Anglo-Saxon Heathendom & Islandic Asatru: Comparison and Contrast/ Paganismo anglosajón & Ásatrú islandés: comparación y contraste

8/8/2019 Anglo-Saxon Heathendom & Islandic Asatru: Comparison and Contrast/ Paganismo anglosajn & satr islands: co

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Anglo-Saxon Heathendom and Icelandic Asatru: a Comparison and

Contrast

by Eric Wodening

Foreword

The ancient Germanic peoples essentially followed the same religion.

Nearly all of them appear to have worshipped the major gods known to

us from Norse mythology--inn, rR, FreyR, and so on. They also

believed in many of the same "spirits" or wights--elves dwarves,

thurses, and so on. They held various festivals, rituals, and

customs in common. This is not to say that there were not

differences among the tribes in their religious customs and beliefs.

There was always some variation in religious practices and beliefs

among the Germanic peoples.

Perhaps the best demonstration of both the similarities and the

differences which sometimes existed in the religious beliefs of the

Germanic peoples would be to examine the respective beliefs of the

Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic heathen.

It must be noted right away that the ancient Germanic peoples lacked

a name for their religion or its branches. An ancient Anglo-Saxon

heathen if asked about his religion would probably have referred to

it simply as mn odisc gelfa, "my tribe's belief." The Icelanders

may have responded along similar lines, although today this ancient

and modern branch of the Germanic heathen religion is

called "Asatru." For simplicity's sake, we will use "Anglo-Saxon

heathendom" and "Asatru" for the faiths of the ancient Anglo-Saxons

and Icelanders respectively..

Why There Were Differences

Of course, it is understandable why there would be similarities

between ancient Anglo-Saxon heathendom and ancient Asatru. After

all, both groups of people descended from the Germanic tribes. Why,

then, would there be any differences between the two? There are

several reasons and all of them are very simple. The first is that

even when a large group of people (such as several tribes or several

nations) share a belief system, variations in that system will often

arise peculiar to any given people. A perfect example of this is

Irish and Italian Catholicism. Even though both Irish Catholics and


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Italian Catholics belong to the same denomination of the same

religion, one can easily observe differences between the two,

especially in the ways in which each group observes church holidays.

The Anglo-Saxons and Icelanders would have naturally evolved their

own beliefs and customs peculiar only to themselves.

Second, ancient heathendom was a religion closely tied to the land

and hence the changing of the seasons. For the ancient Germanic

peoples, winter did not necessarily arrive with the winter solstice,

but whenever the first frost occurred. The beginnings of the seasons

and the dates of festivals would then vary according to the climate.

Naturally, a festival which would take place at the beginning of

winter would occur later in a warmer clime than it would a colder

one.

Third, there are differences between ancient Anglo-Saxon heathendomand ancient Icelandic Asatru because of the time frame involved.

England was converted in the 6th and 7th centuries CE while Iceland

was not converted until 1000 CE. In the 400 years between the

conversion of the Anglo-Saxons and the conversion of the Icelanders

there was considerable opportunity for the religion to change and

evolve, and no doubt such changes came even quicker due to the ever

changing social conditions forced upon Northern Europe by

Christianity.

Other changes developed from the social and political climate of the

times. For the Anglo-Saxons the institution of sacral kingship was

very important. Four hundred years later, however, the Icelanders

had witnessed Norwegian kings demeaning the very office by breaking

troth with the gods and the folk through unabashed tyranny.

The institution of sacral kingship then ceased to be important for

the Icelanders and they sought other ways of defending the tribal

luck. Finally, it appears that the ancient heathen believed that

great men could become gods upon their death--the Icelandic sagas

show a few examples of kings being deified after they had passed on.

In the 400 years between the Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons and the

earliest Old Norse sources, various heroes could have been raised to

godhood in the people's minds.

While Anglo-Saxon heathendom and Icelandic Asatru both belong to


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the same religion and as a result share much in common, there are

also minor differences between the two which can occasionally result

in confusion for anyone new to the study of heathendom.

The Gods

By far our best source on information on the gods worshipped by the

ancient Germanic peoples are the Old Norse and Icelandic poems and

sagas. References to the gods in Old English (the language of the

Anglo-Saxons) sources are exceedingly rare. The names of the major

gods were, however, preserved in several place names. Because of

this we know that ancient Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon heathendom and

Icelandic Asatru shared most of the major gods named in the Norse

sources.

Below is a table listing the major gods known to us from the elder

sources. An asterisk before the name of a god indicates that it is areconstruction (that is, the name does not actually appear in the

language). A short commentary follows on each of the gods.

The Gods of Anglo-Saxon heathendom and Asatru Old English

Icelandic/Norse

Wden inn

nor rR

Frge Frigg

Tw TyR

Fra FreyR

Fro Freyja

*Nor NjrR

*Forseta Foreseti

Hama HeimdallR

Bealdor BaldR

Geofon Gefjun

Hel Hel

ostre ?

? UllR

? Loki

Even a cursory glance at this table shows that ancient Anglo-Saxon

heathendom and ancient Asatru share the major gods of the Eddas in

common. We know that these gods were worshipped by the Old Norse

speakers from the literary record, place names, and archaeological

evidence. While the Old English literary record of these gods is


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scant, we do have place names and archaeological evidence that shows

that the Anglo-Saxons worshipped them.

That the Anglo-Saxons and the Icelanders (and the ancient

Scandinavians before them) apparently held these gods in common

shows that there was a high degree of agreement in the overallreligion that is heathendom. Naturally, there were a few differences

between the two, and some gods found in Icelandic heathendom might

not have been known to the Anglo-Saxon heathen. Similarly, a few

gods appear to have been known to the Anglo-Saxons, but not to the

Icelanders.

Wden: Known in Old Norse as inn, best known now by an Anglicized

version of that name, Odin, he appears to have been an important god

for both the Anglo-Saxons and the ancient Scandinavians. He is the

god most often mentioned in Old English sources and both England andScandinavia boast several places named for him. Interestingly, the

most important Old English source to mention Wden, The Nine Herbs

Charm, casts him in a role familiar to us from Norse mythology--as

the supreme wizard.

nor: Called rR in Old Norse and Thor in modern English, he was

perhaps the single most popular god among the ancient Germanic

peoples. Both England and Scandinavia had several places named for

him and the fifth day of the week still bears his name in English

and most of the Scandinavian countries (in modern English,

Thursday).

Frge: Wden's wife, called Frigg in Old Norse and Frigga in modern

English. She is rarely mentioned in Old Norse sources and references

to her in Old English are nearly non-existent; however, places were

named for her in both England and Scandinavia. The day Friday was

also named for her (OE Frgesdg).

Tw: Called TyR by the Old Norse, references to Tw in Old Norse and

Scandinavian sources are rare. Nonetheless, we know he was important

to both the Anglo-Saxons and the ancient Scandinavians from the

places named for him and the day which still bears his name (NE

Tuesday).

Fra: Called FreyR in Old Norse and Frey in modern English, he was

frequently mentioned in Old Norse sources. Also called Ing or Yngvi


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in Old Norse, he may be remembered in the Old English Rune Poem's

verse for Ing as well as the genealogy for the kings of Bernicia,

where an Ingui is listed. Places were named for him in both England

and Scandinavia.

Fro: Called Freyja in Old Norse and Freya in modern English, thesister of Fra had places named for her in both England and

Scandinavia. She appears in the Old Norse sources more than any

other goddess.

NjrR: The word Nor appears nowhere in Old English as the name of

a god, though this would have been that god's name in the language.

Though he is never mentioned in Old English sources, it is quite

possible that the Anglo-Saxons worshipped him. The Roman scholar

Tacitus in Germania records the worship of a goddess Nerthus among

various Germanic tribes, among them the Angles who would settleBritain a few centuries later. The name Nerthus is almost certainly

the same as NjrR, which has led to much debate as to this

goddesses' identity. Some have even assumed that somehow through the

centuries the goddess Nerthus changed sexes to become the god

NjrR. More likely explanations are that Tacitus either heard the

gender of the god's name wrong and assumed he was a goddess or that

the Nerthus mentioned by Tacitus is simply NjrR's cult companion,

perhaps the mysterious sister mentioned in Old Norse sources. At any

rate, Scandinavia had many places named for the god.

Forseti: The word Forseta appears nowhere as a name for a god in Old

English. Like NorR, it is provided here to show what the Old

English name of the god would have looked like. While his name does

not appear in Old English sources, Forseti was probably worshipped

by the Anglo-Saxons. He was the favourite god of the ancient

Frisians (in whose language he was called Fosite), who later

migrated to Britain with the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. The name

literally means "he who presides" or "president." He was apparently

less important to the Old Norse speakers, as references to him in

their literature is sparse. Indeed, he is even made the son of

BaldR! The Old Norse sources do show, however, that Forseti was

thought of as a "president." In the Eddic poem Grmnsml it is said

that Forseti settles all disputes. This brings to mind the head of a

thing or judicial assembly, who often had to settle disputes between

people.


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HeimdallR: In the Old Norse sources HeimdallR appears as the

guardian of Bifrst and the enemy of Loki. A scrap of a myth refers

to a battle between HeimdallR and Loki in the form of seals over a

gem called the "sea kidney"--sometimes identified with Fro's

necklace, Brsingamen by modern scholars. It is difficult to tell if

the Anglo-Saxons knew of HeimdallR. The poem Bowulf relates a talein which a hero named Hama rescued a necklace called Brosinga mene,

which could well be the Old English name for Fro's necklace. It

seems possible that the author of Bowulf confused the Germanic hero

Hama (the German hero Heimo linked to the cycle of Dietrich of Bern

legends) with the god HeimdallR and attributed one of the god's

legends to the hero. It also seems possible that Hama was simply a

shortened form of the Old English equivalent of HeimdallR (if one

even existed). If this is the case, then HeimdallR may have been

worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons. Unfortunately, as Bowulf drew

heavily upon continental sources, the tale of Hama and the necklacemay have come from Denmark, making it possible that the Anglo-Saxons

did not known of the god.

BaldR: It is difficult to say if BaldR was even a god. There are

almost no places named for him and evidence of his worship is non-

existent. To further complicate matters are the conflicting myths

about BaldR. In the Icelandic sources he appears as a god. He is the

son of Wden and Frge and the most beloved of the gods, brave,

wise, and pure of heart. The Danish scholar Saxo paints an entirely

different picture of him. He calls BaldR a semideus or "a demigod,"

indicating that he was the son of Wden by a mortal woman (keep in

mind that this was not unusual--most Germanic kings traced their

descent from Wden). Saxo also portrays BaldR as anything but pure

of heart. He is selfish, devious, and wholly wanton. It then seems

possible that the BaldR myths developed along national and political

lines. For the Norwegians he may have been a hero, one of such

stature that he was later deified. For the Danes he may have been an

archvillain, one who would never see the halls of the gods. As for

the Anglo-Saxons, there are no certain references to BaldR in Old

English. Indeed, some scholars have questioned whether the word

bealdor, a cognate of BaldR meaning "bold one, brave one." even

existed. Of course, if BaldR was merely a hero deified by the

Norwegians, we would have no reason to believe that the Anglo-Saxons

worshipped him.

Geofon: Geofon appears as a word for the sea in Old English. No


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place does it appear as the name of a goddess; however, it appears

to be the cognate of Gefjun. Gefjun was a Danish goddess of whom

Snorri tells a short myth in the Prose Edda. Gefjun came to King

Gylfi of Sweden as an old beggar woman and entertained him so well

that he offered her as much land as she could plough with four oxen

in a day as a reward. She then turned her four sons by an ettin intooxen and hitched them to a plough. She ploughed so deep and so hard

that she dragged the land to a sound west of Sweden. She then fixed

the land so that it wouldn't move and named it Zealand (now Danish

territory). Where Zealand had once been there was now the lake

called Mlar. Considering the fact that in this myth Gefjun deals as

much with the sea as she does the land and considering the fact that

she was worshipped in Denmark (the general area from whence the

Angles, Saxons, and Jutes originated), it is quite possible that

Geofon was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons and that her name later

became a byname for the sea. Regardless, many places in Denmark boreher name.

Hel: In the Old Norse sources Hel is the queen of the realm of the

dead (also called Hel). In Old English sources Hel is also the name

of the realm of the dead (hence our modern word Hell). In his

Teutonic Mythology Jacob Grimm theorized that the goddess Hel was

known to most, if not all, of the Germanic peoples. He even

theorized that she and her realm may well have been inseparable, if

not one and the same. Grimm noted that in Anglo-Saxon literature the

place called Hel is often described with the characteristics of a

person or or a wolf (its gaping jaws are often referred to)--so

often that it seems possible that they were not speaking

figuratively of a place, but literally of an entity.

If this is the case, then the newly converted Anglo-Saxons may have

still held a belief in Hel as an entity who governed the dead. This

particularly seems likely concerning Hel's position in the Eddas.

ostre: In his De Temporum Ratione the Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede

stated that the Old English osturmna (roughly around March or

April by the modern calendar) was named for the goddess ostre, to

whom the Anglo-Saxons sacrificed during that month. Our modern word

Easter, used for the Christian festival celebrating the resurrection

of Jesus, also derives from her name. That she was also worshipped

by the Continental Germans can be proven from the fact that the

modern German name for the same festival (Ostern) also derives from


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her name. The name ostre itself is related to the names of the

Greek and Roman dawn goddesses, Eos and Aurora respectively, so that

she was perhaps a goddess of the dawn and hence spring and the

renewal of life. Unfortunately, ostre appears to have been unknown

in Scandinavia and Iceland, as they preserve no trace of her name.

It is possible that she was known to the Scandinavians under anothername. The goddess Iunn mentioned in the Eddas as guarding the

apples of immortality would seem a possibility, considering the fact

that she also appears to deal in the renewal of life.

UllR: UllR is mentioned infrequently in Old Norse sources, though

place names in Norway and Sweden show him to have been an important

deity. He appears nowhere south of Norway and Sweden, however, and

references to him are almost totally absent from the records of

Denmark, the Continent, and England. It seems unlikely then that he

was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons.

Loki: Loki is one of the major characters in the Icelandic sources,

although his behaviour seems a bit schizophrenic when the myths are

taken as a whole. He appears as either a good natured trickster,

sometimes getting the gods into trouble, but ultimately helping

them, or a malevolent creature who commits acts of evil against the

gods and ultimately sides with the ettins against them. The reason

for this is difficult to say. Perhaps Loki began as a benevolent

trickster figure but evolved under Christian influence into a

demonic character. Equally likely is that there were two Lokis. Both

the Eddas and Saxo Grammaticus refer to an ettin named Utaraloki,

who is quite clearly hostile to the gods. It is possible that the

two eventually became confused in the people's minds, so that myths

once attributed to Utaraloki were now attributed to the trickster.

Regardless, there is no evidence that Loki was ever worshipped. None

of the elder sources refer to his worship nor are there any places

named for him.

Loki's name is entirely absent from Old English and it is impossible

to know if the Anglo-Saxons believed in Loki at all, let alone

whether they regarded him as a benevolent trickster or a malevolent

ettin.

The Wights

Around the world most peoples believe in entities less powerful than


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gods, but more powerful than man. Generally scholars refer to such

entities as spirits or demons (not to be confused with the demons of

Christian mythology). Perhaps the best known example of such

entities are the angels of the Judaeo-Christian mythos. Like most

other peoples, the Germanic peoples also believed in such entities,

generally calling them by ancient cognates of our word wight (OEwiht). Below is a table of the major wights known to the Germanic

peoples. A short commentary on each of them follows.

The Wights of Anglo-Saxon heathendom and Asatru Old English

Icelandic/Norse

lf lfR

yrs urs

Eoten Jtunn

Dweorgh DvergR

Nicor NykR

lf: The plural in Old English is ylfe and in Old Norse it is lfar.

The Old English word survived as our modern elf. In the Old Norse

sources the elves are often named alongside the se (Old Norse sir)

and were apparently closely related to the Wen (ON Vanir)--at the

very least we are told that Fra was given lfheimR ("home of the

elves") as a gift upon receiving his first tooth. The precise nature

of the elves is unclear in the Old Norse sources. At times they

appear to be entities nearly on par with the gods, even associated

with the sun (an Old Norse kenning for the sun was "the ray of

elves," almost as if they were somehow responsible for it). At the

same time, however, they appear almost as if they were the spirits

of the dead. They apparently live in mounds and at least two dead

Norwegian kings bore titles with the word "lfR" in them. Anyhow,

the elves were linked to healing and invoked in childbirth as well.

Despite this, they were also believed to cause diseases

though "elfshot"--tiny darts or arrows of their own design.

In Old English sources the elves also appear to have been powerful

entities. In Bowulf they are named alongside the eotenas ("ettins"

or "giants") and other demonic (form a Christian point of view,

anyhow) forces. In the charm With Fstice "elfshot" is named

alongside "shot from the se (that is, the gods)" as a cause for

disease. From later folklore we know that in England were also

regarded as living in mounds, though this idea could have admittedly

been imported by the Danes. We also know from Old English sources


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that they were regarded as causing diseases from "elfshot"--a belief

common to most of the Germanic peoples.

yrs and Eoten: These two terms appear to have been virtually

interchangeable in both Old English and Old Norse (urs and jtunn

respectively). In modern English the terms survived as thurse andettin respectively. They refer to what we now sometimes

call "giants." In his book Runelore Edred Thorsson theorized that

the terms may have originally been more specific in meaning. That

is, jtunn referred to the ancient, nearly cosmic giants such as

Ymir. On the other hand, the term urs referred to the somewhat dull

minded and less powerful giants we more often see in the Norse myths

(usually as nor's opponents). Thorsson's theory is an appealing

one, though it is not borne out by Old English records. In Old

English the term yrs could hardly have referred to an unintelligent

wight. It developed the meaning "wizard" and was also used of theChristian devil. The Anglo-Saxons may well have regarded the yrs

not only as a malevolent creature, but one intelligent enough to be

compared to the Christian Satan.

Dweorgh: This is simply our modern word dwarf, in Old Norse dvergR.

References to the dwarves are scant in Old English, where they are

mentioned most prominently in two charms against diseases caused by

them. Later English folklore, however, shows the English view of the

dwarves to be consistent with that of every other Germanic people.

The dwarves are master smiths, often living in mountains or rocks,

known to be rather jealous of their treasures. This is the view of

the dwarves seen in the Icelandic sources as well, although there

they are no mere fairy tale characters, but wights powerful enough

to associate with the gods. Indeed, the gods' greatest treasures

(Wden's spear Gungnir, nor's hammer, and so on) were all made by

dwarves.

Wlcyrige: In Old Norse, Valkyrja, our modern word valkyrie. The

word in both languages literally means, "chooser of the slain." In

Old Norse sources the Valkyrjur appear as Wden's "handmaidens"--the

wights charged with bringing newly killed heroes to Valhll

or "Valhalla." Today many tend to view the Valkyrjur as beautiful

maidens who wait upon the warriors in Valhll--Vendela in armour.

And while the Valkyrjur are often said to be beautiful in the

ancient sources, they also had a savage side. In Njals Saga

Valkyrjur appear in a dream, weaving upon a loom of entrails and


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weighted with severed heads.

The more savage side of the Valkyrjur may have been remembered by

the Anglo-Saxons. The word Wlcyrige is used to gloss the Furies of

Greek mythology. Curiously, in his Sermon Lupi Wulfstan condemns

Wlcyrigen alongside witches. This is odd, as the term wicce (ourmodern word witch) in Old English denoted a mortal, usually

malevolent, spellcaster, while the Old Norse term Valkyrja denoted a

goddess who chooses the slain. This leaves us with a number of

possibilities.

The first is that following the Conversion the myths of the

Wlcyrigen degenerated until they were regarded as little more than

mortal human beings. This often happened following the adoption of

Christianity. The elves, once seen as being nearly as powerful as

the gods, were reduced to the level of fairies.

The second is that the Wlcyrigen could have originated as mortal

priestesses who, upon their death, were deified and became part of

Wden's entourage. This could be borne out by references in Old

Norse and Icelandic literature to the Valkyrjur as "the adopted

daughters of Wden." Third, Wulfstan could have simply been mistaken

and assumed that the Wlcyrigen were mortal entities, when in truth

they were regarded as goddesses.

Nicor: Both Old English nicor and Old Norse nykr are cognate to

German nix and nixie; however, both words appear to have referred to

water wights of a much deadlier and more sinister nature than the

Germans' fairy tale river spirits. Indeed, Grendel's mother (from

Bowulf) is an example of the Anglo-Saxon's idea of a nicor!

It must be noted that besides these wights, Anglo-Saxon heathendom

and Norse Asatru apparently shared a host of other wights, who

survived in the fairy tales of England, Scandinavia, and Iceland.

And though the names may vary from country to country, as may the

particulars, the stories are often so similar that one must wonder

that they don't have a common origin in the ancient Germanic past.

Indeed, if the elder sources and the later fairy tales are any

indication, every house, hill, stream, and lake had its very own

wight!

Indeed, beyond the worship of a few major gods and various beliefs


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(such as Wyrd), it is in the area of the wights where the Germanic

peoples held the most in common. The reason for this is simple. The

worship of the gods, including deified heroes, was to a large degree

the province of priests and kings. On the other hand, the worship of

wights was largely a matter of folk belief--the belief of the common

man. It was the owners of the homes that saw to it that the housewights got sacrifices, not the local priest or lord.

Folk belief is often much more conservative than those beliefs

controlled by priests and kings, so that such beliefs, if they

originated in the deep past of the Germanic peoples, probably

changed very little. This is how such customs as the Yule log

managed to survive several centuries in different countries. For

that reason, perhaps, do we see an amazing consistency in beliefs

regarding the dwarves and other wights.

The Holidays

When it comes to the religious festivals of the Germanic peoples we

enter a murky area of the lore. The elder sources record very little

information about the holidays. It is difficult to say why, but

perhaps the chroniclers took them for granted. After all, how many

times does the average modern American feel the need to explain

Thanksgiving to others? This leaves the modern heathen in a bit of a

bind, as there is often little in the way of guidance from the elder

sources when it comes to holiday customs and observances. In many

cases we cannot even be certain that any given holiday celebrated by

any given people (such as Lammas among the Anglo-Saxons) was ever

celebrated by the other Germanic peoples. In other cases, we may be

certain that a specific day was celebrated by the whole of the

Germanic peoples, but be at a total loss as to the day's name.

Regardless, we do have some information on ancient Germanic

festivals, little though it may be. Similarly, we can somewhat use

traditional observances that have been passed down through the ages

as something of a guide. Between the little information contained in

the elder sources and holidays as passed down to us from the day

yore, we can hazard a few rough guesses as to how any one festival

may have been conducted in ancient times. Below is a table listing

the various holidays. A question mark following a holiday's name or


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a question mark in place of a name simply means that we cannot be

sure of what it was originally called. A short commentary on each

follows.

The Holidays of Anglo-Saxon heathendom and Asatru Modern English Old

English Icelandic/Norse

Yule Gol Jl

Candlemas owomeoluc Giblt?

Easter ostron ?

May Day rimeolce? Sumarml

Midsummer Midsumer/La? Misumar

Lammas Hlfmsse KornskurR?

Harvest Hrfest Haust

Hallowe'en Winterfylle? VetrnttR

Yule: Yule is by far the most documented holiday among the Germanic

peoples. The holiday's name appears in nearly every Germanic

languages and Latin sources even refer to Gothic months named for

it. As early a source as the Latin scholar Procopius refers to a

festival celebrated by the people of Thule (Scandinavia, perhaps?)

to greet the sun on its return. Many of Yule's customs have survived

to this day as part of the Christian and secular celebration of

Christmas.

Bede speaks at length of the Anglo-Saxon celebration of Gol. He

states that their year began on December 25 and that they referred

to this night as Mdranht or "Mothers' Night." Garman Lord thinks

it is possible that the night was actually called Mdranecta

or "Mother of Nights"--that is, the first night of the year--

instead, although he admits that this is not confirmed by any

surviving manuscripts. Another possibility that scholars have

considered is that the Anglo-Saxons may have made sacrifices to

their ancestral mothers--possibly the goddesses called in Old Norse

the Dsir--on this night. Regardless, Bede notes that they watched

the night through, proving that staying awake all night

on "Christmas Eve" is a ancient custom. Anglo-Saxon sources also

tell of the wearing of animal masks at the Anglo-Saxon Gol

celebration, perhaps an indication that the mummer's plays of the

Middle Ages may be more ancient than many scholars think.

Like the Anglo-Saxons and probably every other Germanic tribe, the


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Icelanders and the ancient Scandinavians also celebrated Jl. One of

Wden's names in Old Norse is Jlnir, which quite clearly derives

from the holiday's name. An ancient historian mistakenly stated that

Jl was named after Jlnir. Regardless, the holiday seems to have

been sacred to Wden. It seems possible that sacrifices to Fra were

also made at this time. At either Yule or February the boar to besacrificed to Fra would be led before the king. He was considered

so holy that men would place their hands upon him and swear oaths.

In Heimskringla King Hakon not only ordered that Jl should begin at

the same time as the Christian celebration of Christmas, but that

every man should brew some ale and keep Jl holy for as long as it

lasted. It seems then that drinking as always been a part of the

Yule celebration.

Finally, it must be pointed that the imagery today associated

with "Christmas" is fairly consistent among the nations descendedfrom the Germanic peoples From Scandinavia to Germany to England,

one will see houses decked out in holly and evergreens around

Yuletide. Similarly, the Yule log is a tradition found in many of

those countries. And, of course, drinking is done in abundance. This

could well point to a common heritage for these customs in the

depths of the Germanic past.

owomeoluc: February 2 was chosen by the Christian church for the

minor festival of Candlemas, though today it is better known to most

Americans as Groundhog Day. Of course, on Groundhog Day the

groundhog is supposed to emerge from his burrow, either seeing his

shadow and forecasting four more weeks of winter, or not seeing his

shadow and indicating an early spring.

This superstition originated in Europe (particularly Germany), where

a bear or a badger was often the animal people used to forecast the

coming weather. It must be pointed out that the date varied from

locality to locality, however, with some people observing it on

February 14th rather than February 2nd (in fact, when Missouri

officially recognized the second as Groundhog Day, there was a bit

of an uproar among some farmers). This custom could well date back

to ancient times, as many folk beliefs do.

Among the Anglo-Saxons this date was called owomeoluc, from the

fact that this was the time when the ewes came into milk. Bede wrote

that the month of February was called Solmana in Old English,


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meaning "month of cakes," and that cakes were offered to the gods in

this month. Bede may well have been mistaken on the name, as the

word sol meaning "cakes" appears nowhere else. Garman Lord theorizes

that instead Bede may have misunderstood the source for his

information, probably a farmer in the countryside, who may have told

him that it was Suhlmona or "plough month." Indeed, it must benoted that a custom still performed on various dates in late January

and early to mid February in parts of Britain is the blessing of the

plough. The blessing of the plough may well have its origins in

rites of the sort described in the Old English charm cer Bt, which

was meant to bring fertility to the land.

The sacrifice of cakes to the gods may also have been meant to bring

fertility to the land in hope of bountiful crops in the summer and

fall. Of course, the Anglo-Saxons might have also spent some time

watching for the bear or badger to come out of hibernation as well.

It is unclear whether the Scandinavians had a holiday corresponding

exactly to owomeoluc. They may have sacrificed to Fra in February,

so that it is possible that they may have celebrated a festival

equivalent to owomeoluc that month. The Icelanders conducted a

sacrifice at the beginning of the month they called Gi, which

generally fell anywhere from mid-February to mid-March according to

our calendar. The Giblt could well have been an Icelandic version

of the holiday called owomeoluc in Old English.

Easter: Today Easter is used of the Christian festival celebrating

the resurrection of Jesus according to their mythology. Like Yule,

the name Easter dates back to heathendom. The Anglo-Saxons usually

called the holiday astron, the plural of Old English astre (see

the discussion on astre above). Bede tells us that the Anglo-Saxons

called April osturmona, after the goddess astre, for whom they

held festivals that month. That the worship of astre and the

celebration of her festival was not confined to the Anglo-Saxons can

be seen in the modern German word for the holiday, Ostran, which

also derived from the goddess's name.

Though we know that the Anglo-Saxons apparently celebrated the

holiday of Easter, we don't really know how they celebrated it. It

is difficult, then, to say whether such things as "Easter eggs" are

a survival of a heathen custom. In fact, some scholars argue that

the egg symbolism of the Christian "Easter" originated in the Near


16/42

East. Here I must disagree with them. It seems to me that

the "Easter egg" is most prevalent in areas settled by speakers of

Indo-European languages. That is, not only do the Germanic countries

celebrate the Christian "Easter" with "Easter eggs," but so do the

Slavs (indeed, the Russians are known for their exquisitely designed

eggs), while the custom is much rarer in the Near East. The customwould then seem to have its origins among the Indo-European peoples.

The "Easter bunny" or "Easter hare" first appeared in Germany in the

1500s, so that we cannot rule out the survival of a heathen custom,

though we have no way of knowing if the Anglo-Saxons knew of

the "Easter hare."

As noted above, the Scandinavians either did not know of the goddess

ostre or failed to preserve her name. In mediaeval Iceland the

Christian holiday was not called by a cognate of Easter, but Paskar

instead, a word descending ultimately from the Hebrew word forPassover. We see the same thing occurring in Norway, Sweden, and

Denmark. That does not mean that the ancient heathen Scandinavians

did not celebrate their own equivalent of Easter, whatever its name

may have been. In fact, they share many Easter customs with other

Germanic peoples. In Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland, Easter is

celebrated with decorating eggs, Easter egg hunts, and various games

involving Easter eggs, much as it is celebrated in other Germanic

countries. If these customs are indeed survivals of heathen ones

rather than borrowings from foreign sources, then the Scandinavians

may have celebrated a holiday analogous to the Anglo-Saxons'

astron.

rimeolce: May Day was a holiday long celebrated in England, though

it was forgotten for a time in the modern era. Of course, it takes

its modern name from the month of May, which is a Latin borrowing.

It is then extremely doubtful that the elder heathen called it "May

Day." This leaves us at a loss as to what the day was called. In

many countries the day is known as "Walpurgis Day," a day named in

honour of the early, Anglo-Saxon St. Walburga. This has led some

scholars to theorize that a goddess named Walburga (often identified

with Fro) must have existed, so that St. Walburga simply took over

a holiday originally held in honour of a goddess of the same name.

The elder sources, however, contain no references to a goddess

called Walburga, so that it is doubtful she even existed. It seems

more likely that the Anglo-Saxons may have originally called the

holiday rimeolce, the name they gave the month of May. According to


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Bede, rimeolce was so named because the cows could be milked three

times a day. If the Anglo-Saxons named a day for a time when the

ewes came into milk (owomeoluc), who is to say that they wouldn't

name one for the time when the cows could be milked three times a

day? Regardless, the name rimeolce could well be very ancient and

may have been common to all of the Germanic peoples at one time. Inparts of Sweden the marsh-marigold is called trimjlkgrs or "three

milk grass."

Regardless of the holiday's name, we can be fairly certain that May

Day is a heathen survival. In England May Eve was celebrated with

bonfires. May Day itself was celebrated by gathering flowers and in

some areas even a battle between individuals costumed as "Winter"

and "Summer." The erection of the maypole on May Day could have been

a borrowing from the Celts, as many other Germanic peoples erect it

on Midsummer Day instead. Of this, however, we cannot be certain.Some other Germanic peoples appear to focus on May Eve as the

primary time of celebration. Among the Germans Walpurgisnacht was

celebrated with huge bonfires and much merriment. Of course, the

Germans also believed Walpurgisnacht to be a time for witches, as so

aptly portrayed Goethe's Faust.

Like most Germanic peoples, the ancient Scandinavians also

apparently celebrated May Day. In Sweden Valborgsmssoafton is still

a major holiday, celebrated with bonfires and, today, even

fireworks. For both the ancient and modern Icelanders the end of

April marked the official beginning of summer. Sumurml, which

usually occurred around April 20, marked the last days of winter and

the first days of summer. It is possible that the "blt for victory"

or sigrblt mentioned in Norse sources occurred at this time.

Midsummer: The Christian church chose the summer solstice as the

date for St. John's Day. At least part of the reason this date was

chosen was the fact that it also marked the date of one of

heathendom's biggest celebrations, Midsummer. Among many of the

Germanic peoples, Midsummer was a summertime equivalent of Yule. In

England Midsummer's Eve was celebrated with huge bonfires, through

which daring young men would leap. Midsummer's Eve was also

considered a perfect time for divination. Among other things a young

maid could use various means of learning whom she would marry on

Midsummer's Eve. Midsummer's Day was celebrated with the gathering

of flowers (as on May Day) and the usual dancing and drinking.


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As to the holiday's name, the Anglo-Saxons probably did call it

Midsumer, however, Old English sources could lead us to wonder if it

wasn't originally called by another name. Anglo-Saxon chroniclers

sometimes refer to June and July as rra La and ftera

La, "before" La and "after La," respectively. This reflectsthe names for December and January rra Gola and ftera

Gola, "before Yule" and "after Yule." This makes it possible, at

least, that the Anglo-Saxons also knew Midsummer by the name "La"

as well.

As stated earlier, nearly all of the Germanic peoples celebrated

Midsummer and the Scandinavians were no different. As in other

Germanic countries, Midsummer's Eve was celebrated with bonfires

through which young men would leap. To this day in Sweden young

girls still weave garlands from flowers and the maypole is stillraised. Today, as perhaps in ancient times, the Swedish Midsummer

celebration lasts three days.

Lammas: From Old English sources we know that Lammas or, in Old

English, Hlfmsse was a Christian festival in which the season's

first new loaves of bread were blessed, celebrated on August 1.

Given the fact that Christianity's festivals almost never concern

themselves with the first fruits of the season, it would seem likely

that Lammas was a survival of a heathen festival, in which the first

loaves of the season were baked and perhaps offered to the gods.

Regardless, there are other clues that Lammas was originally a

heathen festival. On the holiday "Lammas lands," lands that were

held privately from spring to Lammas, were thrown open to common

pasturage until next spring. Similarly, in Scotland, Lammas was one

of the days on which tenants paid their rent.

That Lammas was originally a heathen festival seems likely, though

the heathen holiday could hardly have been called "Hlfmsse." The

msse in Hlmsse is our modern word mass, as in "a Catholic mass"

and stems originally from Latin. Garman Lord theorizes that the

festival may have originally been called Hlfmst or "feast of

loaves," though we have no way of knowing this for certain. Though

we cannot be sure of its original name, it seems likely that it was

named for the loaves of bread that were baked at the time.

Old Norse and Icelandic sources show little trace of a festival


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celebrated in either late July or early August; however, this does

not make it entirely impossible. In Sweden August was called

Skrdemnad "reaping month" or Skortant "reaping." In Iceland it was

called Kornskurmn or "corn reaping month." This means that the

harvest of the first grain of the summer must have taken place in

Sweden and Iceland at approximately the same time that it did inEngland. It seems possible, if not likely, then, that the ancient

Scandinavians may have had a festival at this time. After all, it

would have been a reasonable and pleasurable way to end the first

harvest of the year.

Harvest: In ancient times, as now, September was a month when

several crops were harvested. It should come as no surprise, then,

that the ancient Germanic peoples may have held harvest festivals

around the fall equinox. Indeed, the Old English word hrfest and

its cognates in the other Germanic languages not only meant "thereaping of grain," but also "the season of fall" as well. That the

Anglo-Saxons may have held a harvest festival in September can be

shown by the name they gave that month--Haligmona or "holy month."

This indicates that some sort of sacral activity accompanied the

September harvest. In other words, a festival may have been held.

This festival could well have survived in many parts of England

as "Harvest Home," in which the end of the harvest was celebrated.

It seems likely that the Scandinavians also celebrated a harvest

festival. Icelandic sources refer to the haustblt or "fall

sacrifice" and the haustbo or "fall feast." And just as "Harvest

Home" celebrations are common in England and America, so too are

they to be found in Scandinavia and Iceland. These festivals could

well be heathen survivals.

Winter Nights or Winterfylle: The festival called VetrnttR

or "Winter Nights" in Old Norse sources is one of the best

documented holidays among the Germanic peoples. Several Icelandic

sagas refer to it and its observance has survived in some form to

this day. Celebrated around October 14 according to our modern

calendar, the ancient Scandinavians considered VetrnttR to be the

official beginning of winter (as it still is in Iceland and Norway).

It appears to have been a time of several blts. Icelandic sources

make it fairly clear that blts to both the lfar (the elves) and

the Dsir took place at this time. It also seems likely that a blt

to Fra also took place during this festival. A good part of this


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festival was celebrated in private, with only close friends and

family present. King Olaf's poet Sigvat complained in one of his

verses once that while travelling in Sweden he could not find

lodging because everyone was sacrificing to the the elves.

It seems quite apparent that the Anglo-Saxons celebrated their ownequivalent of VetrnttR. The Old English name for the month of

October was Winterfylle, which has been interpreted as "winter full

moon." That the Anglo-Saxons gave this name to the month of October

indicates that they may have considered it the beginning of winter,

much as the Scandinavians did. Winterfylle is immediately followed

by Bltmona on the Anglo-Saxon calendar. Bede states that Bltmona

was so named because the ancient Anglo-Saxons gave a portion of

their slaughtered livestock to the gods at that time. It would then

appear that the Anglo-Saxons not only began winter at approximately

the same time as the Scandinavians, but held blts at approximatelythe same time too. This Anglo-Saxon equivalent to VetrnttR could

well have been called by the month name, Winterfylle.

It would be misleading to say that these were the only holidays

celebrated by the Germanic peoples. In the elder sources we

sometimes see references to festivals which were apparently peculiar

to only one tribe or region. For instance, the ancient Icelandic

Asatruarar celebrated a festival called orrablt, so named because

it took place in the month of orri (which began anywhere from

January 9th to January 16th according to our modern calendar).

Though an important holiday for the ancient Icelanders, it is not to

be found among the Anglo-Saxons or the Continental Germanic tribes.

Similarly, it must be pointed out that many rural areas in modern

England celebrate their own festivals peculiar only to themselves.

Many of these festivals could date back to heathen times. The above

mentioned festivals are simply those that appear to have been the

major festivals of the year for the Germanic peoples, what the

Fourth of July or Thanksgiving are to modern Americans.

As can be seen, the ancient Anglo-Saxons and the ancient Icelanders

held quite a bit in common with regards to religious festivals. We

know that both groups celebrated Yule and Midsummer. They may have

also held Easter, "May Day," "Harvest Home," and "Winter Nights" in

common. owomeoluc and Lammas are the only two holidays which they

might not have shared--evidence for the celebration of the two

lacking in Iceland and Scandinavia. Even then, however, we cannot


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rule out the possibility that they were celebrated in Iceland and

Scandinavia in one form or another.

Sacral Kingship

As can be seen above, the Anglo-Saxons and Icelanders shared manybeliefs and many religious practices in common. In addition to those

cited above, both groups also believed in the dynamistic force

called in Old English mgen and in wyrd. One of the biggest

differences between the two groups, however, was in the fact that

the Anglo-Saxons practised sacral kingship, while the Icelanders did

not.

For the Anglo-Saxons sacral kingship was a central part of their

religion. The king was the high priest of the tribes. He was the

bearer of the tribal mgen, its protector and guardian. As theking's luck fared, so too did the luck of the tribe. Sacral kingship

was not unique to the Anglo-Saxons. It was also practised in Sweden,

Denmark, Norway, and other Germanic countries.

On the other hand, circumstances would force Iceland to abandon

sacral kingship. In the ninth and tenth centuries Norway suffered

through some of the worst kings to appear among the Germanic

peoples. The first of these was ironically the man who unified

Norway, Harald Finehair. Harald Finehair seized the hereditary

estates and forced all farmers, whether they owned land or not, to

be his tenants. Many left their homes to settle in Iceland. His son

and heir, EirkR Bloodaxe was even worse. He continued his father's

reign of tyranny and even murdered his own brothers. In the end he

was driven from Norway. In behaving as despots, Harald Finehair and

EirkR Bloodaxe both violated the central tenets of sacral kingship.

As the folk's representative to the gods, it was the duty of the

king not only to defend the folk's luck, but the folk themselves.

Unfortunately, Harald Finehair and EirkR Bloodaxe did very little

in the way of defending the folk, instead violating their rights

given to them by the gods, such as the right to keep their own

hereditary lands. Since the kings of Norway had broken troth with

them, many Norwegians fled for Iceland where they had to find new

ways of defending the tribal luck.

Even though the system the Icelanders developed lacked sacral

kingship, its roots were still firmly in Germanic tradition. Like


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the other Germanic peoples, much of the task of determining the law

fell to various local assemblies or ings. The highest ing,

the "Supreme Court" if you will, was the Aling, the

national "parliament" of Iceland. Within this ing system the duties

which would usually fall to a king were divided between various

offices. In the Icelandic government it was the lgsgumaR ("lawspeaking man") who acted as the guardian of the law. Indeed, he was

required to recite it from memory at the beginning of each Aling.

The interpretation of the law fell to the goar, who in heathen

times had been the priests.

The goar made up the Lgrtta, a legislative assembly consisting of

forty eight members. Among other things, the Lgrtta named the men

who would sit on the various courts. In this way the Icelanders saw

to it that the tribal luck was defended, even though they lacked a

king.

It must be pointed out that the Icelanders were not the only

Germanic peoples who did not have sacral kings. Many scholars

believe that the Saxons may have lacked sacral kingship before they

arrived in England, where they adopted the concept from the Angles.

Yet other Germanic tribes failed to develop the concept of sacral

kingship, depending on powerful nobles and the ing system to defend

the tribal luck. That Iceland operated without a sacral king is then

not a precedent, but another variation in the very flexible

traditions of Germanic government.

Endword

Anglo-Saxon heathendom and Icelandic Asatru had much in common. Both

groups worshipped the same major gods. Similarly, both groups

believed in many of the same wights--no doubt elves, ettins,

dwarves, and nickers populated the legends of both peoples. Finally,

they also celebrated many of the same festivals.

At approximately the same time of year, both the Anglo-Saxons and

the ancient Scandinavians celebrated Yule, Midsummer, and Winter

Nights. These two branches of heathendom are remarkably similar, as

two branches of the same religion would be expected to be.

Anglo-Saxon heathendom and Icelandic Asatru also differed in many


23/42

respects. Some of the gods known to the Anglo-Saxons might not have

been known to the Icelanders and vice versa. And while they appear

to have held the major festivals in common, some of the lesser

festivals may not have been celebrated by both groups or may have

had much less importance to one group than it did the other.

Of course, the most glaring difference between Anglo-Saxon

heathendom and Icelandic Asatru is that the Icelanders lacked sacral

kingship. This is not to say that the Icelanders did not believe in

sacral kingship, but more likely that they did not practise it.

Their own kings having broken troth with them, the Icelanders had to

protect the tribal luck through other means.

Even then, the system they developed was rooted firmly in the ing

system found among many Germanic peoples, including the Anglo-

Saxons.

Though they differ in some respects, Anglo-Saxon heathendom and

Icelandic Asatru are very similar.

Both were genuine manifestations of Germanic heathendom and both

grew out of the beliefs of the same peoples who inhabited northwest

Europe in the days of yore.

SPANISH *************************************************

Paganismo anglosajn y satr islands: comparacin y contraste

Por Eric Wodening

Prefacio

Los pueblos germanos antiguos seguan esencialmente la misma religin. Casi todos ellos parecen

haber adorado a la mayora de los Dioses conocidos por nosotros de la mitologa nrdica -inn,

rR, FreyR y dems. Tambin crean en muchas de las mismas energas o espritus elfos,

enanos, gigantes y dems. Celebraban varios festivales, rituales y costumbres en comn. Y no es


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que no haya diferencias entre las tribus en sus costumbres religiosas y creencias. Siempre hubo

alguna variacin en las prcticas religiosas y creencias entre el pueblo germano.

Quizs la mejor demostracin de las similitudes y diferencias que algunas veces existieron en las

creencias religiosas de los pueblos germanos sera examinar las creencias respectivas de los

paganos anglosajones e islandeses.

Debe ser notado ya mismo que los pueblos germanos antiguos no tenan un nombre para su

religin o sus ramas. Si un pagano anglosajn antiguo cuestionara su religin podra haberse

referido a eso simplemente como mn odisc gelfa, la creencia de mi tribu. Los islandeses

pudieron haber respondido alrededor de lneas similares, aunque actualmente esta rama antigua y

moderna de la religin pagana germnica es llamada satr. Por el bien de la simplicidad,

usaremos paganismo anglosajn y satr para las religiones de los anglosajones e islandeses

antiguos, respectivamente.

Porqu hubo diferencias

Por supuesto, es entendible porqu habran similitudes entre el paganismo anglosajn antiguo y el

satr antiguo. Despus de todo, ambos grupos de personas descendieron de las tribus

germnicas. Por qu, entonces, habra algunas diferencias entre los dos? Hay muchas razones y

todas ellas son muy simples. La primera es que aunque un grupo grande de personas (tal como

muchas tribus o muchas naciones) comparten un sistema de creencias, las variaciones en ese

sistema surgen a menudo peculiares para cualquier persona determinada. Un ejemplo perfecto de

esto es el catolicismo irlands e italiano. A pesar de que ambos pertenecen a la misma

denominacin de la misma religin, fcilmente uno puede observar diferencias entre los dos,

especialmente en cuanto a lo que cada grupo realiza en las festividades de la iglesia. Los

anglosajones e islandeses podran haber evolucionado naturalmente sus propias creencias ycostumbres peculiares slo para ellos mismos.

En segunda, el paganismo antiguo fue una religin estrechamente ligada a la tierra y por tanto al

cambio de estaciones. Para los pueblos germanos antiguos, el invierno no llegaba necesariamente

con el solsticio de invierno, sino cuando ocurra la primera nevada. Entonces, los comienzos de las

estaciones y las fechas de los festivales podan variar de acuerdo al clima. Naturalmente, un

festival que tuviera lugar al comienzo del invierno poda ocurrir despus en un clima ms clido

que en uno ms fro.

En tercer lugar, hay diferencias entre el paganismo anglosajn antiguo y el satr islands antiguo

debido al contexto temporal involucrado. Inglaterra fue convertida en los siglos VI y VII de la era

comn, mientras que Islandia no fue convertida hasta el ao 1000 de la era comn. En los 400

aos entre la conversin de los anglosajones y la conversin de los islandeses hubo una

considerable oportunidad para que la religin cambiara y evolucionara, y no hay duda de que esas

transformaciones vinieron an ms rpido debido a los constantes cambios en las condiciones

sociales impuestas sobre el norte de Europa por la Cristiandad.


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Otros cambios se desarrollaron desde el clima social y poltico de los tiempos. La institucin del

reinado sagrado fue muy importante para los anglosajones. Cuatrocientos aos despus, sin

embargo, fueron testigos de la degradacin de los reyes noruegos a s mismos al romper la

fidelidad con los Dioses y con la gente a travs de la tirana descarada.

Entonces, la institucin del reinado sagrado dej de ser importante para los islandeses y buscaronotros caminos para defender la suerte tribal. Finalmente, parece que el pagano antiguo crey que

los grandes hombres podran convertirse en Dioses hasta su muertelas sagas islandesas

muestran algunos ejemplos de reyes siendo deificados despus de que fallecieron. En los 400 aos

entre la conversin de los anglosajones y las ms tempranas fuentes del nrdico antiguo, varios

hroes podran haber sido elevados a divinidad en las mentes de la gente.

Mientras el paganismo anglosajn y el satr islands pertenecan ambos a la misma religin y

como resultado comparten mucho en comn, tambin hay diferencias menores entre los dos que

ocasionalmente pueden provocar confusin para algn novato en el estudio del paganismo.

Los Dioses

Por mucho, nuestra mejor fuente de informacin acerca de los Dioses adorados por los pueblos

germanos antiguos son los poemas y sagas en nrdico antiguo e islands. Refirindonos a los

Dioses en ingls antiguo (lenguaje de los anglosajones) las fuentes son excesivamente raras. Los

nombres de la mayora de los Dioses eran, sin embargo, preservados en muchos nombres de

lugares. De esto sabemos que el anglosajn antiguo, el paganismo anglosajn y el satr islands

compartieron la mayora de los Dioses mayores mencionados en las fuentes nrdicas.

A continuacin hay una tabla listando a los Dioses mayores conocidos por nosotros mediante las

fuentes viejas. Un asterisco antes del nombre de un Dios indica que es una reconstruccin (esto

es, que el nombre no aparece actualmente en el lenguaje). Se aade un comentario breve a cada

uno de los Dioses.

Los Dioses del paganismo anglosajn y del satr en ingls antiguo

Islands/nrdico

Wden inn

nor rR

Frge Frigg

Tw TyR

Fra FreyR

Fro Freyja

*Nor NjrR


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*Forseta Foreseti

Hama HeimdallR

Bealdor BaldR

Geofon Gefjun

Hel Hel

? ostre

? UllR

? Loki

Aun una mirada superficial a esta tabla muestra que el paganismo anglosajn y el satr antiguo

comparten en comn a los Dioses mayores de las Eddas. Sabemos que estos Dioses fueron

adorados por hablantes del nrdico antiguo desde un registro literal, nombres de lugares y

evidencia arqueolgica. Mientras que el registro literal en ingls antiguo de estos Dioses es escaso,

tenemos nombres de lugares y evidencia arqueolgica que muestra que los anglosajones los

adoraban.

El hecho de que los anglosajones y los islandeses (y los escandinavos antiguos antes que ellos)

aparentemente mantenan estos Dioses en comn, muestra que haba un alto grado de acuerdo

en la religin en general que es el paganismo. Naturalmente, haba algunas diferencias entre los

dos y algunos Dioses encontrados en el paganismo islands podran no haber sido conocidas por el

pagano anglosajn. Similarmente, algunos Dioses parecen haber sido por los anglosajones, pero

no por los islandeses.

Wden: Conocido en nrdico antiguo como inn, mejor conocido ahora por la versin inglesa de

ese nombre, Odin, l parece haber sido un Dios importante para los anglosajones y para los

escandinavos antiguos. l es el Dios ms mencionado en las fuentes del ingls antiguo y ambas,

Inglaterra y Escandinavia se jactan de muchos lugares nombrados a l. Interesantemente, la

fuente del ingls antiguo ms importante para mencionar a Wden, el encantamiento de nueve

hierbas, lo encasilla en un rol familiar para nosotros en la mitologa nrdica, como el mago

supremo.

nor: Llamado orR en nrdico antiguo y Thor en ingls moderno, tal vez l solo fue el Dios ms

popular entre los pueblos germanos antiguos. Ambas, Inglaterra y Escandinavia tuvieron muchos

lugares nombrados a l y el quinto da de la semana aun lleva su nombre en ingls y en la mayora

de los pases escandinavos (en ingls moderno, Thursday).

Frige: La esposa de Wden, llamada Frigg en nrdico antiguo y Frigga en ingls moderno. Ella es

raramente mencionada en fuentes de nrdico antiguo y las referencias a ella en ingls antiguo son


27/42

casi inexistentes; sin embargo, hubo lugares nombrados a ella en Inglaterra y Escandinavia.

Tambin el da viernes Friday fue nombrado por ella (OE Frgesdg).

Tw: Llamado TyR por el nrdico antiguo, las referencias a Tw en fuentes de nrdico antiguo y

escandinavo son raras. En todo caso, sabemos que l fue importante para los anglosajones y los

escandinavos antiguos por los lugares nombrados a l y el da que sigue llevando su nombre (NETuesday).

Fra: Llamado FreyR en nrdico antiguo y Frey en ingls moderno, l fue mencionado

frecuentemente en las fuentes del nrdico antiguo. Tambin llamado Ing o Yngvi en nrdico

antiguo, l puede ser recordado en el verso de Ing del poema rnico en ingls antiguo, as como en

la genealoga de los reyes de Bernicia, donde un Ingui es listado. Lugares fueron nombrados a l en

Inglaterra y Escandinavia.

Fro: Llamada Freyja en nrdico antiguo y Freya en ingls moderno, la hermana de Fra tuvo

lugares nombrados a ella en Inglaterra y Escandinavia. Ella aparece en las fuentes del nrdico

antiguo ms que cualquier otra Diosa.

NjrR: La palabra Nor no aparece como el nombre de un Dios en el ingls antiguo, aunque esto

pudo haber sido nombre de Dios en el lenguaje. A pesar de que l nunca es mencionado en las

fuentes del ingls antiguo, es muy probable que los anglosajones lo adoraran. El estudioso romano

Tcito registra en Germania el culto a una Diosa Nerthus entre varias tribus germnicas, entre ellas

los anglos quienes estableceran Britania algunos siglos despus. El nombre Nerthus es

ciertamente casi el mismo de NjrR, el cual ha dado lugar a mucho debate en cuanto a esta

identidad de Diosas. Aun algunas han sido asumidas de alguna forma a travs de los siglos, la Diosa

Nerthus cambi sexos para convertirse en el Dios NjrR. Explicaciones ms probables son que

Tcito o escuch mal el gnero del nombre del Dios y asumi que era una Diosa o que la mencinde Nerthus por Tcito es simplemente un acompaante del culto de NjrR, tal vez la hermana

misteriosa mencionada en las fuentes del nrdico antiguo. De todos modos, Escandinavia tuvo

muchos lugares nombrados al Dios.

Forseti: La palabra Forseta no aparece como el nombre de un Dios en el ingls antiguo. Como

NorR, aqu est previsto mostrarse cmo pudo haberse visto el nombre del Dios en ingls

antiguo. Mientras que su nombre no aparece en las fuentes del ingls antiguo, Forseti fue adorado

probablemente por los anglosajones. l fue el Dios favorito de los frisones antiguos (llamado

Fosite en su lenguaje), quienes despus emigraron a Britania con los anglos, sajones y jutos. El

nombre significa literalmente quien preside o presidente. l fue de menor importanciaaparentemente para los hablantes del nrdico antiguo, las referencias a l en su literatura son

escasas. De hecho, l incluso es hecho el hijo de BaldR! Las fuentes del nrdico antiguo muestran,

sin embargo, que Forseti fue considerado como un presidente. En el poema ddico Grmnsml

se deca que Forseti estableca todas las disputas. Esto trae a la mente el jefe de algo o una

asamblea judicial que a menudo tena que establecer las disputas entre la gente.


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HeimdallR: En las fuentes del nrdico antiguo HeimdallR aparece como el guardin de Bifrst y

enemigo de Loki. Un fragmento de un mito se refiere a una batalla entre HeimdallR y Loki en la

forma de sellos sobre una gema llamada el rin marino algunas veces identificado por

estudiosos modernos con el collar de Fro, Brsingamen. Es difcil decir si los anglosajones

conocan de HeimdallR. El poema Bowulf relata un cuento donde un hroe llamado Hama rescata

un collar llamado Brosinga mene, el cual bien podra ser el nombre para el collar de Fro en inglsantiguo. Parece posible que el autor de Bowulf confundiera al hroe germnico Hama (el hroe

alemn Heimo vinculado al ciclo de leyendas de Dietrich de Bern) con el Dios HeimdallR y le

atribuyera una de las leyendas del Dios al hroe. Tambin parece ser posible que Hama fuera

simplemente una forma acortada del equivalente del ingls antiguo para HeimdallR (si alguno

existi). Si este es el caso, entonces HeimdallR pudo haber sido adorado por los anglosajones.

Desafortunadamente, como Bowulf influy fuertemente sobre fuentes continentales, el cuento

de Hama y el collar pudo haber venido de Dinamarca, haciendo posible que los anglosajones no

supieran del Dios.

BaldR: Es difcil decir si BaldR era an un Dios. Casi no hay lugares nombrados a l y la evidencia desu culto es inexistente. Adems, hay asuntos complejos en los mitos conflictivos acerca de BaldR.

En las fuentes islandesas l aparece como un Dios. l es el hijo de Wden y Frge, adems de ser el

ms amado de los Dioses, valiente, sabio y puro de corazn. El estudioso dans Saxo pinta una

imagen completamente diferente de l. l llama a BaldR como un semideus o semidios,

indicando que l fue el hijo de Wden a travs de una mujer mortal (hay que pensar que esto no

era inusualla mayora de los Dioses germnicos rastrearon su descendencia desde Wden).

Tambin Saxo retrata a BaldR como todo menos puro de corazn. l es egosta, taimado y

completamente irracional. Entonces es posible que los mitos de BaldR se desarrollaran a lo largo

de lneas nacionales y polticas. Para los noruegos l pudo haber sido un hroe, uno de tal estatura

que fuera deificado despus. Para los daneses l pudo haber sido un archienemigo, uno quiennunca vera los salones de los Dioses. As como para los anglosajones, no hay referencias ciertas

acerca de BaldR en ingls antiguo. De hecho, algunos estudiosos han cuestionado si la palabra

bealdor, un cognado de BaldR significando audaz, valiente lleg a existir. Por supuesto, si BaldR

fue solamente un hroe deificado por los noruegos, pudiramos no tener razn para creer que los

anglosajones lo adoraran.

Geofon: Geofon aparece como una palabra para el mar en ingls antiguo. Ningn lugar aparece

como el nombre de una Diosa; sin embargo, parece ser el cognado de Gefjun. Gefjun fue una

Diosa danesa de quien Snorri cuenta un mito breve en la Edda prosada. Gefjun lleg al rey Gylfi de

Suecia como una vieja pordiosera y lo entretuvo tan bien que l le ofreci como recompensatantas tierras como ella pudiera arar con cuatro bueyes en un da. Entonces ella convirti en

bueyes a los cuatro hijos que ella tuvo con un gigante y los enganch a un arado. Ella ar tan

profundo y tan fuerte que arrastr la tierra hasta el oeste de Suecia. Entonces ella estrech la

tierra de forma que no se moviera y la nombr Zelandia (ahora territorio dans). Donde Zelandia

alguna vez haba estado se encontraba el lago llamado Mlar. Considerando el hecho de que en

este mito Gefjun negocia tanto con el mar como con la tierra y considerando el hecho de que ella


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fue adorada en Dinamarca (el rea general de donde los anglos, sajones y jutos son originarios), es

muy posible que Geofon fuera adorada por los anglosajones y que su nombre despus se

convirtiera en un apodo para el mar. De cualquier forma, muchos lugares en Dinamarca llevan su

nombre.

Hel: En las fuentes del nrdico antiguo Hel es la reina del mundo de los muertos (tambin llamadoHel). En las fuentes del ingls antiguo Hel tambin es el nombre del reino de los muertos (por

tanto nuestra palabra moderna Hell). Jacob Grimm, en su Mitologa teutnica teoriz que la

Diosa Hel fue conocida por la mayora o por casi todos los pueblos germanos. Incluso teoriz que

ella y su reino bien podran haber sido inseparables, si no es que uno mismo. Grimm seala que en

la literatura anglosajona, el lugar llamado Hel, es a menudo descrito con las caractersticas de una

persona o de un lobo (sus fauces abiertas son referidas a menudo), tan a menudo que parece

posible que ellos no estuvieran hablando figurativamente de un lugar sino de una entidad

literalmente.

Si este es el caso, los anglosajones recientemente convertidos an podran tener una creencia en

Hel como una entidad que gobern los muertos. Esto sobre todo, parece probable refirindose a

la posicin de Hel en las Eddas.

ostre: El estudioso anglosajn Bede, en su De Temporum Ratione declara que el ingls antiguo

osturmna (aproximadamente en marzo o abril del calendario moderno) fue nombrado por la

Diosa ostre, a quien los anglosajones ofrecan sacrificios durante ese mes. Nuestra palabra

moderna Easter, usada por el festival cristiano celebrando la resurreccin de Jess, tambin se

deriva de su nombre. Que ella tambin fue adorada por los alemanes continentales puede ser

probado desde el hecho de que el nombre alemn moderno para el mismo festival (Ostern)

tambin se deriva de su nombre. El nombre ostre en s mismo est relacionado a los nombres de

Diosas diurnas griegas y romanas, Eos y Aurora, respectivamente, de modo que ella tal vez fue una

Diosa del amanecer y por lo tanto de la primavera y de la renovacin de la vida.

Desafortunadamente, ostre parece haber sido desconocida en Escandinavia e Islandia, ya que

ellos no conservan rastro de su nombre. La Diosa Iunn mencionada en las Eddas como la

guardiana de las manzanas de la inmortalidad parecera una posibilidad, considerando el hecho de

que ella tambin aparece para lidiar con la renovacin de la vida.

UllR: UllR es poco mencionado en las fuentes del nrdico antiguo, aunque nombres de lugares en

Noruega y Suecia muestren que l ha sido una deidad importante. Sin embargo, no aparece en el

sur de Noruega y Suecia, y las referencias a l estn casi ausentes de los registros de Dinamarca, el

continente e Inglaterra. Entonces parece poco probable que l fuera adorado por los anglosajones.

Loki: Loki es uno de los mayores personajes en las fuentes islandesas, a pesar de que su

comportamiento parece un poco esquizofrnico cuando los mitos son vistos como un todo. l

aparece o como un tramposo bonachn que algunas veces mete a los Dioses en problemas pero

finalmente los ayuda, o como una criatura malvola quien comete actos de maldad contra los

Dioses y finalmente se pone contra ellos del lado de los gigantes. La razn de esto es difcil de

decir. Quizs Loki comenz como una figura tramposa benevolente pero evolucion en un


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personaje demoniaco bajo la influencia cristiana. La misma probabilidad es que hubiera dos Lokis.

Las Eddas y Saxo Grammaticus se remiten a un gigante llamado Utaraloki, quien es claramente

muy hostil a los Dioses. Es posible que los dos, eventualmente se volvieran confusos en la mente

de las personas, por lo que los mitos alguna vez atribuyeron a Utaraloki fuera ahora atribuido al

tramposo. A pesar de todo, no hay evidencia de que alguna vez Loki fuera adorado. Ninguna de las

fuentes antiguas se remite a su culto y tampoco hay lugares nombrados a l.

El nombre de Loki est completamente ausente del ingls antiguo y es imposible saber si los

anglosajones creyeron del todo en Loki, dejando a un lado si lo consideraban como un tramposo

benevolente o un gigante malvolo.

Los espritus

Alrededor del mundo la mayora de la gente cree en entidades menos poderosas que los Dioses,

pero ms poderosas que un hombre. Los estudiosos se remiten generalmente a tales entidades

como espritus o demonios (n debe ser confundido con los demonios de la mitologa cristiana). Tal

vez el mejor ejemplo conocido de tales entidades son los ngeles de los mitos judeo-cristianos.Como la mayora de otras personas, los germnicos tambin creyeron en tales entidades,

llamndolas generalmente por cognados antiguos de la palabra wight (OE wiht). Abajo hay una

tabla de los mayores espritus conocidos por la gente germnica. Le sigue un pequeo comentario

para cada uno.

Los espritus del paganismo anglosajn y satr ingls antiguo

Islands/nrdico

lf lfR

yrs urs

Eoten Jtunn

Dweorgh DvergR

Nicor NykR

lf: El plural en ingls antiguo es ylfe y en nrdico antiguo es lfar. La palabra en ingls antiguo

sobrevivi como el moderno elfo. En las fuentes del nrdico antiguo son nombrados a menudo

junto con los se (sir en nrdico antiguo) y fue al parecer estrechamente relacionado a los Wen

(Vanir del NA)por lo menos se nos dice que a Fra le fue dado lfheimR (hogar de los elfos)como un regalo al recibir su primer diente. La naturaleza precisa de los elfos no es clara en las

fuentes del nrdico antiguo. En momentos parecen ser entidades casi a la par con los Dioses,

incluso asociados con el sol (un kenningar del nrdico antiguo para el sol fue el rayo de los elfos,

casi como si de alguna forma ellos fueran responsables de eso). Al mismo tiempo, sin embargo,

parece como si ellos fueran los espritus de los muertos. Aparentemente ellos viven en montculos

y al menos dos reyes noruegos muertos llevaban ttulos con la palabra lfR en ellos. De cualquier


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forma, los elfos estuvieron vinculados a la curacin y tambin invocados en los partos. A pesar de

esto, tambin se les crea la causa de enfermedades, siendo los tiros de elfo pequeos dardos o

flechas de su propio diseo.

En las fuentes del ingls antiguo los elfos tambin parecen haber sido entidades poderosas. En

Bowulf son nombrados al lado de los eotenas (ettins o gigantes) y otras fuerzas demoniacas(de cualquier forma, un punto de vista cristiano). En el encantamiento Con Fstice, tiro de elfo

es nombrado al lado del tiro de los se (o sea, los Dioses) como una causa de enfermedad. Del

folclor tardo sabemos que en Inglaterra tambin se les consideraba viviendo en montculos,

aunque esta idea ciertamente podra haber sido importada por los daneses. Tambin sabemos por

fuentes del ingls antiguo que ellos fueron considerados como causa de enfermedades gracias al

tiro de elfo una creencia comn de los pueblos germanos.

yrs y Eoten: Estos dos trminos parecen haber sido virtualmente intercambiables tanto en el

ingls antiguo como en el nrdico antiguo (urs y jtunn, respectivamente). En el ingls moderno

los trminos sobrevivieron como thurse y ettin respectivamente. Ellos remiten a lo que ahora

algunas veces llamamos gigantes. Edred Thorsson, en su libro Runelore (Tradicin rnica)

teoriz que los trminos originalmente pueden haber sido ms especficos en significado. Esto es,

jtunn se remita a los antiguos gigantes casi csmicos tales como Ymir. Por otro lado, el trmino

urs se remita a los algo torpes y menos poderosos gigantes que se ven ms a menudo en los

mitos nrdicos (usualmente como oponentes de nor). La teora de Thorsson es atractiva,

aunque no est confirmada por los registros del ingls antiguo. El trmino yrs el ingls antiguo,

difcilmente podra haber sido remitido a un espritu poco inteligente. Se desarroll el significado

mago y tambin fue usado por el diablo cristiano. Los anglosajones bien pudieron haber

considerado a los yrs no slo como una criatura malvola, pero lo suficientemente inteligente

para ser comparada con el Satn cristiano.

Dweorgh: Esto es simplemente nuestra palabra moderna para enano, dvergR en nrdico antiguo.

Las referencias a los enanos son escasas en ingls antiguo, donde ellos son mencionados ms

prominentemente en dos encantamientos contra enfermedades causadas por ellos. El folclor

ingls tardo, sin embargo, muestra la visin inglesa de los enanos para ser coherentes con los

dems pueblos germanos. Los enanos son maestros herreros, a menudo viviendo en montaas y

rocas, conocidos por ser celosos de sus tesoros. Tambin esta es la visin de los enanos mostrada

en las fuentes islandesas, aunque ellos no son meros personajes de cuentos de hadas, sino como

espritus suficientemente poderosos como para asociarlos con los Dioses. De hecho, los ms

grandes tesoros de los Dioses (Gungnir la lanza de Wden, el martillo de nor, etc.) fueron

hechos todos por los enanos.

Wlcyrige: Valkyrja en nrdico antiguo, nuestra palabra moderna valquiria. En ambos lenguajes la

palabra literalmente significa selector de los muertos. En las fuentes del nrdico antiguo las

Valkyrjur aparecen como las sirvientas de Wden los espritus cargados con los hroes

recientemente muertos para llevarlos al Valhll o Valhalla. Actualmente muchos tienden a ver a

las Valkyrjur como doncellas hermosas quienes esperan a los guerreros en el Valhlluna Vendela


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en armadura. Y mientras las Valkyrjur son a menudo vistas como hermosas por las fuentes

antiguas, tambin tuvieron un lado salvaje. En la saga de Njals, las Valkyrjur aparecen en un sueo,

tejiendo un telar con entraas ponderado con cabezas cortadas.

El lado ms salvaje de las Valkyrjur pudo haber sido recordado por los anglosajones. La palabra

Wlcyrige es usada para hacer brillar a las Furias de la mitologa griega. Curiosamente, Wulfstanen su Sermn del lobo condena Wlcyrigen al lado de brujas. Esto es extrao, como el trmino

wicce (bruja en nuestra palabra moderna) en ingls antiguo denota un mortal lanzador de

conjuros, usualmente malvolo, mientras que el trmino Valkyrja del nrdico antiguo denota a

una Diosa que selecciona a los muertos. Esto nos deja con muchas posibilidades.

La primera es que siguiendo la conversin los mitos de las Wlcyrigen degeneraron hasta que

ellas fueron consideradas como algo ms que seres humanos. Esto pasaba a menudo seguido a la

adopcin de la Cristiandad. Los elfos, alguna vez vistos casi tan poderosos como los Dioses, fueron

reducidos al nivel de hadas.

La segunda es que las Wlcyrigen podran haber sido originalmente sacerdotisas mortalesquienes, despus de su muerte, fueron deificadas y se convirtieron en parte del entorno de

Wden. Esto podra haber confirmado a las Valkyrjur en las referencias en nrdico antiguo y en

literatura islandesa como las hijas adoptivas de Wden. La tercera, Wulfstan simplemente

podra haber sido malentendido y asumido que las Wlcyrigen fueron entidades mortales, cuando

en verdad ellas fueron consideradas como Diosas.

Nicor: Tanto nicor en ingls antiguo, como nykr en nrdico antiguo son cognados de nix y nixie

(genio) en alemn; sin embargo, ambas palabras parecen haberse remitido a espritus acuticos de

una naturaleza ms siniestra y mortal que los espritus del ro de los cuentos de hadas alemanes.

De hecho, la madre de Grendel (de Bowulf) es un ejemplo de la idea de los anglosajones paranicor!

Debe ser sealado que adems de estos espritus, el paganismo anglosajn y el satr nrdico

compartieron aparentemente a un anfitrin de otros espritus, quien sobrevivi en los cuentos de

hadas de Inglaterra, Escandinavia e Islandia. Y aunque los nombres, as como los datos pueden

variar de pas a pas, las historias son a menudo tan similares que uno puede preguntarse si ellos

no tienen un origen comn en el pasado germnico antiguo. De hecho, las fuentes antiguas y los

cuentos de hadas tardos son indicio de que cada casa, colina, arroyo y lago tuvieron su propio

espritu!

De hecho, ms all del culto de algunos Dioses mayores y varias creencias (como la del Wyrd), en

el rea de los espritus es donde los pueblos germanos tuvieron ms en comn. La razn para esto

es sencilla. El culto a los Dioses, incluyendo hroes deificados, fue un alto grado de la jurisdiccin

de los sacerdotes y reyes. Por otro lado, el culto de los espritus fue en gran parte un asunto de

creencia popularla creencia del hombre comn. Fueron los dueos de las casas quienes se

encargaron de los sacrificios en el hogar de los espritus, no el sacerdote local o seor.


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La creencia popular es a menudo mucho ms conservadora que aquellas creencias controladas por

sacerdotes y reyes, es como tales creencias, si fueron originadas en el pasado profundo de los

pueblos germanos, probablemente cambi muy poco. Es as como lidiaron las costumbres tales

como el tronco del Yule para sobrevivir muchos siglos en diferentes pases. Por esa razn, quizs,

vemos una consistencia impresionante en las creencias concernientes a los enanos y otros

espritus

Documents

Anglo-Saxon Heathendom & Islandic Asatru: Comparison and Contrast/ Paganismo anglosajón & Ásatrú islandés: comparación y contraste