Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the Bri ...

, the

indigenous religion Indigenous religion or native religion is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being " indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the " world r ...

of the ancient

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

who inhabit Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, various chronicles,

runic inscriptions A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

, personal names, place names, and other sources. This article contains a comprehensive list of Germanic deities outside the numerous Germanic

Matres and Matronae The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons") were female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe, of whom relics are found dating from the first to the fifth century AD. They are depicted on votive offerings and altars th ...

inscriptions from the 1st to 5th century CE.

Gods

Goddesses

Pseudo-deities and purported deities

* Astrild, a synonym for the Roman deity Amor or

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

invented and used by Nordic Baroque and Rococo authors * , a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymologyMeyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Band 2. Leipzig 1905, S. 832. * Ercol, a synonym for the Roman deity

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

used in King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version of Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae * Frau Berchta, a purported deity and female equivalent of

Berchtold Berchtold (also Berthold, Bertold, Bertolt) is a Germanic name from the Old High German ''beruht'' ('bright' or 'brightly') and ''waltan'' ('rule over'). The name came into fashion in the German High Middle Ages from about the 11th century. The cog ...

proposed by Jacob Grimm *

Holda "Frau Holle" (; ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimms' Fairy Tales, Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne–Thompson� ...

, a purported deity proposed by Jacob Grimm * Jecha, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology * Jofur, a synonym for the Roman deity

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

invented and used by Nordic Baroque and Rococo authors * Lahra, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology * , a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology * Stuffo, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology

Related deities

* List of Anglo-Saxon deities *

Common Germanic deities Proto-Germanic paganism was the beliefs of the speakers of Proto-Germanic and includes topics such as the Germanic mythology, legendry, and folk beliefs of early Germanic culture. By way of the comparative method, Germanic philology, Germanic philo ...

Notes

References

* Bellows, Henry Adams (Trans.) (1936). ''The Poetic Edda''.

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

. * Barnhart, Robert K (1995). ''The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology''.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

* Grimm, Jacob (James Steven Stallybrass Trans.) (1888). ''Teutonic Mythology: Translated from the Fourth Edition with Notes and Appendix by James Stallybrass''. Volume IV. London: George Bell and Sons. * Lindow, John (2001). ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. * ''

Nordisk Familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

'' (1916). Available online

* North, Richard (1997). ''Heathen Gods in Old English Literature''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. Cassell. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Germanic Deities

Deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Germanic deities Germanic deities and heroes