Continental Germanic mythology

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Under continental Germanic mythology pre-Christian mythology of the Germanic tribes in the field of today German territories of Poland , the Czech Republic , north-east of France and the Benelux countries to understand. A distinction must be made between the following time periods.

  1. Iron Age (800 BC to the birth of Christ). From this period there are mainly archaeological finds such as B. known from sacrificial moors .
  2. Roman Empire (50 BC - 450 AD). The main source is the Germania of Tacitus and several consecration stones .
  3. Early Middle Ages (from 450 until Christianization ). Various sources such as runic inscriptions , spells , glosses .
  4. High Middle Ages and early modern times : hidden survival of some Numina in popular belief and in sagas. These were collected in the following period. Further knowledge can be gained through language geography.
  5. In modern times , the beliefs of Germanic mythology have largely died out. Her scientific research began with Jacob Grimm . Since then there have also been groups trying to revive the “old religion” ( neo-paganism , Germanic neo-paganism ).

Pre-Roman Iron Age

Based on linguistic findings, it can be concluded that the names of the main deities such as Wodan-Odin , Ziu-Tyr , Donar-Thor and Frija-Frigg were common in the language at that time. We do not know whether and in what form they were venerated. In any case, as accompanying finds show, the Germanic tribes sacrificed anthropomorphic deities in the form of simple human-like wooden idols (so-called pole idols ). In the sacrificial moor of Oberdorla (Thuringia), which was built in the 6th century BC at the latest. In addition to many small wooden block idols from the Celtic Iron Age, a large female idol with a bronze choker was found. This was around 75 BC. Replaced by two forked branch idols, one female and one phallic. In the neighboring sacrificial moor of Possendorf (Thuringia) from the 1st century BC. A stake idol with a woman's head and infected, raised arms was found. In Wittemoor (Lower Saxony) of the 2nd century BC In contrast, the finds represented a more abstract board-like pair of gods. The finds in Denmark are richer.

Roman Imperial Era

The presumed dissolution of the "Celtic Bar" by the Romans and their attempt to subdue Germania as far as the Elbe led to new impulses, also in religion (runes, days of the week). The sacrificial moor of Oberdorla was built around 30 BC. Apparently first violently destroyed. During the Roman period, the old (cultic) tribal associations of the Irminonen , Istwäonen and Ingwäonen that existed according to Tacitus dissolved and were replaced by large tribes such as Franks and Alamanni . Hostages and Germanic warriors in Roman service brought new religious ideas with them (e.g. the Alemannic king Serapio , who is named after the Egyptian god Serapis ).

Roman age altar of the Ubier from Bonn

The main source is Tacitus , who reports extensively on some Germanic cults in his Germania . He names the main deities with Roman names according to ancient custom , these are Mercurius, Mars, Hercules and Isis. But he also knows the ritual circumnavigation of the earth goddess Nerthus among the Angles and Variners , describes the horrific cult of the Regnator omnium deus (“the all-ruling god”) among the Semnones and Suebi and reports how 900 Roman soldiers were slaughtered in the Frisian grove of Baduhenna .

The Germanic weekday names were also formed during the Roman Empire. From this, the existence of the following West Germanic deities can be considered certain for Roman times: 1) Sol : * Sunna - 2) Luna - * Mâno 3) Mars : * Tîw or * Þings - 4) Mercurius : * Wôðan - 5) Iuppiter : * Þonar - 6) Venus : * Frîja - 7) No equivalent was found for Saturnus . It is noteworthy that the Germanic thunder god * wurdeonar was otherwise equated with the Roman hero and demigod Hercules .

While the sacrificial moor of Oberdorla had a quiet time with slow changes during its first 500 years, it now experienced a wilder time with several destruction. After the Hermunduren's victory over the Chatti in AD 58, the sanctuary reached a new heyday. Around 25 sacrificial sites were built around the then lake. The main cult was a male triad (and a sword idol) and people, cattle and other animals were sacrificed. With the disappearance of the Hermundures around 180 AD, the sanctuary was also given up. The new residents of the area now built a large rectangular shrine with a female square timber idol, which was worked in the Gallo-Roman style. In addition to this idol, to which ox, boar, deer and birds were sacrificed, a priestess was also buried. Apparently in the year 406 the whole complex was destroyed in the course of the great migration. After that, there were two ship-shaped sanctuaries for a short time with a stake idol with the head of a stallion and a goddess.

Teutons who settled in Roman territory erected consecration stones for their deities according to Gallo-Roman custom , in advance local mother goddesses ( Matronae, Matres ). A clear demarcation from Gallic deities is not always possible here.

Early middle ages

After the turbulent upheavals of the Migration Period , the Franks under the Merovingians gradually gained political power over Central Europe, which also came more and more under the influence of Christianity . From a religious and historical point of view, this period marks the transition from Germanic paganism to Christianity, with different developments among the various tribes. For a long time, both religions existed side by side and it was not uncommon for them to mix ( syncretism ). The collapse of the Roman Empire led to a temporary impoverishment of material culture.

Rider with a mythical being on the Alemannic rider's disc from Pliezhausen

From the 2nd half of the 5th century, the sanctuary on the sacrificial moor in Oberdorla consisted only of a simple rectangular fence in the lake at that time. Various victims were then sunk within this fence. After Christianization, all the buildings fell into disrepair, but small offerings were made continuously - probably secretly - until the 11th century.

The literary evidence is a bit more colorful but sparse. The Longobard Paulus Diaconus tells how the god father Wodan was outwitted by his wife Frea and he gave the Longobards not only their name, but also victory. The runic inscription on a fibula from Nordendorf , which names the gods Wodan and Wigi-Þonar, is a sensational find . At the same time as this primer got into the grave, the Irish missionary Columban was witness to a beer offering to Wodan near Bregenz . He was no less shocked that the Aurelius Church there worshiped pagan gods as well as the Christian god. And a law of Charlemagne about fornication means that this came from a man named Fricco, a clear reference to the phallic god of fertility, as he z. B. was also venerated in the temple at Uppsala in Sweden.

The Second Merseburg Spell tells how Wodan and Phol rode into the forest and suffered a small accident, whereupon several goddesses went to work, but it was only Wodan's knowledge of magic that helped the stumbled horse back on its feet. The Alemannic Parisian blessing against epilepsy begins with the rhyming call of the god of thunder: “Doner diutigo diete wigo!” (Donar confidante, people's fighter!)

The following mythical figures are known from the transmitted early medieval sources:

The most important testimonies of this time are:

Although the Goths belong to the East Germans , they are listed here. Deities: Gapt - Ansis - Dounabis (the Danube ). Sources: Jordanes , runic inscription by Pietroassa ; Roman writer.

See also the South Germanic deities in the early medieval tradition.

Expressions from cosmology and eschatology : earth and heaven : ahd. Ero ⁊ ufhimil, as. Ertha endi uphimil, got. Airþa jah himins; Earth as the place where people live : ahd. Mittigart, as. Middilgart, got. Midjungards; Underground world of the dead : ahd. Hellea, as. Hellia, got. Halja; End of the world : ahd. Muspilli, as. Mutspelli. The Wessobrunn creation poem ( cosmogony ) and the muspilli ( eschatology ) are presented as literary evidence .

Heroic legends that are partly based on historical people ( Etzilo , Dietrîch von Berne , Hiltibrant , Nebulones, Gibicho, Gunthari , Walthari Manufortis ) do not belong directly to mythology .

Female figures of popular belief in the Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, legends about female Numina were widespread throughout the German-speaking area . In southern Germany the corresponding number was known under the name Perchta , in central Germany under the name Frau Holle and in northern Germany under various names such as Frau Herke / Harre, Frau Frick (e), Frau Gode / Wode. Even in Christian times, women, in particular, offered them smaller food offerings. The church vigorously opposed such acts and called them superstition .

According to the legends and stories, these Numina appeared especially in the Twelfth and checked whether the spinning ban that existed at the time was being observed. They also punished lazy spinners by confusing their skirts . Violations of festival food laws, but also uncleanliness and disobedience in children, punish these figures by slitting open the guilty stomach, removing what was eaten and instead adding garbage or similar worthless substances.

They were also responsible for the fertility of the land, ensured a good grain harvest, donated rain and made it snow. It is also reported that Ms. Holle gives cakes, flowers or fruit and especially helps women and girls, wishes them “many a good year” and makes them healthy and fertile.

According to other legends, the folk beliefs are also considered to be the bringers of the children, or they carry the souls of the unbaptized children with them.

Erika Timm , professor of German studies at the University of Trier, has evaluated numerous pieces of evidence on these forms of popular belief. Ms. Holle and Ms. Percht are certainly documented in writing as far back as the 13th century, possibly even as far as the 11th century. Furthermore, using the method of language geography, she was able to determine that these figures must go back at least to the second phonetic shift (7th century).

She assumes that the name Holle (roughly: the gracious) was originally an epithet of the Germanic goddess Frigg . This became independent after Christianization, among other things because it was no longer advisable to name or even to call on a " pagan " goddess. Because that would have been sanctioned as idolatry .

According to the same pattern, the Perchta known in southern Germany and the Alps (for example: the shiny one) developed from another nickname of Frigg , with the peculiarity that beliefs from the Celtic Noricum also played a role in this figure .

In northern Germany the situation is a bit more complicated. The tribal duchy of Saxony was a center of vodan worship in pre-Christian times . Wodan has usurped many functions of other gods in the regions of what later became Schleswig-Holstein and northern Lower Saxony, including the spinning room control in the twelfth (= control of compliance with the spinning ban), which otherwise remained the refuge of female Numina. That is why they are unknown there. Ms. Wode / Gode then appears a little further south. Apparently this is also about the goddess Frigg, who was Wodan's wife. Although she has lost her name, she is still recognizable as a female figure. A little further south, the corresponding figure of popular belief is called Frau Herke / Harre. According to Erika Timm, this name is derived from Herlequin , the leader of the wild hunt , also from Wodan. In three smaller areas, far apart from each other, Frigg was still known by her real name.

Stories about the Numina mentioned above were passed on in particular in the spinning rooms, because that was almost the only room in which women and girls could communicate with one another undisturbed. In regions in which such spinning rooms were not common because there were only individual farms (as in Westphalia ), the belief in these characters faded relatively early.

Modern times

Background: After the complete Christianization, old mythological ideas only survived in popular (but) belief and it can hardly be spoken of a native mythology. With the discovery of the Nordic collection of songs of gods, Edda , interest in a “German mythology” was aroused in Germany, which Jacob Grimm examined thoroughly. His three-volume work not only laid the foundation for modern (South) Germanic and Anglo-Saxon research on religion, but also the interest and imagination of German artists and romantics.

Ostara

The then still young research postulated not only the deities mentioned in the previous chapters but also such as Ostara or Hertha. These have their origins in part in folklore ( Hulda , Berchta , Fricka ), incorrect readings and interpretations of old scriptures ( Hertha , Fosta ) or mixing with Slavic legendary figures (Siwa). Over time, these characters disappeared from scientific work.

With the advent of the Romantic Age and later nationalism, artists developed, in some cases, downright new mythologies. The works of the musician Richard Wagner have Germanic deities and heroes as models, but Wagnerian mythology no longer has much in common with old Germanic. But painters and other artists were also inspired by German mythology. Even the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung wrote an essay called Wotan in 1936 and Jung worked for a long time with the Indologist Jakob Wilhelm Hauer , who founded the German Faith Movement . But due to the political situation in Germany, CG Jung finally withdrew from Hauer.

The developments in neo-pagan currents are more confused , and they often uncritically incorporate whatever they like into their ideas. Even if the names of their deities sound obscure, the characters and prayers assigned to these deities come from romantics who wanted to counter the colorful and lively mythology of the Greeks with a “German mythology”. (Neo) National Socialist ideas are often involved. It is also striking that Germanic and Celtic deities are very often mixed with one another. A typical and well-studied object is the goddess Ostara .

See also

literature

  • Jan de Vries : Old Germanic history of religion. 2 volumes. 3rd unchanged edition. Walter de Gruyter publishing house, Berlin 1970.
  • Günter Behm-Blancke : Shrines of the Teutons and their predecessors in Thuringia - the Oberdorla cult site . 2002.
  • Åke Viktor Ström, Haralds Biezais : Germanic and Baltic religion . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-17-001157-X .
  • Rudolf Simek : Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X .
  • Rudolf Simek: Religion and Mythology of the Teutons . WBG, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-534-16910-7 .
  • Erika Timm: Frau Holle, Frau Percht and related figures. 160 years after Jacob Grimm from a German point of view . Hirzel, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-7776-1230-8 .

Web links

Portal: Mythology  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the topic of mythology

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erika Timm: Frau Holle, Frau Percht and related figures.