The 6th century Vadstena bracteate, showing a horse, a bird and a human head commonly identified as an early form of Scandinavian Odin.

7th century depiction of Odin on a Vendel helmet plate, found in Uppland.

*Wodanaz or *Wodinaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of god of Germanic paganism, known as Óðinn in Norse mythology, Wōden in Old English, Wodan or Wotan in High German and Godan in Lombardic. He is in all likelihood identical with the Germanic god identified as Mercury by Roman writers. Download high resolution version (782x871, 151 KB)This is a public domain image of the Vadstena bracteate taken from Nordisk Familjebok. ... Download high resolution version (782x871, 151 KB)This is a public domain image of the Vadstena bracteate taken from Nordisk Familjebok. ... The Vadstena bracteate. ... Image File history File links Odin_Vendel_helmet. ... Image File history File links Odin_Vendel_helmet. ... Ohtheres mound Vendel is a parish in the Swedish province of Uppland. ... Uppland ( â–¶) is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden. ... Map of the Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, ca 500 BC-50 BC. The area south of Scandinavia is the Jastorf culture Proto-Germanic, the proto-language believed by scholars to be the common ancestor of the Germanic languages, includes among its descendants Dutch, Yiddish... Germanic paganism refers to the religion and mythology of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization, including Norse, Anglo-Saxon mythology, information obtained from archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in the folklore of medieval and modern Germanic peoples. ... Odin is considered the highest god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. ... Norse or Scandinavian mythology comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Subdivisions Central German Upper German High German (in German, Hochdeutsch) is any of several German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace), Italy, Poland, and Romania (Transylvania) and in some areas of former colonial settlement, for example in... For the group of modern-day Swiss and Italian dialects, see Lombard language. ... This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ...

Odin probably rose to prominence during the Migration period, gradually displacing Tyr as the head of the pantheon in West and North Germanic cultures. Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... Týr, depicted here with both hands intact, is identified with Mars in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, including such languages as German, English and Dutch. ... The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages (including English, German, and Dutch) and the East Germanic languages (now extinct). ...

Testimonies of the god are scattered over a wide range, both temporally and geographically. More than a millennium separates the earliest Roman accounts and archaeological evidence from the beginning of the Common Era from the Odin of the Edda and later medieval folklore. The Common Era (CE), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes the Current Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 until the present. ... For Edda great-grandmother as the ancestress of serfs see Ríg. ...

Wodanaz is associated with poetic or mantic qualities, his name being connected with the concept of *wōþuz, "furor poeticus", and thus the god of poets and seers. He is a shapechanger and healer, and thus a god of magicians and leeches. He is associated with the Wild Hunt of dead, and thus a death deity. He is also a god of war and bringer of victory. The wild hunt: Ã…sgÃ¥rdsreien (1872) by Peter Nicolai Arbo The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern Scandinavia, Germany and Britain. ...

The time periods to be distinguished are:

• ca. 2nd century BC to 2nd century AD, Proto-Germanic *Wodanaz and "Germanic Mercury"
• ca. 3rd to 7th centuries, Migration Period Woden, Wodan and Proto-Norse *Wodin; the earliest records of the name Wodan date to the 6th century Hiberno-Scottish mission
• ca. 8th to 12th centuries, Viking Age Scandinavian Óðinn
• ca. 13th to 18th centuries, Medieval and Early Modern folklore (Wild Hunt)
• ca. 1800 to present, Romanticist Viking revival, Neopagan reconstructions and references in popular culture.

A god of the Anglo-Saxon /Early English tribes brought with them from continental Europe, around the 5th and 6th centuries until conversion to Christianity in the 8th and 9th centuries CE. Woden is the carrier-off of the dead, but not necessarily with the attributes of his Norse equivalent... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... Odin is considered the highest god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. ... The wild hunt: Åsgårdsreien (1872) by Peter Nicolai Arbo The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern Scandinavia, Germany and Britain. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Early modern publications dealing with what we now call Viking culture appeared in the 16th century, e. ... Polytheistic Reconstructionism, often simply called Reconstructionism, is the practice of re-establishing and practicing ancient religions in the modern world. ... Odin appears frequently as a character in works of popular culture. ...

Etymology

The attested forms of the theonym are traditionally derived from Proto-Germanic *Wōđanaz^[1] (in Old Norse word-initial *w- was dropped before rounded vowels and so the name became Óðinn). Adam von Bremen etymologizes the god worshipped by the 11th century Scandinavian pagans as "Wodan id est furor" ("Wodan, which means 'fury'"). An obsolete alternate etymology, which has been adhered to by many early writers including Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in his Libri tres de occulta philosophia, is to give it the same root as the word god itself, from its Proto-Germanic form *ǥuđ-. This is not tenable today, except for the Lombardic name Godan, which may go back to *ǥuđanaz (see also goði, gaut, god). Map of the Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, ca 500 BC-50 BC. The area south of Scandinavia is the Jastorf culture Proto-Germanic, the proto-language believed by scholars to be the common ancestor of the Germanic languages, includes among its descendants Dutch, Yiddish... Adam of Bremen (also: Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German medieval chroniclers. ... Cornelius Agrippa, as portrayed in Libri tres de occulta philosophia Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (born of noble birth in Cologne September 14, 1486, died in Grenoble February 18, 1535) was a magician and occult writer, astrologer, and alchemist. ... Libri tres de occulta philosophia (Latin: Three Books about Occult Philosophy) is Heinrich Cornelius Agrippas penetrating study of Occult Philosophy, widely acknowledged as a significant contribution to the Renaissance philosophical discussion concerning the powers of magic and its relationship with religion. ... God is the term used to denote the Supreme Being ascribed by monotheistic religions to be the creator, ruler and/or the sum total of, existence. ... The term gothi (goði), in Norse mythology, refers to the person who administered the Blóts. ... Gaut, or Gautr, commonly assumed to mean father or ruler, is one of the names used for Odin, the god of ancient northern mythology. ... God is the term used to denote the Supreme Being ascribed by monotheistic religions to be the creator, ruler and/or the sum total of, existence. ...

It should be noted at this point that Old Norse had two different words spelled óðr, one an adjective and the other a noun. The adjective means '"mad, frantic, furious, violent."^[2] It is cognate with Old English wōd.^[3] The noun means "mind, wit, soul, sense" and "song, poetry."^[4] It is cognate with Old English wōþ. In compounds, óð- means "fiercly, energetic" (e.g. óð-málugr "speaking violently, excited"). Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... Ódr (ON: Óðr) is the husband of Freyja in Norse mythology. ...

Both Old Norse words are from Proto-Germanic *wōþuz^[5], continuing pre-Proto-Germanic *wātus^[6]. An extra-Germanic cognate is Proto-Celtic *wātus "mantic poetry" (continued in Irish fáith, "poet," and Welsh gwawd, "praise-poetry") and Latin vātes, "prophet, seer" (a possible loan from Proto-Celtic *wātis, Gaulish ουατεις). A possible, but uncertain, cognate is Sanskrit api-vat-, "to excite, awaken" (RV 1.128.2). The Proto-Indo-European meaning of the root is therefore reconstructed as relating to spiritual excitation. The Old Norse semantic split is reflected in Adam von Bremen's testimony of the synchronic understanding of the name as "fury" rather than "poetry" or similar. Proto-Celtic, also called Common Celtic, is the putative ancestor of all the known Celtic languages. ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Vates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Gaulish is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became dominant in Roman Gaul. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम्) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ... The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of hymns (, plural ) counted among the four Hindu religious texts known as the s, and contains the oldest texts preserved in any Indo-Iranian language. ... The Proto-Indo-Europeans are the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, a prehistoric people of the late Neolithic and early Bronze Age. ...

Meid^[7] suggested Proto-Germanic *-na- as a suffix expressing lordship ("Herrschersuffix"), in view of words like Odin's name Herjann, ("lord of armies"), drótinn ("lord of men") and þjóðann ("lord of the nation"), which would result in a direct translation of "lord of spiritual energy", "lord of poetry" or similar. It is sufficient, however, and more common, to assume a more general meaning of pertinence or possession for the suffix, inherited from PIE *-no-, to arive at roughly the same meaning. Drott, Drótt or Dróttin was a Scandinavian kingly and priestly title corresponding to prince in a wide sense. ... A slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie à la mode A pie is a baked dish, with a baked shell usually made of pastry that covers or completely contains a filling of meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, cheeses, creams, chocolate, custards, nuts, or other sweet or savoury ingredient. ...

Rübekeil (2003:29)^[8] draws attention to the suffix variants *-ina- (in Óðinn) vs. *-ana- (in Woden, Wotan). This variation, if considered at all, was dismissed as "suffix ablaut" by earlier scholars. There are, however, indications from outside Old Norse of a suffix *-ina-: English Wednesday (rather than *Wodnesday) via umlaut goes back to *wōđina-. Rübekeil concludes that the original Proto-Germanic form of the name was *Wōđinaz, yielding Old Norse Óðinn and unattested Anglo-Saxon *Wēden, and that the attested West Germanic forms are early medieval "clerical" folk etymologies, formed under the impression of synchronic association with terms for "fury". In linguistics, the term ablaut (from German ab- in the sense down, reducing + Laut sound) designates a system of vowel gradations in Proto-Indo-European and its far-reaching consequences in all of the modern Indo-European languages. ... Ä ä Ö ö Ãœ ü The term umlaut is used for two closely related notions: a special kind of vowel modification and a particular diacritic mark. ... Folk etymology (or popular etymology) is a linguistic term for a category of false etymology which has grown up in popular lore, as opposed to one which arose in scholarly usage. ...

The pre-Proto-Germanic form of the name would then be *Wātinos. Rübekeil suggests that this is a loan from Proto-Celtic into pre-Proto-Germanic, referring to the god of the *wātis, the Celtic priests of mantic prophecy, so that the original meaning of the name would be "he [the god/lord] of the Vates" (p. 33), which he tentatively identifies with Lugus (p. 40). Lugus was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain, Ireland, Spain and other ancient Celtic regions. ...

Odin and Mercury

Less is known about the role of Odin as receiver of the dead among the more southern Germanic tribes. The Roman historian Tacitus probably refers to Odin when he talks of Mercury. The reason is that, like Mercury, Odin was regarded as Psychopompos, "the leader of souls". The term Germanic tribes (or Teutonic tribes) applies to the ancient Germanic peoples of Europe. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation) The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Augustus), until its radical reformation in what was later to be known as the Byzantine... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... Many sets of religious beliefs have a particular spirit, deity, demon or angel whose responsibility is to escort newly-deceased souls to the afterlife, such as Heaven or Hell. ...

Julius Caesar calls Mercury the "deum maxime" of the Gauls in De Bello Gallico 6.17.1. A bust of Julius Caesar. ... De Bello Gallico (literally On the Gallic Wars in Latin) is an account written by Julius Caesar about his nine years of war in Gaul. ...

Paulus Diaconus (or Paul the Deacon), writing in the late 8th century, tells that Odin (Guodan) was the chief god of the Langobards and, like earlier southern sources, he identifies Odin with Mercury (History of the Langobards, I:9). Because of this identification, Paulus adds that the god Guodan, "although held to exist [by Germanic peoples], it was not around this time, but long ago, and not in Germania, but in Greece" where the god originated. Robert Wace also identifies Wotan with Mercury. Viktor Rydberg, in his work on Teutonic Mythology, draws a number of other parallels between Odin and Mercury, such as the fact that they were both responsible for bringing poetry to mortals. Paul the Deacon (c. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, from which the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Scandinavia that entered the late Roman Empire. ... Wace (c. ... Abraham Viktor Rydberg (Jönköping, December 18, 1828 - September 22, 1895) was a Swedish author, publicist and poet. ...

Similarly, Ammianus Marcellinus most likely references Odin and Thor in his history of the later Roman Empire as Mercury and Mars, respectively, though a direct association is not made. This, however, underlines a particular problem concerning ancient Greek and Roman sources. Historians from both cultures, during all periods, believed the deities of foreign cultures to merely be their own gods under different names. Such an example may be found in Herodotus' association of an Egyptian Ram-headed god (most probably Chnum) with Zeus. Later, Medieval historians followed the older tradition and likewise made such associations. However, there is no historical evidence to suggest that these are valid connections and as such they should not be taken as historical fact. Ammianus Marcellinus is a Roman historian who wrote during Late Antiquity. ... Thor carries his hammer and wears his belt of strength in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... Mars was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and a magical flower (or Jupiter). ... In Egyptian mythology, Chnum (also spelled Khnum, Knum, or Khnemu) was one of the earliest Egyptian gods, originally the god of the source of the Nile River. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ...

Celtic parallels

Parallels between Odin and Lugus have often been pointed out: both are intellectual gods, commanding magic and poetry. Both have ravens and a spear as their attributes, and both are one-eyed. Julius Caesar (de bello Gallico, 6.17.1), who mentions Mercury as the chief god of Celtic religion. However, most of our souces concerning Celtic Lugus are Insular Celtic, while sources discussing Gaulish Lugus are rare, although his importance is manifest from the numerous toponyms containing the name (Lugdunum etc.). Lucanus mentions a trinity of highest Celtic gods, Teutates, Esus and Taranis. Teutates is characterized as the lord of battles, identified with Mars (but also with Mercury), and he receives as human sacrifices drowned captives and fallen warriors. Esus is the god of merchants, identified with Mercury (but also with Mars), and he accepts as human sacrifices prisoners that are hung on trees and then dismembered. Taranis is identified with Jupiter, and he is a warlord and a sky god. Human sacrifices to Taranis are made by burning prisoners in wooden casks. The Celtic priests administring the human sacrifices were the Vates. Lugus is strangely not mentioned by Lucanus at all. The suggestion of Rübekeil (2003:38), in view of his hypothesis of a Celtic origin of the Germanic god discussed above, is that Lugus refers to the trinity Teutates-Esus-Taranis considered as a single god. An etymological reflex of Celtic Lugus is possibly found in Loki (a Germanic god described as a "hypostasis of Odin" by Folke Ström). A likely context of the diffusion of elements of Celtic ritual into Germanic culture is that of the Chatti, who lived at the Celtic-Germanic boundary in Hesse during the final centuries BC (the Chatti are traditionally considered a Germanic tribe, but many of their leaders and their settlements had Celtic names). It must be remembered that Odin in his Proto-Germanic form was not the chief god, but that he only gradually replaced Tyr during the Migration period. Lugus was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Britain, Ireland, Spain and other ancient Celtic regions. ... A bust of Julius Caesar. ... Celtic Religion Celtic religion refers the pre-Christian religious beliefs and practices of the Celtic speaking peoples. ... The Insular Celtic language hypothesis groups the Goidelic languages, which include Irish, Scottish Gaelic and the recently extinct Manx, together with the Brythonic languages, of which the modern ones are Welsh, Breton, and the moribund Cornish. ... Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum (modern: Lyon) was an important Roman city in Gaul. ... Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (November 3, AD 39-April 30, 65), better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, and is one of the outstanding figures of the Silver Latin period. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single Being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a communion of three persons (personae, prosopa): Father (the Source, the Eternal Majesty); the Son (the eternal Logos or Word, incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth); and the Holy Spirit. ... Toutatis or Teutates, ancient god of Celts and Gauls, whose name means father of the tribe. ... In Continental Brythonic mythology, especially among the Essuvi of Gaul, Esus or Hesus (lord or master) was a god of agriculture, war and commerce. ... In Celtic mythology Taranis was a god of thunder worshipped in Gaul and Britain and mentioned, along with Esus and Toutatis, by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia. ... Human sacrifice was practiced in many ancient cultures. ... Vates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... This picture, from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript, shows Loki with his invention - the fishing net. ... The Chatti (also Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser river and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Werra river regions, a district approximately corresponding to Hesse-Cassel, though probably... Hesse (German: Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer) and has an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants. ... Týr, depicted here with both hands intact, is identified with Mars in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ...

Shamanic traits

The goddess Freya is described as an adept of the mysteries of seid (shamanism), a völva, and it is said that it was she who initiated Odin into its mysteries. In Lokasenna, Loki verbally abuses Odin for practising seid, condemning it as a unmanly art. A justification for this may be found in the Ynglinga saga where Snorri opines that in following the practice of seid, the practitioner was rendered unmanly. Another explanation is that its manipulative aspects ran counter to the male ideal of forthright, open behaviour. Freya, in an illustration to Wagners operas by Arthur Rackham. ... Seid (Old Norse: seiðr, sometimes anglicized as seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr or seith) was a form of shamanism practised by pre-Christian Norse and arguably other Germanic cultures and continued in modern times by people who practice the reconstructionist beliefs of Ásatrú or heathenry. ... A shaman doctor of Kyzyl. ... The völva, vala, wala (Old High German), seiðkona, or wicce was a female shaman in Norse mythology, and among the Germanic tribes. ... Lokasenna, known also as Lokis Flyting, is a poem in the Elder Edda. ... This picture, from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript, shows Loki with his invention - the fishing net. ... The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. ... Ergi and argr are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behavior. ...

Odin was a compulsive seeker of wisdom, consumed by his passion for knowledge, to the extent that he sacrificed one of his eyes (which one this was is unclear) to Mímir, in exchange for a drink from the waters of wisdom in Mímir's well. Mimir was a primal god of Norse mythology whose head was severed and sent to Odin during the war between the Aesir and the Vanir deities. ...

Merseburger Zaubersprüche - Merseburger Domstiftsbibliothek, Codex 136, f. 85r, 10. Century

Some German sacred formulae, known as the "Merseburger Zaubersprüche" ("Merseburg Charms") were written down in c AD 800 and survived to the present time. One (this is the second of the two) describes Wodan in the role of a healer: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x768, 98 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Odin ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x768, 98 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Odin ... The Merseburg Incantations The Merseburg Incantations (German: die Merseburger Zaubersprüche) are two medieval magic formulae or incantations, written in Old High German. ...

Further, the creation of the runes is attributed to Odin and is described in the Rúnatal, a section of the Hávamál. He hanged himself from the tree called Yggdrasill whilst pierced by his own spear in order to acquire knowledge. He remained thus for nine days and nights, a significant number in Norse magical practice (there were, for example, nine realms of existence), thereby learning nine (later eighteen) magical songs and eighteen magical runes. The purpose of this strange ritual, a god sacrificing himself to himself because there was nothing higher to sacrifice to, was ostensibly to obtain mystical insight through mortification of the flesh. In Norse Mythology, Baldur (also Balder, ON Baldr), the god of innocence, beauty, joy, purity, and peace, is Odins second son. ... Balders death is portrayed in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... In Norse mythology, Sol was the goddess of the sun, a daughter of Mundilfari and Glaur and the wife of Glen. ... Frige (Anglo-Saxon, Friia (Germany) or Frea (Langobard)) was the love goddess of Germanic mythology, and the wife of Wotan (Odin). ... Fulla or Fylla is, in Norse mythology, an ásynja. ... Technical note: Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Hávamál (The Words of the High One), (known also as The Sayings of Har, or the High Song of Odin), a work of Old Norse poetry, is a source document for the study of Norse mythology, being a set of rules for wise living (and survival) purportedly written... Yggdrasil In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil (also Mimameid and Lerad) was the World tree, a gigantic tree (often suggested to be an ash, an interpretation generally accepted in the modern Scandinavian mind), thought to hold all of the different worlds, such as Asgard, Midgard, Utgard and Hel. ... Yggdrasil (Beneath its roots are the nine worlds of the universe, plus three magic wells) Hvergelmir Mímisbrunnr Urdarbrunnr Highest level Álfheim Asgard Valhalla Vanaheim Middle level Jotunheim Gastropnir Thrymheim Utgard Midgard Nidavellir and Svartalfheim (may be the same) Lower level Helheim Muspelheim Ginnungagap (Former gap between Muspelheim and Niflheim...

Some scholars see this scene as influenced by the story of Christ's crucifixion; and others note the similarity to the story of Buddha's enlightenment. it is in any case also influenced by shamanism, where the symbolic climbing of a "world tree" by the shaman in search of mystic knowledge is a common religious pattern. We know that sacrifices, human or otherwise, to the gods were commonly hung in or from trees, often transfixed by spears. (See also: Peijainen) Additionally, one of Odin's names is Ygg, and the norse name for the World Ash —Yggdrasill—therefore means "Ygg's (Odin's) horse". Another of Odin's names is Hangatýr, the god of the hanged. This page is about the title, for the Christian figure, see Jesus Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross (Latin: crux) and left to hang there until dead. ... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet. ... In Finland, Peijainen is the ritual burial of a bear that has been communally brought down and has died. ... Yggdrasil In Norse Mythology, Yggdrasil (also Mimameid and Lerad) was the World tree, a gigantic tree (often suggested to be an ash, an interpretation generally accepted in the modern Scandinavian mind), thought to hold all of the different worlds, such as Asgard, Midgard, Utgard and Hel. ...

Odin's desire for wisdom can also be seen in his work as a farmhand for a summer, for Baugi, in order to obtain the mead of poetry. See Fjalar and Galar for more details. In Norse mythology, Baugi was a Jotun and brother of Suttung, who had hidden the mead of poetry after obtaining it from Fjalar and Galar, who had murdered Suttungs father (Baugis uncle: Gilling). ... In Norse mythology, Fjalar and his brother, Galar, were dwarves who killed Kvasir and turned his blood into the mead of poetry, which inspired poets. ...

Worship

Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir, welcomed by a Valkyrie as depicted on the 8th century Ardre image stone.

Details of the Migration period of Germanic religion are sketchy, reconstructed from artefacts, sparse contemporary sources, and later the later testimonies of medieval legends and placenames. It was common, particularly amongst the Cimbri, to sacrifice a prisoner to Odin prior to or after a battle. The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... For other meanings of Odin see Odin (disambiguation) Odin (Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the highest god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism, like West Germanic Woden continuing Proto-Germanic *Wodanaz His name is related to óðr, meaning excitation, fury or poetry, and his role, like many of the Norse... In this illustration from a 17th century Icelandic manuscript Heimdallr is shown guarding the gate of Valhalla. ... The Ardre image stone is thought to show Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odins magical eight-legged steed, and the greatest of all horses. ... A statue from 1908 by Stephan Sinding located in Copenhagen, presents an active image of a valkyrie. ... The largest of the Ardre image stones The Ardre image stones are a collection of ten 8th century rune and image stones. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... The migrations of the Teutons and the Cimbri The Cimbri were a Proto-Germanic tribe who according to Pliny the Elder lived on Jutland (Chersonesus Cimbrica), and the Jutish region of Himmerland (where the contemporary Gundestrup cauldron was found) is thought to preserve their name (cf. ...

According to Jonas Bobiensis, the 6th century Irish missionary Saint Columbanus is reputed to have disrupted a Beer sacrifice to Wuodan (Deo suo Vodano nomine) in Bregenz, Alemannia. Wuodan was the chief god of the Alamanni, his name appears in the runic inscription on the Nordendorf fibula. This Buddhist stela from China, Northern Wei period, was built in the early 6th century. ... Saint Columbanus (543 - 21 November 615; also Saint Columban), was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries. ... Symbel (from Proto-Germanic *sumlan banquet, continuing *sm-lo-, i. ... Bregenz is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost federal state of Austria. ... Alemannia (red) and Upper Burgundy (green) around AD 1000. ... The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were an alliance of warbands formed from Germanic tribes, first mentioned by Dio Cassius when they fought Caracalla in 213. ... The Nordendorf fibula is an early 7th century Alamannic fibula found in Nordendorf near Augsburg (Bavaria). ...

Pagan worship disappeared with Christianization, between the 6th and 8th centuries in England and Germany, lingering until the 11th or 12th century in Iceland and Scandinavia. Remnants of worship were continued into modern times as folklore (see Germanic Christianity). Germanic paganism refers to the religion and mythology of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization, including Norse, Anglo-Saxon mythology, information obtained from archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in the folklore of medieval and modern Germanic peoples. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ... Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. ... By Germanic Christianity is that phase in the history of Northern Europe understood, when the Germanic peoples of the Migration period and Viking Age adopted Christianity. ...

It has been argued that the killing of a combatant in battle was to give a sacrificial offering to Odin. The fickleness of Odin in battle was well-documented, and in Lokasenna, Loki taunts Odin for his inconsistency. Lokasenna, known also as Lokis Flyting, is a poem in the Elder Edda. ... This picture, from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript, shows Loki with his invention - the fishing net. ...

Adam of Bremen in the 12th century relates that every ninth year, people assembled from all over Sweden to sacrifice at the Temple at Uppsala. Male slaves, and males of each species were sacrificed and hanged from the branches of the trees. As the Swedes had the right not only to elect king but also to depose a king, the sagas relate that both king Domalde and king Olof Trätälja were sacrificed to Odin after years of famine. Sometimes sacrifices were made to Odin to bring about changes in circumstance. A notable example is the sacrifice of King Víkar that is detailed in Gautrek's Saga and in Saxo Grammaticus' account of the same event. Sailors in a fleet being blown off course drew lots to sacrifice to Odin that he might abate the winds. The king himself drew the lot and was hanged. Sacrifices were probably also made to Odin at the beginning of summer, since Ynglinga saga states one of the great festivals of the calendar is at sumri, þat var sigrblót "in summer, for victory". Adam of Bremen (also: Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German medieval chroniclers. ... The Temple at Uppsala was a temple in Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), near modern Uppsala, Sweden, that was created to worship the Norse gods of ancient times. ... The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: Íslendingasögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... Domalde was a Swedish king of the House of Ynglings, in Norse mythology. ... Olaf Tree Feller (Old Norse: Ólafr trételgja, Swedish: Olof Trätälja, Norwegian: Olav Tretelgja) was the son of the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler of the House of Yngling according to Heimskringla. ... Víkar (Old Norse nominative case form Víkarr; Latin Wicarus) was a legendary Norwegian king who found himself and his ships becalmed for a long period. ... Gautreks saga (Gautreks Saga) is an Old Norse saga written towards the end of the 13th century which survives only in much later manuscripts. ... Saxo, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857—1945) Saxo Grammaticus (estimated. ... The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. ...

Migration period

Main article: Woden

The Anglo-Saxon tribes brought their pagan faith to England around the 5th and 6th centuries and continued in that form of worship until nearly all were converted to Christianity by the 8th century. The Anglo-Saxon kings claimed descent from Woden. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Historia Britonum, Woden had the sons Wecta, Baeldaeg, Casere and Wihtlaeg, who in turn were ancestors of the royal houses of the Heptarchy A god of the Anglo-Saxon /Early English tribes brought with them from continental Europe, around the 5th and 6th centuries until conversion to Christianity in the 8th and 9th centuries CE. Woden is the carrier-off of the dead, but not necessarily with the attributes of his Norse equivalent... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Worship usually refers to specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess. ... The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the English and their settlement in Britain. ... The Historia Britonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first written sometime shortly after AD 820, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. ... Wecta is mentioned in Historia Britonum, and was a reputed king of Kent. ... A map showing the general locations of the Anglo-Saxon peoples around the year 600. ...

Lombardic Godan appears in the 7th century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. According to the legend presented there, Godan's wife, Frea favoured the Lombards, at the time still called Winnili, and tricked Godan into helping them by having the women of the Winnili tie their hair in front of their faces. Godan thought that they were warriors with impressive beards and named them Langobardi "longbeards". The Origo Gentis Langobardorum is a short 7th century text, detailing a legend of the origin of the Lombards, and their history up to the rule of Perctarit (672–688). ... In J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, Fréa was the fourth King of Rohan. ...

Viking Age

Main article: Óðinn

Odin with his ravens and weapons

Scandinavian Óðinn emerged from Proto-Norse *Wōdin during the Migration period, Vendel artwork (bracteates, image stones) depicting the earliest scenes that can be aligned with the High Medieval Norse mythological texts. The context of the new elites emerging in this period aligns with Snorri's tale of the indigenous Vanir who were eventually replaced Aesir intruders from the Continent.[9] Odin is considered the highest god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (934x1184, 973 KB)Odin. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (934x1184, 973 KB)Odin. ... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... Ohtheres mound Vendel is a parish in the Swedish province of Uppland. ... A bracteate (from the Latin bractea, a thin piece of metal) is a flat, thin, single-sided gold coin produced in Northern Europe predominantly during the Migration Period of the Germanic Iron Age, but the name is also used for later produced coins of silver produced in Central Europe during... A rune stone Rune stones are somewhat flat standing stones with runic stone carvings from the Iron Age (Viking Age) and early middle ages found in most parts of Scandinavia. ... Snorri Sturlason (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. ... Vanir is the name of one of the two groups of gods in Norse mythology, the other and more well known being the Æsir. ... The Aesir (Old Norse Æsir, singular Áss, feminine Ásynja, feminine plural Ásynjur) are the principal pantheon of gods in Norse mythology. ...

According to the Prose Edda, Odin was a son of Bestla and Borr and brother of Vé and Vili and together with these brothers he cast down the frost giant Ymir and created the world from Ymir's body. The Younger Edda, known also as the Prose Edda or Snorris Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. ... In Norse mythology, Bestla was an ancient frost giantess, a daughter of Bolthorn. ... Borr or Burr (sometimes anglicized Bor) in Norse mythology was the son of Búri and the father of Odin. ... Ve was one of the Æsir and a son of Bestla and Borr in Norse mythology. ... Vili was one of the Æsir and a son of Bestla and Borr in Norse mythology. ... For the moon of Saturn, see Ymir (moon). ...

Attributes of Odin are Sleipnir, an eight-legged horse, and the severed head of Mímir, which foretold the future. He employed Valkyrjur to gather the souls of warriors fallen in battle (the Einherjar), as these would be needed to fight for him in the battle of Ragnarök. They took the souls of the warriors to Valhalla (the hall of the fallen), Odin's residence in Ásgarðr. One of the Valkyries, Brynhildr, was expelled from his service but, out of compassion, Odin placed her in a hall surrounded by a ring of fire to ensure that only the bravest man could seek her hand in marriage. She was rescued by Sigurd. Höðr, a blind god who had accidentally killed his brother, Baldr, was then killed by another of Odin's children, Váli, whose mother was Rindr, a giantess who bore him fully grown and vowing not to even bathe before he had exacted vengeance on Höðr. The Ardre image stone is thought to show Odin entering Valhalla riding on Sleipnir In Norse mythology, Sleipnir is Odins magical eight-legged steed, and the greatest of all horses. ... Mimir was a primal god of Norse mythology whose head was severed and sent to Odin during the war between the Aesir and the Vanir deities. ... This article is about the Valkyries, figures of Norse mythology. ... In Norse mythology, Einherjar (or Einheriar) referred to the spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle. ... Look up Ragnarok in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In this illustration from a 17th century Icelandic manuscript Heimdallr is shown guarding the gate of Valhalla. ... Asgard (Old Norse: Ásgarðr) is the realm of the gods, the Æsir, in Norse mythology, thought to be separate from the realm of the mortals, Midgard. ... Sigurd and Brynhilds funeral In Norse mythology, Brynhildr (German: Brünnehilde) was a shieldmaiden and a valkyrie. ... In Norse mythology, Sigurd (also Siegfried) was a legendary hero, as well as the central character in the Volsunga saga, Nibelungenlied and Richard Wagners opera, Siegfried, which see for more details. ... Loki tricks Höðr into shooting Baldr. ... Baldr. ... In Norse mythology, Váli is a son of the god Odin and the giantess Rindr. ... Rind was a giantess in Norse mythology who bore Vali to Odin (though she was unwilling to lie with him at first). ...

According to the Hávamál Edda, Odin was also the creator of the Runic alphabet. It is possible that the legends and genealogies mentioning Odin originated in a real, prehistoric Germanic chieftain who was subsequently deified, but this is impossible to prove or disprove. Hávamál (The Words of the High One), (known also as The Sayings of Har, or the High Song of Odin), a work of Old Norse poetry, is a source document for the study of Norse mythology, being a set of rules for wise living (and survival) purportedly written... The Runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes, formerly used to write Germanic languages, mainly in Scandinavia and the British Isles. ...

Medieval reception

As the chief god of the Germanic pantheon, Odin received particular attention from the early missionaries. For example, his day is the only day to have been renamed in the German language from "Woden's day", still extant in English Wednesday (compare Norwegian, Danish and Swedish onsdag, Dutch woensdag) to the neutral Mittwoch ("mid-week"), while other gods were not deemed important enough for propaganda (Tuesday "Tyr's day" and Friday "Freyja's day" remained intact in all Germanic languages). "Woden's day" is thought to translate the Latin Dies Mercurii, "Mercury-day" (cf. French mercredi), owing primarily to Tacitus' linking of the two gods. German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... The god Woden, after whom Wednesday was named. ... Týr, depicted here with both hands intact, is identified with Mars in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... Freyja in Wagners operas See Freya radar for German World War II radar. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. ...

For many Germans, St. Michael replaced Wotan, and many mountain chapels dedicated to St. Michael can be found, but Wotan also remained present as a sort of demon leading the Wild hunt of the host of the dead, e.g. in Swiss folklore as Wuotis Heer. However, in some regions even this mythology was transformed so that Charlemagne led the hunt, not Odin. Look up Michael in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The wild hunt: Åsgårdsreien (1872) by Peter Nicolai Arbo The Wild Hunt was a folk myth prevalent in former times across Northern Scandinavia, Germany and Britain. ... Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of King Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and king of the Lombards from 774 to 781. ...

In England, Woden was not so much demonized as rationalized, and in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he appears as a perfectly earthly king, only four generations removed from Hengest and Horsa. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals narrating the history of the English and their settlement in Britain. ... Hengest or Hengist (d. ...

Snorri Sturluson's record of the Edda is striking evidence of the climate of religious tolerance in medieval Iceland, but even he feels compelled to give a rational account of the Aesir in his preface. In this scenario, Snorri speculates that Odin and his peers were originally refugees from Troy, etymologizing Aesir as derived from Asia. Some scholars believe that Snorri's version of Norse mythology is an attempt to mould a more shamanistic tradition into a Greek mythological cast. In any case, Snorri's writing (particularly in Heimskringla) tries to maintain an essentially scholastic neutrality. That Snorri was correct was one of the last of Thor Heyerdahl's archeo-anthropological theories (see The search for Odin). Snorri Sturluson (1178 â€“ September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. ... Walls of the excavated city of Troy (Turkey) Troy (Greek Τροία Troia also Ἰλιον; Latin: Troia, Ilium) is a legendary city, scene of the Trojan War, part of which is described in Homers Iliad, an epic poem in Ancient Greek, composed in the 8th or 7th century BC, but containing older... World map showing Asia. ... Heimskringla is the Old Norse name of a collection of sagas recorded in Iceland around 1225 by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1242). ... Thor Heyerdahl (October 6, 1914 in Larvik, Norway–April 18, 2002 in Colla Micheri, Italy) was a world-famous Norwegian marine biologist with a great interest in anthropology, who became famous for his Kon-Tiki Expedition in which he sailed by raft 4,300 miles from South America to the... The Search for Odin (Norwegian: Jakten pÃ¥ Odin) is the project title of Thor Heyerdahls last series of anthropological excavations, which took place in northern Europe. ...

Revivals

With the Romantic Viking revival of the early-to-mid 19th century, Odin's popularity increased again. Wotan is a lead character in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, written between 1848 and 1874. This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Early modern publications dealing with what we now call Viking culture appeared in the 16th century, e. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate... Valkyrie Warrior Maiden by artist Arthur Rackham (1912) Der Ring des Nibelungen translated commonly into English as The Ring of the Nibelung or The Nibelungs Ring, is a series of four epic operas. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

His name provides the root for 19th century conceptions of "Od", a hypothetical vital energy that permeates all living things. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Also called Od [õd] and Odyle, Odic Force is the 19th century name given to a hypothetical vital energy or life force that proponents say permeates all living plants, animals, and humans. ...

Odin, along with the other Norse Gods and Goddesses, is worshipped by Germanic pagan reconstructivists (see Odinism). Ásatrú, "faith in the Aesir", is an officially recognised religion in Iceland and Denmark. Reconstructions of the traditions of Germanic paganism began with 19th century Romanticism. ... Reconstructions of the traditions of Germanic paganism began with 19th century Romanticism. ... Ásatrú (Icelandic Æsir faith) is a new religious movement which is attempting to revive the pre-Christian (Viking Age) Nordic religion as described in the Eddas. ... The Aesir (Old Norse Æsir, singular Áss, feminine Ásynja, feminine plural Ásynjur) are the principal pantheon of gods in Norse mythology. ...

Odin is frequently referred to in popular culture. See References to Odin in popular culture and Odin (disambiguation). Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in any given society. ... Odin appears frequently as a character in works of popular culture. ... Odin, Wotan, Wodan, Woden or Oden is usually considered the supreme god of Germanic and Norse mythology. ...

Notes

1. ^ Jan de Vries, Altnordisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd Revised Edition (1963)
2. ^ Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson, An Icelandic-English Dictionary. (1874; online editions: [10] [11])
3. ^ T. Northcote Toller, Ed. An Anglo-Saxon dictionary, based on the manuscript collections of the late Joseph Bosworth, and Old English Made Easy.
4. ^ Cleasby-Vigfusson.
5. ^ Toller, and Old English Made Easy. Later Old English orthography did not consistently differentiate between 'þ' and 'ð'. They were not confused with 'd', however.
6. ^  Julius Pokorny, Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch
7. ^  Meid, Wolfgang, Beiträge zur Namenforschung 8 (1957)
8. ^ Rübekeil, Ludwig. Wodan und andere forschungsgeschichtliche Leichen: exhumiert, Beiträge zur Namenforschung 38 (2003), 25–42.

Jan de Vries (born 1890 in Amsterdam, died 1964 in Utrecht) was a Dutch scholar of Germanic linguistics and Germanic mythology, ordinarius 1926 to 1945 at Leiden University. ... Gudbrandr Vigfusson (born 1827 or 1828; died January 31, 1889) was the foremost Scandinavian scholar of the 19th century. ... Joseph Bosworth (1789 - May 27, 1876), British Anglo-Saxon scholar, was born in Derbyshire. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Julius Pokorny (1887–1970) was born in Prague and studied at Vienna university. ... The Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (The Indo-European Etymological Dictionary) by the Czech scholar and Irish nationalist Julius Pokorny, was published in 1959. ...

Literature

• Starkey, K.Imagining an early Odin. Gold bracteates as visual evidence?, Scandinavian studies, The journal of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study 71-4 (1999), 373-392.

See also

• Germanic paganism
• List of places named after Odin
• Odin in popular culture

Germanic paganism refers to the religion and mythology of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization, including Norse, Anglo-Saxon mythology, information obtained from archaeological finds and remnants of pre-Christian beliefs in the folklore of medieval and modern Germanic peoples. ... Many toponyms (place names) contain the name of *Wodanaz (Norse Odin, West Germanic Woden) Scandinavia Odense (Denmark) Odensbacken (Sweden) England: Wansdyke - Wodens embankment Grimsdyke - From Grim, hooded, a description of his appearance Wednesfield - Wodens field Wensley - Wodens meadow Wednesbury - Wodens burgh Woodnesborough, Kent - also translates as... Odin appears frequently as a character in works of popular culture. ...

External links

• Neolithic Odin?