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Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The contents of this document and website, such as the compilation and arrangement of content including text, graphics, images and other materials, and the hypertext markup language (HTML), scripts, active server pages (ASP), or other content or software used in this document and website (collectively, the Material), are protected by copyright under both United States and foreign laws. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use of the Material violates copyright, trademark, and other laws. Regardless of the extent to which the Material is protected by copyright you agree that you may not sell or modify the Material or copy, display, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, broadcast, or otherwise use Material in any form or media for any public or commercial purpose, including the generation of derivative material, except as expressly permitted by the author or authors. You must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original Material on any copy you make of the Material. The use of the Material in any document and/or on any other Website or other telecommunication media or in a networked computer environment for any purpose, without the prior express written permission of the author or authors, is prohibited.

This magazine is formatted to be printed two-sided and placed in a binder. The offset margins are intentional for those who would like to print a copy to keep in their personal libraries.

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In This Issue
Editors Note: The rst issue of the rst magazine about Heathen Reconstruction ...........................................................5 Matt Walker

Articles
The State of Heathenry ...................................................................... 7 Bil Linzie Reconstruction in Modern Heatherny: An Introduction ................. 11 Josh Rood Women In Heathenry ...................................................................... 21 Jill Marten Animal Imagery in Anglian Heathenry ............................................ 25 John Wills Frankish Heathenry: An Overview ................................................. 31 Erick Lacharity Groves and Sacred Spaces in Germanic .......................................... 37 and Scandinavian Heathenry Gary P Golden Jr. Book Reviews Gods and Myths of Northern Europe ............................................... 45 By H.R. Ellis Davidson Dictionary of Northern Mythology .................................................. 46 By Rudolf Simek The Poetic Edda .............................................................................. 47 Translation by Henry Adams Bellows The Norsemen in the Viking Age ..................................................... 49 By Eric Christiansen Days in Midgard: A Thousand Years On-Modern Legends Based on Northern Myth.................................................................. 50 By Stephen Abell

Staff
Matt Walker ................................Executive Editor Terrence Plum ............................Assistant Editor Jeff Dailey ..................................Assistant Editor/Layout Jill Budynas................................Assistant Editor Josh Rood ...................................Assistant Editor Bil Linzie ..................................Peer Review Shane Ricks................................ Peer Review Fyrfos ........................................Peer Review Dan Oropallo..............................Cover Art/Graphic Design Tora ........................................... Comics

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From the Editor

Enjoy the inaugural issue of rrir, the first journal by and for Heathen Reconstructionists. What is a Heathen Reconstructionist, really though? That is perhaps the primary goal of this first issue: to set the pace of what sort of journal this will be, so instead of reading an explanation on it in this note, just look within! Hopefully by the time youve read this first issue, you will have a solid understanding of our definition of the word. I can claim sole responsibility for the name (unlike the rest of the e-zine). I named it what I did because in the lore that's the name of the biggest cauldron that held the mead of poetry. If you drink from it, you become wise. Yes, it's pretentious as hell, but I don't care. It's poetic. I am the Executive Editor. It's my baby. This magazine was my idea and Ive been working on putting the whole thing together - but all that means, really, is that Ive begged, pleaded, and cajoled a whole lot of people who are a whole lot smarter and more talented than me. These folks have submitted articles, book reviews, art work, photos, and other items, which have then been arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner to what you now have before you. We're not sure how often it will come out. So far, we just know it will be AT LEAST bi-annual. Ive managed to wrangle articles from some of the brightest minds in heathen reconstruction, and their work has been reviewed by an editing team that will set the bar high individuals with 40 plus years in heathenry, and academics with degrees in Old Nordic Religion and History who work closely with leading scholars in the field. And all that said, I believe what weve put together is something for everyone involved to be proud of, and for every heathen to enjoy. And not only have we put together this sweet e-zine, were disseminating it freely to all at no charge! So, enjoy the magazine. Pass it around. Discuss it. Email us with questions or suggestions. Perhaps youd like to submit an article. We hope to grow and excel as time goes on, and as with any magazine, the readership will be a key part of that. Letters to the editor will be accepted and some will be published, from this issue forward. Drop us a line. Let us know what you think.

Matt Walker
Executive Editor

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The State of Heathenry

By Bil Linzie
Heathenry circa 1995 had become a hodge-podge of neo-paganism where one could to choose which god's hall one would die into and bide his (her) time until reincarnation kicked in; one walked a path working with various deities until he had developed a personal relationship with more gods than the next guy; everyone was either a goth or one-in-training; and one knew each god's favorite drink so that offerings and toasts could be in a proper fashion. Every 3rd person was either an expert rune-reader or had developed an intimate relationship with his totem-fetch so that nightly travels through the Nine Worlds were as common as chimichangas at the local mini-mart. Much precious forum time was filled with someone regaling us of flying among Valkyries and dragons. The other side of the heathen coin was the Rydbergians who were so obnoxious that they were banned repeatedly only to reincarnate with some other fake Old Norse name two weeks later. The mid-to-late 90s were irritating to say the least. Between '95-'97, I'd run across a tiny handful of folks interested in historical heathenry. In general, we slowly left email lists because we couldn't excite folks like the neo-heathen could. Most of us became irritated with all the fluff and left in a huff. Those who were looking to follow a spiritual path and have a personal relationship were running the show. In 2000 CE, I started questioning everything in modern heathenry, and starting with 'Germanic Spirituality' which directly questioned the rampant 'borrowing' from Wicca, SCA, and Native Americans. I purposefully exposed many of the 'sources' of this information only to catch flak from the more popular side of neo-heathenry. The neo-heathens held their high-ground. Officially, I quit satr in 2002 and was a very lonely, somewhat dejected, rejected, and ejected-from-the-mainstream heathen. 2003. I started lurking on satrlore.org. (Several of my fellow New Mexicans were there, and I was getting lonely for heathen company.) What I saw there was the rise of a new breed of heathen, young heathens of a completely different caliber. They not only had a voice, but a loud one at that. 2004. I signed up under the pseudonym of parallel_lines2000, but after about 6 mos., my cover was blown. Not only had people read my stuff, but they were doing the same thing as I was! They were researching various topics because they actually interested in it and wanted the same thing as me; they wanted 'historical heathenry' brought to the fore, and they wanted a modern form of heathenry compatible with historical fact but also compatible with life in the 21st century! What really drew me back into actively participating as a heathen, though, was that many of them only had 2-3 years as a heathen behind them and they were already where I was at 30 years of being heathen. It was as if they were on an accelerated track. In my 32 years as a heathen this was a breed that I'd never seen before. They took an active interest in bringing historical heathenry into the 21st century rather than making up a 21st century version based on neo-paganism. They actually wanted to look at historical fact and discuss it. They separated themselves out as real wheat-heathen from the chaff-fluff and then had the audacity to reject the chaff-fluff vehemently. Their rationale was and remains to reclaim as much as possible and when chaff showed up in the forum, there was a resounding collective cry raised up: What's the source of your claim? And they have a name: they are Reconstructionists. Reconstructionism isn't new anywhere but in heathenry. It's been around for quite a while among other quieter groups like Romuva, some of the Hellenistic group, Jews and even Christians, but for whatever reason the spark was fanned into flame among heathens between 2002 and 2004. Reconstructionism is no longer an satrlore.org phenomenon but has cross-pollinated into other fora on the net. This new breed hasn't always been heartily welcomed either, but it is persistent and the

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presence is there. And, I, for one, can honestly say that I not only am glad to be a part of it but am also proud to do so. Reconstructionism. It's a hot topic and always sure to raise at least some eyebrows; gets the heart pumping no matter which camp one belongs to. Depending on the group, however, it can either be the vinegar in the wine or the fruit of the vine. Now, onto the question Why does the greater presence of reconstructionists in modern heathenry make heathenry better than it was a decade and a half ago? I was originally given the task to write a piece on the State of Heathenry, but to answer the question, I would like to explain why this approach appeals to me as well as others. First, I'd like to say that the term 'reconstructionist heathen' is really two terms: 'reconstructionist' and 'heathen.' For example, I am both a reconstructionist and a heathen. I wasn't always, though. For almost 25 years I was just a heathen. In fact, when I first ran across an e-mail conversation between several people who were having a discussion regarding 'death into the grave-mound' rather than 'dying into the halls of favorite god,' I was appalled. It was another two years before I could understand what they were talking about and only after that was I able to take up this method of investigation and gaze into my own cultural past. Before I go any further let me present this story (for any who know me, you know that I can never discuss anything without telling stories). "I am a traditional dulcimer player (along with a lot of other instruments, but for this discussion I'll stick with 'dulcimer'). Now, the dulcimer is an old timey instrument which plays, technically, out of only one key. If you know anything about music, however, you will also know that any key in the chromatic scale has also seven modes which go by handy names such as mixolydian, ionian, aeolian, dorian, and a few others that I don't even know how to tune into. Now the weird thing about a dulcimer is that it only has eight notes to the octave rather than 12 like a guitar or a banjo. (Technically, a fiddle, which I also play, has any number of notes within an octave -- a lot of really bad ones, too, which I am also quite capable of hitting.) Having only eight notes somewhat limits what one can and cannot do, but the most amazing thing about working within this set of limitations is that the dulcimer really isn't that limited. I have heard jazz, rock tunes, old-time swing, and even classical music played on this so-called 'limited instrument.' In fact, the instrument isn't really 'limited' at all; it's just that the player himself is required to be creative, and, of course, is required to know both the instrument and the music he's trying to play." Now, I've played dulcimer since 1978 but only been a reconstructionist since 1995. When I ran across the discussion mentioned above, I still held to the idea that heathenry, like other neo-pagan plugand-play religions, could be anything that I wanted it to be. What I wanted was a 'heathen-dulcimer' that had all 12 modern tones (like a guitar played in the lap) instead of being limited to 8. The limitation is in the player not in the instrument. Early on we all wanted to believe that 'interpretation of the lore' was simple we discounted the idea that perhaps the 'worldview' may have been different or we decided that we must use our modern worldview to interpret because we were modern folk. The new crew of reconstructionists didn't seem to buy it, however; they wanted to know what their ancestors were thinking. They saw the modern worldviews as an impediment to understanding, i.e. a limitation. Reconstructionism does not belong solely to heathens. Rudolf Simek is a Catholic theologian who has made a career out of delving into ancient Germanic heathenry. Being a reconstructionist, then, only requires one thing: that one takes a scientific approach to heathenry (or whatever else one is reconstructing) to understand how the makers constructed the thing in the first place and how they understood it, felt about it, and interacted with it after it was created. Being a reconstructionist requires no belief. In fact, 'belief' can actually be a hindrance to understanding the data in hand -- 'belief' can interfere greatly with 'interpretation of the facts.' To be a good reconstructionist, one must be able to step away from one's cultural background as well as spiritual background.

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I started as a reconstructionist in 1995 and became committed to it as of '97. By that time there were a number of heathen 'customs' which had become accepted as historical fact: the Hammer Rite, the eight-fold calendar, rune-casting/ reading, sei as neo-shamanism, the pop-American form of reincarnation, old-souls, walk-ins, even UFOs. Nigel Pennick had published his book on runic astrology and everyone else seemed to be jumping onto the bandwagon. Mondays were especially interesting since the X-files had aired the night before the plot of the show dictated the direction of the email discussion. Back in '95, modern heathenry looked no more like historical heathenry than did Catholicism, Wicca, or Buddhism. At the time, creating elaborate rites had become far more important than historical fact. Both common sense and historical fact had become a burden to creativity and had been all but dispensed with to make room for Scully and Mulder's newest I-want-to-believe discovery of the night before. My second foray into experiential anthropology/ archeology was based in the following question: "How did the ancient Germanic peoples make bread?" (That was then followed by the next question: "How did they figure out how to make cheese?") 15 years down the line, I now know the answer to both questions and engaged in making a nice loaf of wheat-rye sourdough bread made with my own sourdough starter yesterday and it should be ready for cutting today. Yesterday, I engaged in and participated in my own cultural heritage which for me is a far more spiritual act than reading runes or scribbling out the script for a way-cool Ostara rite. Participating as a fine upstanding member in my own long line of German cultural heritage is far more important to me that was 15 years ago. Reconstructionism still isn't really popular among a handful of people mainly because they feel that by sticking to historical fact somehow 'creativity' is stifled. Although there was a time when I'd have said that, I don't think that now. I think the reason that these folks feel this way is because they've never asked themselves the right questions. Most likely, they continue to do what I had done for my first 25 years as a modern heathen which is to first generate an answer and then create a question for it. Which now brings me back to my first personal foray in experiential anthropology/ archeology, i.e. reconstructionism. What if what I had perceived as 'gaps' weren't really gaps at all, but were instead were just thought to be 'gaps' because I had seen something similar in some other religion? Maybe, I just thought the Hammer Rite had to be there to 'make the ground sacred for the blt' and that because Wiccans and Native Americans did something along these lines, we heathens must also have had something comparable. Rather than look at how land, particularly cultivated land, was viewed and treated by early Germanic peoples, I assumed the answer ('we need sacred space') and got busy generating how such a thing should look. That line of questioning lead me to the conclusion that I had no understanding of the ancient Germanic heathen's mindset, his worldview, and so I set about the task learning it all thinking that it would take me but a few months or so. Fifteen years later, I'm still at it, still think there is no need to 'fill the gaps, and am still learning to play heathen tunes on this old instrument we call 'modern heathenry.' This now seems to be the standard for the new reconstructionists. This new guard has also built in some safe measures. For example, objectivity. Nice concept, but its not completely possible. If we learn about our own worldview, first, and understand many of our own limitations, we can go a long way toward objectivity, but not completely. How far can we really step outside our own convictions without falling completely apart or ending up like a Zen master who's found Nirvana? Even the Zen master knows that 'first there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.' Reconstructionists step from the 21st century back into the 8th, but at some point, they must return albeit somewhat altered to the 21st. The interpretation is everything and to assure that at least some type of objectivity is taking place in our own interpretations, we compare notes with others who are engaged in the same processes, and remain willing to admit that our interpretations just might be wrong something certainly not possible 20 years ago. Real discussion rather than weak attempts 'to impress' is becoming the standard. Heathenry, real heathenry, that is related to and is a natural extension of historical heathenry, now has a chance to grow and flourish in the modern era. The days of borrowing from neo-pagans and

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the new age groups is slowly coming to a grinding halt. These borrowed 'traditions' are being culled out as unnecessary and unacceptable by the new reconstructionists on the one hand while new art, music, literature and philosophies are at the same time being built upon the foundation of historical Germanic heathenry. Heathenry is no longer 'another alternative religion' but has become an entire way of living complete with its own native worldview. In the past 8 years or so, heathenry has grown up and matured into its own. There are, of course, some things that most would prefer not to reconstruct in the 21st-century such as slavery, exposing children, raping and pillaging, and carving 'a blood eagle,' but there is no longer anything preventing us from asking about it and exploring it as historical fact and from looking at what purpose these traditions might have served. We don't need to deny that these things may have existed historically within our own cultural heritage. I live in the 21st-century. I drive a truck, I work in the medical field, I own a computer, and I get flu vaccine every year because my job requires it. In fact, I'm sitting in my office at work dictating the short piece on 'Reconstructionism 101' directly into my computer using a speech-recognition program packed into my Linux. Heard a fellow say on the radio today, Follow a worldview to its natural conclusion, then decide whether you can live with that. We have and we can. I started this thing out by saying that being a modern heathen-reconstructionist (a more correct version of the term) brings us reconstructionists 'the greatest of satisfaction.' It's true that we reconstructionists do what we do because it makes modern heathenry a pleasure for us. We don't feel a need to 'fill in the gaps' or 'bring heathenry up-to-date' any longer because we know that historical heathenry is alive and doing well in the 21st century. Of all the things I've done in my life (which is quite a bit) adding the approach of reconstructionism to my being heathen and joining others who are doing the same has brought me the most satisfaction. Shortly, I'll leave here and go home to eat a sandwich of homemade Leberkaes, and homemade mustard on homemade sourdough bread I'll be participating in my own cultural heritage, the fruits of my research. Perhaps after that I'll knock off a few tunes on the old dulcimer knowing that I am actively contributing to my cultural heritage which extends all the way back in the archaeological record to the faint beginnings of germanicity. Lastly, the State of Modern Heathenry? It's not only alive and well but has taken on a level of excitement like never before. The State of Modern Heatheny = healthy and getting healthier.

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Reconstructionism in Modern Heathenry: An Introduction

Joshua Rood
Over the course of the last decade, the term reconstructionism1 has surged forward as part of a very real movement within American heathenry2. The axiom of this movement is a shift towards an approach which is quite different from those previously advocated in most mainstream circles, and it is helping to redefine and reshape heathen communities in very powerful ways. The term reconstructionism did not really begin to circulate in conjunction with modern heathenry until the late 1990s in America. When Bil Linzie first published the article Germanic Spirituality under a Creative Commons Deed on July 11 2003 and followed it up with the first truly comprehensive analysis of reconstructionism in heathenry in 20043, the term was only just beginning to make headway. Today the word is commonplace in heathen communities across the United States, and in many ways this is thanks to the research of Linzie and his contemporaries, who understood that in order for heathenry to be validated in the modern world it would need to be based upon historical reality. Yet even with the rise of reconstructionism within heathenry and a decade of circulation, its definition and the concepts it carries with it are being stunted by misunderstandings and misrepresentations propagated by opponents and proponents alike. The purpose of this article is to introduce a compact introduction to reconstructionism4 which will help dispel some of these misunderstandings and replace them with an explanation of what it is. It is also the intent of this article to provide the basic arguments as to why it is an important approach, and how this translates into the adherents understanding of heathenry. Before reconstructionism as it is can be approached, some of the more prominent misunderstandings need to be addressed in order to explain what it is not. The popular belief that reconstructionism is an attempt to recreate the Viking world and to recreate the objects and events associated with that is a misunderstanding which has given rise to one of the more common arguments posed against it. That is satr is a living, breathing religion and we should be focused on growing and developing, not trying to go back in time or simply imitating rituals. The reality however, is that reconstructionism has nothing to do with things or events. The heathen reconstructionist has no interest in rebuilding the Viking world or the heathen way of life as it was a millennia ago. Certainly there are groups of modern heathens who choose to wear Viking Age garb during events and there are those that have attempted to construct particular social structures or imitate rituals exactly as they are described in history texts. These should not be mistaken for the reconstructionism of heathenry however, as they are not. These are simply things and actions. If reconstructionism was about

Reconstructionismisalsocalledreconstructionalismbysome.Forthepurposeofthisarticleitwillbestrictlycalled reconstructionism,anddescribesamethod,notasectorabranchwithinheathenry.Itshouldbenoted,however,that therearesectsandbranchesthatarebeginningtodevelopbecauseofreconstructionism,andthedifferencesithascreated betweenthosewhosubscribetoitsmethod,andthosewhodonot. 2 Heathen/ryasitisusedinthisarticle,describesthereligionsandculturesofthepreChristianGermanicpeoplesinall theirvariousformsfromthetimetheyarefirstrecordedbyRomanscribes,untiltheirrespectiveconversionperiods.Itis alsousedtodescribemoderndaygroupsofpeoplewhoclaimtoworshiporareattemptingtorebuildtheoldHeathen religions. 3 UncoveringtheEffectsofCulturalBackgroundontheReconstructionofAncientWorldviews,BilLinzie,8thMarch,2004. 4 Ifthereaderisinterestedinlearningmoreaboutreconstructionism,theyarehighlyencouragedtodownloadBilLinzies articlesGermanicSpirituality,ReconstructionismsRoleinModernHeathenry,andUncoveringtheEffectsofCultural BackgroundontheReconstructionofAncientWorldviews.Allofwhicharesearchableanddownloadableinpdfformon theinternetforfree.
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imitating events, objects, or even rituals then it may well be renamed reenactment and it would indeed be a static and rigid pursuit. It is also said of reconstructionism (as it pertains to heathenry) that it is the process of reconstructing an ancient heathen religion. On the surface this would appear to be true, and it is to some degree, but this definition inherently omits any of the reality behind that process. It fails to address exactly what is really being reconstructed, and it neglects the process of how an individual goes about that reconstruction. If it is a religion, then on what terms is it being reconstructed? Is the religion being ciphered out of a vague understanding of an entirely foreign culture like broken jewelry out of sand and wired together to the shape and understanding of a modern American with a Judeo-Christian background? If this is the case, then one can not claim that the end result of this process is a reconstructed religion when it is really a modern construct bearing the surface appearance of its original form. The original spiritual framework has been lost. It is with this understanding that the reconstructionist operates. The reality is that the spiritual framework which we label as heathenry is inexplicably bound to the culture and locality from which it developed and cannot be separated. The very idea that religion and culture can be separated is in fact, inherently unheathen. Religion, in our modern sense of the word, is an ideal divorced from culture, from landscape, from language, and from worldview. A term which I have often used in the past is modular religion as opposed to ethnic religion. A modular religion is a religion which can be easily imported and exported across cultural boundaries. The most common modern example of a modular religion is Christianity5The concept is completely self-contained, essentially, complete with its own rules, laws, axioms, and corollaries, i.e. a module. A modular religion stands in direct contrast to an ethnic religion such as the indigenous religions of Africa, Australia, Alaska, and Greenland. Anthropologists over the past 150 years have been entertained, fascinated, and frustrated by how closely bound religion-culture-worldivew in these regions are to landscape-occupation-environment.6 Heathenism is an ethnic religion. In order to reconstruct any of the ancient heathen religions the adherent must thoroughly investigate the culture that they are entwined with. One must investigate the social structure, the language, the customs and the political system not to find things to reconstruct or how to do things. Rather, the adherent must seek to understand the why which shaped those systems and must try to comprehend the very worldview from which the investigated religion has developed. It is the worldview which formed the foundation from which heathen practice, action, belief, and tradition developed amongst the pre-Christian Germanic people. The worldview produced the why and it is the worldview itself that we aim to reconstruct. Worldview as it is defined is how an individual subconsciously interprets relationships between perceived events, as well as the logic used to explain ones personal relationship to the world outside of the self.7 It is the very matrix through which we understand our world, and it is tied directly to the culture and environment that we are born and raised in. Because worldviews primary shaper is culture, a middle class American has an entirely different worldview than an Indian Hindu or a member of the Huli people of Papua New Guinea. Likewise, the worldview of an American, any American or any European for that matter is exceedingly different from that of the pre-Christian Germanic people. These differences are of the most interest to the reconstructionist, who seeks to recognize and understand them. It is important to note that worldview is not a body of knowledge. It is a system of interpretation. Linzie describes it as a type of map, which not only defines relationships between events, but also predicts how two events interact with one another.8 Because the map defines, describes, and helps to predict interactions between events, the model leads to the development of protocols for

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Linzie,BilReconstructionismsRoleinModernHeathenry,pg3,7/13/07 MerriamWebster,2011 8 Linzie,BilUncoveringtheEffectsofCulturalBackgroundontheReconstructionofAncientWorldviews,March8,2004

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what that particular worldview considers proper interaction. In other words; social mores, legal systems, and moral and ethical system are developed. Lastly the worldview becomes a cosmological model and it becomes necessary for the guidelines of both secular and religious ceremony. The worldview builds the framework for how an individual understands religion, and how that individual interprets the guidelines for developing practice within it. Since we are not born into a heathen culture, the single biggest challenge in reconstructing their worldview is the danger of internalizing and processing that which we learn about the ancient heathens through our own, unheathen filters. The human mind is prone to reinterpreting information it receives into that which it understands and when it comes face to face with that which it does not understand, particularly when exposed to a separate culture, the result is often referred to as culture shock. It is very easy for an American to look at the Hindu caste system, and say that is unjust. Likewise, the thought of arranged marriages in Hindu society are unsettling and unthinkable to our American ideals. However, traditional marriages are still the overwhelming marriage type in India and to the Hindu families that follow this practice it is the correct way of doing things. Because it is very difficult for an American to accept the idea of a caste system, true conversion to Hinduism is perhaps impossible. However, if one is looking to convert then it must be a true conversion and that individuals personal worldview must be set aside in favor of the worldview of the religion they are investigating.9 While its easy to point to differences in worldview between an Anglo American and an Indian Hindu, and while the American seeking to fully understand the Hindu worldview can opt to move to India, American heathens do not have that option and must consciously safeguard themselves from misinterpretation. To the heathen using the reconstructionist approach it is crucial to accept that we have a vastly different worldview from that which we are trying to reconstruct. If we are not aware of the concepts of worldview and cultural context then we will instinctively and subconsciously reinterpret what we learn of pre-Christian Germanic thought through our own modern lens; our map of interpretation and the inevitable outcome will be cultural misappropriation10. We will no longer be reconstructing a version of heathen religion or worldview, but rather something entirely different and most likely constructed with cultural schemas that are inherited from Christianity11. The plethora of new age and neo-pagan movements within America are a prime example of this end result, with their emphasis on personal relationships with deities, afterlife rewards, and a focus on a spiritual growth. I have thus far used the term modern to describe todays American worldview, but this is in many ways misleading. It gives the notion that our worldview is more developed and superior to that of the ancient heathen. Indeed opponents of reconstructionism have attempted to use this argument for years to justify interpreting information from a modern perspective which modernizes heathenry but it is a sincerely flawed argument. The reality is that in America today, a vast proportion of our culture is permeated and shaped by Christianity and urbanization. This is the foundation of much of our worldview and it is not based off of a natural evolution of Germanic thought over time. While parts of heathen culture have survived, in the myths for example, due to our modern environment, we naturally interpret and even think through Christian schemas. Such schemata must be reworked in order to approximate heathenry, and the only way to do that is to reconstruct, be acquainted with, and understand heathen schema. The reality is that American society today is a product that has been shaped by layer after layer of social and economic change, from the Industrial Revolution to the Protestant Reformation to the start

ItshouldbenotedthatmanyHindus,particularlyintheUSandEuropenolongerpracticearrangedmarriage,andinmany waysthecastesystemisbeginningtodevolve.Whetherthesesocialchangesaretakingplaceduetoshiftswithinthe Hinduworldvieworfrominfluencefromoutsideofitisnotthetopicofthisarticle,butcanbereadaboutinBarbaraand ThomasMetcalfsAConciseHistoryofModernIndia. 10 AninterestingandeasytoreadessayconcerningculturalmisappropriationwasrecentlypublishedinTheWildHunt. KulasundariDevi,Hinduism,IndoPaganism,andCulturalAppropriation,(June22,2010) 11 Christianityistheprimereligiousmodelthatourworldviewworkswith.

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of the Renaissance before that and so on. Each movement between today and the time of the preChristian heathen has emphasized its own concepts of values and ideal parameters of human interaction that are further and further removed from those that were originally a part of heathen cultures. The heathen concepts of innengard and utgard, frith and luck have been replaced or given entirely new form again and again so that they have lost their native context. Two thousand years of established Christian schemata have so thoroughly saturated western culture that simply by existing in this society, one will be imparted with a worldview that is decidedly unheathen. When it comes to the concept of religion, Christian upbringing and environment is inescapable today. There is nothing in the United States including new age religions such as Wicca, which has not been formed, manipulated and shaped by urbanization and the revelatory module religion, Christianity. This is the implicit order of things. It is what has created our filter of interpretation, and we are largely unaware of it. You can have never stepped foot inside of a church, and still you will interpret every action, every relationship between man, earth, work, family, god, and every aspect of life through this filter or worldview. Even radically opposed belief systems, such as Satanism, are nothing more than a reflection of that which they oppose. They are based off of and reactionary to Christian thought. They fail to break free of it however, and in the end are nothing more than a reactionary module Even the concept of what religion is differs vastly between our current worldview and the worldview of the pre-Christian Germanic peoples. There is no indication or evidence that these people even had a sense of religion. The closest early terms12 translate to custom, the way we commonly do things, or tradition, and are in no way separated from the mundane world. They have left us no words which may imply worshipfulness, prayful, or spiritual. To consciously engage in an activity strictly as a spiritual exercise is only necessary in world rejecting religions.13 Christianity, Wicca, Buddhism and Islam are all modular, world rejecting religions and can be separated out from cultural tradition. They are transcultural. Christianity and Wicca are similar in that both can be added to a culture to produce a new variation centered around the same theme. Likewise, much of these religions sense of spirituality is separable from culture. The sense of spirituality found today often involves some form of meditation, quiet reflection, prayer, or a worshipful demeanor in which the individual connects or seeks to connect with some otherworldly entity or hidden revelation, or does so simply to feel at peace and whole with the world and ones self. The Germanic heathen religion/tradition/worldview on the other hand, like most indigenous folk worldviews, was a world accepting tradition and closely tied to the very land and culture where it was practiced and could not easily be separated from it. Within these traditions, any responsible action taken within the moral constraints of ones community is considered spiritual activity. Maintenance of spiritual fulfillment in this sort of world accepting system, is achieved by maintaining ones standing within a described community through adhesion to a prescribed set of social principles which that community has defined. Generally one does not seek otherworldly satisfaction in the spiritual sense mentioned above, but seeks to broaden his base and standing in his community by expanding on his skills, responsibilities, and reputation. Interactions with the otherworldly forces that are the gods are intended to directly influence this world in numinous forms such as luck. They are not intended to further ones otherworldly standing. Modern pagan religions such as satr, Romuva, and Religio Romana among others should strive to recreate a pre-Christian worldview if they are to be revived. However, the primary impediment

ONsir,ASsidu,seodu SeeRussellsTheGermanizationofofEarlyMedievalChristianity:ASociohistoricalApproach toReligiousTransformation(OxfordUniv.Press;NewYork1994).Russelldefinesworldrejectingreligionsasgenerally escapistinnatureandholdingthebeliefinasoulandspiritualworldwhichareeternal,andareseparatefromatransitory physicalworld.Theyareessentiallysoteriological,eschatological,anduniversalinnature.Worldacceptingreligionsare generallyfolkcentered,culturallyspecific,anddonotfocusontranscendencetoanotherworld,orsalvation.Their religiosityistiedtotheircultureandtheirenvironment,andnotonanotherworld.

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is the fact that in order to be able to do this theyre revivalists must collect and analyze information through the Christianized, modern filters which were created by the culture that trained them to subconsciously interpret in the first place. This means that quite often the individual will think that they understand the information they are studying in an accurate heathen context, but in reality they are interpreting it in their own way and are taking the information out of its context and stripping it of its original meaning. The inevitable outcome then is Christian schema and worldview remaining firmly established, under pagan guise. The single greatest tool with which to combat this issue is to simply understand that this is the case and to be aware of it. Bil Linzie addresses this with a solution that the adherent to reconstructionism must fully internalize. That is a willingness to set aside all preconceived beliefs and notions. We should question in spite of the fact that we may discover in the course of examination that some of our most cherished beliefs may have been accepted on blind faith taken from our own worldviews misinterpretation of the subject at hand. Furthermore, it is completely natural to subconsciously filter new ideas through an individuals natural feedback cycle (worldview). It is difficult to break the cycle and must be worked on consciously and honestly, bit by bit and is a lifelong process. This is the nature of adopting a different worldview. It took centuries for the Germanic people to totally and truly convert to the Christian worldview which simply did not fit with their own, as discussed by James Russell below. A Strong sense of social unity and collective security prevailed among the Germanic Peoples in the early Middle Ages (They) did not have immediate social and spiritual needs which Christianity might fulfill. Also the homogeneity of early medieval Germanic society did not predispose to the Christian message, Christianity tends to flourish in the heterogeneous societies in which there exist high levels of anomie, or social destabilizationthe relationship of social structure to ideological structure and religious expression plays a significant role in this inquiry.14 This is demonstrated in early Germanic poetry. While Christian, poems such as Dream of the Rood, the Anglo Saxon gospel, The Heliand, The Wanderer, and Beowulf demonstrate powerful Germanic ideals that were foreign to Christianity, and which are not to be found within its module. Christ is viewed as a roving warrior, God the Father resides in Hill fort on the highest mount15 and the greatest source of pleasure in life is found in the mead hall or at symble amidst the living community. Russell16 argues that while the native Germanic worldview was eventually Christianized, and thus lost, much of its influence on Christianity has also remained to this day. The intent of these examples (other than to hint at a wealth of Christian texts from which much about the heathen worldview is preserved and may be investigated and learned from) is not to discourage the reader, but rather to underscore the reality that converting to heathenry is not nearly so simple as rejecting so called Christian teachings and adopting new gods in the place of Christ. One cannot become heathen by switching out one body of knowledge for another. Unplugging one set of practice and lore from ones worldview and plugging another into the slot is akin to changing the flavor of gelatin one uses but retaining the same mold. While this has been exactly the case for modular religions including the waves of new age, neo-pagans that have swept through America in the past several decades, it simply cannot be so if one is to reconstruct an indigenous ethnic religion out of historical heathenry.
14 Russell,C.James,TheGermanizationofEarlyMedievalChristianity:ASociohistoricalApproachtoReligious
Transformation,NewYork,OxfordUniversityPress,1994 Murphy,G.Ronald,TheHeliand:TheSaxonGospel.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1992. Russell,C.James,TheGermanizationofEarlyMedievalChristianity:ASociohistoricalApproachtoReligious Transformation,NewYork,OxfordUniversityPress,1994
16
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The group avows itself in all silence to neo-paganism. They celebrate here their winter-solstice ceremony. The fire is a beacon of light for the sun which gradually blesses the earth with longer days, and during the closing of Nights of Yule-Tideso say the old myths the seeds buried in the earth slowly awake. At the same time this bonfire will magically draw the sun ever closer to mankind. The groups leader [ go, in common parlance] offers some sage, St. Johns wort, and brot [to the fire]. The gifts which draws the group closer together are supposed to express thanks to all the spirits of nature. Like thousands of other neo-pagan groups all over the world, this small community attempts to revive the ancient practice of the winter-solstice ritual that is still practiced by many indigenous peoples today. As this example shows the neo-pagans themselves have expressed very little to do with the actual Germanic religionand the skill and knowledge with which they do this is little more than modest. A rekindling of the Viking Age religion of Thor, Odin and Frey and with it a revival of the ancient Germanic mythology is not to be found, at least in neo-pagan circles.17 This quote is by Rudolf Simek, who is one of the leading scholars of Old Nordic religion and one who is highly respected in the academic and the reconstructionist fields. It strikes at the heart of neo-paganism but to the heathen who is engaged in reconstructionism it exemplifies the importance of such an approach. Simek himself, while not a heathen, is a strict reconstructionist, alongside any of the other leading scholars in the field of Old Nordic History. The approach is inescapable for any scholar interested in understanding ancient cultures. Anyone who is engaged in this sort of research is practicing reconstructionism to some degree. The only real question is how good the adherent is at sticking to source material, and setting aside personal misinterpretations. Strict reconstructionism as it is defined by those who advocate the described approach, is the only method which may reasonably rekindle any sort of heathen practice that is in any way akin to the Viking Age religion of Thor, Odin and Frey. Indeed this process has already begun, and the differences between those who are rekindling the old heathen religions, and those who advocate neo-paganism have become quite apparent. The following is a small set of examples which demonstrate how the reconstructionist will approach historical heathenry and how this effects their understanding and practice. These examples are used only to illustrate a point and not to serve as a full guideline to reconstructionism itself. The reconstructionist questions all assumptions and concepts, and thus questions the supposition that belief must be a necessary component to modern heathen praxis. What was the Old Norse or Old High German or the Old Saxon word for belief? Was it a word that heathens used and recognized, or was it a representation of an early Christian concept? Bernard Maier (and many others) in his Die Religion der Germanen provides ample evidence that such a theme was not recognized as part of the early Germanic worldview. The reconstructionist is, according to Bil Linzie treading on good solid heathen ground with historical precedence for support. He does not recognize any real importance of faith or dogma, and is in a position to question everything he studies. This is not to say that the reconstructionist heathen has no belief or personal unverifiable gnosis (UPG). This is far from the truth. It simply means that with the understanding that belief and faith are not the centerpieces of
17 Simek,Rudolf,DieReligionundMythologiederGermanen,Darmstadt,Wissenschaftliche
Buchgesellschaft,Germany)2003

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the heathen tradition, the reconstructionist is willing to give up previous beliefs or notions should they conflict with evidence to the contrary. The reconstructionist is also willing to leave information that has been uncovered as it is, without adding modern interpolations or assumptions. Because of this approach, the reconstructionist heathen has been able to ask many questions, and hence have an entirely different outlook on proposed queries such as: 1. How much of the eddic material is Christian interpolation or interpretation? 2. Why doesnt the tribal separation of the Vanir versus the Aesir show up in Gothic, Old High German, Old Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon texts? 3. Was nn viewed as the High God in all Germanic linguistic branches? The question pertaining to the Vanir was recorded by Linzie over seven years ago. Shortly afterwards, Rudolf Simek published the article The Vanir: an Obituary in which he provides the compelling argument that the notion that the Vanir were a historically worshiped separate tribe of Gods from the Aesir should be put to rest once and for all. There never was a separate tribe of fertility gods as previously supposed.18 I have chosen to still use this example because while many in the neo-pagan circles were forced to rethink their beliefs and their practice, the reconstructionist heathen did not because this information changed nothing about the heathen worldview as we understand it. In fact this idea had been suspect to the reconstructionist for years, who had no practice based off of the assumption that they were such a tribe. Heathens utilizing the reconstructionist method did not find their traditions to suddenly be conflicting with newfound data. The method of reconstructionism does not however, simply dismantle all potential truth, by holding it as questionable. On the contrary, through such an approach there is plenty that we do know about heathenry as it was historically. It is simply a matter of unlearning what one assumes about heathenry that will enable that individual to construct a solid foundation off of which to develop. Bil Linzie has already constructed a list, which was adapted to suit heathenry from Edward Halls Beyond Culture19 and which I have made some minor adjustments to. This is only a list, intended to be used as a set of examples to the point. 1. Accept that satr (heathenry) as a worldview is probably complete (but not fully interpreted) and can stand on its own without modern interpolation or filling in the gaps. Note: Assuming that becoming heathen is simply a matter of switching one religion for another is left-over baggage from the late 20th century. Such a practice lacks in any in-depth understanding of the worldview. 2. Accept that satr as a spiritual way to live is the expression of the underlying worldview. The spirituality grows up from the worldview and cannot be switched from one to another. 3. satr spirituality is based on the interacting with the real world in a way which supports the well being of family and community. It is not and never has been about looking outward or inward. Note: This is exactly the dividing point between a world-accepting and a world-rejecting religion. 4. Final rewards are directly correlated to the memories left behind after ones death. Note: The concepts of reincarnation, salvation, special judgment by a divinity, or special rewards in the afterlife have never really been a part of the Viking Age Germanic way of life. They are rather the hallmarks of a world-rejecting religion and began to show up during the time of conversion. Understanding and being satisfied that one has added to his community by good works during life, thereby leaving behind good, fond memories after death, and so that one

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Simek,RudolfTheVanir:anObituary,RetrospectiveMethodsNetworkNewsletter,December2010,FolkloreStudies/ Dept.ofPhilosophy,History,CultureandArtStudies(Reprintedversion) UniversityofHelsinki,Helsinki 19 Hall,E.T.BeyondCulture,AnchorBooks,NewYork,1976

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is welcomed into the home or land of the dead is the hallmark of world-accepting religions such as early Greek, Shinto, tribal religions, etc. 5. The family is the smallest recognizable unit in Viking Age philosophy; the individual is but one part of the family. Rugged individualism is both a foreign and a modern concept. Note: individualism is a deeply ingrained part of the American way of life with few exceptions such as the Native American or the Amish who maintained the older Germanic concept of community. Individualism during the Viking Age was not about personal , spiritual philosophy but rather how an individual could apply personal skills to the betterment of both family clan and community. 6. The land upon which a geographic community is built and supported is holy. Note: Here the world holy does not mean sacred in the sense of the Catholic Eucharist, Bible, or Crucifix but rather retains its older meaning of holy meaning whole or complete. The land was not separate from its owners. 7. Individuals seeking close, spiritual connection with gods was borrowed from Christianity a millennia ago.20 A reciprocal relationship of gifting to and in return from gods is more appropriate.21 Working within and understanding the reconstructed heathen worldview does create very real differences in developing practice, tradition, and belief. The intention of such an approach is not and never has been to attempt to emulate heathen practice. I was recently posed a question concerning the heathen practice of Blt. The question was based off of the observation that many modern satrar use what is called the Hammer Rite to initiate the ceremony. The person had observed that this action is not in any way based off of historical heathen tradition and is a modern construct. The observer then pointed out that there are more historical methods (such as cording off the blt space, or tracing it with fire) that can be employed to initiate a blt with, and wanted to know if these methods were being used by anyone. I responded by pointing out that it does not matter how you begin the ceremony if you dont understand the intent and purpose of the historical (or modern) methods. If you cord off a blt space because that is what evidence shows may have been done historically, you are still only emulating actions and attaching modern rational to them if you do not understand the original context of why. The correct question should be why did historical heathens begin blt the way they did. What was their goal? What was the purpose? Investigating the heathen worldview would produce a different conclusion than what had been assumed previously. In this case, the purpose of an opening act in blt would not be to hallow or purify a space or to create a space that is set apart from the world of man, where the presence of holy powers can be felt more strongly.22 The purpose would be to establish a boundary that marks the physical limits of that sacral space; to declare the purpose of that event with rules and guidelines of proper and improper action within that marked area, and to declare who is and is not welcome. The gods would have been recognized as already being present within the confines of the community and not in some otherworldly spiritual place. From here and with this understanding, the reconstructionist is free to establish and develop any sort of action that is consistent with and which reinforces this mentality as opposed to imitating actions while reinterpreting them through a different cultural (in this case American Christian/New Age) lens. It is crucial to make a distinction between practice and worldview. The former arises from the latter. If you internalize the worldview of the pre
IhavealteredLinziesoriginalargumentthatprayingdirectlytothegodswasborrowedfromChristianity.Thereis evidencethatindividualsdidpraytothegods,throughtheobservationsoftheRusaskingforgoodtrade,etc.Thenatureof theheathenrelationshipwithgodsandthatoftheChristianrelationshipwithGodhoweverisverydifferent.Ihave changedthestatementtoreflectthat. 21 Linzie,2004 22 ThequotewastakenfromoneofthemostpopularlyownedandreadbooksregardingAsatruintheUnitedStates.Our Troth,SecondEdition,Vol2,2007,TheTroth
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Christian Germanic peoples (which starts with understanding it), then the practices which rise from that worldview, while not identical to theirs, will be consistent with theirs.23 While approaching heathenry through the reconstructionist method can be very difficult at times, even seemingly impossible; at other times it can be fun and exciting. It is always informative. Each new discovery leads to questions about how and if it effects the researchers worldview and understanding thereof. We spend our lifetime honing, developing, and growing out from that worldview of the ancient heathen while realizing more and more every day just how compatible that worldview truly is with the modern world. Reconstructionism is not a sect or a branch. It is an approach. Through it, heathenry as it is known in America has been and will only continue to develop and thrive as a consistent rekindling of the ancient heathen religion.

Bibliography
Gundarsson, Kvedulf. "Volume 2: Living The Troth." Our Troth:Second Edition. Comp. Kvedulf Gundarsson. North Charleston: BookSurge Publishing, 2007. Hall, T. Edward, Beyond Culture, Anchor Books, New York, 1976 Kulasundari, Devi. "Hinduism, Indo-Paganism, and Cultural Appropriation." The Wild Hunt. Patheos.com, 22-06-2010. Web. 20 Jul 2011. Linzie, Bil, Germanic Spirituality, 2003, <http://www.angelfire.com/nm/seidhman> Linzie, Bil, Reconstructionisms Role in Modern Heathenry 2007, <http://www.angelfire.com/nm/seidhman> Linzie, Bil, Uncovering the Effects of Cultural Background on the Reconstruction of Ancient Worldviews 2004, <http://www.angelfire.com/nm/seidhman> Metcalf, Barbara, and Thomas Metcalf. A Concise History of Modern India. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Mirriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11. Springfield: Mirriam Webster Inc, 2003. Murphy, G. Ronald,The Heliand: The Saxon Gospel, New York, Oxford University Press, 1992. Russell, C. James, The Germanization of Early Medieval Christianity: A Sociohistorical Approach to Religious Transformation, New York, Oxford University Press, 1994 Simek, Rudolf, Die Religion und Mythologie der Germanen, Darmstadt, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Germany) 2003 Simek, Rudolf. "The Vanir, an Obituary:." Retrospective Methods Network Newsletter Dec (2010): 1018. Web. 17 Jul 2011.

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Women in Heathenry: What We Find

Beyond the Literature
Jill Budynas
Many times the fictitious tales of the sagas conflict with the surviving legal codes and archaeological evidence giving us a hazy picture of reality for women in historical heathenry. This does not mean we put away the stories of heroic women and erase them from our lore. Just because there is a conflict between the sagas, legal codes and archaeological evidence does not mean we ignore the literature. None of this should imply that women like those in the stories did not exist, because they very likely did. We just have to keep in mind that well behaved women seldom make history1 which means we have been left little evidence of the ones who followed the rules. In the reconstructionist approach to heathenry if we do not attempt to look at multiple sources in history, we are creating gaps in knowledge that may not exist. In order to gain a full understanding of why our ancestors practiced things in the manner that they did, then we must examine the guts as well as the glory, especially in a subject that is vaguely scrawled across the pages of the past like womens roles. There is evidence of gender roles in ritual historically and without the examination of those rituals or the context in which we find them, then we are leaving gaps in meaning which defeats the purpose of what the movement is attempting to accomplish. We cannot confine ourselves to sagas and Eddas or we miss massive amounts of material lending us insight to marriage, birthing rights, daily roles, and gender roles that may or may not have affected the holy. Expanding past the literature gives us a wider insight into daily realities. While some of those realities are hard to stomach by modern heathens, they are realities all the same. One of those realities is, in some ways, Christianity did bring what would modernly be labeled as freedoms to the North that did not exist before. In Norway and Iceland a woman did not have a voice in her marriage. It was arranged by her father and the bridegroom and his family and indeed she may never lay eyes on him until their wedding day.2 Christianity brought the right, and indeed demanded the brides consent, or more specifically the absence of no, in order for a marriage to take place.3 There was also no minimum age to marry and we can see an example of this in the Grgs as to the special provisions granted for women widowed and engaged under the age of 16. Women were defined by their marital status as maiden, wife or widow opposed to men who had no status designated to them through marriage or lack of.4 To dismiss this as irrelevant is to deny basic household dynamics and division of power that dictated rituals, such as the right to the life of a child and the naming of those that survived. By combining the literature with the legal codes we can get a bigger picture of the right to life which in turn, lets us piece together assumptions of naming rituals. Gleis outlines the ritual of leaving the child on the floor until the father picks up the child, acknowledges it as his own, and names it.5
LaurelThatcherUlrichinregardstoPuritanfuneralpractices. JennyJochens,WomeninOldNorseSociety(1991)pg17supportedwithsagasandlegalcodeanalysis 3 Thisisaplacewherethesagasandliterarysourcesdeviatewithlegalcodesandsurvivingcorrespondencesbetween missionariesandbishops.IntheOlderBorgarthingChristianLaw,ifawomansaysnothanthemarriagecannotgoforward andspecificallystatesifsheremainssilentthatistobeseenasconsent.Lookingattheevolutionofoldercodesversusthe newoneswecanseewheretheacceptedpracticesinmarriageevolvedwithChristianityandawayfrompaganideals.See Jochenschapter2inwhichshediscussesmarriagepracticeindetail 4 TheodoreJohnRivers,WidowsRightsinAngloSaxonLawTheAmericanJournalofLegalHistory(1930) 5 PaulGleis,TeutonicFamilies.Jochensalsoexaminesindetailthecrossreferencingofliterarymaterialandlegalcodesto rebuildtheritualsurroundingritualisticnamingevenoutsideoftheintroductionofChristianity.
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Unless he does, the child will be exposed, taking the right to choose a childs life from the woman. Norwegian law states that every child must have a father and both Norwegian and Icelandic law allowed for the torture6 of a pregnant woman in order to gain the name of the father or demanding the name from the door while the woman was in labor.7 Working under the fair and supported assumption that the church did not outlaw most practices that did not go directly against early Christian doctrine and our knowledge of early Christian doctrine, we have a good idea of what was pagan practice and what was Christian influenced.8 What the church attempted to take over was the right to decide life, not the father, which in the end changed very little in how they practiced their births.9 By accepting the roles and rights of women, we have a fair understanding to an important rite of passage; a name. None of this is to say that women had no rights or were utterly passive. The Norse, Iceland and the Anglo-Saxon10 clung to their right to divorce so fiercely that the church stopped trying to abolish it and simply tried to control it. The legal codes are peppered with detailed inheritance and divorce laws outlining what a woman held the right to as her own. For example in the laws of Aethelbert in AngloSaxon law, a woman could leave with child and still maintain half of the property. In the sagas we can see where women maintained their entire dowry, giving us an instance where the sagas match up with believable reality. A woman could not complete her divorce without a man, as she could not speak at Thing, but she could initiate one with nothing more than a witness before the era of the church came into play and not much more even after the church took up supervision of divorce. The Grgs outline the many reasons that a person could get a divorce, making it still relatively easy to obtain and the ability for a woman to take her property with her and back to her family made it a viable threat. What we have is undeniable evidence that shows women were considered socially unequal by our terms, but that did not mean that they were not extremely liberated compared to the Greeks and Romans or that they held no sense of balance at all. What we would consider a gender divide in labor, our ancestors did not, again supporting the importance of context. For example, in a Denmark cemetery of 320 graves, 85 were male, 73 were females and 162 could not be determined, through bones or grave goods.11 What they found was that there were a higher percentage of objects such as weapons and riding equipment in male graves and arm rings and spindle whorls in womans graves12 but that does not mean that all named objects were not found in the both male and female graves, only in a higher percentage of a specific item for a specific gender. For example, cooking equipment was found in both male and female, but in 26% of female graves opposed to 16% in male and agricultural equipment was found in 50% of female graves opposed to 36% of male though there was a difference in the specific type of equipment per gender.13 Women were also found buried with weights and balances, a strong indicator

pinahanaintheIcelandic,translationJochens Thenamewouldbedemandedfromthedoorwhileshewasinlaborandifthenamewasaudibletothosenearoratthe doorthechildwasnamedasahalffatherandwasresponsibleforthefinancialaspectsuntilamonthafterbirth.Ifshe failedtorenamethefatherthenthechildwasplacedinslaveryandfineswerepaidtothekingaccordingtoNorwegian laws.InIcelandiclaws,thewomannotonlyhadtonamethefatherbutwheretheymetandwhenthechildwasconceived. 8 Therearemanyplacesinthelegalcodeswheretheordertonotdosomethingisverytellingofwhatwasdonebeforethe decreeandinsomeinstancesitisdeclaredpaganoutright. 9 Throughyearsofattemptingtobanthepracticeofinfantexposure,thechurchinsteadmaderulessurroundingit.While thechurchdemandedachildlive,itwasonlylongenoughtobebaptizedatthechurchandthenburiedaliveuntilitis deadaswellasseveralothergrimpracticestowardunwantedchildrenasseenintheNorwegianlaws. 10 TheAngloSaxonsarementionedsparinglyinthisessayforseveralreasons.TheAngloSaxonsconvertednearly400 yearsbeforetheNorseandIcelandicandtheanalysisofChristianinfluenceontheselawswouldtakemorethanthescope ofthisessayallows.Theyshouldnotbeignoredasaviablepartofheathenstudies,butdeserveamoredetailed examinationthanavailablehere. 11 JudithJeschWomenintheVikingAge(1991)pg13 12 Ibidpg14 13 Ibid.pg2021
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that women were allowed to participate in trade.14 Women were also able to own and sell property in some cases. She was also allowed to inherit property, and according to the Grgs inheritance section could come directly into her inheritance, even before the age of 16 which was the legal age for a male. Generally women were married and their husband gained control of that property, or her male guardian, but she maintained ownership of it.15 While none of this remotely supports modern equality, it does not support total submission either. There are some realms that belonged to women alone such as cup bearing in liquor rituals 16 and incitement or whetting.17 When we look at the sources on these topics we can see a clear formula for these rituals and the fact that it was left solely to women to fulfill these roles in a socio-religious context that seems to be largely ignored in heathenry. It is not that there is no value in the literature because that would be blatantly untrue and damaging. That is only to say that it cannot and should not be taken at face value. These amazing examples of poetry and lore were not meant to be historical documents, but as pieces of art and entertainment with small glimpses into the world the writer wished to convey. These are stories of heroes and nobility, which is not reflected in or representative of the common man or in real life. The literature plies us with stories of queens, warriors, and valkyries of incredible worth and power that ruled the world in glory and fame; however when we examine the literature alone, we miss vital pieces to the puzzle that has been left to us. The high ratio of men to women in the literature gives us an even smaller window to view women in historical heathenry and that is before we pick apart the heavy Christian influence and additions. That is not to say we do not have a great deal of material to learn from, including the literary sources. It only says that in order to gain a real grasp on our ancestral sisters we must broaden our scope significantly in order to see the dynamics that influenced rituals and rights of women in historical heathenry and in turn can get a better grasp on ritual and life itself.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Enright, Michael. Lady With a Mead Cup, Portland: Four Courts Press, 1996 Clover, Carol. Hildigunnrs Lament Cold Counsel: Women in Old Norse Literature and Mythology (2002) Jesch, Judith. Women in the Viking Age. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 1991 Jochens, Jenny. Women in Old Norse Society. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995. Rivers, Theodore John. "Widows' Rights in Anglo-Saxon Law." The American Journal of Legal History 19 (1975)

Ibidpg21 Mostideasofwhatwomenwereandwerenotallowedtoowncanbegleanedbyboththelegalcodesoninheritance, marriage,andsurvivingwillsacrosstheNorwegian,AngloSaxon,FrisianandIcelandic. 16 MichealEnrightLadyWithaMeadCup(1996) 17 CarolCloverHildigunnrsLamentColdCounsel:WomeninOldNorseLiteratureandMythology(2002)

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Some Animal Imagery in Anglian Heathenry

Written and illustrated by John Wills, unorrad eod, England.
The purpose of this article is to take a brief look at the idea of animal imagery as a representation of and a connection to the Otherworld. During the 5th to 7th centuries the Germanic settlers of England produced a large amount of artwork depicting animals and mythic beasts. These pieces give us an insight to our ancestors understanding of world around them and their religious or superstitious beliefs. Looking at Old English literature for this information is also useful but has its pitfalls due to translation and the agenda of the author (especially with literature dealing with the Migration period as all records were written during the Christian period); however, artwork cannot be changed over the years as it is physically the same now as it was when it was created. Understanding Anglo-Saxon artwork is not a simple task; what you see at first sight is almost certainly not what you see on closer inspection, this is not only a continuation of the Old English love of riddles but also a reflection of how the Unseen hide around every corner and share our space. The artwork of the period can be seen in three broad groups; anthropomorphic/zoomorphic (designs featuring humans/humanoids and animals/creatures), geometric (abstract shapes, knots, ring-dots, fylfots etc) and pictorial (realistic representations); these terms should not be confused with style or chronological groupings such as Salins style groups. For the purposes of this introduction to Anglian animal art and its symbolic meaning I will focus mainly on pictorial representations of animals and birds, specifically those depictions carried into battle by the Anglian warriors. The use of animals as totemic protection is clear from an examination of the four complete helmets found in England; the fragments from the recently discovered Staffordshire Hoard appear to support the previous conclusions. All four helmets are Anglian, which is useful as there is no confusion from Saxon or Jutish cultures. They are: Sutton Hoo from Suffolk (East Anglia), Wollaston Pioneer from Northamptonshire (Middle Anglia/Mercia), Benty Grange from Derbyshire (Mercia) and Coppergate from York (Northumbria). Only the Coppergate helmet falls outside of the Heathen period but it should not be removed from this study as it shares characteristics with the earlier types. The animals connected to helmets are boars and dragons, these will be dealt with separately. Eofor-lic scionon ofer hleor-bergan (Boar shapes shone over cheek guards) [Beowulf 303-304] The boar in Norse lore an animal with close connections to Freyr (and thus by inference the Anglian Ingwe or Ing) a god regarded by many modern Heathens as solely a fertility god yet here in the Anglian Ing(we) we find his full warrior nature, he is the warrior defender who not only gives life but actively protects life. Ing, according to the Old English Rune Poem, is a hero who travels by wagon. The last line of the verse us heardingas one hle nemdum translates as thus heroes (or hard men) named the hero suggesting that Ing is the hero of heroes. The two most obvious boars in the corpus are on the Benty Grange and the Wollaston helmets; both these have boar crests or figurines which are fitted directly to the front to back band at the apex of the dome. Another boar figurine exists from Guilden Morden, Cambridgeshire (East Anglia). It was found in 1864 but there is no associated helmet even though the figurine itself does have fixing rivets on its feet matching both Wollaston and Benty Grange. Less obvious boars are found on the Sutton Hoo helmet, which for this reason requires special attention (see below). The Coppergate helmet reflects this protective motif in a less direct way through a script written along the wala or crest band, this time from a Christian perspective yet with echoes of the Lord Ing. The

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scrip pt reads IN. NOMINE. DNI. NOST TRI IHV. SC CS. SPS. D. ET. E OMNIB BUS DECEM MUS. AMEN N. OSH HERE. XPI. in the nam me of our Lord L Jesus, the Holy Spirit, S God a and all, we pray. Amen n. Oshe ere. Christ (trans. Polli ington 2002). It can be observed th hat the defen nder Ingwe e-Frea, Lor rd Ing, (Yngvi-Frey yr of the Norse) has bee en replaced w with the sav viour Lord Christ C to achi ieve the sam me ective power rs for the we earer of the helmet. h prote Gullinbu ursti, the boa ar given to Freyr in No orse lore, ha as the ability y to glow due d its golde en brist tles which ar re represented in the An nglian depic ctions. The Benty B Grang ge figurine is i dotted wit th smal ll gilded silv ver studs, hip ps and shou ulders, there is also a gro oove running along its back b which is belie eved to have e once held real bristles s. The eyes s of the Ben nty Grange b boar are gar rnets mounte ed with gilded silve er filigree. The use of real r bristles, silver and gemstones g m makes this bo oar figure ver ry much h like the description d o Gullinburs of sti. The Gui ilden Morde en boar is made m of bron nze and has a crest t running ac cross its bac ck. On the Sutton Hoo helmet the boars have silver stripe es and gilde ed head ds. Only the e Wollaston boar has no o decoration n resembling g the Gullinb nbursti story however th his matc ches the plai in style of th he whole helmet. In contrast to the e bronze and d silver boar rs of the othe er helm mets the Wo ollaston boar r is a single e iron rod b bent and split to form a very mod dern lookin ng strea amlined figure.

G Benty Grange

Guilden n Morden

Wolla aston

onstruction o of Wollaston n head Reco

ton Hoo (one e of the pair) ) Sutt orpus of Ang glian helme et boars. Fig. 1 Co

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draca ricsian, se e on heaum hofe hord beweotode (Dragon ruled, which in high hall treasure watched) [Beowulf 2211-2212] Dragons are the enemy of warriors and the downfall of Beowulf but are apparent in the iconography of helmets too. The dragon Fafnir from pan-Germanic lore was once a dwarf but became a dragon after donning a magical helmet and being consumed with greed. The dragon in Beowulf mirrors Fafnir, also being consumed by greed, and enters the poem directly after the death of the last survivor. It is not unlikely that the early medieval audience understood this as the warrior becoming a dragon to guard his peoples treasure in the barrow mound, the mead-hall of the dead. Both Beowulfs dragon and Fafnir are guardians, protectors of a mound and its treasure. The dragons found on helmets are guarding the mound of the helmet as the two examples, Sutton Hoo and Coppergate, lay over the front to back ridge. The Coppergate has two additional dragons; one arching over each eye; the Sutton Hoo has a second dragon hidden within its design. Within the Staffordshire Hoard are a number of items which have been identified as ridge terminals and that are in the form of dragon heads. Between the clear figurative art such as the Wollaston boar and the complex twists and turns of classic Anglo-Saxon zoomorphic artwork is the Sutton Hoo helmet which contains the boar and dragon examined above in both clear and hidden form. Much of the Sutton Hoo helmet iconography is bound together in a visual riddle which on first glance appears to be a human face. From front to back lays a dragon which looks down onto the face; this is a double headed protecting the wearer from the front and rear. Looking up from the face is another head. This head, the human nose, the moustache and the eyebrows form a bird flying up to meet the crest dragon, or maybe a dragon in flight. If we remove the moustache and eyebrows we find another dragon or wyrm matching the longer ridge creature. An examination of the eyebrows reveals they terminate in the heads of boars. The eyebrows themselves are glittering boars with silver bristles looking out to the sides of the wearers head. These two defensive boars over the eyes are echoed as dragons in the later Christian Coppergate helmet. The final piece of the riddle are the garnets beneath the boar eyebrows, on one eye they have a reflective foil backing on the other eye they do not making one eye shine brightly while the other remains dull. Here we have a face of a man which is a bird flying upwards containing the boar of Ing, the dragon defenders of barrows and in the right light is shows the face of the ultimate warrior god on the battlefield, Woden.

The Face

The Bird or Winged Dragon

The Boars

The Dragons or Wyrms

Fig 2. Imagery contained in the Sutton Hoo helmet face. The examination of the protective symbolism on protective head gear of the Anglian Heathen people illustrates an interesting point; Woden is only present in the very highest status armour and then not prominently. When an Anglian Heathen warrior went to war he put his trust in the mythical dragon and Ing which is quite different to the modern idea Odins warriors.

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Moving away from helmets the most common protective tool of the Anglian warrior was his shield, this was often highly decorated with metal mounts and a disc on the boss some in excess of two inches in diameter. Hrkes typography (rationalised by Dickinson) is very useful in understanding this imagery: Description type Aquatic Creatures single-surface fish, mainly resembling pike a aquatic creatures, symmetrical and/or mutli-surface b Predatory Birds i single-surface predatory bird ia bichrome predatory birds ib composite bird ic Dragons ii Quadrupeds v Symmetrical Cruciform i Discoid (including geometric designs) ii Again, as with the helmets, we do not find ravens or wolves which would normally in modern thinking be associated with Woden; shields also do not carry boars associated with Ing, which are found on every Heathen period helmet in England. The vast majority of shield mounts are either fish (pike) or eagles; creatures more usually associated with dwarves and giants; however, this would be the wrong interpretation. A much better explanation is given by understanding the politics of the time and what was trying to be achieved by the men carrying these shields. The Angles, and accompanying Saxons and Jutes, were systematically replacing the Roman military order with their own rule which gives a good clue as to why the eagle was used. Dickinson says: The consistently and clearly hooked beaks identify all these birds as raptors not scavengers like ravens (which have a thickened, flat-topped beak). Some have argued that they are hawks or falcons, but an eagle is more plausible, given its pre-eminence in nature and role as the symbol of Roman power, which undoubtedly influenced post-Roman iconography, within and without the Empire, as a metaphor for celestially-derived qualities and earthly power. Nonetheless, the range of possible iconographic meanings is wide. In Scandinavian and Icelandic lore Oinn can and does take the form of an eagle; it is the goddesses that have the falcon cloak. The eagle is also the favoured form of other powerful shamanic or sorcerer figures. It is an eagle at the top of Yggdrassil that sees all and warns the gods of danger. The eagle therefore is both a potent political symbol as well as an effective protective totem. Furthermore the raven, in the guise of a wlcyrige, is the bringer of doom and death, the collector of the fallen. Eagles are active killers and when displayed with dragons and the predatory creatures from under the water (the pike like creatures of Type i) they give a message to the enemy

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that death is near. Looking at the imagery through the eyes of the ancestors, not the modern lens of interpreted lore, gives a much more sinister and potent meaning to these thirty inch diameter linden boards and importantly removes any notions of the user turning to giants for assistance. The magnificent Sutton Hoo shield displays on the front both a dragon and a huge eagle; looking closely at the eagle you find in the garnets on the birds thigh a human face, possibly Woden taking on eagle form. On the reverse the stringer and handle also display animal imagery. The stringer terminates at both ends with dragon heads matching the helmet. At either side of the dragon heads short arms project ending in boar heads, while behind these longer arms stretch out ending in eagle heads; all of these are gilded. This combination of defensive and offensive creatures should be seen as a sign of battle strength and magical protection as well as royal majesty. At the centre of every shield is the boss. These were not the plain domes of the Viking age; most were the complex carinated shape ending a disc or button, though some latter examples were conical or sugarloaf shaped without the terminating disc. The disc was not devoid of decoration; many display the most complex designs found from all shield fittings. Generally the pattern described is one of zoomorphic disjointed beasts or beast men, some back biting, others spiralling or crouching. These creatures can be seen as representations of the otherworld, creatures that no living man would wish to encounter. An impressive disc was found at Barton Seagrave in Northamptonshire (Middle Anglian/Mercian) which depicts seven different beasts writhing around in a circle; these beasts have bird, fish and mammal heads, hands, feet and claws; there are tails and wings mixed together which when quickly viewed give the impression of human body parts. The disc measures 50mm diameter by 2.5mm deep and is finished in gold. Again the Sutton Hoo shield boss is special; it is fitted with ten dragon heads, five radiating out from the boss disc and five facing in from the boss rim.

Alternative reading of beasts 2 & 7 creating a one-eyed human face crossed by a raven over an eagle. Fig 3. Barton Seagrave shield boss disc zoomorphic beasts (after Dickinson) One more example of animal imagery is of interest to this brief overview and is again from Sutton Hoo. The shoulder clasps that accompany the helmet and shield both display boars. These garnet boars are in pairs facing away from each other and overlapping. Where the boars overlap the shoulders are filled with blue and black glass that give the impression of bees wings; however, the front legs finish off the insect shape into a butterfly. This interpretation is backed up by the triangular garnet and copper-alloy buckle from Sutton Hoo mound 17, which depicts a horses head with a more obvious butterfly motif in the centre. The boar images on the shoulder clasp can be understood in the same way as the helmet boar crests, but on first sight this insect images falls outside of this male dominated world of war. As these designs sat on the warriors shoulders it is possible that the

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butterfly shape was a talismanic device to encourage his arms to move lightly and freely in the manner of a butterfly. It is equally possible that we should focus only on the blue bees wings and here we find a direct representation of the wlcyrige, however this image is not the carrion picking chooser of the slain but a battle ready fighter. In Metrical Charm 8: For a Swarm of Bees, the bee is called sigewif: a victorious woman, which can be understood as an analogy for a wlcyrige. This connection between the bee and the wlcyrige shows her not as the reactive hag walking through a field of corpses as does the raven; here she is a proactive killer striking down her enemies with her sting and seated on the warriors shoulder she can guide his spear arm. This brief examination of the animal symbolism of armour gives definite signs of the Anglian warriors religious beliefs and the magic he wished to carry into battle. His helmet was a symbolic barrow under which was protected his treasure, his life, wrapped with dragons and watched over by the warrior defender god Lord Ingwe. His shield was both defensive and offensive, it carried a symbolic message of impending doom to those who faced it, and its holder brought with him command of the monsters of water with the aid of warrior magician Woden. Bibliography Dickinson, T; Symbols of Protection: The Significance of Animal-ornamented Shields in Early Anglo-Saxon England, in Medieval Archaeology 49 (1) pp109-163, 2005 Foster J; Notes and News, in Medieval Archaeology 21 pp166-167, 1977 Hrke, H and Dickinson, T; Early Anglo-Saxon Shields, 1992 Meadows, I; An Anglian Warrior Burial from Wollaston, Northamptonshire, 2004 Page, R. I.; An Introduction to English Runes, 1999 Pollington, S; Anglo-Saxon Burial Mounds, 2008 Pollington, S; The English Warrior, 2002 Pollington, S; Waylands Work, 2010 Underwood, R; Anglo-Saxon Weapons and Warfare, 1999 Anonymous; Beowulf (quoted lines translated by J Wills) Anonymous; Metrical Charm 8: For a Swarm of Bees Anonymous; Old English Rune Poem (quoted lines translated by J Wills) Suggested places to visit: British Museum, London, England Sutton Hoo helmet and shield http://www.britishmuseum.org/ Royal Amouries Museum, Leeds, England Wollaston helmet http://www.royalarmouries.org/ Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England burial ground with reconstruction of the ship burial http://www.suttonhoo.org/ Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, England Benty Grange helmet http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/coresite/html/WPM.asp Yorkshire Museum and Gardens, York, England Coppergate helmet http://www.yorkshiremuseum.org.uk Illustrations copyright John Wills 2011

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Frankish heathenry: An overview

Erick Lacharity
Who were the Franks and what were their pre-Christian roots? This is a question that has caused confusion and headache among those searching for the answers. Even the origin of their name has been hotly debated, although the generally accepted origin of frank is found in the Germanic root *fr-k, which relates this word intimately to the Old English frec, Old High German freh and New High German frech as well as the Old Saxon frcni audax, protervus, procax. 1 This etymological connection leads us to speculate that by some austere quality of their constitution, they came to be known to others as the bold, forward and wanton.2 As a modern heathen reconstructionist with primarily French (Burgundian, Norman and Belgian) ancestry, it has been my explicit goal to reconstruct the worldview of this motley confederation of Germanic and Celtic tribes to better understand how they reckoned the world around them and what form their relationship with the holy powers may have taken. It is not sufficient, in my opinion, to simply raise a toast to Merovech and call myself a modern Frank. There are plenty of heathens today who take up the name and identity of a particular cultural group without putting the effort into understanding, through research and experimentation, the worldview of those they have chosen to emulate. I have also heard the argument We dont have enough information on them so we do it our way. This is not, however, a factual representation of what we do have on the subject; despite popular belief the Franks have left us many, many clues into their lives. These may not be to the extent of the Scandinavian sources of the same periods, but what we do have in the form of archaeology, historical texts and comparative etymology is worthy of note. The Franks, ca. 471, were not a homogenous Germanic tribe but rather a confederation of no less than eleven groups, two of which are greatly suspected of being of Celtic or of a celticized origin: the Tencteri and Usipetes. This is based upon the linguistics of both these tribes names: Usipete translates as Celtic for well-horsed3 and Tenctari may be related to the Old Irish tchtae proper, right4 and early Welsh rightful, entitlement(s). 5 By Julius Caesars account these two tribes were by their very nature agriculturists and occupied a region which was among the Ubii who were accustomed to Gaulish manners.6 Ceasar also states in Bello Gallico that Germans are not studious of agriculture.7 One could therefore conclude that due to the Usipetes and Tenctaris non-germanic custom of farming and their tribal names, they were truly Celts or of a Celtic nature. However A.C. Murray takes the position that such distinctions between the German and Celt were largely fabricated upon political agenda and information from the likes Ariovistus soldiers and that the trans-Rhenish cultures were fairly homogenized late La Tne8. From the moment Clovis I conquered the vastness of Neustria and Aquitaine, the Franks were an ethnic blend of West Frankish Germanic tribes, as well as Celts.9 It is for this very reason that any serious Frankish enthusiast must accept that much of what defined this people was influenced by this Franco-Gallo-Roman admixture. To deny is illogical, as it is highly improbable to untangle what we now label as Germanic from the Celtic concerning this folk. Furthermore, there is much evidence that particularities of their law codes found analogues in Roman tradition. This is not
1 2

Hessel,J.H.Kern,H.LexSalica:Murray,London1880p.560 (Hk)p.560,trans.audax,protervus,procax 3 Green,MirandaJ.TheCelticWorld:Routledge,NewYork2006P.680 4 Kortland,FrederikHermanHenri.ItaloCelticoriginsandprehistoricdevelopmentsoftheIrishlanguage:p.128 5 Koch,JohnT.Celticculture:AhistoricalencyclopediaV.1:ABCCLIO,SantaBarbara2006p.1362 6 Greenp.680 7 Tacitus,Cornelius.GermanyandAgricolaofTacitus:P.102 8 Murray,A.C.GermanicKinshipStructure:PIMSToronto1983p.456 9 Falk,Avner.SaracensandFranks:Karnak:London,2010p.59

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surprising as their confederation dates to as early as the 3rd century and that at various times the tribes that made up their numbers were Roman foederati. Some reconstructionists would attempt to try and sift through the whole of the Frankish people to remove what is wholly Germanic and elevated above other impurities. Yet to do so would be akin to trying to reconstruct the Canadian choosing to focus on only English customs at the expense of any other influences that have shaped this identity, such as the Native American and French folk roots. It is best to retain the character of the Frank for what he was, a cultural melting pot of Germanic hereditary law and Roman influenced proprietary law10. There has always been, from observation, an unfavorable view of the Franks by modern heathens today. This seems to stem from two underlying factors. The first is the disdain for anything related to Charlemagne, due to his conquest and forcible conversion of other heathen peoples nearer and dearer to the modern Anglosphere, namely the subjugation of the Saxons, finalized in 803.11 Secondly, the majority of modern North American heathens are of English speaking (or other Germanic tongue) descent, or have entered the Anglosphere through assimilation and any roots leading to France (or any Romance peoples) is largely undesirable. There was a time in the past decades, when modern heathens were clamoring about hypothetical Norse roots to justify their interest in heathenry. In time this gave way to an acceptance of more Continental heathen worldviews, but that of the Franks has been largely untapped, as can be evinced by the lack of modern pagan websites and/or organizations in France dedicated to their understanding. Most of these websites are dedicated to lAsatru and les peuples du nords. None dedicate their heathen efforts to the Germanic peoples of their own ancient past, as a quick google.fr search will show. Hopefully with a better understanding of who the Franks were and a critical, deep and unbiased look into the extant vestiges of their pre-Christian roots, more modern heathens will take up this endeavor. I sincerely hope that this interest is sparked among the modern Francosphere, as their history books have sold them short on the Frankish branch of their ethnic tree in preference of a highly romanticized and mythic portrait of the noble gaulois as the progenitors of the French people. 12 13 In the words of Augustin Thierry This period [Merovingian] is that which we most gladly abridge, which we push aside without any scruplestheir shocking savagery, the mores of these destroyers of Rome, their barbarous and bizarre aspects are how we have come to paint them.14 This sentiment has found detractors for the most part only in Qubec, where Reconstructionists are turning the tide. It must be stated that a modern odisc practice as well as heathen reconstructionist philosophy has taken many decades to evolve in North America and hopefully the same will transpire among the French. The law of the Franks after the conquests of Clovis remained largely Germanic with a substantial subset of Roman influences and it is through this law code, the Lex Salica or more properly the Malberg (forum), that we find the most pertinent information concerning the relationships between Franks, Gallo-Romans and their classes as well as with the world around them. Thanks to the widely cited and quite unattested etymological work of Hendrik Kern,15 who dutifully researched the etymology of ten collected manuscripts of the law code by J.H. Hessel, we may extrapolate further knowledge from these reconstructed Old Frankish words and definitions. The ability to do so means that we, as Reconstructionists, may use comparative sources from other neighboring tribes and their linguistic similarities for reshaping a long gone or forgotten worldview in as much detail as our research may afford. Obviously the first step in reconstructing a Frankish worldview is to sift through the many clues found in their gravesites, such as that of Childeric I and other archaeological artifacts. What to accept as a plausibly Frankish artifact and where to look for such a thing is also highly important. Authenticity must be determined by the presence of a historically recognized population centre or trade route such as
10 11

Murryseevicini McKitterick,Rosamond.Charlemange:TheFormationofaEuropeanIdentity:CamberidgeUP2008p.255 12 Brown,Terence.Celticism:RadopiB.V.,Georgia1996P.171 13 Falk,Avner.SaracensandFranks:Karnak:London,2010 14 Thierry,Augustin.RcitsdesTempsMrovgiensV.1:p.4 15 Hessel(1880)

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those in ancient Austrasia, Neustria, Aquitaine, Swabia (ca 481-507) and to a lesser degree Burgundy (ca 534) though keeping in mind that this last one was largely Burgundian territory16 prior to Frankish rule. The linguistic record may enjoy greater liberty in the comparison of a reconstructed vocabulary with other closely related tribes, most notably the Anglo-Saxons via the Saxon, Angle and Jutish migration route(s) through territories occupied by tribes making up the Frankish confederacy. It is also possible that elements of their language were exchanged through the well developed trade route with Kent or that at this time their early Germanic tongues had no real differences to speak of. It is known that the strong kinsmen relationship between the courts of Kent and Neustria through intermarriage and possible Frankish overlordship allowed for a constant exchange of goods and artistic styles from Francia to the British Isle,17 leading to a need for mutual intelligibility on a merchant level. Although the Franks officially became Christian via the baptism of their king Clovis I in 496, I seriously doubt the piety and monotheism of the early Frankish Church, as the coveting of relics and pilgrimages to cult centers of various local saints betrays in them a truly polytheistic worldview. Such practices however were widespread across Europe at the time and not isolated to Merovingian Gaul. The many cults of the saints can at times be tied to ancient pagan (Germanic, Celtic and Roman) cult sites being re-appropriated under a thin veneer of Catholicism.18 Even throughout the Carolingian rule of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, the exchange between Rome and Francia did not solidify the position and integrity of the Churchs canon. More often than not, Christian theological doctrine had to be reshaped by their indigenous culture so as to be palatable and easily digested by the lower class Franks.19 If this was so true for the eighth century Catholic Church under such a staunch Catholic as Charlemagne, it is hard to imagine what form the earliest Frankish Christian worldview took. It may have been no more than the common Frank or their kings putting most of their eggs in the basket of Christ, for power and glory over pious supplication. According to the writings of Nicetius of Trier and Gregory of Tours, Clovis was enamored with the cult and power of St. Martin of Tours, and tales of miracles purportedly performed by the saint aided in his decision to convert. So, the very center of early Frankish Christianity was worship of relics of saints, which helped the new cult gain wide acceptance20 throughout the realm(s) to the benefit of the nobility at times more than to the Church itself. According to Camille Jullian, the French historian and archaeologist, the relics coming in to Rouen led the population to believe that they had in their presence the actual power of the saints to heal the sick in a physical tangible form.21 It is this need for a physical concentration of holy power which leads me to conclude that much of this practice was a common holdover from their pagan roots. However, just where these pagan roots lead is a rather unanswerable question as the Germans, Celts and Romans all shared some form of holy adoration of sacred implements and localities. It is not impossible, though highly controversial, to consider evidence of a Frankish adoration of relics as a heathen attribute. In Kerns work on Old Frankish, he notes that in the Lex Emendata there is reference to the word basilica; however, there is nothing decidedly Christian about the description domus in modum basilicae factus super hominem mortuum which translated is a basilica in the shape of a dome built over a dead man. Kern compares this idea to the word stpa tope or caitya in Sanskrit with the meaning of that which is worthy to be gazed upon.22 It may be a stretch to make such a comparison, but the fact that this word basilica has been used to designate a reliquary or perhaps a grave mound brings to mind the idea of the kings mound or cenotaph, which held cultic appeal among the Anglo-Saxon folk.23 This is further
16 17

Townsend,GeorgeHenry.ManualofDates:Warne,London1877P.172 Yorke,Barbara.KingsandKingdomsofEarlyAnbloSaxonEngland:B.A.Seaby:London,1990p.26 18 Nolan,MaryLee&Sidney.ChristianPilgrimageinModernWesternEurope:NorthCarolinaUP,N.Carolinap.331 19 Claussen,MartinA.TheReformoftheFrankishChurch:CambridgeUP,NewYork2004p.7 20 Hillgarth,J.N.ChristianityandPaganism,350750:TheConversionofWesternEurope:PennsylvaniaUP,1986p.19 21 Claussen,pg19 22 BRITTANICAOnline 23 Chaney,WilliamA.TheCultofKingshipinAngloSaxonEngland:CaliforniaUP:Berkley,1970p.96

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demonstrated by the Germanic root *stuppa- which finds its modern English descendent in stub, stump.24 So a further understanding of basilica in this context can be a protruding mount (dome) which covers the remains of a dead man. If we compare this to the Norse cults of the mound as related to the king,25 we can see a similarity in the halig of the dead heathen king and the sacer of the early Christian saints relics which received a wide cult status and were looked to as a source of health and betterment to the folk. Kern also sheds some light on the etymology of *chreoburgio, which he derives from a misinterpreted and wrongly transcribed chreobardio.26 It is clearly a compound of two words which find their related forms in the OE hlw, OS hlwe grave, burial mound27 and OF burgisli, OE byrgen sepulcrum. He then puts forward the definition of tumulus over the bones of a dead man.28 This could lead to the conclusion that the basilica refered to in the Salic law is mound built over a dead mans bones which is worthy to gaze upon. At this point in time, such conclusions are but mere speculation and require further research to determine such a possible link if one may be found. Given the sufficient references to grave mounts among the Franks and how such mounds were regarded among other Germanic peoples at the time, with honour, such a practice of grave mound cultic activities may well have been common place and may have aided in the eventual adoption of reliquary cult practices. The many Chanson de geste or Songs of Heroic Feats of the French Middle Age, written by courtly poets known as troubadours, leave us with information on such notable Late Frankish characters as Rolland, Ogier, and Galan29 (Vlund). These tales were the French answer to the Norse saga, as these poets craft filled a similar function to the skalds. This is proven by acts of the Matter of France being adapted to the Norse Karlamagns saga for King Haakon V of Norway.30 Some of the key heroic figures contained within the many tales are proof of the high popularity of Northern European heroic characters among the many royal courts. Rollands famed sword Durendal, durable scimitar (ON Dyrumdali precious valley), contained in its hilt a tooth from St. Peter, blood of St. Basil, hair of St. Denis and a piece of Marys garment.31 In other versions stretching from Norway to Germany and beyond, relics and names are slightly different, taking on characteristics of the various peoples who perpetuated these tales. This does not give us any insight into the early Salian Franks mythology, but they do show, through comparison, what the later Carolingians identified with and appreciated from their 12th century Northern neighbours. Concerning the cult of St. Martin of Tours, it is possible to get an idea of the indigenous cults of the Franks (and possibly Burgundians as well as some Gallo-Roman influences through vestiges of the dui) by investigating the various cults of what Jean Drouillet identified as Les Vierges sylvestres (the Virgins in the trees). According to his research presented in Folklore du Nivernais et Morvan, these cults to the Virgin Mary are a syncretism between the pagan cults encountered by St. Martin of Tours on his travels throughout Burgundy in the fourth century and Christianity itself. He apparently tried fervently to eradicate these cults to female tree-powers among the locals, though he did not accomplish his task to the fullest extent. In this same work it is mentioned that as recently as 1832 there were still many locations in that region that called men and women to place images (idols) at the foot of these trees and talismans as well as phylactery (in the sense of a protective charm or amulet) in the branches in hopes to improve their lives. Some of these various Notre-Dames (Our Ladies), relegated to trees were named Notre-dame-de-lOrme, du-Chne, -Frne and du Charme,32 names translating to Our Lady of the Elm,
24 25

Liberman,Anatoly.AnAnalyticalDictionaryofEnglishEtymology:MinnesotaUP,Minneapolis2008p.202 Davidson,HildaEllis.TheLostBeliefsofNorthernEurope:Routledge,London1993p.104 26 (Hk)p.lv 27 Lehmann,WinfredPhillip.GothicEtymologicalDictionary:Brill,Netherlands1986p.186 28 (Hk)p.lv 29 Longnon,Auguste;MeyerPaul.RaouldeCambrai:Meyer,Paris1877p.363 30 http://home.ix.netcom.com/~kiyoweap/myth/armsweap/durendal.htm#relics 31 ibid 32 Drouillet,Jean.FolkloreduNivernaisetMorvan:Thoreau,LaCharitsurLoire1959P.33033

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the Oak, the Ash and the Hornbeam, respectively. Cults of trees were quite common among the early heathens and these modern holdovers are seen all throughout Europe. In the case of Our Lady of the Ash we find a cognate in Sweden, Askafroa (Ash Lady), and another, the Eschenfrau (wife of the Ash) in Germany,33 On the Continent, there are many tree and/or grove cults which are attributed a special sanctity located directly at a Christian shrine or reliquary.34 Of the countries that hold the largest amount of these cults, we find France with a total of thirty percent of all these sites in Europe. West Germany comprises 28 percent, while surprisingly Italy (north-western boarder)35 is in first place with 31 percent of the pie. For Spain we count 17 percent, which may demonstrate that the highest count of tree cults are found in areas of historically greater Germanic concentration, though this may also have been influenced by a Gallo-Roman element provided by synchretism. By far the most widely distributed cult was that of the oak tree with 99 percent of the 276 similar cults and once again France leads with a 34 percent share, while Germany has 25 percent and Italy 1936. Is it so much a stretch of the imagination to consider the Franks having venerated at one time a cult of the ash or some other species of tree(s)? As is demonstrated in the Vita Eligii of the Carolingian era, men drove their livestock through hollow trees and woman not wishing to produce viable offspring would insert the semen of their husbands into dead trees, so its quality would suffer.37 I would think that there is no denying that well into Christian Merovingian Gaul, heathen practices survived. Given these examples, the study of the Franks for the purpose of reconstructing their worldview is no less laudable than that of the Anglo-Saxons, Icelanders, Normans and others. The new Christian religion, however pious it was meant to be, could not stem the old customs and not even Csarius of Arles could do so, having complained And why do such wretches come to church? And why did they accept the sacrament of baptism, if afterwards they are to return to the sacrilege of idols.38 Their language, having evolved from a congruence of Vulgar Latin with Frankish, Gaulish and Saxon words did not wipe their heathen worldview from within their being. Such changes were fluid and organic taking hundreds if not thousands of years to occur. Even to the present day, some of those early customs persist in modern French and German law and the holidays celebrated by their Germanic ancestors are still strong. Authors such as A.C. Murray (Germanic Kinship Structure, After Romes Fall), Katherine Fischer Drew (Law of the Salian Franks), Ian Wood (Franks and Alemanni), James Wallace-Hadrill (Frankish Church), Hendrik Kern (Lex Salica) and others have only begun to scratch the surface of what is available for our understanding. Though the majority of available written sources are in French, this is to my mind no excuse not to do proper research before proclaiming one to be a modern heathen of the Frankish type or to prevent curiosity.

33 34

Porteous,Alexander.TheforestinFolkloreandmythology:Dover:NewYork,2009p.93 (N)p.328 35 ibidp.89 36 ibidp.328 37 (F)Filotus,Bernadette.Pagansurvivals,superstitionsandpopularCultures:PIMS,Toronto2005p.148 38 Ibidp.91

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, Terence. Celticism: Radopi B.V., Georgia 1996 Chaney, William A. The Cult of Kingship in Anglo-Saxon England: California UP: Berkley, 1970 Claussen, Martin A. The Reform of the Frankish Church: Cambridge UP, New York 2004 Davidson, Hilda Ellis. The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe: Routledge, London 1993 Drouillet, Jean. Folklore du Nivernais et Morvan: Thoreau, La Charit-sur-Loire 1959 Falk, Avner. Saracens and Franks: Karnak: London, 2010 Filotus, Bernadette. Pagan survivals, superstitions and popular Cultures: PIMS, Toronto 2005 Green, Miranda J. The Celtic World: Routledge, New York 2006 Hessel, J.H. Kern, H. Lex Salica: Murray, London 1880 Hillgarth, J.N. Christianity and Paganism, 350-750: The Conversion of Western Europe: Pennsylvania UP, Koch, John T. Celtic culture: A historical encyclopedia V. 1: ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2006 Kortland, Frederik Herman Henri. Italo-Celtic origins and prehistoric developments of the Irish language: Lehmann, Winfred Phillip. Gothic Etymological Dictionary: Brill, Netherlands 1986 Liberman, Anatoly. An Analytical Dictionary of English Etymology: Minnesota UP, Minneapolis 2008 Longnon, Auguste; Meyer Paul. Raoul de Cambrai: Meyer, Paris 1877 McKitterick, Rosamond. Charlemange: The Formation of a European Identity: Camberidge UP Murray, A.C.Germanic Kinship Structure: PIMS Toronto 1983 Nolan, Mary Lee & Sidney. Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe: North Carolina UP, N. Carolina Porteous, Alexander. The forest in Folklore and mythology: Dover: New York, 2009 Tacitus, Cornelius. Germany and Agricola of Tacitus: Thierry, Augustin. Rcits des Temps Mrovgiens V.1 : Townsend, George Henry. Manual of Dates: Warne, London 1877 Yorke, Barbara. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anblo-Saxon England: B.A. Seaby: London,1990

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Groves and Sacred Spaces in Germanic and Scandinavian Heathenry

Gary P Golden Jr.
It was about two years ago that my wife and I moved into our new home. Prior to that I made an oath that within one year of us moving in a godpole would be carved and erected on the property we were looking at. I am happy to say that that a godpole has been carved, in honor of Freyr, and it is not only in the ground but in a grove on our property that was prepared by myself, my wife and a handful of heathen friends. Inside this grove, bordered by a rock wall on both sides and a rather large deadfall pine in the back is the Freyr godpole, a carved Thor godpole as well as a ve onto which offerings are poured. In the grove are also two mounds underneath which are offerings that were given during a Winternights celebration held here along with us and the members of Laerad. As heathens, groves and sacred spaces are one example of the many places in which we worship that is substantiated both in the history of our ancestors1 and in the practice of modern heathens today. The purpose of this essay is to shed some light on both the historical as well as modern day examples of groves and sacred spaces and how they are used.

Some of the words you might hear used to describe these spaces are lundr (grove); ve (shrine); horg (heap of stones); vangr and vin (often referring to sacred grounds). So what exactly is a grove? Or a sacred space for that matter? What did it mean to our ancestors and what does it mean to us? We know

LeeHollander,PoeticEdda;VoluspaStanza7;HyndluljothStanza10;VafthrudnismalStanza38.Tacitus,GermaniaCh. 7,9,39,40.
1

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from both literary as well as archeological evidence that our ancestors worshipped indoors as well as out. It is the outdoor places of worship and leaving of offerings I wish to discuss here. It seems that groves were exactly that, groves of trees or cleared out areas where worship took place, these groves were usually marked off by stones or a fence which would underline the concept of an inner and an outer with the former being more sacred or off bounds2 . In Guta saga the word stafgardur is used for a fenced off area of worship people believed in groves and mounds, shrines and stafgardur and pagan gods.3 There is also a similar expression from early Northumbrian law, fridgeard, referring to a fenced area containing a rock, tree or spring.

This is not to say that groves were the only places where worship or offerings left outside took place as we know of other natural features where these events occurred. In Kormaks saga after a duel between Kormak and Thorvard in which Thorvard was seriously wounded he was advised by a witch woman: Theres a certain hillock a short way from here, in which elves live. You are to take the bull that Kormak killed, redden the surface of the hillock with the bulls blood, and make the elves a feast of the meat; then youll recover.4 There is an instance where an Icelandic settler gave offerings of food to a waterfall near his house. Because of this his sheep greatly increased because he made good decision as to which were slaughtered and which should be kept. Another man made offerings to one of the rare woods in Iceland. The man continued to trust in this spirit until a Christian bishop dropped holy water on the stone and drove it away. Some other natural features where worship/offerings took place consisted of waterfalls, rocks, sacrificial pools and hills. In some of these places votive offerings such as food,100 tiny golden miniature boats found in a moor near Nors in Jutland and deliberately broken weapons found from other Danish moor finds have been found to have been deposited there. According to Terry Gunnell in Hof, Halls, Goar and Dwarves: An Examination of the Ritual Space in the Pagan Icelandic Hall these offerings to local natural features also seem to have been a private place of worship as the key cult activities mentioned in the sagas do not seem to have taken place at these sites.5. According to Chadwick it seems that for the Germanic tribes the groves which their priests presided over were tribal sanctuaries and it is probable that tribal meetings be they emergency or ordinary were

2 3

Tacitus,GermaniaCh.39&40. GutasagaCh.4&5 4 KormakssagaCh.22 5 TerryGunnellHof,Halls,GoarandDwarves:AnExaminationoftheRitualSpaceinthePaganIcelandicHall

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held in these groves. The priests had guardianship of these groves and the symbols and other holy objects contained in them and when the host assembled for war it was the priests who took the symbols and carried thjem into battle.6

There are also numerous references to sacrifices of humans, animals and objects of worth in islands, lakes, streams and marshes by writers from the sixth century all the way up to the 11th century. There is also visual support on the eighth century Gotland stones and the tapestry found on the Osberg ship and Latin sources also tell of human and animal bodies being hung from trees in sacred groves.7 Evidence also exists of whole armies of weapons being committed to marshes, pools and lakes and new archeological finds continue to support this showing that bog/lake offerings in Scandinavia has roots in the Bronze Age with some places being used for over 500 years, often in proximity to wooden idols. Stone and Bronze Age petroglyphs in Southern and Northern Scandinavia point to regular use of certain outdoor sites for worship from an early stage and as was mentioned earlier, many of these sites were marked off by stones or a fence which would underline the concept of an inner and an outer.8 One tradition connected with holy groves was the hanging of the heads and/or skins/carcasses of animals in the branches of a holy tree or the trees of a holy grove and this practice is attested to having been done at the great temple at Uppsala which had an adjoining holy grove. In this holy grove hung the bodies and animals and men which had been sacrificed and holy groves were sometimes adjacent to other holy land marks. There is an account of a rivulet in Livonia which originated in a holy grove and which supplied a holy fountain. No one was allowed to cut any of the trees in this grove and if someone even broke a twig there they were said to be sure to die that year. The fountain was kept clean and if anything was thrown in the fountain storms would result. In Hervarar Saga Hlr Heireksson was said to have been born in a holy wood with weapons and horse.9 The cultic importance of these sites cannot be overlooked and this seems to be reinforced by their location. They were in a well understood local settlement or region often in borderline areas but in

6 7

H.MunroChadwick,TheAncientTeutonicPriesthood TerryGunnellHof,Halls,GoarandDwarves:AnExaminationoftheRitualSpaceinthePaganIcelandicHall 8 ibid 9 Alfta Svanni Lothursdottir,ReligiousPracticesofthePreChristianandVikingAgeNorth

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close proximity to key settlements and meeting places where certain groups of people came to their religious centre into contact with their gods to bestow gifts. Place name evidence further supports this with names like Frosakur (Freyrs field), Torslunda (Thors grove) and Freysvik (Freys bay).10 So what is it we now know so far? We know that worship outside was not confined just to groves but also encompassed other natural features as well but what does that mean for us today? Is any grove of trees, pile of rocks, pond, marsh or waterfall a sacred space? The answer in my opinion would be no, and here is why. If you look at all the examples we have, from the Poetic Edda, the various sagas and archeological evidence the one thing that always seems to be found within these spaces is gifts of some kind. In order for these spaces to be considered sacred or holy the manipulation of that space must be done by both gods and men, it is not land in and of itself that is important but land that has been shaped and claimed, land in general is not important but ancestral land is and it is holy sites that are important not just any pile of stones or grove of trees. It is by the manipulation of gods and men through a reciprocal gifting relationship that these spaces become sacred and the longer this manipulation takes place the better.11

So now that you have this sacred space that you have set aside and cordoned off, space that has actively been manipulated by offerings what shouldnt you be doing in it? It would go without saying that the prohibition of violence would be one of the most important rules concerning holy ground and another rule closely associated to this was the bringing of weapons into it. It seems that this was a universal understanding as even Olaf Tryggvason only had his gold mounted staff with him when he entered the temple at Thrandheim and none of his men carried their weapons with them when they entered the temple at Maeri. The person who violated this law was called varg vum (wolf in the enclosure). In Eyrbyggja saga, Thorvard considered the fjord where he landed in Iceland so holy that he declared that nothing was to be slain there with the exception of homestead cattle. The penalties for those who violated these bans could be quite severe as the penalty for killing someone on holy ground was outlawry. This law applied to the hof as well as the fields that surrounded it. It also applied to the Thing-place which was regarded as holy while the Thing was being held. The penalty for bringing weapons onto holy ground was some times not as drastic as outlawry. In Vatnsdale Saga it is said that

10 11

TerryGunnellHof,Halls,GoarandDwarves:AnExaminationoftheRitualSpaceinthePaganIcelandicHall ShaneRicksonAsatruLore.org

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while Hrafn and Ingimund are walking and involved in a very engrossing conversation Hrafn inadvertently walks into a hof with his weapon. His penalty for this was that he had to give up his valued sword whose name was Aettartangi. Another example of outlawry from violence done on holy ground is found in Kjalnesinga Saga. A certain Bi entered a hof to find Thorstein laying on his face in front of the statue of Thorr. Bi crept up to Thorstein silently and before Thorstein could react he picked Thorstein's head up and smashed it against a rock, killing him. Bi then carried his body out and threw it near the fence of the enclosure. He then set the hof on fire and locked the doors. Bi was later outlawed for this act. In Fridthjof's Saga, Fridthjof is outlawed after he entered the Dsir hof and struck King Helgi; an act that caused the hof to catch fire and thereby he proved that his name was one well deserved, as his name Fridthjof means "peace-thief." The gods themselves were thought to avenge these desecrations as is evidenced in Fridthjof's Saga, when Fridthjof's men beg him to make amends to King Helge and pray that Baldr would take his wrath for Fridthjof's violating the hofs in Baldrshaeg.

Another example we have occurs in Viga-Glms Saga, Glm kills a troublesome neighbor in a field that is holy to Freyr and incurs the gods wrath. He eventually had to forfeit his lands as a result of this act. In one instance the deed of burning down of a temple was said by Hkon Jarl to result in Hrapp (the perpetrator) being shut out of Valhalla. Another incident of violence on holy ground occurs at Helgafell. Here Thrlf had established a Heras-ing (district thing). It was located on the extremity of the promontory of rocks that made up Helgafell. After his death some of those who attended a Thing held there relieved themselves on the holy grounds and a battle arose as a result and blood was shed. Because of this the ingvllr (thing field or place where the thing is held) had to be moved. The ground there was no longer considered holy because of the blood that was shed there. It also mentions again in Viga-Glms Saga about the account of the sanction on Thvera which forbade condemned men to stay there because the place was sacred to Freyr, people who had broken the law also were likewise excluded from the area enclosed by the sacred ropes of holy places. Another prime way of desecrating a sacred space or holy ground comes in the form of defecating or urinating in it. In Eyrbyggja saga Thorolf considered Helgafell so holy a place that that no men should defile the field with blood-shedding, and moreover none should go thither for their needs, but to that end was appointed a skerry called Dirtskerry. 12 The Kjalleklings said they would

12

EyrbyggjasagaCh.4

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waste no more shoe leather on trips out to the skerry to relieve themselves and because of this a fight ensued and blood was spilled on holy ground.

This is just a small sampling of some of the references we have in regards to the practices of our ancestors that we have and we as modern heathens should use this information accordingly. We first need to understand the reasons as to why our ancestors did these things the way they did and from there we can put into practice rituals that while not being identical to what they did it will at least be in line with it. It is by using this evidence that we create our rituals because we do not have any evidence of how they actually worshipped in their groves but we can reconstruct them based on what was found, both in the literary and archeological records. In the time since the grove was opened back in April of 2010 we have conducted two rituals, the opening of the grove in which offerings were given and again in October at a Laerad Winternights ritual in which offerings were given, burned and a mound placed over them and as spring is here it has Irises sprouting out of it as well as a nice thick blanket of grass over the top of it. This mound sits alongside another mound inside the grove with all of the offerings made to this day. It is my goal that this grove area continues to be manipulated by both us and the gods as more rituals take place in it and more offerings are made and that those whom we share it with benefit from it.

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Bibliography
Anderson, J.G.C. Tacitus Germania. 1st. London: Duckworth Publishers, 2007 Collinew W. Kormaks Saga: The Life and Death of Cormac the Scald. New York: Ams Pr Inc, 1940 Gunnell, Terry. "Hof, Halls, Goar and Dwarves: An Examination of the Ritual Space in the Pagan Icelandic Hall." Cosmos. 17 (2001): 3-36 Hollander, Lee. The Poetic Edda. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1962 Lothursdottir, Alfta. "Religious Practices of the Pre-Christian and Viking Age North." New Northvegr Center. Northvegr.com, 2006. Web. 8 Aug 2011 Monro, Chadwick H.. The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood. Folklore. 11, No 3 (1900): 268-300 Pallson, Hermann, and Paul Edwards. Eyrbyggja Saga. New York: Penguin Classics, 1989 Peel, Christine. Guta Saga: The History of the Gotlanders. London: The Viking Society for Northern Research, 1999

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H.R. Ellis Davidson: Gods and Myths of Northern Europe 7/10

Gods and Myths of Northern Europe is undoubtedly one of the most read academic books within the heathen circles of the United States. Its near the top of almost any recommended reading list, and its widely referenced in many heathen articles and books, despite the fact that it was first published over 40 years ago, in 1964. The question then, is how reliable is it for students to use in developing their understanding of heathen practice and belief? The book is a beautifully presented survey of the ancient Germanic Gods, drawn from sagas, poems, ancient accounts, and archeology. This isnt a simple retelling of the myths, taken explicitly from Snorris Prose Edda, or of the Poetic Edda. In fact, the first chapter is dedicated to relaying the stories of the Gods, and the myths from both Eddas into a concise and comprehendible overview, while the remainder of the book is an examination of their origins, their possible evolution, and the practice of their worshipers. Davidson investigates early accounts of the Germanic warbands and the worship of Tiwas and Wodan and theorizes on their supposed evolution into Odin and Thor. She analyzes the heathen practices of sacrifice over the centuries, of worship in general, and how this all relates to the deities. The strength of this book and the main reason for its popularity is that Davidson has been able to create an overview of the gods as they appear in myth, and how they were worshiped. She manages to bring the two together to form a picture of heathen belief and religion from a serious approach, in a lively and easy to read manner. While it is generally a good overview of heathen myth and religion as a whole, the book does present a few issues, however that should be regarded. Having been published over 40 years ago, in 1964, it is product of that age in both school of thought and accuracy of information. Much of Davidsons speculations have since become regarded as obsolete in the field of Nordic Religion. Among these, concepts of the Vanir as a tribe, or as deities of peace have since been disregarded. So too is the concept of Thor as a skygod, or Odin as a shaman. In general she does a good job of touching on much of the basic facts that outline the myths and beliefs of pre-Christian Northern Europe, but her own theories, comparisons, and conclusions should be regarded with a good deal of suspect. Gods and Myths of Northern Europe is an easy to read and concise overview of Heathen religion but it does have its catches and should be taken with either a grain of salt or a lot of additional research.

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Rudolf Simek, Dictionary of Northern Mythology 9/10

The Dictionary of Norse Mythology by Rudolf Simek was originally published in German in 1984 and appeared in an English translation by Angela Hall in 1993, with some revisions by the author. Of the current available reference works that are available on the subject, this is by far the most expansive, and detailed. Simek makes full use of information from Christian accounts, Eddic Lays, runic inscriptions, Roman authors, votive stones, place names and archaeological finds. He includes a wealth of reliable second hand accounts which he cites. In 425 pages he covers the broad spectrum of the mythology of the Germanic people from the gods themselves to ideas of death and the afterlife, magic, cults, and customs, ranging from Scandinavian material to information found throughout other parts of Europe. While referred to as a dictionary, the book functions much like an encyclopedia that delves deeper into concepts than most of the text books found on the expansive subjects it covers. The Etymology of names is heavily explored, (more so in this book then any I have seen thus far) providing elements to the myths, places, and characters that would otherwise never be grasped by reading the lore. The entries are cited, and can easily be tracked back to their primary as well as secondary sources. This all translates into an invaluable edition to any heathen collection. Simek masterfully presents the entirety of Germanic belief in a resource book that can and should be used as a guiding map through the wealth of lore that we have available. It can also be read from cover to cover. Some minor weak points do exist throughout it, however. Because it is a translation, occasionally the sentence structure or word choice is odd. Some of the internal references are missing, as well as a couple sources which he refers to but does not include in the otherwise expansive bibliography. There is no index since it is a dictionary, but this has caused some irritation when combined with the few instances where he refers to a word as if it is commonplace, but seems to have no entry for it. Overall however, the cons pale tremendously compared to the pros, and this book is a must have.

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Henry Adams Bellows: The Poetic Edda 8/10

The Poetic Edda is that single body of literature that seems to stand above all else in modern heathenry. Its the source of quotes, the uses for which range from ceremonial utterances, to the scolding of those in need of hearing the Sayings of Har. Its sometimes said to be the first book one should start their collection with. It is indeed one of the primary sources from which modern scholars understand the myths of Northern Europe. To this end then, the Edda requires some review. Of the multiple translations, I consider and highly suggest the Dover edition, translated by Henry Adams Bellows. Its an older translation and carries some of that old language, but it is much more accurate in wording to the original than others, especially Lee Hollanders translation. It also holds a wealth of footnotes, and introductions to each poem, as well as the book itself. Its these introductions and an understanding of what the Poetic Edda is that are key to putting the Poetic Edda in a context that is appropriate for helping to reconstruct any form of heathenry. The Edda is really a snapshot of poetry, written down by Icelandic Christians, over 200 years after Icelands conversion. While they are the remnants of older poetry, much of their content is influenced by Christianity (some poems more than others), and even then they are only a snapshot of a part of Norse myth, during one part in time, after the close of the Viking Age. It is imperative that the poems within be read and internalized with this understanding. With that being said, they do paint a wonderful portrait of Norse Myths, as they were understood in Iceland towards the last days of heathenism. The opening poem, Voluspo depicts the mythological passing of time from the earths creation to its end with the burning of Yggdrasil and the worlds contained within. Hovamol, or the words of Othin, is a collection of folk wisdom that resonates throughout each of the sagas as a deep glimpse into the worldview of the time. Other poems depict mythological places and events, from Thors battle with Mithgarthsorm, to Lokis binding. The dialogue is entertaining, and the stories they tell form much of the bulk of what we know about Northern mythology. As mentioned above, the Bellows version is ripe with necessary introductions and footnotes that should not be overlooked. The book begins with a lengthy introduction in which the origin of the poems is presented along with an overview of their place in Nordic and European literature. Each poem is given its own introduction which includes an overview as well as scrutiny into its origins, original condition, and possible Christian interpolation. Footnotes help to clarify passages, kennings, and are used to flag spots in the poem that may have required the translators creative liberties. The language itself is difficult to understand for modern readers, and will likely require a solid grasp of the mythology prior to reading (Kevin Crossley-Hollands The Norse Myths is highly recommended). The collective body generally known as The Poetic Edda is split into two volumes in this case. Volume one contains all of the mythological poems which concern the gods, while Volume two refers to the Heroic poems. For its price however, this should not be such an inconvenience. The poems contained in the Poetic Edda are beautiful in imagery and composition, and they help to shed tremendous light on later age Norse mythology. They also provide us with stories and poetry worth retelling and preserving through our traditions and customs. However, interpretation of their concepts and what they might have meant to the reader of the time, let alone what they would have looked like or meant to the Norse heathen is exceedingly difficult

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even for scholars. The subject will likely always remain one of intense debate. It is strongly suggested that the reader avoid attempts at self interpretation regarding what these poems might have meant for the religion of the Icelandic or Scandinavian heathen, but rather to supplement them heavily with the work of academic scholars in the field.

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Eric Christiansen: The Norsemen in the Viking Age 8/10

As modern heathens, it is our duty to challenge ourselves to make sure we have as solid an understanding of the people and cultures, whos religions we thrive to live. But how much of our understanding is not based so much on fact as it is someone elses theories and suppositions? Where can we look to find what is actually known as it is presented to us, versus speculation? In the case of the people of Scandinavia during the late heathen period, one of the simplest answers is Eric Christiansen. The Norsemen in the Viking Age is one of the absolute best overviews out there regarding the Norse people during the age we have come to dub The Viking Age. There are no flowery theories. No rehashing the same arguments again and again. This book is simply a well of facts and information. Christiansen draws from archeology, literature, and even anthropology, and does something with it that most other historians do not. He presents the information we have as it is. He presents sketches of the Nordic people that are framed less firmly than usual, because he does not rely on theorizing or attempts at explanations. He also shoots down wildly popular ones which still exist with the justification that These fantasies have sucked blood from anthropology and still walk upright, independent of evidence. He dismantles the romanticized vision we have of the idealized roving Viking warrior, explains how that vision even came to exist and replaces it with what we actually know. He then proceeds to continue this process throughout each and every aspect of Norse life. The first five chapters are mainly descriptive. They survey the geography and ecology, but more importantly the social conventions and self awareness of individuals and groups insofar as they are revealed in contemporary sources. This presents depictions of the worldview of these people in regards to topics such as poetry, custom, age, outlawry, marriage, birth-control, suicide, homosexuality etc. Chapters 6 through 9 cover the major topics of politics, war, work, and emigration. He concludes with an investigation into the concepts of past, present, and future with the Norsemen. Religion and the role it played in their lives, is found throughout the entire book and is not given its own section because it simply was not separable from the other aspects. He concludes by giving an overview of some of the old and new schools of approach to the field of Old Nordic History. The Norsemen in the Viking Age can get a little dry at times, and sometimes it feels a little piecemeal. I pin this on the fact that Christiansen is avoiding flowering it up with exciting, connective theories that only harm any attempts at obtaining a true understanding of what we really know about the Norsemen. He never really goes as deep as is possible in each topic, which only makes sense in a 300 page book that covers every aspect of Norse life. Forget those all too available books on The Vikings and pick this one up. It will shatter your preconceived notions and make you realize how wrong you were the Norsemen.

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Stephen Abell: Days in Midgard: A Thousand Years On-Modern Legends Based on Northern Myth 9/10
While I will spend a good few paragraphs dedicating time to this collection of short stories, it really can all be summed up with one word, and concluded with two words of advice. Brilliant. Buy it. Ive read plenty of short stories and attempts to modernize the Northern Myths in varied efforts to validate them, or to give them relevance, and most have had very little success. Stephen Abell is, as far as this reviewer is concerned, in a class of his own thus far. It can be noted, though there isnt really any reason why it should be, that Stephen Abell is, in fact, a heathen. Generally this would mean absolutely nothing, as we have seen plenty of heathen literature without about as much culture, or substance as the daily zodiac at the local grocery store. Stephen Abell is different. The book is, as explained, a collection of short stories. Most of which take place in modern times in settings which Abell brilliantly preserves the anonymity of, all while keeping them very familiar. It is not a retelling of the Norse myths. The book opens with the simple question of Where is it that gods go after theyve been banished? The stories contained are Abells answer to that questionto a degree. In his introduction, he describes the different elements of myth, history, and legend. The stories within are mostly modern legends containing projections of Norse Myth. Much of what happens, is by implication, as Abell says. Heathens will find themselves understanding and reading into the stories with a lot of it seems as if while an individual without a heathen background might read the stories and come out with something entirely different. Either way, the layers are beautiful, and the stories beg to be retold again and again. Isnt that how lore is born, and grows, and becomes tradition? In fact, Abell also points out in his introduction that these stories were meant to be spoken out loud. They were not meant to be contained on voiceless pages, but to be told to an audience, and while they do wonderfully as written and privately read pieces, their real magic might well lie in their true intention. As wonderful as the stories are, it seems as if there is still room for Abell to grow and develop as a storyteller. I can only hope that he continues to write, and that he inspires others to step up and do the same. Heathenry needs more of this quality of literature.

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Afterword
Blessed are the rich, for they possess the earth and its glory. Blessed are the strong, for they can conquer kingdoms. Blessed are they with strong kinsmen, for they shall find help. Blessed are the warlike, for they shall win wealth and renown. Blessed are they who keep their faith, for they shall be honored. Blessed are they who are open handed, for they shall have friends and fame. Blessed are they who wreak vengeance, for they shall be offended no more, and they shall have honor and glory all the days of their life and eternal fame in ages to come. -George Fenwick Jones, Honor in German Literature University of North Carolina Press,(1966). The present quote is a Germanic parody of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Mathew 5:3-12. It was not written to codify a system of morality for the German heathens, but to demonstrate the disparity between Christian values and those of the Germanic heathen. I found it rather fitting as a close to the first issue of rrir, because of how well it expresses the distinctiveness of the ancient heathen value system. Thanks to the unceasing commitment of the countless individuals and groups that have developed and grown over the past several decades, I can echo the words of Bil Linzie in the beginning of this paper, and say that those ancient systems of values, relationships, and worth are returning. We have the remnants that have been handed down to us from the ancient world to look to for information, or enthrallment. However, we also have a very real and very healthy modern community of folk who follow those old customs and traditions, and are always developing new ones. I am very proud to be a part of that community, and I would like to thank each and every individual who has taken the time to read our offering. If it suits you, please share rrir with your friends and folk. The journal is free in that it doesnt cost a penny to read or to share, and we hope everyone takes advantage of that. When the idea of this journal first hatched, we wanted to put out an easily accessible and academically reliable source on heathenism for those who might be looking for it. So the only cost that we ask, other than the time it took you to read this journal, is that you consider helping spread the word so that those who might be looking, may find their own draught of Kvasirs Blood1. Thanks for Reading! Josh Rood, Laerad Kindred, Upstate New York

Thisisindeedakenning.

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Write for rrir!

rrir accepts and encourages a variety of submissions for publication. Currently we are accepting article submissions and comic submissions. We will also be publishing selected letters to the editor. All submissions must adhere to the standards of style and content that would be expected of a university paper. Citations and references are of top priority here, and papers without proper bibliography and citation will be rejected outright (This includes citations for graphs, and artwork). Footnotes must be utilized instead of endnotes. This journal is of a reconstructionist nature, which is outlined well in the first issue of the journal, and exemplified by each published article. Submissions should be of this same nature. There is no minimum or maximum word count for submitted articles, but ideally they should fall between 5,000 and 10,000 words. Comics must be able to fit on one page. If you arent sure if your article falls under the theme of rrir, submit it anyways! We will always respond, and we are friendly. If your submission falls under the guideline of a specialty that has been posted under our News section, the guidelines posted there are the ones that apply. rrir is a publication in English, and all submissions must be in English to be considered. If English is your second language and you wish that to be known and considered by the review board, simply say so in your email. All submissions must be in either OpenOffice or Microsoft Word, and must follow either Chicaco or MLA format. Note: All submissions will be reviewed by the review board. If you get it sent back to you with recommended corrections, do not panic! In fact, it means that we are interested in your article and are strongly considering it. You may get it sent back to you a few times. This is the same exact process that each article that we have published has gone through, and we have all learned tremendously about our own topics through it. There is no monetary profit to be made by submitting content to rrir , as rrir is free to download. The wealth to be gained lies in the strength of your deeds, and in the influence of your words. Feedback Like any media, our success depends on our readers, so we hope that you will give us your feedback, both positive and negative. We welcome letters to the editor as well, and selected ones will be submitted in future issues. Simply address letters to the editor as Dear rrir and end them with your first name or a pseudonym, along with city, state, or country. We will respond. We can also be found on facebook, but all submissions must be done through our official email. Note: rrir is an English publication. Anything that is to be published must be submitted in English. If English is not your first language, and you wish that to be known and considered, simply say so.

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