This article is part of the Odin series
Origins
Wōdanaz
Regional traditions
Odin Woden
Other
Odin's names Odin's sons

This is the article about the belief in Odin among West Germanic peoples, for other uses see Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). For a comparative discussion of North and West Germanic, see Wodanaz. 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 6th century Vadstena bracteate, showing a horse, a bird and a human head commonly identified as an early form of Scandinavian Odin. ... For other meanings of Odin,Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... Odin was referred to by many names in the skaldic tradition. ... Various gods and men appear as Sons of Odin or Sons of Woden in old Old Norse and Old English texts. ... For other meanings of Odin,Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... Woden is the Old English name as used by the Anglo-Saxons for the Germanic god known more commonly as the Norse god Odin. ... Wotan is the Continental West Germanic name for the god known in Norse as Odin. ... The 6th century Vadstena bracteate, showing a horse, a bird and a human head commonly identified as an early form of Scandinavian Odin. ...

Wōden was the name of Odin in Anglo-Saxon polytheism and he represents a later development of a Proto-Germanic deity, *Wōdanaz. Other West Germanic forms of the name include Dutch Wodan, West Frisian Weda Alemannic Wuodan, High German Wotan, and Low German Wodan. For other meanings of Odin,Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... Anglo-Saxon polytheism refers to the Migration Period Germanic paganism practiced by the Anglo-Saxons in 5th to 7th century England. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The 6th century Vadstena bracteate, showing a horse, a bird and a human head commonly identified as an early form of Scandinavian Odin. ... West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, including such languages as English, Dutch, and German. ... The West Frisian language (Frysk) is a language spoken mostly in the province of Fryslân in the north of the Netherlands. ... Area settled by the Alamanni, and sites of Roman-Alamannic battles, 3rd to 6th century The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of west Germanic tribes located around the upper Main, a river that is one of the largest tributaries of the Rhine, on land that is today... 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... Low German (also called Niederdeutsch, Plattdeutsch or Plattdüütsch) is a name for the regional language varieties of the West Germanic languages spoken mainly in Northern Germany where it is officially called Niederdeutsch (Low German), and in Eastern Netherlands where it is officially called Nedersaksisch (Low Saxon). Low refers to...

Woden was worshipped during the Migration period, until the 7th or 8th century, when Germanic paganism was gradually replaced by Christianity. In Anglo-Saxon England, Woden was rationalized as a historical king, and remnants of worship were continued into modern times as folklore, Wodan featuring prominently in both English and Continental folklore as the leader of the Wild Hunt. Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... (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. ... ROSIE IS A GERMN LADYGermanic paganism refers to the religion of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization. ... 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. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... 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. ...

Wednesday, Wednesbury and Wednesfield are named after Woden. For other uses, see Wednesday (disambiguation). ... , For the legal principle, see Wednesbury unreasonableness. ... Wednesfield (population about 35,000) is a town in Wolverhampton, West Midlands. ...

Origins

Main article: Wōdanaz

*Wōđanaz or *Wōđinaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism. He is in all likelihood identical with the Germanic god identified as "Mercury" by Roman writers and possibly with Tacitus' regnator omnium deus. The 6th century Vadstena bracteate, showing a horse, a bird and a human head commonly identified as an early form of Scandinavian Odin. ... Map of the Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, c. ... ROSIE IS A GERMN LADYGermanic paganism refers to the religion of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization. ... A sculpture of the Roman god Mercury by 17th-century Flemish artist Artus Quellinus. ... In Tacitus Germania, regnator omnium deus (god, ruler of all) was a deity worshipped by the Semnones tribe in a sacred grove. ...

Odin probably rose to prominence during the Migration period, gradually displacing Tyr as the head of the pantheon in West and North Germanic cultures -- though such theories are only academic speculation based on trends of worship for other Indo-European cognate deity figures related to Tyr. Outside of the Germanic branch of Indo-European cultures, Odin/Wotan/Wodan has no cognate names or religious equivalents of attested certainty, and was always considered the Germanic supreme god from recorded sources. 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. ... A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον, temple of all gods, from πᾶν, all + θεός, god) is a set of all the gods of a particular religion or mythology, such as the gods of Hinduism, Norse, Egyptian, Shintoism, Greek, vodun, Yoruba Mythology and Roman mythology. ... Charlemagne, first to unify the Germanic tribal confederations. ...

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 1st century from the Odin of the Edda and later medieval folklore. The 1st century was that century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... The term Edda (Plural: Eddas or Icelandic plural: Eddur) applies to the Old Norse Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, both of which were written down in Iceland during the 13th century, although some of the poems included in them may be centuries older. ... Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are a crowning glory of Medieval Art. ...

Migration period

Details of Migration period Germanic religion are sketchy, reconstructed from artifacts, sparse contemporary sources, and the later testimonies of medieval legends and placenames. 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. Human migration denotes any movement of groups of people from one locality to another, rather than of individual wanderers. ... ROSIE IS A GERMN LADYGermanic paganism refers to the religion of the Germanic nations preceding Christianization. ... The 6th century is the period from 501 - 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... 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. ... Area settled by the Alamanni, and sites of Roman-Alamannic battles, 3rd to 6th century The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of west Germanic tribes located around the upper Main, a river that is one of the largest tributaries of the Rhine, on land that is today... The Nordendorf fibula is an early 7th century Alamannic fibula found in Nordendorf near Augsburg (Bavaria). ...

Merseburg Incantations

The Merseburg Incantations, apart from runic inscriptions the only surviving pagan texts in the Old High German language, were written around AD 800. One of them describes Wodan as a healer: The Merseburg Incantations The Merseburg Incantations (German: die Merseburger Zaubersprüche) are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. ... The (Late Old High) German speaking area of the Holy Roman Empire around 950. ...

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. ... Nanna is a goddess in Norse mythology, the daughter of Nep and wife of Baldr (Balder). ... The Trundholm Sun Chariot pulled by a horse is believed to be a sculpture illustrating an important part of Nordic Bronze Age mythology. ... 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. ...

Anglo-Saxon tribes

7th and 8th Century Anglo-Saxon, Frisian and Jutlandic sceattas feature a depiction often identified as Woden by scholars.

The Anglo-Saxon tribes brought their indigenous faith to what was to become England around the 5th and 6th centuries and continued in that form of worship until nearly all were converted to Christianity by the 9th century, at which point the old gods and any records of them were almost completely lost. This process of Christianization followed an established pattern that is attested in accounts of the same from continental Europe: leaders were baptised for varied reasons, and the conversion of their respective peoples almost always inevitably followed, sometimes in the space of a few years, but more often over the course of a few generations though numerous aspects of indigenous beliefs often remained. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sceattas (singular sceat, not sceatta) were small, thick silver coins minted in England, Frisia and Jutland in Anglo-Saxon times, commonly referred to as the Dark Ages. ... For other uses, see Anglo-Saxon. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Taken during a Hindu prayer ceremony on the eve of Diwali. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting pagan practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ...

For the Anglo-Saxons, Woden was the psychopomp or carrier-off of the dead, but not necessarily with the exact same attributes of the Norse Odin. There do not appear to have been the concepts of Valkyries and Valhalla in the Norse sense, although there is a word for the former, Waelcyrge. This is an article about the mythology of the Psychopomp. ... This article is about the Valkyries, figures of Norse mythology. ... For other uses, see Valhalla (disambiguation). ...

In addition to the roles named here, Woden was considered to be the leader of the Wild Hunt. The familial relationships are the same between Woden and the other Anglo-Saxon gods as they are for the Norse. 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. ...

Wednesday (*Wēdnes dæg, "Woden's day", interestingly continuing the variant *Wōdinaz (with umlaut), unlike Wōden, continuing *Wōdanaz) is named after him, his link with the dead making him the appropriate match to the Roman Mercury. For other uses, see Wednesday (disambiguation). ... In linguistics, umlaut (from German um- around/the other way + Laut sound) is a process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a vowel or semivowel in a following syllable. ... A sculpture of the Roman god Mercury by 17th-century Flemish artist Artus Quellinus. ...

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. The initial page of the Peterborough Chronicle. ... 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. ... Baldr. ... Casere is one of the sons of Óðinn, according to Historia Britonum. ... Wihtlæg, Whitlæg, Wighlek or Wiglek is a legendary king of either Denmark or Angeln in Germanic legends. ...

• Wecta's line is continued by Witta, Wihtgils, Hengest and Horsa, and the Kings of Kent.
• Baeldaeg's line is continued by Brona, Frithugar, Freawine, Wig, Gewis, Esla, Elesa, Cerdic and the Kings of Wessex.
• Casere's line is continued by Tytmon, Trygils, Hrothmund, Hryp, Wilhelm, Wehha, Wuffa and the Kings of East Anglia.
• Wihtlaeg's line is continued by Wermund king of Angel, Offa Wermundson, Angeltheow, Eomer, Icel and the Kings of Mercia.

Witta son of Wecta is mentioned as a Jutish chieftain in the 449 entry of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the father of Wihtgils and the grandfather of Hengest and Horsa. ... Wihtgils was a semi-legendary Jutish chieftain who lived in the 5th century AD. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle he was the father of Hengest and Horsa: Their leaders were two brothers, Hengest and Horsa; who were the sons of Wihtgils; Wihtgils was the son of Witta, Witta of... Hengest or Hengist (d. ... Kings of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent Most of the dates of reigns below have multiple alternate values, the sources being in disagreement. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... In J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle-earth legendarium, Fréawine was the fifth King of Rohan. ... Ket and Wig appear in the Gesta Danorum (book 4) as the sons of Frowin, the governor of Schleswig. ... Gewis appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as the son of Wig and a descendant of Woden. ... Imaginary depiction of Cerdic from John Speeds 1611 Saxon Heptarchy. Cerdic of Wessex (d. ... This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until 924. ... Wehha (died 571) was a sixth-century king of East Anglia, possibly the first after the union of Norfolk and Suffolk. ... Wuffa (died 578) was king of East Anglia from 571 to 578. ... The Kingdom of the East Angles (one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy) was founded in the 6th century. ... Wermund , an ancestor of the Mercian royal family, a son of Wihtlaeg and father of Offa. ... White cliffs of Dover in England White cliffs of Rugen down the Baltic coast from Schleswig The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestor of Angeln, a modern district located in Schleswig, Germany. ... Offa (or Alavivaz Olauus) (? - c. ... Angeltheow, also spelled Angletheow, Engengenthe, or Angenwit (? - c. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Icel (or Icil) (? - c. ... A list of the Kings etc. ...

Toponyms

Main article: List of places named after Odin

Anglo-Saxon literature starts at about the time of the conversion from the old religion. Though whatever stories recording his part in the lives of men and the gods are lost, Woden's name survived in the names of many settlements and geographical features throughout Germanic Europe. 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...

Further reading

• Brian Branston, The Lost Gods of England, Thames and Hudson, 2nd ed. (1974), ISBN 0-500-11013-1
• Kathleen Herbert, Looking for the Lost Gods of England, Anglo-Saxon Books (1995), ISBN 1-898281-04-1
• E.G. Stanley, Imagining the Anglo-Saxon Past : The Search for Anglo-Saxon Paganism and Anglo-Saxon Trial by Jury, D.S.Brewer (2000), ISBN 0-85991-588-3
• Michael Wood, In search of the Dark Ages, Checkmark Books (2001), ISBN 0-8160-4702-2

See also

• Germanic polytheism
• Germanic Christianity
• Anglo-Saxon polytheism
• South Germanic deities
• Dutch mythology
• List of places named after Woden
• Migration Period art

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