Germanic religion

Germanic religion,

Conversion of the Germans to Christianity began as early as the 4th cent. A.D., but it took many centuries for the new religion to spread throughout the northern lands of Europe. In Nazi Germany the spirit of the old religion and the heroic attributes of the Germanic gods were revived as part of the propaganda program of the Nazi party.

The Germanic Pantheon

Germanic religion, like most ancient religions, was polytheistic. In early times there were two groups of gods—the Aesir and the Vanir. However, after a war between the rival pantheons (which perhaps reflects a war between two rival tribes), the defeated Vanir were absorbed into the Aesir, and the gods of both were worshiped in a single pantheon. This pantheon, which according to some accounts consisted of 12 principal deities, had WodenWoden
, Norse Odin
, in Germanic religion and mythology, the supreme god. His cult, although widespread among the Germanic tribes, was sometimes subordinated to that of his son Thor.
..... Click the link for more information.  (Odin) as its chief god. Other important deities were TiwTiw
, Norse Tyr
, ancient Germanic god. Originally a highly revered sky god, he was later worshiped as a god of war and of athletic events. He was identified with the Roman war god Mars, and among Germanic peoples Mars' day became Tiw's day (Tuesday).
..... Click the link for more information.  (Tyr), ThorThor
, Germanic Donar
, Norse god of thunder. An ancient and highly revered divinity, Thor was the patron and protector of peasants and warriors. As a god of might and war he was represented as extremely powerful and fearless, occasionally slow-witted, armed with a
..... Click the link for more information.  (Donar), BalderBalder
, Norse god of light; son of Odin and Frigg. He was the most beautiful and gracious of the gods of Asgard. His mother extracted oaths from all things in nature not to harm her son, but neglected the mistletoe.
..... Click the link for more information. , FreyFrey
, Norse god. He was a beneficent deity associated with the fertilizing powers of the sun and the rain and, like his sister Freyja, with the return of spring. His worship, which extended throughout most of Scandinavia, had its chief seat at Uppsala.
..... Click the link for more information. , FreyjaFreyja
or Freya
, Norse goddess of love, marriage, and fertility. Her identity and attributes were often confused with those of the goddess Frigg. As a deity of the dead, Freyja was entitled to half the warriors killed in battle, the other half going to Odin.
..... Click the link for more information. , and FriggFrigg
or Frigga,
Norse mother goddess and the wife of Odin (Woden). One of the most important goddesses of Germanic religion, she was queen of the heavens, a deity of love and the household. She was often confused with Freyja.
..... Click the link for more information. . The gods dwelled in AsgardAsgard
, in Norse mythology, home of the gods, also known as Aesir. It consisted of luxurious palaces and halls, in which the gods (whose chief was Odin) dwelled, conferred, and banqueted. One of the most beautiful of these halls was Valhalla.
..... Click the link for more information. , where each deity had his or her own particular abode. The most beautiful of the palaces was ValhallaValhalla
or Walhalla
, in Norse mythology, Odin's hall for slain heroes. This martial paradise was one of the most beautiful halls of Asgard. The dead warriors, brought to Valhalla by the Valkyries, fought during the day and feasted at night.
..... Click the link for more information. ; there Woden, attended by the ValkyriesValkyries
, in Germanic mythology, warrior maidens of Odin. They presided over battles, chose those who were to die, and brought the souls of the dead heroes back to Valhalla. Chief among them was Brunhild.
..... Click the link for more information. , gave banquets to the dead heroes. The ancient Nordic gods, however, unlike the gods of most religions, were not immortal. They continually renewed their youth by eating the apples of Idun, but they were doomed, like mortals, to eventual extinction.

The gods were opposed by the giants and demons, representing the destructive and irrational forces of the universe. It was prophesied that at RagnarokRagnarok
, in Norse mythology, the doom of the gods. According to prophecy the end of the world would follow a severe ice age, in which human civilization would be destroyed.
..... Click the link for more information. , the doom of the gods, the forces of evil and darkness led by LokiLoki
, Norse giant (or deity) who personified evil. He hated the gods of Asgard and continually sought to overthrow them. His worst exploit was the murder of Balder, for which he was punished by Thor.
..... Click the link for more information.  and his brood of monsters, would attack the gods of Asgard. After a ferocious battle, in which most of the gods and giants would be destroyed, the universe would end in a blaze of fire. However, it was also prophesied that from the ashes of the old world a new cosmos would emerge and a new generation of gods and humans would dwell in harmony.

The Creation Myth

In early Nordic belief, from the mixture of the glacial waters of Niflheim (the land of ice and mist) and the warm winds of Muspellsheim (the land of fire), came forth the first two creatures—the giant Ymir, who fathered a race of giants, and the cow Audhumla, who created the first god, Buri. Buri's son, Borr, fathered the gods Odin, Vili, and Ve, who together destroyed Ymir and from his body fashioned the heavens and the earth. From two trees the gods created the first man and woman—Ashr (Ask) and Embla. The universe was supported by the great ash tree YggdrasillYggdrasill
, in Norse mythology, the great tree of the world. Its branches and roots extended through all the universe—the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. At its top sat an eagle, at its bottom twined a serpent, and between them ran a squirrel breeding discord.
..... Click the link for more information. , whose roots and branches extended into the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. Near one of the roots of the tree flowed the fountain of MimirMimir
, in Norse mythology, giant who guarded the well of wisdom. According to one legend Mimir was beheaded by the enemies of the gods of Asgard; his head was then preserved by Odin, who consulted it for information and advice.
..... Click the link for more information. , in whose sacred waters all the wisdom of the universe flowed. Near another root dwelled the Norns, who represented fate. (The concept of fate was one of the most important beliefs of Germanic religion; everything, even the gods, was subject to it.) In the tree's branches perched a sacred bird, who, with the god Heimdall, warned the gods when an attack from the giants was imminent.

Rites and Ceremonies

The temples of the gods were attended by priests who were responsible essentially for the reading of omens and other types of divination, for administering the propitiation of the gods, and for guarding the sacred groves and objects. Their duties were frequently performed by the political leader of a particular tribe. Festivals and religious ceremonies were held throughout the year, usually for celebration of the harvest or of victory in battle. At festivals, animal (or sometimes human) sacrifices and libations were offered to the gods, and the dead were commemorated. In Germanic religion the dead were believed to retain their faculties and to affect the fate of the living. Burial places were sacred, and sacrifices were made at them.

Bibliography

See P. D. Chantepie de la Saussaye, The Religion of the Teutons (1902); P. A. Munch and O. Magnus, Norse Mythology (1926, repr. 1970); H. R. E. Davidson, Scandinavian Mythology (1982) and Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe (1988).