Reto (deity)
According to the "Life Descriptions of Boniface" by Letzner and Cyriacus Spangenberg, a saint's vita from 1603, Reto was a Germanic god of the Saxons who is said to have been worshiped on the consecrated Reteberg (also Rietberg or Retoberg) near Wiebrechtshausen . Saint Boniface is said to have destroyed the Altar Retos there, which is still reminiscent of a large hole on a hill in the middle of the mountain. Older linguists such as Johann Kaspar Zeuss the mention of Reto still gave reason for speculation, so he put him to the Anglo-Saxon goddess or the month name "Hrede" and to an Anglo-Saxon gloss that speaks of the month of March as "Martius hrede" and "Hrede" as " Gloriosus, famosus ”explains, he also identified him with another god named Krodo , who is known from the older Cronecken der Sassen from 1492 , since in some variants of the saints' lives both names were exchanged. Nowadays, however, the idea of the existence of a god called "Reto" is largely rejected and he is counted among the so-called "topical gods", which were invented to adorn the Acta Sanctorum of Boniface and to explain place names.
The "Reto Altar" in fairy tales and customs
According to the Lower Saxon legend "The Miss of Bomeneburg" every year on Easter vigil a beautiful woman crying violently should go to the Retoloch and wash herself in it. It is said to be Kunigunde, the daughter of the knight from the Bomeneburg, who is said to have been between Northeim and the Northeimer Brunnen. This refused to accept Christianity and became engaged to a pagan knight. On the wedding day, however, Kunigunde waited in vain for her suitor until a great storm broke out and her groom appeared at midnight , accompanied by thunder and lightning, when the Black Knight and kidnapped them to the Retoberg, where they still live today and they only live once a year is let out on Easter Eve to wash at the river Ruhme. According to legend, a woman or a girl who follows Kunigunde and washes in the river after her should receive wonderful beauty.
literature
- Franz Joseph Mone : History of Paganism in Northern Europe. Part 2. Leske, Leipzig et al. 1823, p. 271 .
- Wolfgang Golther : Handbook of Germanic mythology. Hirzel, Leipzig 1895, p. 14 .
- Wilhelm Mannhardt: The gods of the German and Nordic peoples. Part 1. Schindler, Berlin 1860, ( digitized version ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Heinrich DA sun: Description of the Kingdom of Hanover. Book 4: Special Chorography. Cotta, Munich 1830, p. 71 .
- ↑ Kaspar Zeuss : The Germans and the neighboring tribes. Lentner, Munich 1837, p. 23 .
- ↑ Georg Schambach , Wilhelm Müller (Ed.): Lower Saxony sagas and fairy tales. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1855, p. 8 .