Praying (mythology)
The three prayers (also called Bethen , Beden or similarly written) are the Christian groups of three of Saints Embeth, Warbeth and Wilbeth. From these, various conclusions were drawn about the existence of the same name Celtic goddesses who are also called praying .
Name variants
The prayers have been called this in esotericism since Hans Christoph Schöll due to the common end of names for all three. More recently, this term has also been applied to Christian figures. In the Middle Ages and early modern times, these were usually called three holy virgins or the like. Their names come in very different varieties. The most common forms are Eindeth, Warbeth, Wilbeth, but regionally there are other variants:
- Einbet (h), Ainbeth, Ainpeta, Einbede, Ambet, Ambede, Embede, Aubet and others
- Warbet (h), Gwerbeth, Worbeth, Warbede, Barbeth, Borbede, Wolbeth and others
- Wilbet (h), Willebede, Vilbeth, Wilbede, Fürbeth, Firpet, Cubet and others
Ancient inscriptions with the names of the three prayers are not known, nor do they appear in the Celtic literature of the British Isles . It is possible that the number of three in Celtic and Germanic goddess groups such as the matrons influenced the formation of Christian groups of three holy women - in contrast to the Slavic and Scandinavian regions, in which groups of four are preferred.
Today's distribution
The three holy virgins are venerated in churches and chapels, especially in the southern German-speaking area . They can be found more frequently in South Tyrol and Upper Bavaria (also referred to here as the Saligen ), as well as on the Upper Rhine . The two northernmost locations are east and west of Cologne. In between there are only a few places of worship, none are known outside the German-speaking area. Einbet often occurs alone, but almost twice as often in a group of three. Wilbet once stood alone in Upper Bavaria.
The three saints are not included in the official church saint list.
Research history
St. Einsteth is documented as early as the second half of the 12th century in Strasbourg. In the second half of the 14th century, Wilbet and Worbet stepped aside. Their cult got a boost when they were included in the companions of Saint Ursula in the 15th century , and further in the 17th century through the work of Hermann Crombach on this group.
The origin of the three names is unknown. At the time of Romanticism in the 19th century, the assumption arose that the three holy virgins came from an older Germanic group of goddesses such as the Norns or the Celtic matrons. The Heidelberg local researcher Hans Christoph Schöll developed in 1936 in the treatise Die Drei Ewigen - An investigation into Germanic peasant beliefs a comprehensive theory that the three St. Virgos traced back to a Germanic or already Indo-European trinity of gods, which was preserved in the Germanic peasant belief. However, according to Schöll's own admission, the work does not claim to be scientific evidence. An announced second volume with scientifically tenable evidence for his theses has never appeared. Therefore, and because the theory is based only on (sometimes even demonstrably false) phonetic similarities without linguistic methodology , it was immediately rejected from a scientific point of view and has been completely rejected by the sciences to this day. Nevertheless, it has found widespread use in esoteric circles and in part also in popular scientific literature in German-speaking countries. Outside of the German-speaking area, however, it is almost unknown.
Interpretations in modern esotericism
Schöll assumed that the three St. Virgos could be traced back directly to an (otherwise unknown) pagan-Germanic god triad. He traced the names back to what he believed to be the original forms Ambet, Borbet and Wilbet and compared the names with Celtic roots based on phonetic similarities. In this way he interpreted Ambet as the virgin-maternal earth goddess , Borbet as the maternal sun deity and Wilbet as the goddess of luck and moon woman . So they were originally peasant goddesses of fertility and harvest and helpers against disease, cattle disease and child troubles.
Subsequently, however, the prayers were also viewed as women of fate based on the model of the Germanic Norns or as goddesses of the dead. Today, however, they are rather attributed to Celtic mythology. The idea that they were the main deities of a more gynocentric religion has enjoyed particular popularity in recent years .
Places of worship
After Schoell are everywhere in Central Europe and the UK cult places of prayer their track in place and field names have left that (some only vaguely) similar to name components of the three prayers have. In doing so, he almost always relied on the current form of the name of the place and ignored older, more original name forms as well as existing derivation of the names. Linguistic methods such as the consideration of sound shifts and regional dialects were also not used. One example is Besançon , which in ancient times was called Vesontio . The places of worship of prayer assumed by Schöll and later advocates of his theory in German and European place names are therefore not scientifically recognized.
Evidence of the cult
The list is a non-exhaustive collection of places where the three virgins were worshiped. It also contains descriptions of representations that are still available today, evidence of names with the respective spellings and other information about the cult.
| Country | country | place | site | Embed | Worbet / Warbet | Wilbet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. | Tyrol (North Tyrol) | Obsaurs | Church of St. Vigil | Ambett, bed | Commercial bed (s) | Wilbett, Vilbett |
| Evidence: Names documented since 1602. Portrait with names (around 1650). | ||||||
| D. | Baden-Württemberg | Freiburg im Breisgau ( Wiehre district ) | Church of Saints Cyriak and Perpetua | Embed | Warbete | Vilbete |
| Evidence: Wiehre is the former Adelshausen. In the place of today's church, the church of St. Embed used to stand (mentioned in the 13th century). | ||||||
| D. | Bavaria (Middle Franconia) | Abenberg ( Roth ) | Marienburg Monastery | Winter bring | Gewera | Wiedakumma |
| Evidence: Name evidenced by legend (19th century). | ||||||
| D. | Bavaria (Lower Bavaria) | Schildthurn | Church of St. Egidius and St. 3 Virgins | Ainbeth, Eindeth, Ambeth | Barbeth, Warbeth | Wil (l) beth |
| Evidence: Inscription with name from 1837 with reference to 1237. Thank you inscription, which generally refers to an engagement to Schildthurn (1419). Portraits with names, figures. | ||||||
| D. | Bavaria (Upper Bavaria) | Andechs | Andechs Monastery | Pray | --- | --- |
| Evidence: Documentary evidence of a relic of Ainbet (1572). | ||||||
| D. | Bavaria (Upper Bavaria) | Leutstetten ( Starnberg ) | St. Alto Church | Ainpet, Ainbeth | Gberpet, Gewörbeth | Firpet, Fürbeth |
| Evidence: Documentary evidence of the names (1607) with reference to 1605. Wooden panel with names (1643). Further evidence is probably the name of the district of Einbettl near Leutstetten, where the picture was previously located in a chapel. Nearby is the Drei-Bethen-Quelle , where visitors take water and leave votive offerings despite warnings from the local health department. | ||||||
| Depiction: 3 women with long hair and crowns with halo on a wooden panel. Ainpet: green undergarment, white upper garment; Gberpet: white undergarment, red upper garment; Firpet: red undergarment, black upper garment. Hands: ainpet with palm fronds, arrow and book; Gberpet with palm fronds and book; Firpet with palm fronds and arrow. | ||||||
| D. | Bavaria (Upper Bavaria) | Schlehdorf (Kochelsee) | St. Tertulin Church | Embed, ainbed, ainbeth | Wolbet (h), Walbet (h) | Vilbet (h) |
| Evidence: Adoration probably since 1348. Names documented since 1563. 3 figures on the women's altar (2nd half of the 18th century). | ||||||
| Representation: Figures: all 3 with halo. The middle one is holding a book she is looking into. The left looks down. The right one looks up. Otherwise without attributes. | ||||||
| D. | North Rhine-Westphalia (Cologne) | Frauweiler ( Bedburg ) | --- | Embed | Worbet | Wilbet |
| Evidence: Frauweiler no longer exists since 1965. Previously depiction (with name?) In the parish church (documented for the 20th century). The feast day was 1.8. | ||||||
| D. | Rhineland-Palatinate | Worms | St. Peter's Cathedral | Embede | Warbede | Willbede |
| Evidence: Stone relief with name (around 1420) in the St. Nicholas Chapel of the cathedral. Origin: The mountain monastery west of Worms, which was destroyed today. The oldest evidence of the name of Worms = borbetamagus (Celtic-Roman, 2nd – 3rd century). | ||||||
| Depiction: 3 women with long hair and crowns on a stone relief, each holding palm fronds and a book. Embede holds a book straight down, Warbede straight up, Willebede across. Embede holds her book in her right hand, Warbede and Willebede in her left. | ||||||
| F. | Alsace | Strasbourg | Church of St. Peter and St. Michael | Einbetta | Worbetta | Wilbetta |
| Evidence: Suppl. Tomb of the 3 prayers (since 1460) (according to documentary evidence with name from 1647). Feast day: 16 or 17 September (depending on the source). | ||||||
| I. | South Tyrol (Eisack Valley) | Cleric ( Brixen ) | St. Nicholas Church | Ampet | Trade | Bruen |
| Evidence: fresco with names (15th century). | ||||||
| Depiction: 3 women with crowns and halo. Each with a golden ball in hand, and Ampet also a chain. Garment colors: Ampet black; Gewer red; Bruen knows. | ||||||
| I. | South Tyrol (Pustertal) | Meransen ( Pustertal ) | Church of St. James and St. 3 Virgins | Ampet, Aubet (ta) | Gewerpet, Quere, Guerre, Gwerbetta | Gaupet, Cubet, Villpetta |
| Evidence: Names documented since 1382. Altar with figures with names. Processional figures with names (15th / 17th century depending on the source). More fig. Representations. Feast day: 16.9. The people interpret the names as upwards, downwards and across (cross) (cf. positions of the books on Worms stone relief and directions of view in Schlehdorf). | ||||||
literature
- Anton Bauer: In honor of St. three virgins Ainbeth, Gwerbeth and Fürbeth in the diocese of Freising. In: Bavarian Yearbook for Folklore. 1961, pp. 33-44.
- Rolf Wilhelm Brednich : Folk tales and popular beliefs about the women of fate. Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Helsinki 1964.
- Erni Kutter : The cult of the three virgins. A source of power for female spirituality rediscovered. Munich 1997.
- Erni Kutter: Holy Women in the Protestant Church. An invitation to search for traces in the minster of Heilsbronn. In: Efi. The evangelical women's magazine for Bavaria 2 (2001).
-
Hans Christoph Schöll : The three Eternals. An investigation into Germanic peasant beliefs. Jena 1936.
- H. Hepding: Review by: Hans Christoph Schöll, Die drei Ewigen (1936). In: Hessische Blätter für Volkskunde No. 35. 1936, pp. 167–171.
- E. Kost: Review by: Schöll, Hans Christoph, Die three Ewigen. In: Württembergisch Franken, No. 19. 1938, pp. 190 f.
- E. Krieck: Review of: Hans Christoph Schöll, Die drei Ewigen (1936). In: Oberdeutsche Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, No. 10. 1936, p. 136 ff.
- Hans Christoph Schöll: The Germanic maternal trinity in German popular belief. In: Journal for German Piety, No. 11. 1937, pp. 11-16.
- Matthias Zender : The veneration of three holy women in Christian Central Europe and their preparations in old ideas. In: Matrons and related deities. Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1987 (supplements to the Bonner Jahrbücher 44).
Web links
- Literature about the Three Bethes in the catalog of the German National Library
- The Innsbruck Theological Reading Room: On the trail of the cult of the three virgins by Anni Findl-Ludescher
- The Ambet - Hofheimer Myth by Norbert Firle
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zender 1987, p. 228.
- ↑ Distribution and number according to the distribution map in Zender 1987, p. 217 (see lit.).
- ↑ Zender 1987, p. 220 (see literature).
- ↑ Alexander Schöppner: Book of legends of the Bavarian country. Vol. 1-3 . 1852-53; Say number 130.
- ↑ Mystical - and full of germs , article by Michael Berzl in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of November 6, 2014, accessed on June 22, 2017.
- ↑ Astrid Becker: The Holy Sisters of Sankt Alto Article in the Starnberg local edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, online version of December 21, 2017, accessed on December 27, 2017.