The Journal of Germanic Mythology & Folklore

The Journal of GermanicMythology & Folklore

Volume 1, Issue 3

March, 2006

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Table of ContentsRenewal in Ragnarok: The Replacement and the Rebirth of Everything

4

In The Afterlife: A Brief Comparison of the Afterlife inthe Pre-Christian Sami & Germanic Religions

22

Call for Submissions for Issue 4 30

Mission of the JGMF 32

A Brief History of the JGMF and its Founding 34

Book Review - Mediating the Past: Gustav Freytag,Progress and German Historical Identity, 1848-1871(Alyssa Lonner, PhD, 2005)

36

Advertisement 38

Advertising in the JGMF 40

The Templin Foundation: An Introduction 42

Call for Tax-Deductible Book Donations 44

The Templin Foundation Articles of Incorporation 44

The Templin Foundation Bylaws 48

Renewal in Ragnarok:The Replacement and the Rebirth of Everything

Thor H Templin, MA, MA, Independent Scholar

Abstract The west Norse account of the world’s end is the only surviving

one of the Germanic world. It has been subject in the past to criticism as a later Christian influence especially when the world is reborn; however, such conclusions are a bit hasty as other Indo-European religions, especially the Indo-Iranian ones, have similar stories of destruction and recreation. Even the several of the Greek accounts of creation, indicates that the world as it is now was not always so. What is remarkable about Snorri’s account of the world’s end is that he preserves the basic Proto-Indo-European tripartite in his recreation. This preservation is not by coincidence, Snorri here is relying on some preserved

tradition built into the mythology.

Introduction

The Germanic Religious System can be characterized by cycles:

cycles when chaos ruled, when order was achieved, when conflict

began. The Ragnarok is not an end, but rather it is a new beginning.

The olds gods will perish as will their enemies, but born from this chaos

are new gods – able, ready and who have learned from their parents

mistakes. This paper will briefly explore the Ragnarok and why certain

gods survive and why.

4

The End’s Beginning and the New Beginning’s End

The west Norse account of the world’s end is the only surviving one

of the Germanic world. It has been subject to criticism as a later

Christian influence especially when the world is reborn, but I think that

that is a bit hasty. Indo-European religions, especially the Indo-Iranian

ones, have similar stories of destruction and recreation.

There are nonetheless obvious Christian influences; for example, when

Snorri writes of how society is broken, he speaks of, among other

things, incest. Incest could not have been a gross crime in the Germanic

world as the Vanir with their practices demonstrate. Concepts of the

world burning and the seas overtaking the land could be of either a

Christian or an older source.

There are two forces that are at constant odds with each other:

the forces of order (gods, humans, elves, land and water spirits, the sun,

the moon, the stars, etc.) and the forces of chaos (giants, Surt, dwarves,

the Midgard serpent, Fenris the wolf [a.k.a. Garm the dog?], Hati – the

wolf who pursues the sun and will eat her as Ragnarok begins-, Skoll –

the wolf who pursues the moon and eats him as Ragnarok begins, etc.).

This contrast excludes, of course, Loki and Odin who are chaotic,

Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore, Issue 3

5

keepers of order, evil and good depending on when one examines them.

The forces of order have maintained order by battling the forces of

chaos when possible. It is only the disorganisation of the forces of

chaos that allows order to be maintained. For some reason, the forces

of chaos are suddenly triggered to attack all at once. The result is a

break-down of order: brother fights brother, son and father fight, three

years of continuous battle (which is different from normally?), three

years of continuous winter and so on. In the end, the world burns and

then sinks into the seas killing all but two humans, the sun and moon

are eaten, and the stars are destroyed. Yggdrasil shivers and groans,

and Heimdall, who gets his horn which is stored at the base of

Yggdrasil, and the roosters of Odin, Surt and Hel all sound the alarm.

The forces of chaos sail in a ship made of the nails of the dead, Naglfar,

and the forces of order sail in Frey’s ship, Skidbladnir, which was built

by elves. The forces of chaos cross onto Bifrost, but it breaks, and so

they head to the plain of Vigrid, where the battle takes place.

Before this can be evaluated, one must resolve the Garm and

Fenris issue. As many scholars have pointed out, they seem to be one in

the same, but they are two different creatures in Ragnarok as the battle

Renewal in Ragnarok Templin

6

different gods. Since Snorri is rather brief in his accounts, it is safe to

assume that they must be one in the same. Furthermore, Odin battles

Fenris the wolf, but one would expect Tyr, who Snorri lists as fighting

Garm, to have a little more hatred of Fenris since the wolf ate his arm.

If they were one in the same, this contradiction disappears.

As mentioned, Tyr fights Garm, and they both kill each other,

while Odin is killed or swallowed by Fenris, who is killed by Vidar, one

of Odin’s sons.

Thor as champion of the humans fights the Midgard serpent, one

of the most feared monsters of the Germanic world. He wins but dies

from the venom inflicted upon him from the serpent’s breath nine steps

afterwards. It is appropriate for Thor to fight the serpent, as it is the

beast that threatens humans the most directly.

Frey – “weaponless” because he gave up his sword in order to

win the giantess Gerd – falls to Surt, who then burns the Earth. The

defeat of the fertility god causes the Earth to be unfertile or scorched.

Strangely Loki and Heimdall fight and kill each other. Why

these two would have hatred is beyond understanding. One would

expect Vali to fight Loki, but perhaps Snorri needs to kill off two


7

characters, and they are just the ones that are left over.

Nevertheless, the fact that the gods are not eternal nor are any

men, strengthens the concept that one’s deeds will live on not only after

one’s death but also after Ragnarok, when the surviving gods sit and

“call to mind” all that has happened while playing with the golden

chessmen. Less Odin, the gods are very excepting of their fates and

even how exactly how they will die and whom they will battle. The fact

that they follow this demonstrates the strong belief in unchangeable fate

(unchangeable = why try to deny or resist it).

In any case, one must view Ragnorok as the conclusion of the

age of order created by Odin and his brothers as well as the beginning

of a very short period of chaos which is then reordered by the six

surviving gods (perhaps with twice the numbers but still a multiple of

three and a lot of the plans already laid, they will do better than Odin

did). But alas, “even yet the world is not purged of evil” (Turville-

Petre, 1964) because the serpent Nidhogg still eats the bones of the

dead.

The Survivors and their Roles and Functions

In the end according to Snorri, it appears that only Vali, Vidar,


8

Modi, Magni, Balder, Hod, the daughter of the sun and two humans

survive. One must understand the survivors as replacements or rebirths

of the functions of the gods. Georges Dumézil’s structuring of the gods

works quite well in this system of replacement. Looking first at the old

gods, one notices that they all are killed leaving a vacuum.1. gods of sovereignty–

justice/order (Tyr) [Forseti] and magic (Odin)2. warrior gods– [let this include hunting gods]

(Thor) [Heimdall] [Ull, Magni, Modi, etc.]3. food production (fertility, wealth, etc.)–

(Njord, Frey, Freya) [Balder?, Sif?, Frigg]

(Adapted from Polomé, 1989, p. 56.)

Balder and Hod must become the gods of fertility, Modi and

Magni become the gods of war, and Vali and Vidar become the gods of

sovereignty. This yields a new chart.1. gods of sovereignty – justice/order [Vidar] and magic [Vali]2. warrior gods – [Magni] [Modi]3. food production (fertility, wealth, etc.) – [Balder, Hod]

But why do these figure fit into these roles? The answer lies in

their previous functions as it relates to their new role. It is also

interesting to note that all of them are either sons of Odin or sons of

Thor.

Gods of Sovereignty

Odin’s obscure sons present little interesting data. Vali, the son


9

of the giantess Rinda, is born to avenge Balder and does so at one day

old. Less his survival at Ragnarok, there is no mention of him. He is

perhaps the vengeance aspect of Odin. Vidar, who is called the ‘silent

god’ by Snorri and avenges his father’s death with his shoe, is another

survivor of Ragnarok. One can suppose that these are the gods of the

first tier who will replace Odin and Tyr after Ragnarok. In such a

scenario, Vali should replace Odin (as they both are wrathful and

murderous), and Vidar should replace Tyr (as he duels out justice in the

death of his father).

Warrior Gods

Magni (“strong”) and Modi (“angry”), these children of Thor are

later personifications of two aspects of him. Modi and Magni first play

a role after Ragnarok, when they inherit Thor’s hammer and the 2nd tier,

so they could very well be considered later developments: As Thor

became more popular, there existed a need to develop more around him.

It follows a pattern though, that Thor’s greatest symbol would be shared

among the two sons.


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Gods of Fertility

Unlike the first two tiers, the new gods of the third tier present a

much more complex picture. Here one has a lot of data about Balder

and Hod – unlike the other four gods. To understand how they fit in,

one must ex amine all of the data.

Without question, one of the most perplexing stories to decipher

is that of Balder's death caused by Hod. Although what little remains of

the god, it is the time shortly before his death that have been best

preserved. Snorri describes the whole event as the greatest misfortune

ever to befall gods and men.

Even though the story is only found in Scandinavia, the model

(brothers killing each other by accident) is in a number of other

Germanic tales – namely among them Beowulf, and the model of the

invulnerable god killed by a blind god is also found in the Indian

religion (Dumézil 1977). This pushes the story much further back in

time.

Balder’s name, which is found throughout the Germanic world,

is etymologically unclear. Suggestions have been made for his name to

mean “the shining one”, while other have linked it to the Old English


11

word for lord (“bealdor”), but these are weak at best. Balder seems

more likely to be a link back to the Proto-Indo-European god of the

shining sky’s aspects of light and pureness – aspects lost by a faded Tyr

or Odin. Hod's name is linked to one of the Old Norse words for

warrior or fighter, so it could actually be a later replacement for another

god of the winter.

There are really three stories that tell of Balder's death: Snorri’s,

Saxo’s and the west Norse poetic sources. The latter ones differ from

Snorri in one respect: Did Hod act alone? Saxo, on the other hand, is

way out in the realm of Christianised folklore, but his account yields

one interesting contrasts that must be considered.

Balder is the brother of Hod, and one could even go as far as to

state that they are like opposite twins. This notion of being the twin

children of Odin and Frigg is further compounded in the opposite

natures of Hod and Balder: Hod is the ugly, blind god of darkness and

winter, while Balder is the beautiful, brightly shining god of light and of

either blossoming spring or mid-summer. It is interesting to note how

they are an idealised set of brothers: Balder represents all that is pure

and good, while Hod is quite literally blind to his responsibilities.


12

It would be an error not to understand much of the details of the

Balder story as later Christianisation. Snorri paints Balder as a very

Christ-like figure who dies and returns to life (which is not the case),

while displaying a Cain-Abel like set of brothers. But the story itself

cannot be purely of Christian origin as it has some parallel that the story

of Achilles, other parallels in the Indo-European daughter religions and

appears in the kennings of the west Norse poetry.

Snorri writes that Balder had some terrible dreams that

threatened his life and that when he told the Æsir these dreams, they

decided to seek protection for Balder ‘from every kind of peril’. Frigg,

being the motherly figure that she is, goes out and asks all kinds of

creatures and things not to harm Balder. Afterwards and to test whether

or not this had worked, the Æsir amused themselves by throwing darts

at, striking and throwing stones at Balder.

‘No matter what was done’, the Æsir were not able to hurt

Balder, and ‘everyone thought that a fine thing’. Loki, however was

annoyed at all of this sport, and he went disguised as a woman to visit

Frigg. Frigg asked this woman if she knew what the Æsir were doing at

the assembly. She answered that they were all throwing things at


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Balder, moreover that he was not being hurt. Frigg remarked that

"neither weapons nor trees will injure Balder; I have taken an oath from

them all". The woman asked if everything had sworn an oath to spare

Balder. Frigg replied that mistletoe took no oath from it because she

thought it too young. Thereupon the woman disappeared.

Loki took hold of the mistletoe, pulled it up and went to the

assembly. Now Hod, standing on the outer edge of the circle of men

throwing things at Balder, was asked by Loki why he was not throwing

darts at Balder. Hod answered that he was blind and therefore unable to

aim any weapon. Then Loki armed Hod with a shoot of mistletoe and

showed him where Balder was standing. Hod took the mistletoe and

aimed at Balder as directed by Loki. The dart went right through him,

and he fell dead to the ground.

Interestingly enough, mistletoe is in fact very toxic, and the berries are

poisonous. Again, the story works a little educational lesson into itself.

The mistletoe was shot like a projectile, so one must understand it as

either a spear- or javelin-like object or as an arrow. The former is more

favourable as Snorri does not describe any type of bow. Snorri story

continues with an account of Balder’s funeral: ‘The Æsir, in shock of


14

this matter despite its the fact that it was predestined, could not take

vengeance in Balder’s sanctuary. The Æsir wept, mourned and grieved.

Odin, understanding the true nature of this lose to the gods, was the

most sadden of the gods. When the gods had recovered from the shock,

Frigg asked which of the Æsir would ride to Hel to try to find Balder,

and offer Hel a ransom if she would allow Balder to return. Hermod,

one of Odin’s sons, volunteered and took Sleipnir and galloped away

towards Hel. The Æsir took Balder's body and carried it down to the

sea to Balder's ship, Ringhorn. The gods built Balder's funeral pyre on

it, but they could not move it at all, so they sent for the giantess

Hyrrokkin (ON “the one who has withered from fire”). She came riding

on a wolf with vipers for reins; four berserks tried to guard it, but they

were unable to and struck it down. Then Hyrrokkin with the first shove

launched it in such a way that the rollers burst into flame and the whole

world trembled. Then Balder's body was carried out onto the ship, and

when his wife Nanna saw that, her heart broke from grief and she died.

She was carried on to the pyre, and it was set alight. All sorts of people

came to this cremation. Snorri describes the procession in much detail:

‘First and foremost, Odin, accompanied by Frigg and his valkyries and


15

ravens. Frey drove in a chariot drawn his the boar. Heimdall rode his

horse, and Freyja was driving her cats. A great crowd of giants came

too. Odin laid on the pyre the gold ring which is called Draupnir, which

afterwards every ninth night dropped from it eight rings of equal value.

Balder's horse with all its harness was led to the pyre.’ The details that

Snorri proves must be considered a model of how this type of burial

was done. It is interesting to note how Balder is already in Hel before

his body is sent there – again a support for the Germanic notation of

spirit. Snorri then describes Hermod’s ride to Hel and how Hel seeks

the grief of all beings as a ransom for Balder, a ransom which all things

other than Loki disguised as Thokk pays. For these two crimes Loki is

punished – he is bound in chains until Ragnarok, when he breaks free.

Balder's death is also avenged by Vali, who kills Hod when he is only

one day old. Some scholars have linked this story to a shamanistic

ritual, where a fertility god dies and is reborn (i.e., Balder dies and is

reborn as Vali).

Saxo turns this story into the rivalry between two men over the woman

Nanna (who is Balder’s wife in the west Norse tradition). His story tells

of how Balder, who is described a whining semi-god, tries to win the


16

hand of the mortal Nanna, with whom he was fallen in love with after

seeing her bath, but has to contend with the mortal Hod, who is Nanna’s

“foster-brother” and husband. Despite being warned by the Norns, who

appear as a mystical group of women not to attack Balder because no

mere weapons can harm him, he obtains a magical sword and eventually

slays Balder, but only after several battles involves Danish and Swedish

armies. Of this account, the only part that one can use for analysis is

the fact that there existed a rivalry between Balder and Hod. This

seems to be the only part of the actual story that could have been

retained, but it is a part that is absent in Snorri’s account.

The scattered poetic sources describe in less detail much of the

same story, but the name Hod as the lone perpetrator of the crime, not

as a tool of Loki’s mischief. They describe the vengeance taken against

Hod as Snorri does, but mention nothing of Loki. Further kennings

name Hod as Balder's killer.

G. Neckel (1920) thinks of Balder as a late edition to the

Germanic gods and connects him to gods of the Near East such as

Orpheus and Adonis. These are fertility gods that die with the winter

and are reborn in the spring. Their deaths were violent and during their


17

youth, and their return from the other world was marked with much

celebration. F.R. Schröder (1941) has drawn scholars to relate Balder to

the Finnish god Lemminkäinen, who like Balder is killed by a blind

man with a shaft and returns to life, but the stories of these two gods

seem only to have superficial connections. Turville-Petre suggests that

Odin is actually Hod (one of the kennings refers to Odin actually being

blind: Helblindi), and that he slough Balder, just as he slough many of

his other favourites. All of these thoughts are, in my view, stretches of

the truth.

Balder is a fertility god of spring/summer killed by the winter.

This is not a ritual that is repeated as in some other religions, as the

gods do not expect his return, as de Vries and others have suggested.

His death is a signal of the beginning of the end as one should

understand that it is the long winter (i.e., the winter's defeat of the

spring and summer) that marks the coming of Ragnarok.

Another subtext that many scholars read here is that Balder's

death takes place during what could be a rite of passage, and that Vali is

the rebirth of the boyish Balder into a man. Here again, one finds a

model built into the story (i.e., like Balder's funeral, this can be seem as


18

an idealistic model of the event), but it would be a shortcoming to make

the connection between Balder and Vali as Balder is in Hel and shall

return after the Ragnarok. Although it is possible that at some point that

this was trying to be expressed, it cannot be clearly deduced as such.

It would not be out of the realm of thought to conclude that

Balder and Hod are in fact extensions of the Proto-Indo-European

Twins with some trait influence from the Proto-Indo-European

Thunder-God (namely the warrior aspect) and the Proto-Indo-European

God of the Shining Sky (namely the seasonal aspects). If they are the

divine twins, they were then driven into the background with the

emergence of Frey and Freya into the Germanic world. Hengist and

Horsa, the twins that lead the Angles into England in the Anglo-Saxon

religious tradition, have been linked to the Proto-Indo-European twins

because of their relation to the horse (NHG Hengst, Eng. horse); this

would be the Angle version of Balder and Hod.

Hod and Balder both return to positions of power after

Ragnarok, perhaps signalling a return to normalised weather patterns

and thus a return to order.


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Conclusion

Each of the major functions is replaced by a god of more defined

function – the all-encompassing gods like Thor and Odin are gone, and

the system is left with well-defined gods and straight forward roles.

This was perhaps the case in the beginning as well as each god evolved

to meet differing needs. The cycle is complete and begins anew.

Relevant BibliographyDavidson, H.R. Ellis. (1967). Pagan Scandinavia. Boulder (CO): Westview Press.

_________________. (1993). The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe. New York: Routledge.

Dumézil, Georges. (1973, reprint). Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Berkeley: Univ. of CA Press.

________________. (1959). Loki. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.

Durkheim, Emilé. (1915). The Elementary Forms of religious Life. NewYork: Macmillan.

Eliade, Mircea. (1978, reprint) History of Religious Ideas (3 volumes). Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.

Gimbutas, Marija. (1997). The Kurgan Culture and the Indo-Europeanization of Europe. Washington, D.C.:Institute for the Study of Man.

Grimm, Jakob. (1844). Deutsche Mythologie (4 volumes). Göttingen: Dieterich.


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Günther, Hans (1967, Eng. Trans.). Religious Attitudes of the Indo-Europeans. London: Clair Press.

Meid, Wolfgang. (1991) Aspekte der germanischen und keltischen Religion im Zeugnis der Sprache. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachwissenschaft der Universität Innsbruck: Auslieferung.

Saxo: The History of the Danes, Books I - IX

Simek, Rudolf. (1993). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Rochester (NY): St.Edmundsbury Press.

Snorri Sturluson: Edda: Gylfaginning og prosafortellingene av Skáldspaparmál

Tactitus. Germania

Turville-Petre, Gabriel. (1967). Myth and religion of the North. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Polomé, Edgar C. (1989). Essays on Germanic Religion. Washington D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man.

Vries, Jan de. (1956). Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte (2 volumes).Berlin: W. De Gruyter.


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In The Afterlife:

A Brief Comparison of the Afterlife

in the Pre-Christian Sámi & Germanic Religions

Thor H Templin, MA, MA, Independent Scholar

Marcus Garisen, Community Scholar

IntroductionReligions, in general, do not have much quarrel about

concepts or beliefs that to the outside observer seem to contradict each other. From ancient to modern, followers of almost every faith have had no problem accepting parallel storiesabout entities that they are familiar with but that contain dissimilardetails – one need only look to the first two chapters of Genesis to find this in Christian mythology or the disir, as will be discussed later in this paper, in Germanic mythology. These parallelisms are more common in uncodified and cult based religions (or better called religious systems, as they are a system of localized, cult centered religions as opposed to a single religion) than codified, standardized religions. In this paper, I will briefly describe and examine the (conflicting) ideas about the afterlife in four cultural groupings: the Old Europe Europeans, theIndo-Europeans, the Germanic peoples and the Sámi peoples. Then, I will briefly compare them, highlighting points that should have been made clear during the descriptions.

I will however not discuss such phenomenon as ghosts or hauntings, as they are tied in with ritualistic practices that go beyond the scope of this paper.

The fact that the Sámi religious system is significantly more shamanistic than the Germanic religious system is 22

unimportant for the purposes of comparison in this paper, because the rituals are not being compared. The role of the shaman, the drum and other ritualistic practices is likewise unimportant in this paper.

The Afterlife in Old Europe versus the Indo-EuropeansMarija Gimbutas discusses the divergent views in the Old

European religion and the Proto-Indo-European one. She explains how the Old European belief system likely believed in a cyclic regeneration process (i.e., non-generation successive reincarnation) and buried their dead in womb-, egg- or anthropomorphic-shaped graves, where the ‘tomb equals a womb for new life to begin’ is the expressed idea. Symbols on their graves were symbols of regeneration, water or life energy orimages of the Goddess of Regeneration with labyrinths, a vulva and/or breasts. They likely saw a barrier of water between this world and the next, which is crossed by ships (which are also symbols of regeneration) and located in the west. In general, life after death is pleasant.

The Proto-Indo-Europeans contrast greatly with this. They have a linear continuity from life to death to the afterlife. The dead take their belongings and servants to the life beyond. The greater the man in life; the greater were the number of gifts, animals and servants placed into his grave. Gifts of food are made even after the funeral to necessitate the well being of the dead. Death in battle is the highest honor. The otherworld is gloomy, sterile, chilly, underground swamp and ruled by the malesovereign god. Getting there involves a road or a river and usually three days of walking or riding (in either a ship or chariot or on a horse). The souls there are adrift, passive and pale.

As Gimbutas points out that such different beliefs of the

In the Afterlife Templin & Garison

23

Proto-Indo-European mode of burial and beliefs could not have developed from the Old Europeans. One must understand that the mixing of these two cultures results not in one’s absolute destruction, but rather that the features that the Proto-Indo-Europeans saw as favorable were incorporated into their own system and often with modifications.

To summarize, Proto-Indo-Europeans viewed the afterlife among the gods (sky based), while the Old Europe Europeans viewed the afterlife as an earthly place and/or a time of reincarnation or regeneration (land based).

The Afterlife in the Germanic WorldThe Soul

As I will discuss shortly, the fetch resemble a type of soul, and the funeral of Balder demonstrates another (i.e., Balder's soul is in Hel even before his body has its funeral rites and his body and self in Hel are not one and the same). Polomé suggests, and I think correctly, that there is a three-fold structure to the concept of soul in the Germanic world:

1. A breath concept (Gmc. *and- [ON ond] and *e›ma- [OHG atum, OE æ›m, etc.]) – essentially, the animating life force given by the gods;2. an emotive force (Gmc. *gaist- [OE gast, OHG geist, etc.]; *mo›- [ON o›r, OHG muot, OE mod, etc.]) implying some type of release of an inner ecstatic power;3. a cognitive faculty, reflected synthetically by Gmc. *hug- (ON hugr, OE hige, OHG hugu, etc.), but appearing under various aspects: a. reflective (Gmc. min›/mund- [ON minni, OE gemynd, Got. gamin›i or gamunds]; *ah- [Got. Aha]; *flank- [OHG gedank, OE flank, etc.]); b. perceptive (Gmc. *sef- [OE sefa, OS sebo, etc.]); c. volitive (Gmc. *wil-).


24

(Polomé 1989, p. 89).

Afterlife on EarthIt seems that if the soul remains among the plane of the

living, it either transforms into another type of being or it goes to an ancestral home. In either case, these beliefs are tied to the concept of ancestor worship.

After death the soul may come to reside in an ancestral place such a mountain, fjord, valley or gorge. Here the soul leaves among the ancestral family.

The Scandinavian Disir were female spirits that were guardians of families and/or individuals. They were perhaps even the subject of cult worship and offerings and are usually associated with the winter season, when they were perhaps honored by an annual feast. Confusion exists as whether or not they were in fact dead female ancestors which were powerless todirectly help the living but warned of coming despair or rather they should be associated with the Anglo-Saxon and Continental Matres or Matronae (female land spirits). Even if parallelism explains the confusion, one should be tempted to divide the Disir into two groups: one being dead female relations and the other being female land spirits. The former is then connected with the parallel of ancestor worship versus afterlife.

The Fylgjur or (Anglo-Saxon) fetch was often intertwined with the Disir, but they had no cult and took no offerings. They perhaps represent the closest Germanic concept to that of a soul.They are part of an individual or a family and often defend individuals, and their revealing of themselves is a bad omen. They can either be animal or human, usually a female, in form and often reflect the nature of the individual or group that they protect (e.g., fetches in the form of bears were often associated


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with warriors).There are then perhaps three entities here: land spirits

(Disir, Matres); ghosts of female ancestors (Disir, confused with Fetches); and personal spirits of fate and/or protection (Fetches).

The belief in elves is as likely an Old European one (connections with the practice of ancestor worship exist, since the elves were “spirits” of the ancestors, male counterparts to thesecond kind of Disir) as it is an Indo-European one (belief in elf-like creatures exists throughout the Indo-European world). The aforementioned connection is further illustrated, as Turville-Petre points out, by the fact that the women who gave the offering on the altar during the disablot (offering to the disir) was called Alfhildr (daughter of the king of Alfsheim ‘the elfin home’).

The elves lived in one of nine worlds (Ljossalfsheim) and were the object of offerings and perhaps even cult worship. Theywere either invisible to or seldom seen by the mortal eye - much like the Disir - and ruled by Frey. The last fact is another link between the Vanir and the Old Europe Europeans; Frey as a symbol of life and death (a duality that exists for all fertility gods) rules over them (why should otherwise a fertility god rule over these dead ancestors, well perhaps it is tied to the fact that In matriarchal Old Europe, the phallus – Frey’s primary trait and symbol – is a symbol of death). If the Disir are in fact part of an Old European tradition, then the light elves were likely the other land-based spirits of the Old Europe Europeans.

Afterlife among the GodsOdin, the Germanic incarnation of the Proto-Indo-

European God of Death, does not maintain the function of the god of death as the ruler of the Underworld, which has diverged and formed a new being (i.e., Hel), but here the division is not


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clean.In Valhalla, Odin keeps charge of the “honored dead” as

his einherjar, but the dead do not just go to the realm of Hel or Odin’s Valhalla. As Snorri tells us in his Edda, the “thralls” go to Thor and half of the dead in battle go to Freya. It is likely that several other gods also housed the dead of their followers, although little evidence exists to elaborate on such. Presumably the dead could also travel among the halls of various gods, although no direct evidence exists for this.

The Afterlife in the Sámi WorldAccording to what is known about the Sámi religious

system, the shamans dominated religious life in the small groups,in which the Sámi live, although individuals also played an important role. There is a strict gender division of religious role (just as in the Germanic world: e.g., the disablot, which is only done by women), but it is among the Sámi perhaps more relegated and pronounced than it ever was among the Germanic peoples.

The Afterlife in the Sámi WorldAfterlife on Earth

When the Sámi shaman guides the sprit of the dead, one of the many places that it may go is the local familial ancestral spiritual home, often located in a local mountain, lake or body of water or other local geographical anomaly. This is much akin to the Germanic concept.

Rival shaman can also “steal” souls for his group. These souls are transformed into these guardian spirits for various purposes, such as guarding a herd. These spirits are generally faithful despite being in their forced position.


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Afterlife Among the GodsHere, as in the Germanic world, one must distinguish

between several different godly realms, where the dead may reside. The highest of these realms is the remote, celestial worldof Raidenáimuo, where the high god Raiden (Ipmel, Jupmél) lives. The unworthy dead are sent to live with Ruto, the malicious god of disease, in Rutimuo, a place of great illness andsuffering. If the dead are neither of the worthiest ilk or the lowliest, they reside with one of several lower but in no way malicious beings. But before the soul can travel to any of these planes, it is taken by the death goddess Jábme (Jábmiidáhkká) to her realm, where they regain their strength in new bodies; afterwards they either are sent to one of the realms of the gods or are reincarnated on the earthly plane. The dead can also travel between these middle realms and their ancestral homes onEarth.

ConclusionAside from the fact that the souls of the dead may reside

in any number of realms ruled by gods or other worldly entities – a commonality shared by almost all polytheistic religions, one interesting commonality emerges: both have a belief in a transformation of a soul into another guardian entity. The Sámi take this one step further and allow for an agent redirect the transformation. In either case, this does seem very much like theOld European understanding of the afterlife.

It is my belief that these similarities are the result of contact between the Old Europeans and the Finno-Ugric and Germanic (Indo-European) peoples. Such contract resulted in the transmission of certain beliefs and their eventual integration


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resulting in the present system of belief.

Works CitedDuBois, Thomas A. 1999. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Gimbutas, Marija. 1997. The Kurgan Culture and the Indo-Europeanization of Europe. Washington, D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man.

Polomé, Edgar C. 1989. Essays on Germanic Religion. Washington D.C.: Institute for the Study of Man.

Turville-Petre, Gabriel. 1964. Myth and religion of the North. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.


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Call for Submissions to theJournal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore

Call for Articles & Reviews:Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore

http://www.jgmf.org

Issue 4 coming August 15.

Contributions in the areas of Germanic mythology and folklore (ancient, medieval and modern; all approaches welcomed).

The Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore hopes to stimulateinterest and bring to light new scholarship as well as to dispel

misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

With the first issue appearing January 2004, this new free web-basedjournal is designed as a forum to share new

scholarship on topics relating to Germanic (sometimes referred to asNorse or Teutonic) mythology and folklore.

Submissions are accepted from professional scholars, graduate studentsand community (non-academic) scholars. All authors of acceptedarticles receive two free printed copies of the issue in which their

article was printed.

Contributions for the next issue are accepted now throughJuly 31, 2006.

Please see our web site for more information.

Mission of the Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore

"The tragic events of World War II prevented me from going ahead with my plan to study Germanic religion from a comparative point of view, especially with the distortion of the facts that its use and abuse by Nazi ideology too often entailed" (Polomé, Edgar C. 1989. Essays on Germanic Religion. Washington D.C.. Institute for the Study of Man).

The above quote is sadly the truth: The nature of national socialism and the climate it continues to create even after its death has been and will continue to be a serious threat to all progressive scholarly work on the subject of Germanic religion, Indo-Europeans and ancient Germanic peoples, but it is our aim to put aside these false fears. Not only must we consider all the people of Europe as victims and the genetic loss inflicted by the great number of war dead, but we must also consider the scholarly loss of interest in this area as well. To verify this fact, one need only compare the amount of work done before the warto that done after the war.

The Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore hopes to further stimulate interest and bring to light new scholarship as well as dispel misinterpretations and misunderstandings.

As a free web-based journal, we believe in open information. This is also why we accept submissions from academics and non-academics alike. It is designed as a forum to share new scholarship on topics relating to Germanic (sometimes referred to as Norse or Teutonic) mythology and folklore (ancient, medieval and modern).

A Brief History of the JGMF and its Founding

The idea for the JGMF was result of several graduate student conversations following paper presentations at the 95th annual conference of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies and the 8th annual Midwest Graduate Seminar in German Studies (both conferences met in Chicago, IL, during April weekends in 2001). It was noted that there wasno academic journal focusing on Germanic folklore that was in active publication and widely available.

Over a year later, in January 2002, the URL JGMF.orgwas created and soon thereafter the website was born. Calls for submission were sent out and targeted at university departmentsand community organizations with interest in folklore or mythology in general, Germanic or Norse mythology, and Germanic folklore. Response was good, and four articles were published in the premier January 2004 issue. The second issue met with less interest and was published in December 2004. Originally, it was intended that there would be three issues a year, and the number was been changed several times since then.

In 2005, the JGMF was absorbed into the Templin Foundation, a non-profit educational foundation. This led to major restructuring in the JGMF’s organization and delayed the publication of subsequent issues. No issues were published in 2005, but 2006 shall see the return of two annual issues, including this one. Normally, they shall be published in February and August.

JGMF Staff Book Review

Title: Mediating the Past: Gustav Freytag, Progress, and German Historical Identity, 1848-1871Author: Alyssa LonnerSeries: Volume 36 of North American Studies in 19th-Century German LiteraturePublished by Peter LangPublication Date: July 2005ISBN 3-03910-331-8

Book synopsis (from the Publisher):As one of the most widely read German authors of the

nineteenth century, Gustav Freytag (1816-1895) continues to beassociated with the middle class and the progress it enjoyed. Yetwhile his best-selling novel Soll und Haben (1855) and its lesser-known successor Die verlorene Handschrift (1864) owed their vast commercial success largely to their buoyant message of bourgeois advancement, they simultaneously devote significant attention to elements of traditional German society.

In exploring Freytag's dual roles as both a novelist of contemporary middle-class life and a cultural historian, this book uncovers the author's divergent - and ostensibly conflicting - desire both to embrace progress and commemorate the past. Investigating his literary engagement with three centralelements of Germany's historical identity - the pervasiveness of folk beliefs, a strong identification with rural life, and the continued presence of the aristocracy - this study shows how Freytag attempts to locate these constituents of pre-industrial Germany in a modern, industrial nation, and in doing so contributes to a historically anchored national identity in which material and political progress coexist with a rich heritage and

ancient traditions.

About the author: Alyssa Lonner received her PhD in Germanic Languages

and Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently Assistant Professor of German at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Her research interests include nineteenth-century German folklore, historiography and popular culture.

Staff Review: The nexus of folklore, folk identity and the struggle for

German national identity is one that only recently been exploredagain. Lonner’s work sketches out this nexus through the works and life of Gustav Freytag, who from a literary standpoint is one of the hallmark figures within this nexus.

Mediating the Past does not require one to be familiar with Freytag’s works, as Lonner does a superb job walking the reader through his works and their connections and meanings. The only possible misstep with her presentation is that the reader requires a strong working knowledge of German to understand her excerpts from Freytag’s works and other sources, as they are not translated. That aside, the reader can appreciate the well mapped course that Lonner lays in guiding one down the path of understanding how Freytag’s works epitomize the nexus during this period of nation building.

www.cornellpress.cornell.edu1-800-666-2211

Cornell University Press

The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180–1280)

Theodore M. Andersson

“This strikingly original book by Theodore M. Andersson, who knows more about the craft of saga-writing in medieval Iceland than anyone else, crowns four decades of his writings on these extraordinary texts. From the fi rst glittering appearance of sagas at the end of the twelfth century to the autumnal wisdom and bleakness of Nyála a hundred years later, there is much here to surprise and delight.”

—Roberta Frank, Yale University

“It was via Theodore M. Andersson’s work that I was introduced to the sagas, and now, forty years later, in this splendid book, it is still Andersson who is teaching me how to read them. The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas has a strong claim to be his fi nest work and that is praise indeed.”

—William Ian Miller, University of Michigan

$45.00 cloth

Advertising in the Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore

Because of the nature of the J.G.M.F., we will only carry advertisements for scholarly books, organizations, conferences and similar publications that relate to the broad disciplines of Germanic mythology and folklore.

Advertisements for political, religious or general commercial purposes will not be accepted.

To advertise in a given issue of the J.G.M.F., the advertisement (either half or full page) must be submitted via e-mail to the J.G.M.F. editor with "Ad for J.G.M.F." as the subject and must be an attachment in .doc, .htm/.html, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .gif, .jpg/.jpeg, .tif/.tiff or .psd format. Ads must be received no later thanone calendar month before the publication date. Please include your contact information (name, address, etc.) and any affiliations that you have.If your ad is rejected for any reason, you will notified at least two weeks prior to the publication date.If your ad is accepted, you will be notified of the cost via e-mailand our billing procedure. Ads are placed randomly in the issue and remain in that issue, when it becomes a back issue.Ads are not posted until funds are received.

Accepted ads are not to be considered endorsements by the J.G.M.F., its staff or editor.

Pricing per issue is currently set at: $10 per half page, $20 per whole page

All funds earned through advertising are used only for paying for web space, printing and, when needed, software. Any funds left over at the end of the year are used for future years.

No funds are used to pay any salaries or stipends.

The Templin Foundation: An Introduction

The Templin Foundation is a non-profit organization currently based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA and was established in the Fall of 2004 with six goals in mind. 1) to establish and maintain a scholarly publication on

Germanic mythology and folklore, to be called to as "The Journal for Germanic Mythology and Folklore";

2) to work towards the creation and maintenance of an academic library with a focus on Germanic studies and to meet that goal by raising and collecting funds and collecting books, primarily through donations;

3) to work towards the establishment of scholarships for university students - both undergraduate and graduate - in Germanic studies (except for literature);

4) to work towards the establishment of Germanic studies educational lecture series and annual conference;

5) to publish and distribute academic books on topics pertainingto Germanic studies; and

6) to have annual awards to recognize outstanding scholarship in Germanic studies and persons of Germanic decent who have made outstanding achievements in their field.

The Templin Foundation is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes that qualify for exempt purposes as defined by Wisconsin state statues and section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

The August 2006 issue of the JGMF will continue fiscal reports and new book acquisitions of the Templin Foundation.

Call for Book Donations

Book donations are tax deductiblein the U.S. and elsewhere by applicable law.

The Templin Foundation seeks donations of books within the greater subject area of Germanic studies, including but not limited to anthropology, archaeology, folklore, history (all periods ancient to modern), language, language atlases, language arts, linguistics, literature, maps and mythology as well as primary source materials.

Making a Book DonationThe Templin Foundation gladly accepts donations of books on topics of Germanic studies. Book donations are tax deductible (in the U.S. and elsewhere by applicable law). Please contact our us for the current address of our office. After books are received and evaluated (condition, topic, etc.), we will send youa receipt which will state the value of your donation (when you file a tax return, this value is treated just like a monetary donation for tax purposes). You are responsible for shipping costs, and the Templin Foundation is not responsible for damages in transit (please package the books carefully and/or insure them).

Articles of IncorporationThe Templin Foundation, Inc.

6533 West Howard Ave., Suite 4Milwaukee, WI 53220

Article 1. NameThe official name of the corporation shall be The Templin Foundation, Inc., hereafter referred to as the Templin Foundation.

Article 2. Place of IncorporationThe Templin Foundation was created in the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee and state of Wisconsin and is organized under Chapter 181 of the Wisconsin State Statutes.

Article 3. Initial Agent, Initial Principle Office and IncorporatorsArticle 3A. Name & Address of Initial AgentThe name and address of the initial registered agent shall be Thor Heidrek Templin, 6533 West Howard Ave., Suite 4, Milwaukee, WI 53220. Article 3B. Initial Principle OfficeThe address of the initial principle office shall be

6533 West Howard Ave., Suite 4, Milwaukee, WI 53220.Article 3C. Names and Addresses of IncorporatorsThe incorporators and their addresses at the time of incorporation are as follows.Thor Heidrek Templin6533 W. Howard Ave, Suite 4Milwaukee, WI 53220

_______________________________Signed: September 15, 2004

Norman John Templin1800 W. Becher St., Floor 6, Suite 12Milwaukee, WI 53215

_______________________________Signed: September 15, 2004

Article 4. PurposeThe Templin Foundation's purpose is six-fold: 1) to establish and maintain a scholarly publication on Germanic mythology and folklore, to be referred to as "The Journal for Germanic Mythology and Folklore" (hereafter referred to as the "JGMF"); 2) to work towards the creation and maintenance of an academic library with a focus on Germanic studies and to meet that goal by raising and

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collecting funds and collecting books, primarily through donations; 3) to work towards the establishment of scholarships for university students - both undergraduate and graduate - in Germanic studies (except for literature); 4) to work towards the establishment of Germanic studies educational lecture series and annual conference; 5) publish and distribute academic books on topics pertaining to Germanic studies; and 6) annual awards to recognize outstanding scholarship in Germanic studies and persons of Germanic decent who have made outstanding achievements in their field. The Templin Foundation is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes that qualify for exempt purposes as defined by Wisconsin state statues and section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.4A. Definition of Germanic StudiesThe definition of Germanic studies shall be studies that involve or focus upon Germanic languages (including, but not limited to, pedagogy and linguistics), cultures, folklore, mythologies, societies, politics, philosophies, histories and geographies.

Article 5. Use of IncomeAny and all income of the Templin Foundation shall be used to work towards the purposes defined in Article 4. No part of the net earnings of and/or purposes of the Templin Foundation shall be to the benefit of or be distributable to its members or other private persons, except that the Templin Foundation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article 4. No substantial part of the activities of the Templin Foundation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the Templin Foundation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Notwithstanding any other provision of these articles, the Templin Foundation shall not engage in any other activities not permitted (a) by a corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, orthe corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or (b) by a corporation, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

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Article 6. The Journal of Germanic Mythology and FolkloreThe Templin Foundation shall also help to maintain and promote the Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore. The Acting Editor of the JGMF shall be determined by the Board of Directors of Templin Foundation, Inc. as outlined in the by-laws. The primary mission of the JGMF is two-fold: 1) to further stimulate interest on topics relating to Germanic (sometimes referred to as Norse or Teutonic) mythology and folklore (ancient, medieval and modern); and 2) serve as a forum, where new scholarship in this area can come to light and misinterpretations and misunderstandings can be dispelled. As a free web-based academic journal, it accepts submissions from academics and non-academics alike. The JGMF shall act within the legal and organizational guidelines of the Templin Foundation.

Article 7. The Templin Foundation, Inc. Web SiteThe JGMF web site, http://www.jgmf.org, shall also host the Templin Foundation web site, http://templinfoundation.jgmf.org. The web site shall be maintained andrun by the Acting Editor of the JGMF or a person designated by the Acting Editor.

Article 8. MembersThe Templin Foundation shall have members. Members shall receive membership benefits as outlined in the Templin Foundation by-laws according to their membership level. The members shall not receive any financial benefits from the corporation nor shall they be able to change the purposes of the corporation.

Article 9. Governing BodyThe Templin Foundation shall be governed by a Board of Directors, which shall consist of no fewer than two (2) executive officers. The executive officers shall be responsible for keeping the corporation working towards its goals and within its legal limitations, as described in Articles 4, 5 and 6. The election of these officers to the Templin Foundation Board of Directors and the duties of the officers as outlined in the corporate by-laws.Article 9A. By-LawsThe by-laws that govern the Templin Foundation are available on the corporation's web site.

Article 10. Duration and Dissolution of OrganizationThe duration of the the corporation's existence shall be perpetual.If for any reason the corporation must be dissolved, assets shall be distributed for

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one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal taxcode, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. Any such assets not so disposed of shall be disposed of by a Court of Competent Jurisdiction of the county in which the principal office of the corporation is then located, exclusively for such purposes orto such organization or organizations, as said Court shall determine, which are organized and operated exclusively for such purposes.

This document was drafted by Thor Heidrek Templin (6533 West Howard Ave., Suite 4, Milwaukee, WI 53220; Phone (414) 727-7532; E-Mail [email protected]) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

__________________________ September 15, 2004Thor Heidrek Templin Date

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Bylaws of the Templin Foundation, Inc.Article 1 - Name & Purpose of The Templin Foundation & Purpose of its BylawsSection 1-A.

The official name of the corporation shall be The Templin Foundation, Inc., hereafter referred to as the Templin Foundation or the Foundation. The Templin Foundation's purpose is six-fold: – 1) to establish and maintain a scholarly publication on Germanic mythology and folklore, to be referred

to as "The Journal for Germanic Mythology and Folklore" (hereafter referred to as the "JGMF"); – 2) to work towards the creation and maintenance of an academic library with a focus on Germanic

studies and to meet that goal by raising and collecting funds and collecting books, primarily through donations;

– 3) to work towards the establishment of scholarships for university students - both undergraduate and graduate - in Germanic studies (except for literature);

– 4) to work towards the establishment of Germanic studies educational lecture series and annual conference;

– 5) publish and distribute academic books on topics pertaining to Germanic studies; and – 6) annual awards to recognize outstanding scholarship in Germanic studies and persons of Germanic

decent who have made outstanding achievements in their field. The Templin Foundation is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes that qualify for exempt purposes as defined by Wisconsin state statues and section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

Section 1-B. Purpose of the Templin Foundation BylawsThe organizational bylaws are meant to set the guidelines for operation of the Foundation and to reenforce

the principals, standards and framework established in the Articles of Incorporation. These bylaws work and act in accordance with the Articles of Incorporation as well as within tax exempt provisions as defined by Internal Revenue Code.Section I-C. Definition of Germanic Studies

The definition of Germanic studies shall be studies that involve or focus upon Germanic languages (including, but not limited to, pedagogy and linguistics), cultures, folklore, mythologies, societies, politics, philosophies, histories and geographies.

Article II - Membership There shall be two levels of membership: full and supporting. Memberships shall run on a calendar year

system. Membership dues may be raised with an approval vote by 100% of the Board of Directers. Section II-A. Supporting Membership

Supporting Membership status is open to any person or organization. Supporting members shall pay dues as set by the Board of Directors, and there shall be a discounted rate for students and retired persons (with proof ofeligibility).Section II-B. Full Membership

Full Membership status is by application only. The evaluation for full membership is based upon academic research record, publication and general contributions to the field. Applications are approved, if 90% of the Board of Directors vote in favor of the application. All Full Members have permanent membership unless 100% of the Board of Directors elects to remove a member (minus the person in question, if they are a Board member). All Full Members have the right to run for and be elected to as At-Large members of the Board of Directors. If the funds are available, all Full Members shall receive a free printed copy of the Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore (JGMF).Section II-C. Membership Bulletin

All members shall receive a quarterly bulletin via e-mail, which shall describe the Foundation's activities, Board meetings & decisions, publications and the like.

Article III - The Journal of Germanic Mythology & Folklore (http://www.jgmf.org)The JGMF shall be funded by the Templin Foundation. Its Acting Editor shall be selected by the Board of

Directors and continue in that capacity until they either resign the position or 100% of the Board of Directors vote to remove them. The JGMF shall function according to its guidelines as described on its website in its mission statement. These guidelines may only be changed by the Acting Editor with 50% approval from the Board of Directors. The JGMF shall also house the Templin Foundation's website.

Article IV - Board of Directors The Board of Directors, hereafter referred to as the Board, shall have at least three (3) members and has no

upper limit to its size. The Board members receives no compensation. The Board may at any time proposed legislation to add onto the existing Bylaws (i.e., amendments, clarifications, etc.) with a 100% approval of the Board of Directors. At no time, may any parts of these Bylaws be revoked or altered in any way other than to conform to new sections of the Internal Revenue Code in order to maintain the Foundation's tax exempt status.Section IV-A. Election Procedures

Board members are elected in January and serve for one calendar year. Any Full Member may nominate any Full Member for candidacy (including themselves). Full Members cast votes of approval on any candidatesthey wish. Any candidate who receives votes of approval from more than half of the Full Members is then elected as an At-Large member of the Board. Ballots are mailed to all Full Members on or before January 2, and the names of all Full Members who have been nominated by December 15. The ballots must be returned bymail on or before January 31.Section IV-B. Board Meetings

The Board shall meet at least annually, at a selected location in Milwaukee, WI. A quorum shall consist of at least one executive officer and two Board members.Section IV-C. Officers of the Board

There shall be three officers of the Board consisting of a Principal Executive Officer, a Librarian and a Treasurer. If a vacancy exists (because of resignation, not being reelected to the At-Large pool, etc.) new officers shall be appointed by the other two current officers from among the ranks of the Board. In the case that all there are two or more vacancies, officers shall be elected by the Board from among their ranks with the current Principal Executive Officer, if that position is not vacant, having veto power. All other Board members have equal voting rights and are considered At-Large members of the Board, and they have no specific duties. The duties of the officers are as follows.• The Principal Executive Officer shall convene regularly scheduled Board meetings, shall preside or

arrange for another member to preside at each meeting and shall run the meetings in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order. The primary duty of the Principal Executive Officer is to ensure that the purposes of the Foundation are pursued as best as possible within the financial means of the Foundation and that goals outside the framework and mission of the Foundation are not pursued. The Principal Executive Officer shall also be in charge of writing all letters of acknowledgement and gratitude for monetary donations as well as notifying winners of all awards and/or scholarships issued by the Foundation. It is also the charge of the Principal Executive Officer to maintain all records of the organization.

• The Librarian will be responsible for keeping a catalogue of the book owned by the Foundation, purchasing new books, cataloging new additions (purchases & donations), issuing letters of acknowledgement and gratitude for book donations and checking-in & -out library materials until a permanent site is selected.

• The Treasurer shall make a report at each Board meeting. Treasurer shall assist in the preparation of the budget, be responsible for all day-to-day financial interactions, help develop fundraising plans, and make financial information available to Board members and the public.

Section IV-D. Resignation, Termination and Absences. Resignation from the Board must be in writing and received by the Principal Executive Officer. A Board

member shall be dropped for excess absences if he or she has three unexcused absences from meetings within a year. A Board member may be removed for other reasons by a vote of 90% of the remaining Board members and at least one permanent Board member.Section IV-F. Permanent Board Members

If at any time, 100% of the existing Board decides to honor one from among their ranks, they may choice to

permanently elect a Full Member to the Board. This person can never be removed from the Board, unless everyother permanent Board member votes to do so or they choose to resign. The following people are named permanently to the Board of Directors (this list is automatically amended as the Board elects others to this status): Thor Heidrek Templin, Norman John Templin and Angela Marie Horn Templin.

Article V - CommitteesThe Board of Directors shall create committees to help further its purposes. There are 6 standing

committees - which reflect the six purposes of the Foundation - and the Board may create ad hoc committees as needed. The standing committees and their functions are as follows.◆ JGMF Committee: to maintain a scholarly publication on Germanic mythology and folklore, to be

referred to as "The Journal for Germanic Mythology and Folklore". This committee is run by the Acting Editor of the JGMF.

◆ Library Committee: to work towards the creation and maintenance of an academic library with a focus on Germanic studies and to meet that goal by raising and collecting funds and collecting books, primarily through donations. This committee is run by the Foundation's Library.

◆ Scholarship Committee: to work towards the establishment of scholarships for university students - both undergraduate and graduate - in Germanic studies (except for literature). Once scholarship funds have been secured, it is their task to design the guidelines for selection and evaluation of recipients as well as then select winners of said scholarships. This committee is run by the Principal Executive Officer.

◆ Lecture/Conference Committee: to work towards the establishment of Germanic studies educational lecture series and annual conference. Once such is established, it is their duty to organize and operate such events. This committee is run by an interested At-Large Board member.

◆ Books Committee: publish and distribute academic books on topics pertaining to Germanic studies. This committee selects titles to print and/or distribute and at what cost to sell this books in our book store. This committee is run by the Foundation's Librarian.

◆ Awards Committee: select recipients for annual awards to recognize outstanding scholarship in Germanic studies and persons of Germanic decent who have made outstanding achievements in their field. This committee nominates persons for recognition awards (these awards have no monetary value), and the Board of Directors selects the winners for these awards. This committee is run by a permanent Board member.

Article VI - Accounts and Funding100% of the Foundation's income will be used for operational expenses (e.g., web space, printing costs,

software as needed and books for the library) and to meet our goals as defined in the six purposes outlined in Article I of the Bylaws. Funds are to be distributed each tax year in a manner as not to become subject to the tax on undistributed income imposed by section 4942 of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. All operational expenses must be approved by all three executive officersof the Board. The Templin Foundation will make no taxable expenditures as defined in section 4945(d) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

None of our income will be used to pay any salaries or towards any other end than those outlined in the six purposes of the Articles of Incorporation and the Templin Foundation, Inc.'s Bylaws. The Templin Foundation will not engage in any act of self-dealing as defined in section 4941(d) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. The Foundation shall also not retain any excess business income as defined in section 4943(c) of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.Section VI-A. Investments

After operation expenses are paid, any money left over will be saved in a library fund (a separate interest bearing account which will be used to purchase books for the library as well as eventually help with the creationof a permanent library site). At some point in the future, a second separate interest account will be created for to fund scholarships. The Templin Foundation will not make any investments in a manner as to subject it to tax under section 4944 of the Internal Revenue Code or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.

Documents

The Journal of Germanic Mythology & Folklore