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Snake-witch Stone
The Snake-witch (), Snake-charmer () or Smiss stone () is a picture stone found at Smiss, När socken, Gotland, Sweden. History Discovered in a cemetery, it measures in height and depicts a figure holding a snake in each hand.Nylén & Lamm 1988, pp. 40–41. Above the figure there are three interlaced creatures (forming a triskelion pattern) that have been identified as a boar, an eagle, and a wolf.Hermodsson 2000, p. 109. The stone has been dated to 400–600 AD. The scholars call it the "Snake-witch". Parallels, interpretations, and speculation The figure on the stone was first described by Sune Lindquist in 1955. He tried unsuccessfully to find connections with accounts in Old Icelandic sources, and he also compared the stone with the Snake Goddess from Crete. Lindquist found connections with the late Celtic Gundestrup cauldron, although he appears to have overlooked that the cauldron also shows a figure holding a snake.Hermodsson 2000, p. 110. Arrhenius and Holmquist (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vendel Period
In Scandinavian prehistory, sometimes specifically Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period, or Vendel Age (; ) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish church, Uppland. Unlike the preceding and succeeding eras, the Vendel Period left very few precious metal artifacts or runic inscriptions. Instead, it is extremely rich in animal art on copper-alloy objects. It is also known for '' guldgubbar'', tiny embossed gold foil images, and elaborate helmets with embossed decoration similar to the one found at Sutton Hoo in England. During the period, Swedish expeditions began to explore the waterways of territories which later became Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The Elder Futhark writing system was abandoned in favor of the Younger Futhark, virtually simultaneously over the whole of Scandinavia. Some runestones survive, most notably those at Rök and Sparlösa, both from . Other written so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyrrokkin
Hyrrokkin (Old Norse: ) is a female jötunn in Norse mythology. According to 13th-century poet Snorri Sturluson, she launched the largest of all ships at Baldr's funeral after the Æsir gods were unable to budge the vessel. Hyrrokkin was a relatively important figure in the last decades of paganism in Iceland. She appears to be depicted on one of the DR 284 stones from the Hunnestad Monument near Marsvinsholm, Sweden. Name The Old Norse name Hyrrokkin has been translated as 'fire-withered' or 'fire-steamer'. According to linguist Jan de Vries, it is a compound formed with the root ''hyr-'' ('fire') attached to ''hrokkinn'' ('curly; wrinkle'). Scholar John Lindow has proposed the translation 'fire-smoked', perhaps referring to a dark, shrivelled appearance. Attestations ''Prose Edda'' It is told in Snorri Sturluson's ''Gylfaginning'' that at Baldr's funeral his wife Nanna died of grief and was placed alongside him on his pyre, thus joining her husband in Hel. Hringhorni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Christianity
The Germanic peoples underwent gradual Christianization in the course of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. By CE 700, England and Francia were officially Christian, and by 1100 Germanic paganism had also ceased to have political influence in Scandinavia. History Germanic peoples began entering the Roman Empire in large numbers at the same time that Christianity was spreading there. The connection of Christianity to the Roman Empire was both a factor in encouraging conversion as well as, at times, a motive for persecuting Christians. Until the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes who had migrated there (with the exceptions of the Saxons, Franks, and Lombards, see below) had converted to Christianity.Padberg 1998, 26 Many of them, notably the Goths and Vandals, adopted Arianism instead of the Trinitarian (a.k.a. Nicene or '' orthodox'') beliefs that were dogmatically defined by the church in the Nicene Creed. The gradual rise of Germanic Christianity was, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norse Paganism
Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic paganism, Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse language, Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into Germanic peoples, distinct branches. It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten during the Christianisation of Scandinavia. Scholars reconstruct aspects of North Germanic Religion by historical linguistics, archaeology, toponymy, and records left by North Germanic peoples, such as runic alphabet, runic inscriptions in the Younger Futhark, a distinctly North Germanic extension of the runic alphabet. Numerous Old Norse works dated to the 13th-century record Norse mythology, a component of North Germanic religion. Old Norse religion was polytheistic, entailing a belief in Pantheon (religion), various gods and goddesses. These deities in Norse mythology were divided into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir, who in some sources were said to have engaged in war until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christianization Of Scandinavia
The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own Archbishop, archdioceses, responsible directly to the pope, in 1104, 1154 and 1164, respectively. The Religious conversion, conversion to Christianity of the Scandinavian people required more time, since it took additional efforts to establish a network of churches. The earliest signs of Christianization were in the 830s with Ansgar's construction of churches in Birka and Hedeby. The conversion of Scandinavian kings occurred over the period 960–1020. Subsequently, Scandinavian kings sought to establish churches, dioceses and Christian kingship, as well as destroy pagan temples. Denmark was the first Scandinavian country to Christianize, as Harald Bluetooth declared this around AD 965, and raised the larger of the two Jelling Stones. According to historian Anders Winroth, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norse Saga
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between Icelandic families. However, sagas' subject matter is diverse, including legendary saga, pre-Christian Scandinavian legends; Heilagramannasögur, saints and Biskupasögur, bishops both from Scandinavia and elsewhere; konungasögur, Scandinavian kings and Samtíðarsögur, contemporary Icelandic politics; and chivalric romances either translated from Continental European languages or composed locally. Sagas originated in the Middle Ages, but continued to be composed in the ensuing centuries. Whereas the dominant language of history-writing in medieval Europe was Latin language, Latin, sagas were composed in the vernacular: Old Norse and its later descendants, primarily Icelandic language, Icelandic. While sagas are written in prose, they s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snake Pit
The Snake Pit, based in Aspull, Wigan Borough, England, is the gym and organisation regarded as the home of catch wrestling. Founded in 1948 by Billy Riley in the town of Wigan, it was originally known as Riley's Gym. Riley was succeeded by Roy Wood, one of his last living students. It hosts the Aspull Olympic Wrestling Club, which focuses on freestyle wrestling. Wood was recognised on the 2024 New Year Honours and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) "for services to wrestling and young people" after coaching for almost 50 years. An exhibition about Riley and the gym began at the Leigh Town Hall in April 2024. The gym has had a significant influence on the evolution of catch-as-catch-can (CACC), freestyle, and professional wrestling, as well as mixed martial arts (MMA), especially in Japan. Riley was the head coach for over 20 years, teaching Lancashire style catch wrestling, and the gym became known in Britain and internationally for producing skilled wrestlers. Ril ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gutasaga
Gutasaga (''Gutasagan'') is a saga regarding the history of Gotland before its Christianization. It was recorded in the 13th century and survives in only a single manuscript, the Codex Holm. B 64, dating to , kept at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm together with the Gutalagen, Gutalag, the legal code of Gotland. It was written in the Old Gutnish language, a variety of Old Norse. Contents A local creation myth The saga begins with Gotland being discovered by a man named Þieluar (Swedish language, Swedish: Tjälvar, Gutnish: ''Tjelvar''). Gotland is under a spell and under water during the day and out of water only during the night, a spell that is broken by Þieluar lighting a fire on the island. Þieluar had a son named Hafþi (Swedish: Hafþi), who married a woman named Hwitastierna (Swedish: Vitastjärna; English: White-star). After Hafþi's and Hwitastierna's first night together, she has a dream about three snakes entwined in her bosom. Hafþi interprets her dream ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Väte Church
Väte Church () is a medieval Lutheran church in Väte on the Swedish island of Gotland. It is in the Diocese of Visby of the Church of Sweden. History and architecture Väte Church was built during the 14th century. The choir and sacristy are the oldest parts of the church, from circa 1300, while the nave dates from the middle of the 14th century. A tower was planned but never built. The presently visible church probably replaced an earlier, Romanesque church, of which several remains have been incorporated with the presently visible, mostly Gothic church. No major alterations have been made to Väte Church since the Middle Ages. The church spire was constructed in 1914. The church is built of limestone. The exterior is partially decorated with Romanesque sculpture (the northern portal, decorative reliefs and window dressings), and has two Gothic southern portals with finely sculpted capitals. Inside, the church is decorated with murals. One set dates from the 14th century, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cernunnos
Cernunnos is a Celtic god whose name is only clearly attested once, on the 1st-century CE Pillar of the Boatmen from Paris, where it is associated with an image of an aged, antlered figure with torcs around his horns. Through the Pillar of the Boatmen, the name "Cernunnos" has been used to identify the members of an iconographic cluster, consisting of depictions of an antlered god (often aged and with crossed legs) associated with torcs, ram-horned (or ram-headed) serpents, symbols of fertility, and wild beasts (especially deer). The use of the name this way is common, though not uncontroversial. As many as 25 depictions of the Cernunnos-type have been identified. Though this iconographic group is best attested in north-eastern Gaul, depictions of the god have been identified as far off as Italy (Rock Drawings in Valcamonica, Val Camonica) and Denmark (Gundestrup cauldron, Gundestrup). Cernunnos has been variously interpreted as a god of fertility, of the underworld, and of bi-d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
