Ostara

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Art Nouveau representation of Ostara

Ostara ['o: stara] is the name derived from Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) through philological comparison for a presumed Germanic spring goddess . As a source, Grimm referred to the Anglo-Saxon monk and church historian Beda , who explained the origin of the word "Easter" ( Easter ) with a former Germanic goddess named "Eostrae". In Romanticism , Grimm's assumption of an Ostara was very well received, has since been used to explain Easter customs and has found its way into encyclopedias and school books until the very recent past. In specialist science, the assumption of a Germanic Ostara has been controversial for a long time and is usually rejected, whereby mostly the already very problematic form of the name is discussed and less the general cult of a Germanic spring goddess.

Sources and source criticism

Beda Venerabilis

Beda Venerabilis in a medieval manuscript

In the 8th century , the English church historian Beda Venerabilis (673-735) explains the origin of the word Easter in his work De temporum ratione , a pamphlet for the termination of Easter according to the Roman church tradition, contrary to the practice of the Irish-Scottish church tradition . Beda named the month of the month that of a "goddess Eostrae", who is said to have given its name to the Eosturmonath (April; ahd. Ôstarmânôt).

“Eostur-monath, qui nunc paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum, quae Eostrae vocabatur, et cui in illo festa celebrabant, noun habuit; a cuius nomine nunc paschale tempus cognominant, consueto antiquae observationis vocabulo gaudia novae solemnitatis vocantes "

“The Eosturmonath, today called Passover, was previously named after one of her goddesses, who was called Eostre, in whose honor festivals were celebrated that month. Now they call the Passover season with their name, which invokes the joys of the new solemnity under the name of time-honored goddess worship. "

- De temporum ratione chap. 15th

However, the existence of this goddess is denied or at least strongly doubted by many scientists. It is obvious that an important spring festival among the Teutons must have been associated with a certain deity, but it is difficult to make any statements about the content of this festival. Eostrae could therefore simply be an "Easter" surname for an otherwise differently named goddess (such as Freya ), a parallel can be found in the surname Jólnir for the god Odin , which is probably associated with the Yule Festival. Since Beda is otherwise the only source for a goddess Eostrae, many researchers assume an invention of Beda in the tradition of the Etymologiae Isidore of Seville . On the other hand, Beda Venerabilis is considered the first reliable chronicler of English history. The concise dictionary of German superstition came to the conclusion in 1935: "If an Anglo-Saxon Eostra was already on weak feet, research even considered a German goddess Ostara to be undetectable."

Jacob Grimm

Jacob Grimm (ca.1860)

Jacob Grimm speculates in his work Deutsche Mythologie (1835) about a Germanic goddess named Ostara, based on Bedas Eostrae:

“The two goddesses, which Beda (de temporum ratione cap. 13) cites very briefly, without further description, merely to explain the months named after them, are Eástre and Hrede ; Merz got its name from this, and from April its Saxon name. "

- Jakob Grimm : German Mythology

Grimm evaluates an invention of the goddess by the pious Bede as "improbable" and draws on further etymological evidence, including the "ôstârmanoth" mentioned by Eginhard (Easter month ahd. For April), and comes to the conclusion: " Ostara , Eástre mag thus the deity of the shining morning, of the rising light, a joyful, salvific appearance, the term of which could be used for the resurrection festival of the Christian God. "

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Grimm - like other representatives of German Romanticism  - was very interested in a Germanic religion as an independent basis of German culture and established the relationship between legendary figures such as Frau Holle and Perchta and the Nordic goddess Frigg and Freya. Due to Grimm's general influence on 19th century German linguistics , Ostara found widespread use. Today, however, Grimm's derivation is often criticized for not considering alternative explanatory approaches, such as the Frisian Âsteron, the Middle High German Ôsteren or the Old High German word for Easter Ôstarûn, which is, however, incorrect, since Grimm's interpretation is explicitly based on the Old High German word Ôstarûn .

Scandinavia

In the Icelandic poetry of the Edda and in the Scandinavian Scald poetry there is no reference to a goddess that could correspond to the Anglo-Saxon Eastre. Nor does the idea of ​​a spring goddess or a morning goddess of rising light appear in Nordic literature. At best, the Nordic goddess Var can be cited here, but this connection is only based on a festival equivalent of continental Germanic Easter and North Germanic Várblót and a possible identification of both goddesses as epithets or hypostases of the goddess Freya .

Modern times

Earlier than Grimm, German sources report the veneration of a similarly sounding goddess, for example the Wernigeröder intelligence paper in 1797 mentions an "Ostra", to which bonfires are lit in honor. Where this information comes from is unclear. An even older mention from 1770 about "Eostre, Ostar" probably refers directly to Beda due to the form of the name.

Etymological discussions

Regarding Beda's mention of Eostrae, individual authors interpret the following references as evidence for the existence of a Germanic goddess Ostara or Eastre:

  • Field and place names such as Osterode , Osterholz or Oesch (also spelled Austerthal). However, with such place names a reference to the eastern direction is usually more obvious and is therefore represented by place name research.
  • In the Franconian Empire April was also called "ôstarmânôt", which is related to the old English "eastarmonath". The temporal origin of the names is not known and therefore also whether they were inspired by Easter or whether Easter was named after the names of the months.
  • The name of a stone block in Westphalia “im Oestern” is derived from Ostara, but here it is a question of popular belief. The "Osta stone" from the same area - a votive tablet found in the 16th century  - is interpreted as a hint by supporters of the Ostarathese. The panel has only survived in traces and shows a male or female figure with a horned helmet, who wears an overflowing cornucopia, and next to it a circle (interpreted as a sun or full moon) and a crescent moon. The drawing also shows a rune saying: "dhu gautar osta, ous il sin grosta -" (roughly: "You good Osta, from your face shines -"). Neither the stone nor the runic inscription are recognized as authentic by research.
  • As a further indication, consecration stones of the Matronae Austriahenae in the area of ​​the Lower Rhine town of Morken-Harff are sometimes rated. These matrons were partly interpreted as "the eastern ones who live in the east". The Austriahenae in Hermühlheim near Cologne can also be proven through seven Roman dedicatory inscriptions with the matron names Authrinehae, Auðrinehae, Audrinehar and Autriahenae. Like most matron names, they can probably be traced back to place, district or clan names.

Equivalents

Ostara was identified or associated with various goddesses of related peoples and cultures in older research and is still sometimes associated with various goddesses:

  • On the basis of comparative religious research, an Indo-European goddess of the dawn (* H 2 eusōs f. ) Is assumed, as the Indian Uṣāḥ , Greek Eos , Roman aurora and the Lithuanian Aušrinė show. A Germanic goddess * Austrô cannot be proven by this and the comparison with the old English Eastre remains vague.
  • The epithet "ástaguð" ("love god"; to ahd . Instead of "favor, love"), which the goddess Freyja bears in the younger Edda (cf. Skaldskaparmál chap. 28), is occasionally wrongly brought into etymological connection with Ostara.
  • Equally controversial is the etymological connection between Ostara and the West Semitic fertility goddess Astarte , which was sometimes established in older literature .

reception

Neopagan paganism

In modern neo-pagan beliefs, spring festivals are mostly referred to as Ostara or Ostara festival.

See also: Continental Germanic Mythology # Modern Times
See also: Celtic annual cycle
See also: Wicca annual cycle

Analytical psychology

Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) took up the older discussion and tried to interpret Ostara as a manifestation of the so-called mother archetype .

"Ostara" magazine

The Austrian esotericist and National Socialist Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels published between 1905 and 1930 under the title Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler, a journal with racist content, in which he also traced the country name Austria back to the assumed Germanic goddess.

Modern reception

In the book American Gods by Neil Gaiman Ostara is one of the protagonists. In particular, the connection between the Christian Easter festival and the etymological origin of the term “Easter” is discussed.

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Ostara  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ so Easter In: Microsoft Encarta (online 2009); here "Eostre" as the "Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility", whose festival was celebrated on the day before the spring equinox and was associated with the symbol of the hare.
  2. ↑ Compare Ostara . In: Concise dictionary of German superstition . Volume 6, Col. 1311-1317.
    Example of criticism as early as the beginning of the 20th century: Ostara . In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon . 6th edition. Volume 15, Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1908, p.  168 .
  3. ↑ De mensibus Anglorum in German translation from Firne Sitte Thuringia
  4. ^ Rudolf Simek: Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X , p. 231.
  5. ↑ csis.pace.edu see e.g. Lowell Wilson
  6. ↑ HWDA "Ostara" Sp. 1312 at Google Books
  7. ↑ German mythology . Göttingen 1835, p. 180 in Google Books
  8. ↑ Einhart, Life of Charlemagne (English translation of the Vita Karoli Magni )
  9. ↑ "Our neighbors in the country have been lighting the pagan goddess Ostra in honor of the pagan goddess Ostra again on the evening of the first Christian Easter holiday, without hesitation or reflection, sacrificial and memorial bonfires in front of her villages and heights, where such are ... Our townspeople (let it be said of their fame) act more sensibly on this. Even if it is nothing more, they remain firmly on their posts of enlightenment. At least until now they are ashamed of this retrogression into paganism, this petty, superstitious amusement. They laugh at the superstition of our ancestors who, through these fire sacrifices, later known as Easter Fire, hoped to obtain the extermination of the waste harmful to the plants from the goddess Ostra ... “ Wernigerödisches Intellektivenblatt . 19; May 9, 1797, p. 72
  10. ↑ “The Ostera or Eostre, Ostar, is said to be the German Venus, which others hold in front of the moon, some in front of the dawn or the morning star, is said to have given the party for Easter (...) Local residents partly hang at the ignition of Easter Those who are still stubbornly stubborn about the field, pointed out where it shines, a special blessing grows from it. In this country she had her lucos (= groves) and aras (= altars), which are still referred to as Osterholtz and Osterberge. ”Mushard manuscript, Landesmuseum Oldenburg
  11. ↑ Mülh. Parish priest v. 1610 u. 1630, p. 27 and 184
  12. ↑ cf. also Austria (Ostarrîchi, Ostmark )
  13. ^ Concise dictionary of German superstition . Volume 6, p. 1316