|
Anglo-Saxon Gods
Anglo-Saxon deities are in general poorly attested, and much is inferred about the religion of the Anglo-Saxons from what is known of other Germanic peoples' religions. The written record from the period between the Anglo-Saxon invasion of the British Isles to the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons is very sparse, and most of what is known comes from later Christian writers such as Bede, whose descriptions can be compared to other Germanic mythologies as well as the extant archaeological evidence. The list below is incomplete, but includes brief discussion of the attestation of the deities in question, and should be considered critically. Major deities * Woden, king of the gods and god of wisdom. Cognate to Norse Odin. Source of the word 'Wednesday'. * Tīw, a war god and possibly a sky god. Cognate to Norse Týr, as well as Greek Zeus, Roman Jupiter, Baltic Dievs/Dievas and Hindu Dyaus. Source of the word 'Tuesday'. * Thunor, god of thunder and cognate to Norse Thor and sour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anglo-Saxon Paganism
Anglo-Saxon paganism, sometimes termed Anglo-Saxon heathenism, Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, Anglo-Saxon traditional religion, or Anglo-Saxon polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Anglo-Saxons between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, during the initial period of Anglo-Saxon England, Early Medieval England. A variant of Germanic paganism found across much of north-western Europe, it encompassed a heterogeneous variety of beliefs and cultic practices, with much regional variation. Developing from the earlier Iron Age religion of continental northern Europe, it was introduced to Britain following the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain, Anglo-Saxon migration in the mid 5th century, and remained the dominant belief system in England until the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England, Christianisation of its kingdoms between the 7th and 8th centuries, with some aspects gradually blending into English folklore, folklore. The pejorative terms ''paganis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sól (Germanic Mythology)
Sól (Old Norse: , "Sun")Orchard (1997:152). or Sunna (Old High German, and existing as an Old Norse and Icelandic synonym: see Wiktionary wikt:sunna, sunna, "Sun") is the Solar deity, Sun personified in Germanic mythology. One of the two Old High German Merseburg Incantations, written in the 9th or 10th century CE, attests that Sunna is the sister of Sinthgunt. In Norse mythology, Sól is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' she is described as the sister of the personified moon, Máni, is the daughter of Mundilfari, is at times referred to as ''Álfröðull'', and is foretold to be killed by a monstrous wolf during the events of Ragnarök, though beforehand she will have given birth to a daughter who continues her mother's course through the heavens. In the ''Prose Edda'', she is additionally descri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wælcyrge
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). When the are not preparing for the cataclysmic events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty, sometimes accompanied by ravens and sometimes connected to swans or horses. Valkyries are attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' (a book of poems compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources), the ''Prose Edda'', the (both by Snorri Sturluson) and the (one of the Sagas of Icelanders), all written—or compiled—in the 13th century. They appear throughout the poetry of skalds, in a 14th-century charm, and in various runic inscriptions. The Old English cognate term appears in several Old En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knucker
Knucker is a dialect word for a sort of Sea serpent, water dragon, living in ''knuckerholes'' in Sussex, England. The word comes from the Old English language, Old English which means "water monster" and is used in the poem ''Beowulf''. It may also be related to the word "Nixie (folklore), nixie", which is a form of water spirit, to "Devil in Christianity, Old Nick", a euphemism for the devil, or to the words "Nykur" (Icelandic water horse), "Nickel" (German goblin), "Knocker" (Cornish goblin), "Näcken" and "Neck" (Scandinavian water men and water spirits), "Näkineiu" and "Näkk" (Estonian mermaid and singing water animal), and "Näkki" (Finnish water spirit)." Appearance The knucker is said to have wings, and is sometimes described as a sea serpent. The knucker has "a giant, slithering sea serpent's body, and cold, bold sea serpent's eyes and a deadly, hissing sea serpent's mouth". In folklore The most famous knucker lived, according to legend, at Lyminster. The knucker a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neck (water Spirit)
The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, or Nøkken (; , ; ; Norwegian ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; or ) are humanoid, and often shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore. Under a variety of names, they are common to the stories of all Germanic peoples,The article ''Näcken''tome 20, p. 317 in (1914) although they are perhaps best known from Scandinavian folklore. The related English ''knucker'' was generally depicted as a worm or dragon, although more recent versions depict the spirits in other forms. Their sex, bynames, and various transformations vary geographically. The German and his Scandinavian counterparts were male. The German was a female river mermaid. Similar creatures are known from other parts of Europe, such as the Melusine in France, the Xana in Asturias (Spain), and the Slavic water spirits (e.g., the Rusalka) in Slavic countries. Names and etymology The names are held to derive from Common Germanic or , derived from PIE ("to wash") ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norns
The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.''Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as Urd ( Urðr), Verðandi, and Skuld, who weave the threads of fate and tend to the world tree, Yggdrasill, ensuring it stays alive at the center of the cosmos.The article Nornor' in ''Nordisk familjebok'' (1913). Etymology The origin of the name is uncertain; it may derive from a word meaning 'to twine', which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word has relation to the Swedish dialect word (), a verb that means 'communicate secretly'. This interpretation relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to people as their fates come to pass. The name (Old English: , 'weird') means 'fate'. and are etymological cognates, a situation that does not mean nec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 that bear images of goddesses, depicted almost entirely in groups of three, that feature inscriptions (about half of which feature Continental Celtic names and half of which feature Germanic names) and were venerated in regions of Germania, Eastern Gaul, and Northern Italy (with a small distribution elsewhere) that were occupied by the Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ... from the first to the fifth century. Matres also appear on votive reliefs and inscriptions in other areas occupied by the Roman army, including s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vegdeg
A number of royal genealogies of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, collectively referred to as the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies, have been preserved in a manuscript tradition based in the 8th to 10th centuries. The genealogies trace the succession of the early Anglo-Saxon kings, back to the semi-legendary kings of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, notably named as Hengist and Horsa in Bede's ''Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'', and further to legendary kings and heroes of the pre-migration period, usually including an eponymous ancestor of the respective lineage and converging on Woden. In their fully elaborated forms as preserved in the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'' and the ''Textus Roffensis'', they continue the pedigrees back to the biblical patriarchs Noah and Adam. They also served as the basis for pedigrees that would be developed in 13th century Iceland for the Scandinavian royalty. Documentary tradition The Anglo-Saxons, uniquely among the early Germanic peoples, pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wecta
Wecta (Old English: ''Wægdæg'', Old Norse: ''Vegdagr'') is a figure mentioned in the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and the '' Historia Brittonum''. Wecta is considered mythological, though he shows up in the genealogies as a Saxon ancestor of Hengest and Horsa and the kings of Kent, as well as of Aella of Deira and his son Edwin of Northumbria. Wecta appears in the '' Prologue to the Prose Edda'' as Vegdeg, one of Woden's sons, a mighty king who ruled East Saxony. Although Wecta is mentioned as the father of Witta and the grandfather of Wihtgils in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and the ''Historia Brittonum'', the ''Prose Edda'' and the Anglian collection of Anglo-Saxon genealogies reverses the order of Witta and Wihtgils in the genealogy. See also * Anglo-Saxon mythology *Germanic mythology * Godwulf *Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seaxnēat
In Germanic mythology, Seaxnēat (pronounced ) or Saxnôt was the national god of the Saxons. He is sometimes identified with either Tīwaz or Fraujaz (Old Norse Týr and Freyr). Attestations The Old English form ''Seaxnēat'' is recorded in the genealogies of the kings of Essex (as ''Seaxnēt'', ''Saxnēat'', ''Saxnat''). Trans. from ''Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie'' (1984) . Originally he was the first ancestor listed, with the first king of Essex, Æscwine, seven generations later. A later version of the genealogy, preserved in the 12th-century '' Chronicon ex chronicis'', makes Seaxnēat a son of Wōden (Odin). The Old Saxon form ''Saxnôt'' is attested in the renunciation portion of the '' Old Saxon Baptismal Vow'' along with the gods '' Uuôden'' (Odin) and '' Thunaer'' (Thor). Etymology The name is usually derived from '' seax'', the eponymous long knife or short sword of the Saxons, and ''(ge)-not'', ''(ge)-nēat'' as "companion" (cognate with German ''Gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ''Prose Edda'', which is a major source for what is today known about Norse mythology and alliterative verse, and , a history of the Norsemen, Norse kings that begins with legendary material in ''Ynglinga saga'' and moves through to early medieval History of Scandinavia, Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of ''Egil's Saga''. He was assassinated in 1241 by men claiming to be agents of the King of Norway. Biography Early life Snorri Sturluson was born in (commonly transliterated as Hvamm or Hvammr) as a member of the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family clan, Sturlungar clan of the Icelandic Commonwealth, in AD 1179. His parents were Sturla Þórðarson the Elder o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
