these trials, if indeed any of the original practitioner did survive?
<>What do we know about witches, their magical arts, and these practices?
Very little can be said historically about the magical arts of witches. Their rituals, dress, and
procedures are for the most part a mystery. However, if we contrast the literary record of
legends, gleaning from possible and plausible usages of said rituals etc. then we may be capable
of forming a hypotheses based upon a comparison between those statements within the legend
and the historical facts surrounding the actual practitioners of Ancient Germanic priestesses said
to have practiced a similar form of magic called Seithgodja or
Magical women who divine the future. After carefully comparing the two, it may become clear
which aspect of the witch are legend and which are fact remaining from the last practitioners of
Anglo-Saxon Paganism.
As we have seen from the evedence of our section on the godess nerthus, the section on Nordic
goddess and the section on the practices of the early Germanic tribes, these women who are
refered to as seithgotha are indeed powewrful women at one time even greater originaly that clan
leaders or wise women. They were high preistessed given the power over life and death, their
cult was one of faith in the mother godess Nerethus, freya, terra matter, jord or as we know her
mother nature. She was the earth godess, mistress of magic. While the Galdre for of magic was
learned from Woden, rune casting and sacrifices in the Hof. The realm of Seith or nature magic
belonged to the Godess. As is illustraited by this quote from the Eddas:
Furthermore the power and political positioning of these women often made them public figures.
Figures whos actions could not have been exi8stant without the sanctioning of Germanic society.
Further more while the magic of these women had nothing to do with war, it was thought not to
be without the ability to protect from the injuries or deaths which arise from war, as can be noted
from the statement below:
"both tacitus and beowulf stress the protective power of the embelem
[the boar]?.sometimes the term seither is used to refer to harmful magic, directed against a
victim, but in the majority of accounts it appears to be a divination rite?we are told more than
once that seeresses of this kind used to travel about the land to visit the farms and be present at
feast, and they would give replys to those who inquired of them?behavior of the volva
[seeresses] ?.offers detailed and remarkable a parallel to that of the shamans and shamankas"
such women were of great value to warrlords, and the Anglo-Saxons were no exeption, a seer
who was supposed to be very good at seeing the future fortold the invasion of Britain by the
Anglo-Saxons and accompanyed them to Britain on their ceorl. We know this because the
Venerable bede mentions this, also he mentiones the wife of a Viking king who made here
incantations on a christian alter.
The witch of England is reputed to have possessed many talents including the ability to fly, cast
spells, turn men into frogs etc.
But I think what we have shown here is that the mythological or legendary character of the witch
is not the historical whitch. Furthermore if the Historical witch did have any special magic it was
the result of carfully guarded and preserved spells, rituals, cerimony, and Herbal healing skills
passed down through the decendants of Anglo-Saxon Pagans. But this was not the last legacy of
the Germanic Pagans, there is one more. Their Literature.
The Pagan Literary Influence
Pagan literature had a substantial influence on Medieval heroic epics, this was its greatest legacy
to the world. The primary importance of the medieval heroic novels and poems is that there are
two points of interest which link them to the Eddas, which is a collection of twenty fragments of
chants gathered in the golden age of paganism by an Icelander. First, the Eddas represent the
same hero archetypes, motifs, and in some situations even the same stories as medieval epics.
Second, the Eddas are at least one hundred years older than the medieval epics of northern
Europe. Many traits of these epics give indication that they were connected to the stories in the
Eddas. The heroic ideals in Germanic poetry go back to the earliest Germanic poems of the
Codex Regis parts of which are believed to have been passed down orally from the tenth century,
Beowulf for example. These romanticized deeds were based on ideals, which developed as a
result of the growth and development of the Germanic cultural collective identity, which was
manifest though the religious archetypes they worshipped and immolated. However, the gods of
the north were strong and noble archetypes who posed a distinctive Germanic character which
continued to influence their followers in the form of warrior leaders and a personal goal to live
up to Long after pagan religion was destroyed. This belief in a noble warrior lifestyle became a
means of achieving salvation, which is clear to anyone who has investigated the origins of the
crusaders and their ethos. This belief in a noble warrior ethos (based in paganism) continued
and required rationalization through the hero tales and the Christian religion. Although Christian
motifs exist within some folk tales and epics, such as Beowulf. An underlying point which
remains problematic to Christianitys pacifistic doctrine of tuning the other cheek is that from
the earliest Pagan Germanic tales of 8-900ce to the middle of the medieval period 1200 to
1400ce, these examples illustrate an unwillingness of the people to discontinue their beliefs in a
warrior god and warrior followers.
The most popular warrior character previous to the Christian expansion was Thor, the god of
war. His adventures are the most likely role model for the heroes of the sagas and the early
medieval epics. As the society changed slightly, different versions of the Thor archetype
invented such as the Volsungs, a family of heroes all sired from Woden king of the gods.
The Volsunga Saga begins with the birth of Wodens son Volsung and continues until the death
of his great grandson Siegfried. These latter developments are for the most part still closely
linked to the magical aspects of paganism while drifting further and further from the religious
message of paganism. Stories like these appealed greatly to the kings and nobles of the early
medieval period. Several poems in the Poetic Edda and sagas, which are similar to these, exist
and predate the existence of the medieval epics. These are the poems of Seigmund and Helgi, the
dragon slayer.
Another example comes from a scene in the Poetic Edda, Sigmund is talking to the Valkiri
Brunhild who has just asked who was killed here. Both of these lays are older than the medieval
epics.
Another common motif among the medieval epics is the slaying of monsters. One example, as
mentioned in the last citation, is the example of the Hundings whom Helgi slays. The Hundings
were brothers who were also giants. After Helgi slayed the Hundings, we see his title Hunding
Slayer in many other lays within the Poetic Edda.
Let us welcome the Volsungs sons! With swift swoop then smote together the flash of
swords at Freka Stone: was ay Helgi, the Hunding Slayer, foremost in fray where fought
heroes; fierce in fighting, to fly unready, stout hearted hero was Helgi ever.
The lays of the Eddas were not only restricted to the adventures of young men, in fact the older
poems usually have more to do with gods. Many of these deal with the adventures of Thor and
Woden, although usually Thor.
The next example is one, which is common to Germanic tribsmen and was retold by several of
the later medieval epics. It is the story of Sigmund and the sword from the Hall Barnstok a
giant Hall in the shape of an enormous giant tree, the story this hall became the bases of the
sword in the stone motif employed by other stories long after the Volsunga Saga. In the original
story, the sword is taken from the great hall of king Seggier which is made from a giant hollowed
out ash tree (ash is sacred to Woden), and in later versions the hall is made of stone.
He (Woden) was very tall and gray with age, and he had only one eye. He brandished the sword
and thrust it into the trunk so that it sank up to the hilt Then the man began to speak: he who
draws the sword from the trunk shall receive it from me as a gift, and he himself shall prove that
he has never carried a better sword than this one? Sigmund, son of Volsung, came forward. He
grasped the sword, and drew it from the trunk.
55
The sword in the stone motif also appears in one of Medieval epics, Mort De Arthur, when Sir
Gwain finds the sword in a stone in the river next to Arthurs hall. The cultural identification
mentioned above explains the association of Germanic archetypes is transmitted from generation
to generation by what anthropologist call cultural borrowing. This refers to a situation in which
one culture borrows from anther the object of rationalization, in order to use its symbolism as a
rational for its own opinions. This is not only limited to other cultures but can also be applied to
the concept of generational borrowing, using motifs from the past within the literary genre of the
present. This is what happened to the medieval Germanic peoples throughout Europe.
The Nibelungenlied is also dated to about 1250 CE. This story was written in Germany but was
still using Germanic motifs and pagan heroes in many respects. Pagan ideas of magic abound in
the Nibelungenlied and the Volsunga Sagas. Main characters, Sigfried, Brunhild, the Valkiri,
Woden and others, set the stage for a very similar story. Some major differences in genre are that
by 1250 the concepts of honor and power of human heros play the central role, while previously
in the pagan stories it was the gods and their prestige, which were important.
From what we have seen so far, it seems apparent that the two epics, the Volsunga Saga, and the
Nibelungenlied, were both written after and modeled at least in part upon the certain passages of
the Germanic Eddas in their oral form especially the Codex Regis. What I have illustrated here is
only a very small part of the treasures of the Eddas. This cannon contains many stories of elves,
dwarves, fairies, sorceresses, gods, kings and of course more heroes. The stories which feature
magic, mythical creatures and the fantasy aspect of Germanic paganism have predominately
remained through their endearment among the common folk, often as fairy tales.
PAGAN FAIRY-TALES
The fairy tales of many generations have often been the only way of preserving pagan stories and
I believe that more have been lost than have been saved. Fortunately due to the work of Jacob
Grimm and his work on the Teutonic Mythology series I can draw a useful picture of folk beliefs
based on philology, place names and iconography. There are several ideas, which have proven
prevalent to the research of folklore, philology being the most helpful. Many motifs have been
altered and undergone various transformations within the cultural settings. Some times these
come to us as fairy-tales, sometimes as superstitions.
Superstition and folk lore of the Germanic tribes are closely intertwined and often overlap due to
the fact that they are all of the Germanic tribes originated in Schleiswig-Holstein directly
connected to Denmark, where the Germanic tribes originated. In Teutonic Mythology, Dr.
Grimm speaks about the transformation of these remnants of paganism. His main concept of
pagan motifs and archetypes distributed throughout medieval folklore and Christianity
superstition is the one, which I agree with and will be using here.
Germanic superstition from the year 1000 CE until the age of reason took the form of three main
branches. One was the use of spells, charms, curses and musical allurement as described in Dr.
Grimms book. The second example is the archetypal representation of key Germanic figures in
fairy-tales and as represented in Christian Guise as Saints. "In the legend of Cresentia Peter, like
a second Woden, (Cresentia Peter) appears as an old man, conducts the heroine back from the
rock in the sea, and endows her with the gift of healing.
And the third one is in the form of healing with herbs, plants etc. In other legends Mary takes
the place of peter, and shows the empress a medicinal herb.
56
In connection with magic or witchcraft, the legends of wizards and witches often carry small
granules of historical truth concerning paganism along with the over burdening falsehoods. One
example is that many Gothi had long white beards, not because they were users of wizardry,
not as a sign of magical usage, but because of the Germanic custom for men to wear their beards
throughout their lives. As I mentioned above the Gothi of paganism often used spells and
charms, and that the chief archetypes for modeling oneself was that of the gods. But with the
dominance of Christianity and the outlawry of pagan worship also came seclusion and gossip
about those who continued to worship the old gods.
After Having researched the topic thoroughly, the only conclusion I can come to concerning the
position of these people is that the practitioners of Paganism became an romanticized Hero-type,
created initially by superstition surrounding their isolationism and religious practices. And that
the need for this emotional outlet led some people to deify, giving them divine traits (by those
who viewed them positivly)and cursing of isolated pagan practitioners (by those who were
against them, primaraly Christians), these persons called them witches and wizards. We can find
many examples in Dr. Grimms book.
The advocates of these figures almost deified them as wizards and witches as fairy-like or
magical figures. For example in Mort De Arthur, Merlin the magician is a secluded and
mysterious figure who gives everything he possibly can for Arthur the King. Throughout the
sagas and later Eddic lays, Woden is no longer portrayed as a fierce war-like sky god, but as a
quiet, wise, wandering sage with a long white beard and a staff, as the tales told in Heimskringla.
Other tales such as sleeping beauty, jack and the beanstalk, and Merlin the magician, can all be
traced back to paganism through certain traits inherent in their characters. The giants, such as in
Jack and the Beanstalk, first appear in the Eddas around the ninth century CE.
We know from Norse Myths and many other scholarly books that the character Eggther in the
Eddas is one of the first giants ever mentioned. Another good example of the altered Eddic
poems is that of Brynhild, which becomes the fairy-tale Schlaf-kunz and the English translation
is sleeping beauty.
A svern-phorn (sleeping-thorn) with which Othin pricks Brynhild, and she goes to sleep, as
Dorn-roschen does in the nursery-tale from the prick of a spindleThe very name of our
sleeping beauty contains reference to the myth.
57
Whereas the Christians could not help but cater to the superstitious needs of the Germanic
masses as well.
Conclusion
Lets review the developments and links between what has been postulated and transpired
though out these pages.
The Proto-Indo European peoples who migrated to Europe brought with them their shamanism,
which, throughout millenium evolved into a form of Germanic shamanism; and then into
Germanic Paganism, and then rose to its zenith during the Viking Age. The domination of
Germanic Paganism by Christianity followed this age and led to the practice of magic. This was
primarily due to the need for worship of paganism in secret, it was the degeneration of traditional
Paganism which came about as a result of this seclusion and oppression that resulted in the
various forms of witchcraft. Thus came the age of Wicca and witchcraft, during this same period
the development of folklore and superstition arose and continued the development and evolution
of the migratory legends of the Germanic peoples.
In closing I would just like to say that whatever your religious preference, be it Buddhism,
Hinduism, Paganism, Islam of Christianity, it is my desire that this text has educated you as to
the validity of a ancient and valuable addition to the world religions, Germanic Paganism. In
addition I urge you not to exclude those who wish to revive this beautiful tradition. Just as any
Chinese Taoist, Japanese Shinto practitioner or Hindu Brahman has the right to worship,
venerate, and believe in the divinity of his ancestors. So then does the Germanic person have the
right to do so as well. As Historians it is our job to analyze and investigate these religions and
their Historical significance, it is not however our right to judge these people. I wish them all the
luck of the gods and more. Sincerely, Franz Hofler.
FOOTNOTES
1
Dolkun Kamberi, ed., History and Archaeology Along the Ancient Silk Road (Ypsilanti: Eastern
Michigan University, 1998), 9.
2
Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla History of the Kings of Norway, trans. Lee M. Hollander
(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995), 9.
3
http://www.isoure.net/~grmorton/shaman.htm
4
Grimm, Teutonic mythology, p.88.
5
Haakon Shetelig, et al., Scandinavian Archeology (Oxford: At Claredon Press, 1937), 428.
6
Tacitus on Britain and Germany, trans. H. Mattingly (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968), 106.
7
8
9
A. L. Steadbeck, A Short Introduction to Germanic Linguistics (Journal of Field Archaeology
at http://jfa-www.bu.edu)
10
11
12
13
14
Haakon Shetelig, et al., Scandinavian Archeology (Oxford: At Claredon Press, 1937).
15
Tacitus on Britain and Germany, trans. H. Mattingly (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968), 106-
107.
16
Marija Gimbutas, Bronze Age Cultures in Central and Eastern Europe (London: Mouton &
Co., 1965), 619.
17
18
19
Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, History of the Kings of Denmark, trans. Lee M. Hollander
(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995).
20
21
Haakon Shetelig, et al., Scandinavian Archeology (Oxford: At Claredon Press, 1937), p.414.
22
Tacitus on Britain and Germany, trans. H. Mattingly (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968),
p.108, sect.9.)
23
(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995). 1995, 107)
24
Tacitus on Britain and Germany, trans. H. Mattingly (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968), 1968,
106)
25
(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995). p. 107.
26
Tacitus on Britain and Germany, trans. H. Mattingly (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1968), p.111
27
28
29
The Poetic Edda, trans. Lee M. Hollander (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1962), 78.
30
31
32
(Magnusson 1980, 39)
33
Samson 1991, 137
34
Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, vol. 1, (London: George Bell & Sons, 1988), 109.
35
36
Merseburg Incantations, tran. D. L. Ashliman, http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/merseburg.html.
37
Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, trans. Lee M. Hollander (Austin: University of Texas Press,
1995), 10.
38
The Saga of the Volsunga, the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, trans. Jesse L. Byock
(Berkly: University of California Press, 1990), 38.
39
Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla, trans. Lee M. Hollander (Austin: University of Texas Press,
1995).
40
The Ynglinga saga, The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL),
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/.
41
The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/.
42
grimsmal
43
p.203-204 Hymskringla
44
At the edge,
bobtrubshaw/bobtrubs@indigogroup.co.uk
, july 1997.
45
A Short History of German Place Names by Harry Davis, 1988, Atlantik-Brcke, Hamburg
46
The lacnunga, p.1.
47
http://urban.hunter.cuny.edu/~thead/claudius.htm
48
p.98 bedes ecclesiastical history of england.
49
The eclesiastical history of the english people, by the Venerable Bede, p.95-96.
50
Gilbert cross, lectures on Folklore and witches, winter, 1999, EMU.
51
Gilbert cross, lectures on Folklore and witches, winter, 1999, EMU.
52
Cross, p.015
53
Cross, p.037.
54
Gilbert cross, emu coursepack, 99.
55
(Byock 1990, 38)
56
Grimm, teutonic mythologie
57
Grimm 1888, 1204
58
Grimm, teutonic mythologie
59
Grimm 1888, 1204

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