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Possible historical roots of pre-Christian Germanic/Norse mythology and gods?
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)

Print this Article    •    About the Author    •    Bibliography/Sources

This is an essay both giving a brief description and overview of the major gods of the Pantheon worshiped by the pre-Christian Germanic peoples (Scandinavians, Germans, Anglo-Saxon Britons, etc.), and also an investigation into the possible historical roots of each of these persons as legitimate figures in history. The unclear timeframe makes it impossible to reject or prove such historical theories, so this essay simply probes all possibilities. The word "euhemerism" in this article refers to the study or belief in the historical, legitimate roots of "mythological" (pre-Christian) religious beliefs. It is a major school of theological thought that brings to light the historical deification of kings, and thus the potential for factual links of mythological religion.

ODIN

The "High One" and leader of the pan-Germanic Pantheon. He is the grandson of Ymir, the first humanoid created of ice, and son of Borr and the frost giantess Bestla. With his two brothers Vi and Vili, Odin killed his grandfather (Ymir), and created the Nine Worlds from his felled body, including Midgard, the world of men. For doing so, he is called the Allfather. He is also known for having seeded Yggdrasil, the World Tree which supports the worlds. In his quest for knowledge, he sacrificed his eye, throwing it into the Well of Mimir to acquire complete and universal knowledge, as well as magical power. He also hung himself for nine days and nights from a tree, probably the World Tree itself, to advance his magical power and understanding of the world of the dead. He is also known for having created the first Germanic alphabet, Runic, in his experience whilst hanging from the tree as a writing system for his adherents. He is the father of the foremost famous of the German and Scandinavian Pantheon, including Thor, Baldur, and Tyr. He rides a typically 6-legged horse, Schleipnir, and hurls a spear Gungnir, impervious to failure and unable to stray from its target. Two ravens, Hunin and Munir, observe the world and return to his throne in Valhalla to report on the moral and cosmic condition of men and the worlds he had created from his grandfather's dismembered body. He is revered as the god of poetry, war, the dead/afterlife, and will. "Wednesday" is named after Odin by the synonym Weden/Wedne during the importation of Christianity into the Germanic British Isles. As foreseen in the Voluspa chapter of the Edda, Odin is to be killed at Ragnaroek by the Fenris Wolf, Fenrir.

(Odin in his quest for knowledge, and the prediction of his death)
”Far have I fared, much afield have I been, have oft striven in strength with gods: what wight will end Allfather's life, what draws near the dreaded doom?”
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “Lokasenna”, pg.92)

"...Othin, is the god of war, and he provides man with courage in the face of his enemies...Othin they represent armed just as [the Christian world] usually portray Mars...To all their gods they have assigned priests to offer up the sacrifices of the people. If pestilence and famine threaten, a libation is made to the image of Thor, if war is immanent, one is made to Othin; if a marriage is performed, to Freyr."
Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum

Euhemeristic Interpretation: Odin is historically more so worshiped in Scandinavia than Germany and England as far as evidence is available today. The belief in Odin gradually worked to replace the more dominant worship of Tyr throughout the Germanic world shortly before the Christianization of the early German kingdoms (Gothic, Saxon, and Frankish), which occurred from the 5th century under Chlodwig to the 9th under Karl the Great (Charlemagne). This indicates that Odin was a more recent addition to German religion. This claim is reinforced by the fact that Odin is credited with having formulated the Runic alphabet, which appeared in inscriptions from the 2nd century onward. As the majority of Runic inscriptions and Runestones, as well as the greatest extent of worship of Odin appeared in Scandinavia and especially Sweden, this indicates that Odin was probably a prehistoric chieftain or warlord in Scandinavia around the time of the birth of Jesus, and quickly became accepted throughout Germany as Wotan and in England as Woden/Weden (Wednesday). Many dynasties in Norway and Sweden claim descent from Odin, especially under the mythological Yngling dynasty of Sweden, dating before the time of Christianization from the 7-9th centuries. The more advanced nature of Odin as a god of poetry, war, knowledge, and leadership in comparison with the previous belief in the very simple god of war and will (Tyr) implies that worship of Odin occurred only shortly before Christianization. There are many ancient wooden sculptures and statues of a one-eyed god in Germany, England, and Scandinavia predating the Roman Republic, but this mythological belief in a one-eyed, yet all-seeing god may or may not have been imported into the worship of the new historical chieftain Odin as an embodiment of this god of the sky.

TYR

The god of war in Germanic religion, he is considered among the wisest, foremost faithful, and loyal of the Pantheon under Odin, often called "Tyr the Wise". Alternate spellings, including Tue, Tir, Tor, Tien, and Dien are also used. The English "Tuesday" and German "Dienstag" are named after Tyr upon being imported into the British Isles and the new German-created proto-English language. Very little is known of his origin and family. He is often considered the son of Odin, though it is never expressly stated in the Edda of Snorri Sturlusson in the Icelandic Skald literary circles. He is most famous for having only one arm, having sacrificed his right arm to chain the evil wolf Fenrir, bastard son or creation of Loki, in order to protect the Pantheon and the righteous of men. He is to be killed at Ragnaroek by the hell hound Garm. During the Third Reich, Tyr was once again placed in high esteem in the Schutzstaffel (SS). "Mystic" circles within the Third Reich promoted the use of the left hand for social use and writing instead of the dominant right in order to both honor Tyr and promote distinction of German ethnic civilization from other cultures.

(in reference to Tyr's courageous sacrifice of his arm to subdue the [Fenris Wolf] for the gods' defense)
“I lost my hand, Hrothvitnir (“Famous Wolf”) thou, a baleful loss to us both: in bondage now must bide his time the Wolf, till the world is doomed.” (The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “The Flyting of Loki” pg.98)

Euhemeristic Interpretation: as Tyr was traditionally the foremost worshiped of the ethnic Germans throughout England, Scandinavia, and Germany until the appearance of Odin (see the above entry of Odin), this indicates that Tyr existed much earlier either as a being or an upheld cult sky god. Taking into account the simplicity of war ritual in contrast to the more complex fields such as poetry and literacy for which Bragi and Odin are famous, as well as the fact that worship of Odin appeared much later en masse than worship of Tyr, it appears that Tyr was a very early prehistoric chieftain. As he was worshiped foremost in Germany, the probable birthplace of Tyr was in Germany or Denmark, where accounts of Roman origin depict German kingdoms, especially the Goths, as having torn arms from those assailants killed in battle, hanging them on trees as sacrifices to Tyr for having sacrificed his arm. Therefore, the period of Tyr's life would in probability be before the birth of Jesus, the time in which the later faith in Odin became increasingly popular. One-armed statues of wood and stone appear in the Germanic world in the prehistorical period.

THOR

Son of Odin and Joerd, Thor is the most famous of the figures in German and Norse pre-Christian religion. He is the god of war, strength, thunder/lightning, and physical battle, most iconified for his use of Mjollnir ("Mee-ol-neer"), the mighty hammer capable of destroying any target with ease, supporting such magnificent strength that none but Thor himself may yield it, even then requiring magic-imbued gloves to prevent his own immolation. He is famous for his quests in fishing, hunting, and poaching the vaunted Jormungänger serpent, peril of the world of men (Midgard). At Ragnaroek, he is to die in combat with the serpent, mutually having released a fatal blow, with Thor poisoned. Also called Donar and Thur, he is the root of the German "Donarstag" and the English "Thursday" following the creation of the English language by the Germanic Anglo-Saxon of England.

(in reference to Thor's Hammer, Mjollnir, in defense of the gods against Loki the Trickster)
“Hush thee, ill wight, or my hammer of might, Mjollnir, shall shut thy mouth: my right hand will hew thee with [Mjollnir], and break every bone in thy body.”
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “The Flyting of Loki”, pg.103)

"In this temple, built entirely of gold, the people worship the statues of three gods. These images are arranged so that Thor, the most powerful, has his throne in the middle of the group of three...“Thor,” they say, “rules the heavens; he is the god of thunder, wind and rain, fair weather and the produce of the fields...To all their gods they have assigned priests to offer up the sacrifices of the people. If pestilence and famine threaten, a libation is made to the image of Thor..."
Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum

Euhemeristic Interpretation: Thor is worshiped almost universally amongst the pre-Christian Germanic populations in Scandinavia, Germany, England, and the Baltic. A form of Thor as Ukko also appears in pre-Christian Finnish and Estonian religion, indicating a common ethnic origin argument as a possibility. Thor is a useful phenomenon as a way of investigating the Germanic ethnic heritage of Northern Europe, and to what to extent the Scandinavians and Baltic peoples are related to Germans versus Slavs or independent entities. Due to the ritual simplicity of the war phenomenon, as with Tyr, it is logical to suggest that both Tyr and Thor lived long before Odin (if they lived at all), as Odin was only adopted in worship long after these two figures shortly before the conversion of the Germans and Scandinavians to Christendom by Chlodwig I. Due to the nationalism and romanticism of the Skaldic poets under Snorri Sturlusson in Iceland in the 11th century, Thor probably falsely became affiliated as the son of Odin in promotion of Odin's supremacy of the Pantheon. Thor may have been created later as a unified god of war for the various Germanic ethnic peoples in Scandinavia, Germany, and the Baltic, where there previously existed a faceless sky god for warfare that is today identified as Tyr. (see above). The thunder god is worshiped with cognate identities in the Baltic peoples (Latvians and Estonians) as Ukko or Taaraa. The blatant relation between power and thunder indicates that Thor was possibly a constructed god of war and power.

FREYJA

Sister of Freyjr and daughter of Njordr (god of wind and storms), Freyja is one of the most famous of the Pantheon of German religion. She is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, sex, attraction, and relationships for women. "Fertility" is mutually applied to that of the field and harvest, as well as to that of virility for childrearing. Her name is also spelled as Freya, Frei, and Frea. There is much dispute over her connection with the goddess Frigg. The two are often considered distinct, and often the same as the wife of Odin. As such, it is uncertain whether the English "Friday" and German "Freitag" originate in Freyja or Frigg. Though her role in historical social and religious understanding of the natural sexual phenomenon is important, she is often rendered as the female opposite of Baldur as the symbol for moral purity of women.

(in defense of the Aesir [gods] in the face of insults by Loki the Trickster)
“Thy slanderous tongue, twill' thy sorrow be, and still will work thee woe; wroth are the gods and goddesses, thoul't fare sadly home from hence.”
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “Lokasenna”, pg.97)

Euhemeristic Interpretation: Freyja was worshiped throughout the Germanic world, with the greatest concentration in Scandinavia. It is probable that Freyja was actually a socio-religious creation to understand the natural phenomena of love and procreation as an act of nature. If Freyja did exist as a true historical figure, we may assume that she was simply the wife of the historical Odin, with the oral understanding of her life passed down as a separate goddess. Otherwise, she may be completely a social construction as a source of understanding for the phenomenon of creation of children.

FREYJR

Brother of Freyja, Freyjr (also called "Frey" or "Freyj") is the male equivalent of Freyja for love, sexuality, fertility, relationships, and the harvest. He is the brother of Freyja and son of Njordr, god of the storms. As with Freyja, Freyjr is typically associated with historical cultural understanding of the natural phenomenon of fertility and birth, but also played a role in understanding male morality and justice. He maintains the thriving of agriculture and the overall development and cultivation of individuals. Fertility is defined in historical religion as the function of procreation and intercourse rather than pleasure and sex as we assume today. Freyjr is to die at Ragnaroek by the hand of Surt, the fire giant who is to rally the forces of the giants and of evil against the Pantheon (Aesir) in the final battle between the gods. It is unclear in which of the two siblings (Freyjr and Freyja) the English "Friday" and German "Freitag" root.

"The battle-bold Freyr rideth first on the golden-bristled barrow-boar to the bale-fire of Baldur, and leads the people."
Húsdrápa, Lee M. Hollander translation

"In this temple, built entirely of gold, the people worship the statues of three gods. These images are arranged so that Thor, the most powerful, has his throne in the middle of the group of three. On either side of him sit Othin and Freyr...The third god is Freyr, who bestows peace and pleasure upon mortals.” Indeed they depict him as having a large phallus...To all their gods they have assigned priests to offer up the sacrifices of the people...if a marriage is performed, to Freyr."
Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum

Euhemeristic Interpretation: Like Freyja, Freyjr was worshiped almost universally across the Germanic populations, and was held as one of the highest gods. The ritual of the "Christmas ham" (or Jul Ham) was originally intended to reflect the sacrifice of a boar or pig to the god Freyjr, as described by Adam von Bremen, a key source of late pre-Christian Germanic religion. Considering how this Jul tradition is historically celebrated in every Germanic culture and region, this reinforces that the worship of Freyjr as a being or as a personality was deeply rooted in the history of German religion. As with Freyja, it appears most probable to assume that Freyjr was possibly only a socio-religious creation to understand natural phenomena such as procreation and marriage bonds. If he did exist, it is possible that he was simply the father-in-law of the historical Odin, and was later deified under nationalist and romanticist literary movements like those of Snorri Sturlusson and the Icelandic Skald-poets from the 10th to the 13th century. He may have simply been a king affiliated with Odin as a being highly revered for morality and strength as a paradigm for his adherents.

HEIMDALL

Often considered a son of Odin himself, Heimdall (also spelled "Heimdal" and "Heimdallr") is the god representing vigilance, senses, perception, foresight/prediction, and readiness. He is the guardian and watchman of Valhalla and the Bifröst Bridge, the rainbow on which the members of the Pantheon are able to traverse between the worlds. He is to be the last to die of importance at Ragnaroek, the end of this world time, and is the one credited with having the task of finally slaying Loki himself, the trickster god of evil and lust. He alerts the adherents of the Pantheon, the Einherjar (dead soldiers in Valhalla), and the Nine Worlds using the Gjallarhorn, apparently a bull's or buffalo's horn which, when blown, is heard universally by the Germanic peoples of the world.

“...the downfall bodes when blares the gleaming old Gjallarhorn; loud blows Heimdall with horn aloft...”
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “Voluspa”, pg.9)

Euhemeristic Interpretation: As with most of the Pantheon gods, it is equally as possible that Heimdall was a legitimate historical figure as it is that he was simply an ethnocultural invention, and is impossible to both prove or disprove. The appearance of Heimdall in worship appears almost exclusively in Scandinavia, and much less so if at all in Germany proper or its Low Countries. As the Scandinavian cultures were Christianized much later than the majority of Germany to the south (Germany from 300-800 by majority, Scandinavia from 700-1200), this implies that, in tandem with the romanticism of the Skaldic poets of Iceland, Heimdall could have been a later invention or later historical figure. Due to the fact that Heimdall is mostly associated with readiness and preparation in the face of a coming threat, it is possible to claim that he was a legitimate king or servant who resisted a coming threat shortly before the end of the Pantheon as a religious function (thus pre-Christian) in its original form. It could equally be possible to claim that Heimdall was invented as an idea to inspire the adherents of the old religion to remain ready in the face of foreign incursion (Christian missionaries).

BRAGI

Among the wisest and most knowledgeable of the gods of the Pantheon, Bragi is the god of poetry, writing and literacy, knowledge, and the transmission of the word of Odin and the Pantheon. He is often considered one of the sons of Odin, as with Thor, and is the husband of Idunn, the goddess of immortality and perfect moral purity, whose apples allow the gods to bear eternal life. Bragi is shown by Snorri Sturlusson's sources (the Edda) to be the finest expression of a higher tongue, refined speech, and writing. He is thus associated with diplomacy, debate, and justice, and is often paralleled to Forseti, son of Baldur, the god of justice.

(in defense of the Aesir [gods] in the face of insults by Loki the Trickster)
”My sword and saddle horse, I beseech thee, Loki, take and eke mine arm ring lest to holy hosts thy hatred thou showest: beware of the gods' anger!”
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “Lokasenna”, pg.92)

Euhemeristic Interpretation: Due to the complicated purposes and roles of Bragi as shown in the Edda, it is logical to claim that Bragi was either a very late addition to the Pantheon of worship as a historical figure or a conceptual representation. He is associated with the golden age of Germanic literature and poetry, specifically that of the Icelandic Skald-poets around the 13th century and the German writers like Wolfram von Eschenbach and Walter von der Vogelweide earlier. As widespread literacy, along with the use of the ancient Runic system of writing peaked near and shortly before the Viking era, this implies that Bragi was either a brilliant poet and writer just before Christianization, or simply an invention by the Skalds to represent the phenomena they were addressing in completely codifying the old religion of the German and Nordic world. He may have also been invented earlier by the priests and scholars of prehistoric Germanic culture as an embodiment of their quest for knowledge.

FORSETI

The Germanic god of peace, diplomacy, truth, knowledge, and justice, Forseti is one of the less famous of the German and Nordic Pantheonic gods. He is the grandson of Odin, and son of Baldur -- god of moral purity and innocence -- and his wife Nanna. Like his father, he is portrayed as a wise, moral, and just member of the Pantheon bearing an incomparable, radiant light of purity and flawlessness. By his hand oaths were traditionally sworn between kings as the highest sign of truth, obedience, and justice. He is seen as the god assigned to the maintenance of the laws of Odin upon men, the symbol of truth, legitimacy, and goodness. Besides his wise and praised name and importance as a son of one of the highest gods (Baldur, son of Odin), he is seldom noted throughout the Edda, and did not appear at Ragnaroek. Thus, it can be assumed that he was one of the few survivors of the Armageddon affair, or was killed beforehand.

Shining the tenth, which with gold is propped, and is shingled with shining silver; there Forseti unflaggingly sits, the god that stills all strife."
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “The Lay of Grimnir”, pg.57)

Euhemeristic Interpretation: Though relatively uncommon and unmentioned throughout the Edda, evidence of intense worship of Forseti has appeared throughout the Germanic world, primarily in Germany proper and its Low Countries of the modern-day Netherlands, Belgium, etc. The greatest concentration of worship appears within the German Frisian (Friesen) culture of the modern-day northern Netherlands. It is said that his historical place of foremost worship is the island of Heligoland, a small island of under 3,000 inhabitants off the northern coast of Germany and the Netherlands. This island, whose root words translate to "Holy Land" (heiliges Land), is said to imply that it is the holy site of Forseti's kingdom or place of residence. Considering the great deal of concentrated worship in a specific area, it would appear that he was once a legitimate historical king or wise man who mediated warring powers during the pre-Christian period. It is also possible to claim that the infamous role of Forseti in forging alliances, ensuring bonds of trust, and reinforcing stability may have legitimately rooted in the formation of the unified Scandinavian kingdoms or those of the Anglo-Saxons in England or Germans in Germany proper, whose first kings had been non-Christian, in which Forseti may have played a large role. It is equally possible that Forseti may have simply been a social and religious creation to symbolize the bond of trust, faith, and duty between loving partners, military alliances, and vassal kings throughout the German cultures.

BALDUR

Along with Thor, Baldur is considered the most majestic and magnificent of the sons of Odin and thus the Pantheon. Also called Baldr, Balder, and Baldir, he is the god of moral purity, justice, peace, innocence, chastity, and flawlessness. He is portrayed with a radiant glowing white light, and thus the flower “Baldur's Brow” is named after him due to its bright white hue. He is the most loved of those in Valhalla under Odin, the most wondrous and flawless of all his sons. He is credited with building the most massive and advanced ship ever built, eventually to be used for his funeral in the traditional method of burning German and Scandinavian kings at sea via fire. He is the primary indicator of the coming end of this world, the Ragnaroek, via his death at the hands of his own brother, Hoedr. The blind Hoedr had been tricked by the wicked and immoral Loki to fire an arrow at the invincible god Baldur, killed by one of his own kin. This death and thus the funeral by fire included his wife Nanna, whose loyalty was so intense that she died of grief and willing suicide with his funeral pyre.

(in reference to the death of Baldur by the mistletoe poison-tipped arrow of Hoedir)
"I saw for Baldur, the blessed god, Ygg's (Odin's) greatest son, what doom is hidden: green and glossy, there grew aloft, the trees among, the mistletoe."
(The Poetic Edda, translated by Lee M. Hollander, “Lokasenna”, pg.92)

Euhemeristic Interpretation: It is possible to suggest that Baldur was a socio-religious invention to understand or promote the cultural call for Germanic moral purity and chastity, a trait quite admired by the Roman historian Tacticus, in whose documentary "Germania" he adulated on the exclusive piety, faith, and moral strength of the Germanic peoples. He may also have simply been created as a cultural and religious ideal. If not a false or conceptual invention, it is possible to postulate that Baldur existed simply as the son of the historic Odin, himself revered as a limitlessly holy and wise god, which thus propagated to his son Baldur upon his successive deification and worship. Otherwise, it is also possible to claim that he was simply a revered pre-historical figure who embodied social morality and purity of chastity, innocence, and goodness, and was later deified and romanticized under the Skald-poets as a son of Odin himself due to his importance and discipline. In the ancient English epic Beowulf, Baldur is portrayed as a Swedish prince who is killed by his brother on accident. The myths of early Germanic England as common with those in Sweden implies a common ethnic awareness among Germanic peoples in terms of religion.

________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Mayfield is the owner and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical evolution in relation to and against each other.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES USED:

The Poetic Edda.

Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum.

The image used are distributed and not protected.