45-416: In Germanic paganism , the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples 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 , personal names, place names, and other sources. This article contains a comprehensive list of Germanic deities outside
90-573: A Germanic "national spirit" ( Volksgeist ), as expressed in Otto Höfler 's "Germanic continuity theory". As a result, the use of folklore as a source went out of fashion after World War II, especially in Germany, but has experienced a revival since the 1990s in Nordic scholarship. Today, scholars are cautious in their use of folkloric material, keeping in mind that most was collected long after
135-467: A continuity between Tacitus's account of Tuisto and Mannus and the Gylfaginning account of the creation of the world. The name Tuisto , if it means 'twin' or 'double-being', could connect him to the name of the primordial being Ymir, whose name probably has a similar meaning. On the other hand, the form "Tuisco" may suggest a connection to Tyr . Similarly, both myths have a genealogy consisting of
180-526: A grandfather, a father, and then three sons. Ymir's name is etymologically connected to the Sanskrit Yama and Iranian Yima , while the creation of the world from Ymir's body is paralleled by the creation of the world from the primordial being Purusha in Indic mythology, suggesting not only a Proto-Germanic origin for Ymir but an even older Indo-European origin (see Indo-European cosmogony ). There
225-708: A rebirth of the world. The notion of the world's destruction by fire in the Southern Germanic area seems confirmed by the existence of the word Muspilli (probably " world conflagration ") to refer to the end of the world in Old High German; however, it is possible that this aspect derives from Christian influence. Scholarship on Ragnarök tends to either argue that it is a myth with composite, partially non-Scandinavian origins, that it has Indo-European parallels and thus origins, or that it derives from Christian influence. Information on Germanic cosmology
270-436: A strong belief in fate and chance to the followers of Germanic religion. Similarly, Old English, Old High German, and Old Saxon associate a word for fate, wyrd , as referring to an inescapable, impersonal fate or death. While scholarship of the early 20th century believed that this meant that Germanic religion was essentially fatalistic, scholars since 1969 have noted that this concept appears to have been heavily influenced by
315-457: Is evidence of a myth of the end of the world in Germanic mythology, which can be reconstructed in very general terms from the surviving sources. The best known is the myth of Ragnarök , attested from Old Norse sources, which involves a war between the gods and the beings of chaos, leading to the destruction of almost all gods, giants, and living things in a cataclysm of fire. It is followed by
360-483: Is itself controversial, Bernhard Maier noting that it "implies a specifically modern point of view, which reflects the modern conceptual isolation of 'religion' from other aspects of culture". Never a unified or codified set of beliefs or practices, Germanic religion showed strong regional variations and Rudolf Simek writes that it is better to refer to "Germanic religions ". In many contact areas (e.g. Rhineland and eastern and northern Scandinavia), Germanic paganism
405-588: Is not always immediately obvious. Archaeological evidence is also extensive, including evidence from burials and sacrificial sites. Ancient votive altars from the Rhineland often contain inscriptions naming gods with Germanic or partially Germanic names. Most textual sources on Germanic religion were written by outsiders. The chief textual source for Germanic religion in the Roman period is Tacitus's Germania . There are problems with Tacitus's work, however, as it
450-400: Is only provided in Nordic sources, but there is evidence for considerable continuity of beliefs despite variation over time and space. Scholarship is marked by disagreement about whether Snorri Sturlason's Edda is a reliable source for pre-Christian Norse cosmology, as Snorri has undoubtedly imposed an ordered, Christian worldview on his material. Midgard ("dwelling place in the middle")
495-499: Is sometimes applied to practices dating to as early as the Stone Age or Bronze Age , but its use is more generally restricted to the time period after the Germanic languages had become distinct from other Indo-European languages (early Iron Age ). Germanic paganism covers a period of around one thousand years in terms of written sources, from the first reports in Roman sources to the final conversion to Christianity. Because of
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#1732779962123540-623: Is unclear how much he really knew about the Germanic peoples he described and because he employed numerous topoi dating back to Herodotus that were used when describing a barbarian people. Tacitus' reliability as a source can be characterized by his rhetorical tendencies, since one of the purposes of Germania was to present his Roman compatriots with an example of the virtues he believed they lacked. Julius Caesar, Procopius , and other ancient authors also offer some information on Germanic religion. Textual sources for post-Roman continental Germanic religion are written by Christian authors: Some of
585-626: Is used to refer to the inhabited world or a barrier surrounding the inhabited world in Norse mythology. The term is first attested as midjungards in Gothic with Wulfila 's translation of the bible (c. 370 CE), and has cognates in Saxon, Old English, and Old High German. It is thus probably an old Germanic designation. In the Prose Edda , Midgard also seems to be the part of the world inhabited by
630-639: Is usually attributed to the Icelander Snorri Sturluson (13th century CE), Skaldic poetry , poetic kennings with mythological content, Snorri's Heimskringla , the Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus (12th-13th century CE), Icelandic historical writing and sagas , as well as outsider sources such as the report on the Rus' made by the Arab traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan (10th century),
675-477: The Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum by bishop Adam of Bremen (11th century CE), and various saints' lives. Germanic religion has been influenced by the beliefs of other cultures. Celtic and Germanic peoples were in close contact in the first millennium BCE, and evidence for Celtic influence on Germanic religion is found in religious vocabulary. This includes, for instance, the name of
720-604: The Merseburg Charms and heroic texts that may date from pagan times, but were written down by Christians. The poems of the Edda , while pagan in origin, continued to circulate orally in a Christian context before being written down, which makes an application to pre-Christian times difficult. In contrast, pre-Christian images such as on bracteates , gold foil figures , and rune and picture stones are direct attestations of Germanic religion. The interpretation of these images
765-496: The matronae . Early medieval sources identify a pantheon consisting of the gods *Wodanaz ( Odin ), *Thunraz ( Thor ), *Tiwaz ( Tyr ), and *Frijjō ( Frigg ), as well as numerous other gods, many of whom are only attested from Norse sources (see Proto-Germanic folklore ). Textual and archaeological sources allow the reconstruction of aspects of Germanic ritual and practice. These include well-attested burial practices, which likely had religious significance, such as rich grave goods and
810-548: The Christianized Greco-Roman notion of fortuna fatalis ("fatal fortune") rather than reflecting Germanic belief. Nevertheless, Norse myth attests the belief that even the gods were subject to fate. While it is thus clear that older scholarship exaggerated the importance of fate in Germanic religion, it still had its own concept of fate. Most Norse texts dealing with fate are heroic, which probably influences their portrayal of fate. In Norse myth, fate
855-581: The English People (c. 731). Other sources include historians such as Jordanes (6th century CE) and Paul the Deacon (8th century), as well as saint lives and Christian legislation against various practices. Textual sources for Scandinavian religion are much more extensive. They include the aforementioned poems of the Poetic Edda, Eddic poetry found in other sources, the Prose Edda , which
900-447: The Germanic peoples, including those living at some distance from the Roman frontier. In later centuries, Germanic religion was also influenced by Christianity. There is evidence for the appropriation of Christian symbolism on gold bracteates and possibly in the understanding of the roles of particular gods. The Christianization of the Germanic peoples was a long process during which there are many textual and archaeological examples of
945-499: The Roman period cannot be related to a later Norse god; many names attested in the Nordic sources are similarly without any known non-Nordic equivalents. The much higher number of sources on Scandinavian religion has led to a methodologically problematic tendency to use Scandinavian material to complete and interpret the much more sparsely attested information on continental Germanic religion. Most scholars accept some form of continuity between Indo-European and Germanic religion, but
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#1732779962123990-627: The Viking Age, there is evidence for continued Irish mythological and Insular Celtic influence on Norse religion. During the Roman period, Germanic gods were equated with Roman gods and worshipped with Roman names in contact zones, a process known as Interpretatio Romana ; later, Germanic names were also applied to Roman gods ( Interpretatio Germanica ). This was done to better understand one another's religions as well as to syncretize elements of each religion. This resulted in various aspects of Roman worship and iconography being adopted among
1035-540: The amount of time and space covered by the term "Germanic religion", controversy exists as to the degree of continuity of beliefs and practices between the earliest attestations in Tacitus and the later attestations of Norse paganism from the high Middle Ages. Many scholars argue for continuity, seeing evidence of commonalities between the Roman, early medieval, and Norse attestations, while many other scholars are skeptical. The majority of Germanic gods attested by name during
1080-412: The burial in ships or wagons. Wooden carved figures that may represent gods have been discovered in bogs throughout northern Europe, and rich sacrificial deposits, including objects, animals, and human remains, have been discovered in springs, bogs, and under the foundations of new structures. Evidence for sacred places includes not only natural locations such as sacred groves but also early evidence for
1125-428: The co-existence and sometimes mixture of pagan and Christian worship and ideas. Christian sources frequently equate Germanic gods with demons and forms of the devil ( Interpretatio Christiana ). It is likely that multiple creation myths existed among Germanic peoples. Creation myths are not attested for the continental Germanic peoples or Anglo-Saxons; Tacitus includes the story of Germanic tribes' descent from
1170-461: The construction of structures such as temples and the worship of standing poles in some places. Other known Germanic religious practices include divination and magic, and there is some evidence for festivals and the existence of priests. Germanic religion is principally defined as the religious traditions of speakers of Germanic languages (the Germanic peoples ). The term "religion" in this context
1215-578: The conversion and the advent of writing. Areas where continuity can be noted include agrarian rites and magical ideas, as well as the root elements of some folktales. Sources on Germanic religion can be divided between primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources include texts, structures, place names, personal names, and objects that were created by devotees of the religion; secondary sources are normally texts that were written by outsiders. Examples of primary sources include some Latin alphabet and Runic inscriptions, as well as poetic texts such as
1260-457: The degree of continuity is a subject of controversy. Jens Peter Schjødt writes that while many scholars view comparisons of Germanic religion with other attested Indo-European religions positively, "just as many, or perhaps even more, have been sceptical". While supportive of Indo-European comparison, Schjødt notes that the "dangers" of comparison are taking disparate elements out of context and arguing that myths and mythical structures found around
1305-471: The deity * Þun(a)raz ( Thor ), which is identical to Celtic * Toranos ( Taranis ), the Germanic name of the runes (Celtic * rūna 'secret, magic'), and the Germanic name for the sacred groves , * nemeđaz (Celtic nemeton ). Evidence for further close religious contacts is found in the Roman-era Rhineland goddesses known as matronae , which display both Celtic and Germanic names. During
1350-509: The existence of one or more origin myths, the existence of a myth of the end of the world, a general belief in the inhabited world being a " middle-earth ", as well as some aspects of belief in fate and the afterlife. The Germanic peoples believed in a multitude of gods, and in other supernatural beings such as jötnar (often glossed as giants), dwarfs , elves , and dragons . Roman-era sources, using Roman names, mention several important male gods, as well as several goddesses such as Nerthus and
1395-457: The first being was the giant Ymir , who was followed by the cow Auðumbla , eventually leading to the birth of Odin and his two brothers. The brothers kill Ymir and make the world out of his body, before finally making the first man and woman out of trees ( Ask and Embla ). Some scholars suspect that Gylfaginning had been compiled from various contradictory sources, with some details from those sources having been left out. Besides Gylfaginning ,
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1440-455: The gods Tuisto (or Tuisco), who is born from the earth, and Mannus ( Germania chapter 2), resulting in a division into three or five Germanic subgroups. Tuisto appears to mean "twin" or "double-being", suggesting that he was a hermaphroditic being capable of impregnating himself. These gods are only attested in Germania . It is not possible to decide based on Tacitus's report whether
1485-702: The gods of the Lombards are described in the 7th-century Origo gentis Langobardorum ("Origin of the Lombard People"), while a small amount of information on the religion of the pagan Franks can be found in Gregory of Tours 's late 6th-century Historia Francorum ("History of the Franks"). An important source for the pre-Christian religion of the Anglo-Saxons is Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of
1530-581: The gods was originally subterranean as well. The Norse imagined the inhabited world to be surrounded by a sort of dragon or serpent, Jörmungandr ; although only explicitly attested in Scandinavian sources, allusions to a world-surrounding monster from southern Germany and England suggest that this concept may have been common Germanic. Some Christian authors of the Middle Ages, such as Bede (c. 700) and Thietmar of Merseburg (c. 1000), attribute
1575-410: The gods. The dwelling place of the gods themselves is known as Asgard , while the giants dwell in lands sometimes referred to as Jötunheimar , outside of Midgard. The ash tree Yggdrasill is at the center of the world, and propped up the heavens in the same way as the Saxon pillar Irminsul was said to. The world of the dead (Hel) seems to have been underground, and it is possible that the realm of
1620-496: The grave, a world of the dead in the sky, and reincarnation. Beliefs varied by time and place and may have contradictory in the same time and place. The two most important afterlives in the attested corpus were located at Hel and Valhalla , while additional destinations for the dead are also mentioned. A number of sources refer to Hel as the general abode of the dead. Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1665-400: The modern day reflect a continuity with earlier Germanic religion. Earlier scholars, beginning with Jacob Grimm , believed that modern folklore was of ancient origin and had changed little over the centuries, which allowed the use of folklore and fairy tales as sources of Germanic religion. These ideas later came under the influence of völkisch ideology, which stressed the organic unity of
1710-450: The most important sources on Nordic creation myths are the Eddic poems Vǫluspá , Vafþrúðnismál , and Grímnismál . The 9th-century Old High German Wessobrunn Prayer begins with a series of negative pairs to describe the time before creation that show similarity to a number of Nordic descriptions of the time before the world, suggesting an orally transmitted formula. There may be
1755-543: The myth was meant to describe an origin of the gods or of humans. Tacitus also includes a second myth: the Semnones believed that they originated in a sacred grove of fetters where a particular god dwelled ( Germania chapter 39, for more on this see "Sacred trees, groves, and poles" below). The only Nordic comprehensive origin myth is provided by the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning . According to Gylfaginning ,
1800-790: The numerous Germanic Matres and Matronae inscriptions from the 1st to 5th century CE. (Gives his name to Wednesday ). (Gives his name to Thursday ). (Gives his name to Tuesday ). (Gives her name to Friday , as the Germanic equivalent of Venus ). (Gives her name to Sunday ). Germanic paganism Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to
1845-648: The precise degree and details of this continuity are subjects of debate. Germanic religion was influenced by neighboring cultures, including that of the Celts, the Romans, and, later, by the Christian religion. Very few sources exist that were written by pagan adherents themselves; instead, most were written by outsiders and can thus present problems for reconstructing authentic Germanic beliefs and practices. Some basic aspects of Germanic belief can be reconstructed, including
List of Germanic deities - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-719: The traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples . With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germany, the Netherlands, and at times other parts of Europe, the beliefs and practices of Germanic paganism varied. Scholars typically assume some degree of continuity between Roman-era beliefs and those found in Norse paganism , as well as between Germanic religion and reconstructed Indo-European religion and post-conversion folklore , though
1935-409: The world must be Indo-European just because they appear in multiple Indo-European cultures. Bernhard Maier argues that similarities with other Indo-European religions do not necessarily result from a common origin, but can also be the result of convergence. Continuity also concerns the question of whether popular, post-conversion beliefs and practices ( folklore ) found among Germanic speakers up to
1980-445: Was created by supernatural female beings called Norns , who appear either individually or as a collective and who give people their fate at birth and are somehow involved in their deaths. Other female beings, the disir and valkyries , were also associated with fate. Early Germanic beliefs about the afterlife are not well known; however, the sources indicate a variety of beliefs, including belief in an underworld , continued life in
2025-611: Was similar to neighboring religions such as those of the Slavs , Celts , or Finnic peoples . The use of the qualifier "Germanic" (e.g. "Germanic religion" and its variants) remains common in German-language scholarship, but is less commonly used in English and other scholarly languages, where scholars usually specify which branch of paganism is meant (e.g. Norse paganism or Anglo-Saxon paganism ). The term "Germanic religion"
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