Asatru Folk Assembly - The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood, a reading

00:00:00.000 The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood, by H. Monroe Chadwick, read at meeting of May 16, 1900.

00:00:28.560 it. 1. The Priesthood of the Ancient Germans

00:00:33.440 Caesar, in his account of the Germans, makes the statement that they had no druids. This

00:00:42.260 statement has given rise to much controversy, for it is not clear whether he meant to say

00:00:48.420 that the Germans had no priests at all, or merely that they had no priesthood similar

00:00:53.980 to that of the Gauls. In Tacitus' account of the Germans, 150 years later, the priesthood

00:01:03.160 constitutes an important element in their society, and is characterized by features which it is

00:01:09.940 difficult to reconcile with the supposition that it was then a new institution. As a matter of

00:01:17.460 In fact, a German priest is said to have been present at the triumph of Germanicus .

00:01:25.860 In order to comprehend Caesar's meaning, it is necessary first to examine briefly his

00:01:31.460 account of the Druids.

00:01:34.400 According to his account, the Druids had the entire control of religion and the direction

00:01:40.040 of both public and private sacrifices.

00:01:43.660 This organization extended over the whole of Gaul, and they were presided over by an

00:01:50.060 arch-druid, who was elected for life.

00:01:53.980 They met annually in a consecrated place within the territories of the Karnuts, a district

00:02:01.080 which was regarded as the center of Gaul.

00:02:04.860 All suits of whatever character, whether private or public, were here brought before them,

00:02:11.200 decision was left entirely in their hands. They could enforce their sentences,

00:02:16.160 whether against individuals or states, under penalty of excommunication, which was equivalent

00:02:23.200 to outlawry. The Druids were moreover instructors of the young. They were excused from all tribute

00:02:31.600 and military service, and devoted themselves to the study and exposition of natural and moral

00:02:38.560 philosophy. They appeared not to have been a distinct caste, since it is stated that many

00:02:45.580 were induced to embrace the profession by the desire to escape national obligations.

00:02:52.480 They were sometimes, whether usually or not is uncertain, drawn from the ranks of the nobility.

00:03:00.140 Thus, Diukarchus the Aeduin was a druid,

00:03:05.000 while his brother, Dumnorix, had the chief magistrate of the Aeduin.

00:03:11.440 Some additional information is to be obtained from Strabo and Diodorus.

00:03:17.640 According to Strabo, there are three classes of persons who are especially honored by the Gauls,

00:03:25.020 namely, bards, veits, and druids.

00:03:30.940 The bards are minstrels and poets, 0.75

00:03:34.720 the veits are sacrificers and interpreters of natural phenomena, 1.00

00:03:40.060 while the druids practice both religion and moral philosophy.

00:03:45.840 They are considered to be the most just,

00:03:49.200 and for this reason they are entrusted with the decision of all cases,

00:03:54.240 both private and public. Formerly, they were even settled wars, and parted those who were

00:04:02.340 on the point of fighting. Above all, they were entrusted with the settlement of suits for

00:04:07.440 manslaughter. Diodorus gives much the same account. He states that the Vates, whom he calls

00:04:16.640 seers, foretell of the future by augury and by divination at sacrifices, and have the 0.97

00:04:24.320 whole people in subjection to them. He calls the Druids, fancy Greek word, and says that

00:04:33.200 they also were present at all sacrifices. For they think that offerings can be made

00:04:39.940 to the gods, and favors asked from them, only through the mediation of those who are

00:04:46.340 acquainted with their nature, and, as it were, understood their language. According

00:04:52.480 to Diodorus, therefore, both the Druids and the Vates were present at sacrifices.

00:04:59.700 Concerning the sanctuaries of the Druids, we have very little information. According

00:05:05.800 to Lucan and Tacitus, they inhabited or, at all events, practiced their rites in sacred

00:05:14.140 groves. This agrees with the well-known fact that reverence for trees was a leading feature in their

00:05:20.920 worship. From these notices it appears that the Vates and the Druids were distinct classes of

00:05:28.780 persons, though it is not very easy to distinguish between them. Both seem to have taken part in

00:05:35.480 sacrifices. Prophetic power also seems to have been claimed by the Druid as well as by the Vates.

00:05:43.560 Thus, according to Cicero, Dioucaicus is claimed to have the power of foretelling the future,

00:05:51.820 partly by auguries and partly by conjecture.

00:05:55.960 It is of course possible that the two classes are confused to some extent by our authorities through ignorance.

00:06:03.260 It seems probable, however, that the administration of justice belonged exclusively to the Druids.

00:06:10.880 The female druids, mentioned in later works, seem to be simply women possessed of prophetic powers.

00:06:20.120 For information regarding the priestly system of the ancient Germans, we are dependent almost entirely upon Tacitus.

00:06:29.220 His account of their duties may briefly be summarized as follows.

00:06:33.680 1. They had to take omens on public occasions.

00:06:38.520 This included the casting of lots and the observation of the sacred horses.

00:06:44.840 In the latter duty, the priest was accompanied by the king or the princeps Sittitatis.

00:06:52.080 They had duties in connection with the meeting of the tribal assembly, too.

00:06:59.180 They had to open the meeting by proclaiming silence, 0.95

00:07:03.380 and to them alone belong the right of inflicting punishment,

00:07:07.360 both at the assembly and when the host was called out for war.

00:07:13.940 Seems likely also that the right to proclaiming excommunication

00:07:18.520 against persons guilty of cowardice belonged to them.

00:07:23.160 They had the guardianship of the sacred groves

00:07:25.820 and of the symbols and other holy objects which were kept there.

00:07:31.260 When the host assembled for war,

00:07:34.120 the priests took the sacred symbols from their sanctuaries

00:07:37.320 and carried them into battle.

00:07:40.520 Lastly, there can be little doubt that they had duties in connection with public sacrifices,

00:07:46.480 though this is not explicitly stated by Tacitus.

00:07:51.500 The information to be derived from other authorities is slight,

00:07:57.740 but does not conflict with Tacitus' account.

00:08:01.760 Ammianus Marcellinus states that over the priests of the Burgundians

00:08:06.760 there presided a chief priest, called Sinistus, who held office for life and was irremovable.

00:08:16.520 Jourdain says that the priests of the Goths were drawn from the nobility. According to Bede,

00:08:25.000 the priests of the ancient English were forbidden to carry arms or to ride except on mares.

00:08:32.840 Here also we find the priests of Daira presided over by a high priest.

00:08:39.540 It cannot be denied that there is a certain resemblance between the position of the German priests and that of the Druids.

00:08:48.760 In both cases we find some kind of regular priestly organization under the presidency of a chief priest.

00:08:58.040 though among the Germans the organization seems to be confined within the limits of the state or tribe.

00:09:05.940 Among the Germans, as among the Gauls,

00:09:09.040 the priests seem to have been exempt from the duty of fighting,

00:09:13.180 though they were present on the field of battle. 0.97

00:09:17.020 Like the Druids, the German priests inhabit,

00:09:20.740 or, at all events, had charge over sacred groves.

00:09:25.380 Lastly, in addition to their distinctively religious functions, both the Druids and German priests have duties in connection with the administration of justice.

00:09:39.220 Tacitus' information is here corroborated by the evidence of language.

00:09:45.040 In Old High German, the word Ivarto, which literally means guardian of the law, is used to denote a priest of the Jews.

00:09:57.700 This usage can hardly be explained, except on the supposition that the word was formally used to denote a native priest of the Germans.

00:10:07.940 It is likely, therefore, that it was in their capacity of guardians of the law

00:10:15.520 that the priests opened the assembly and had the right of inflicting punishment.

00:10:21.320 There are, however, two important points of difference between the Druids and the priests of the Germans. 0.78

00:10:28.920 One, in the ministration of justice, the latter have rather the semblance of power than the reality.

00:10:37.940 While among the Gauls, the whole administration of justice lay exclusively in the hands of the Druids. 0.85

00:10:45.600 Among the Germans, on the other hand, this power belonged to the assembled host, 0.85

00:10:50.920 the priests being apparently merely the officers of the latter.

00:10:56.320 Two, the German priesthood seems to be exclusively concerned with public duties,

00:11:02.720 and to be almost entirely bound up with the state or tribe.

00:11:07.360 priests appear not to have been required for private worship.

00:11:12.300 Tacitus distinctly states that the casting of lots,

00:11:16.440 which on public occasions devolved on the state priest in the private household,

00:11:22.180 was performed by the head of the house.

00:11:26.020 It is probable that such was the case also with private sacrifices,

00:11:31.400 Though from Tacitus' silence on the subject and Caesar's statement,

00:11:36.560 the Germans were not zealous in offering sacrifice.

00:11:41.340 It is likely that such sacrifices were not a frequent occurrence.

00:11:46.860 Again, the priestly organization of the Germans seems not to extend beyond the bounds of each individual state.

00:11:54.760 We hear indeed of religious festivals held in common by confederations of tribes

00:12:01.340 which were supposed to be connected by blood relationship

00:12:05.180 but we have no evidence for believing in any priestly organization

00:12:10.220 which embraced the whole German people.

00:12:14.820 The priesthood indeed seems to be an essentially tribal institution.

00:12:19.600 Its public duties are primarily connected with the meeting of the tribal assembly.

00:12:24.760 The sacred groves over which the priests preside appear in all cases to be tribal sanctuaries.

00:12:32.080 Indeed, judging from such passages, it seems exceedingly probable that it was in these sacred groves that the tribal meetings,

00:12:42.120 whether ordinary or called on emergency, were held.

00:12:46.700 With the Gaulish Vates, the priests of the ancient Germans seem to have had little or nothing in common.

00:12:53.760 There is no evidence that they laid claim to any gift of inspiration or prophecy.

00:12:59.720 In this respect, they seem to have differed even from the Druids, for the latter combined divine inspiration with official position.

00:13:09.300 We may contrast Theodorus' statement that the presence of Druids was required at sacrifices owing to their acquaintance with the nature of the gods.

00:13:19.620 and Tacitus' account of the observation of the sacred horses,

00:13:24.920 where it is remarked that the priest and king regarded themselves as the servants of the gods,

00:13:31.000 but the horses as their confidants.

00:13:34.940 So far as I am aware, the only passage on the strength of which any supernatural knowledge

00:13:40.320 could be claimed for the priests of the ancient Germans,

00:13:43.000 where it is stated that the priest of Nerthus becomes aware that the goddess is in her temple.

00:13:52.020 But even here the influence is not certain, and most the inspiration claimed is but slight.

00:14:00.920 Prophecy and divination were of course by no means unknown among the ancient Germans.

00:14:07.700 Yet whenever we find reference to such matters in early authorities, it is always by women that we find them practiced.

00:14:17.500 Tacitus makes mention of Valeda and other celebrated prophetesses,

00:14:24.100 and states that the Germans believed their women generally to possess a certain inherent prophetic power.

00:14:32.200 Caesar says that the matrons in Ariostas' host prophesied defeat to their own side if they fought before the new moon. 0.96

00:14:45.600 Strabo says that in the camp of the Chimbri there were gray-haired prophetesses who sacrificed prisoners and practiced divination from the flowing of their blood and the contortions of their bodies.

00:15:02.200 In the Langobardic saga, Gambara, the mother of the chiefs, Ybor and Ayo, seems to have been regarded as a prophetess.

00:15:14.080 It is noteworthy that in the north, also, in later times, it is usually women who are endowed with prophetic powers,

00:15:23.600 though men also are occasionally mentioned.

00:15:26.420 But the terms priest or priestess are never applied to such persons.

00:15:34.060 There is no reason for supposing that among the ancient Germans also, the two classes were not kept distinct.

00:15:42.520 They have no feature in common except the offering of sacrifice.

00:15:46.660 This, however, could probably, in later times certainly, be performed by any person without reference to priestly office or prophetic powers.

00:15:59.280 So far, therefore, as the records give us any guidance, it appears that the priest of the ancient Germans was a tribal official, who had to perform public ceremonies and preserve the traditional tribal law.

00:16:14.940 they do not give us any ground for supposing that the priest laid claim to secret knowledge

00:16:20.600 through divine inspiration.

00:16:24.380 It may, however, be urged that it is unsafe to form such a conclusion as this

00:16:30.000 on what is mainly negative evidence.

00:16:34.320 The apparent absence of prophetic claims on the part of the priest

00:16:38.720 may be due to the poverty of our information.

00:16:42.640 It must be seen, therefore, whether the view here put forward is in harmony with the evidence of latter times.

00:16:52.280 Direct evidence on this point is only to be obtained in the North,

00:16:56.400 for elsewhere the native literature does not begin till all reminiscence of heathen society have vanished.

00:17:05.640 The northern evidence will be discussed in the next section.

00:17:09.080 In the meantime, however, there is some indirect evidence which tends to confirm this view.

00:17:16.800 In the subdivisions of the tribe, the temporal leader seems to have held a semi-priestly position.

00:17:25.060 Among many tribes, especially the Franks, the chief subdivision was the Hundred.

00:17:30.380 This body formed a unit for military purposes, and had liked the tribe itself its own meetings for the administration of justice.

00:17:41.220 Each hundred had a leader of its own, who in Frankish annals is called Gentennarius, or Tribunus, and in native languages, Juno, or Cotinque.

00:17:54.800 Now this last word, kotink, also known as godin, is a derivative of god, and can hardly have meant anything else than priest.

00:18:10.180 How such a name could come into use may be seen from the history of the Icelandic góti.

00:18:17.480 The local leader must, in heathen times, have had priestly functions.

00:18:24.400 Again, the princeps, in his judicial capacity, seems to bear a semi-priestly character.

00:18:33.220 We have seen that the guardianship of the tribal law was one of the chief cares of the priests,

00:18:39.480 but the exposition and interpretation of the law in district and village assemblies was the business of the princeps.

00:18:49.060 This custom survives in the ancient laws of the English, where it is laid down that the exposition of the secular law in the Shiremoot is the duty of the alderman.

00:19:01.520 It is for ignorance of law that the alderman was rebuked by Alfred.

00:19:07.760 Again, it seems likely that in the village community the head man performed priestly functions.

00:19:14.500 Such is certainly the case in the north, and there is evidence at all events

00:19:19.740 that the villages of the continent had similar religious festivals.

00:19:25.360 In none of these bodies do we ever hear of persons of exclusively priestly character.

00:19:31.820 Priestly duties appear everywhere to have been discharged by the temporal chief.

00:19:36.980 The former prevalence of the patriarchal system is shown further by the use of the Old English poetical word alder, chief, prince, which in the plural means forefathers.

00:19:51.900 In the sense of princeps, it has died out in prose, being displaced by the extended form, alderman.

00:20:01.740 In official terminology, however, it remains in the forms,

00:20:05.460 hundreds älder, chief of a hundred, or berhilder, mayor.

00:20:15.260 In the smaller organizations of society, then,

00:20:19.340 priestly duties seem to have been performed by the temporal chief.

00:20:24.060 It was only the great organization, the tribe or state,

00:20:28.720 which possesses a class with exclusively priestly functions.

00:20:33.540 This fact is rendered especially important by the loose character of the bonds

00:20:39.100 by which the ancient German state was held together.

00:20:43.020 Caesar says distinctly that in time of peace,

00:20:46.940 the state had no common magistracy, and as so far as the non-monarchical tribes are concerned,

00:20:56.580 his words are amply confirmed by the evidence of Tacitus.

00:21:02.160 Each district seems to have been governed by its own chief.

00:21:07.500 Traditionally, no doubt, the bond of union in the tribe was held to be a community of blood,

00:21:14.120 But the tangible evidences of unity seem to be only four in number, namely the law, the assembly, the sanctuary, and the priesthood, all of which are closely connected.

00:21:30.680 The priests seem to be the only permanent central authority in the tribe.

00:21:38.060 Section 2. The Priesthood in the North

00:21:42.420 In the north, there is practically no evidence for the existence of a priestly class.

00:21:50.680 The word gothi, priest, occurs frequently, but it is always, or almost always, used to denote a person who combined priestly duties with temporal power.

00:22:04.800 The very rare exceptions, real or apparent to this rule, will be discussed in the following pages.

00:22:13.980 It will be convenient to treat the four countries, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, separately,

00:22:21.680 owing to a very different social and political conditions which they present.

00:22:28.040 1. For Iceland, our information is extensive and trustworthy.

00:22:34.800 In the early days of the colony, the more important settlers built temples of their own,

00:22:41.340 often from the material of the temples which they had had in Norway.

00:22:46.360 They exercised a kind of patriarchal authority over their followers,

00:22:51.900 but bore no title of authority other than that of Goti,

00:22:57.340 their office and sphere of jurisdiction being called Gotord.

00:23:03.280 The smaller settlers, who had no temples of their own, gradually joined themselves to them,

00:23:10.120 in order to enjoy both the use of their temples and the benefit of their protection. 0.96

00:23:15.320 The Goti had to keep up the temple and provide the sacrifices, 0.87

00:23:20.640 in a time for which the members of the Gotor paid a temple tax, half taller. 0.52

00:23:27.360 In the neighborhood of each temple, there was a consecrated place set apart for the thing, or assembly, of the members of the Gotthor.

00:23:39.100 At first, each community was practically independent, but in the year 930, a constitution was assembled, which embraced the whole island.

00:23:51.120 A general assembly, Olthingi, being held annually at Uxcara.

00:23:59.320 About 965, further changes were introduced.

00:24:04.100 The country was divided into four quarters, each quarter containing three thing,

00:24:09.640 except the northern quarter, which contained four. 0.98

00:24:13.080 Each thing contained three gotot.

00:24:16.000 The number of gothort was thus limited to thirty-nine, and no temples erected after this date conveyed any magisterial rites.

00:24:27.540 Every three men had to belong to some gothort, but the delimination of the gothort was not strictly geographical, and persons were free to change from one to another.

00:24:39.580 The Lurgreta, or Legislative Council, was composed of the 39 Gotar, to whom nine titular Gotar, chosen from the East, South, and West Quarters, were subsequently added, and 96 assessors, two of whom were nominated by each Goti.

00:25:01.760 The whole was presided over by the Logsogumata, speaker of the law, an elected official.

00:25:11.740 The right of opening the assembly, however, belonged to the Goti, who possessed the temple of Kielernes, within whose jurisdiction the meeting place of the Althingi lay.

00:25:24.500 He is consequently called Al-Sheri Ar-Gothi, literally, priest of the whole host.

00:25:33.680 This constitution lasted with unessential modifications down to the end of the commonwealth.

00:25:41.280 It is to be observed that the Gotth was inherited like any other piece of property, and could even be sold.

00:25:49.340 On the introduction of Christianity, the priestly functions of the Gothi, of course, disappeared.

00:25:56.640 But their political powers, and curiously, even the name, survived.

00:26:03.100 2. In regard to Norway, the accounts are much less complete and satisfactory.

00:26:09.860 Before the time of Harald Horfagri, the small chiefs on the west coast seemed to have been practically independent.

00:26:18.500 According to the legendary sagas, kingdoms arose from time to time, but for the most part they seemed to have been short-lived, and in many districts the local community owed no external obedience.

00:26:34.300 Since it was mainly from the Norwegian coast, communities that the colonists of Iceland were drawn,

00:26:40.560 it must be inferred that the organization, both political and religious, of these communities was similar to,

00:26:48.400 and indeed formed a model of, the system which we find in Iceland.

00:26:53.940 It may be assumed, therefore, that each local chief had a temple and a thing place for his dependents,

00:27:00.740 and that he himself discharged priestly duties.

00:27:04.900 As a matter of fact, we find in several cases that the materials used for constructing the new temples in Iceland

00:27:11.360 had been taken from the temples which the same persons had formerly possessed in Norway.

00:27:18.120 Whether the Norwegian patriarchal chiefs usually bore the title Góti is uncertain.

00:27:25.000 Instances, however, occasionally occur.

00:27:28.380 Further inland, a similar system is found, but on a larger scale.

00:27:34.440 Over the district called the Dales, there ruled in St. Olaf's days a heresier,

00:27:42.020 named Gutbrander, who was that it were a king over the district.

00:27:49.220 This man possessed a temple containing a figure of Thor.

00:27:53.340 When St. Olaf came into the dales to enforce the acceptance of Christianity, Guthbrandr called the men of the district together, and, taking the image out of the temple, they set out to meet the king.

00:28:09.260 The predecessor of this, Guthbrandr, was in alliance with Earl Hakan of Hladlthir.

00:28:16.620 They had a temple in common, which contained figures of Thor and of Hakan's patron goddess.

00:28:23.340 Dorgurther, and Urpa. In the saga of King Hakan the Good, Earl Sigurther of Llatyr,

00:28:32.620 Earl Hakan's father, is said to have provided a great sacrificial feast at Llatyr,

00:28:40.140 and to have borne the whole expense. In this passage it is stated that it was the duty of

00:28:46.460 of the chief who provided the feast to consecrate the heir and all the sacrificial meat.

00:28:53.660 The following chapters describe the refusal of the Christian king, Hakon, to take his

00:29:00.500 part in these public feasts, and the dangerous position in which he consequently found himself

00:29:07.340 involved.

00:29:08.280 The Norwegian evidence, therefore, is consistent, from the king or earl down to the village

00:29:16.020 chieftain, priestly duties are everywhere combined with temporal power. We never hear

00:29:23.580 of any person of exclusively priestly character during the whole history of the country.

00:29:31.460 In the case where communities combined for public worship, we find the chiefs undertaking

00:29:37.960 the office of priest in turn. Such was the case with the sacrifices at Maron in St. Olaf's

00:29:46.340 time. They were held by twelve chiefs in turn. It is to be observed that this was during

00:29:53.720 the reign of a Christian king, and at a time when none of the great heathen chiefs were

00:30:00.320 left in the land. It is quite possible that it was merely the revival of an old custom which may

00:30:08.580 have been in existence before the rise of the monarchy. 3. For Denmark, our materials on this

00:30:18.580 subject are almost wholly wanting. It would hardly have been necessary to deal with this country

00:30:25.420 had not certain writers brought forward three runic inscriptions found in Fyn as evidence for the existence of a specifically priestly class.

00:30:38.720 The first inscription is that of Hylnys.

00:30:44.100 Hralfur Noragoti erected the stone to the memory of Gothamunder.

00:30:51.240 The second is that of Flimloss.

00:30:54.040 This stone stands in memory of Hraufel, who was Noragoti.

00:31:02.000 These inscriptions evidently refer to the same person and are assigned by Wimmer to the beginning of the 9th century.

00:31:11.660 The third inscription is that of Glewendrup, and dates from about 900, according to Wimmer.

00:31:20.460 Rägenhildr erected this stone to the memory of Ali Solvogoti, a noble temple priest.

00:31:30.700 The point in dispute is the meaning to be attached to the phrases of Norvogoti, Solvogoti.

00:31:40.460 Maurer translates Nori's priest, i.e. a priest in the service of Nori,

00:31:46.620 and takes the latter to be the name of Eman.

00:31:51.280 This explanation is, however, unnecessary.

00:31:55.240 Wimmer translates Priest of Nurel, a place name of plural form,

00:32:02.400 or possibly the name of the inhabitants of a district.

00:32:06.060 Sulve, he translates to be the genitive of Sulvi,

00:32:10.320 a place name identical with that of Sulvi in Norway,

00:32:14.620 or possibly, like Nora, a genitive plural, denoting the inhabitants of a place.

00:32:22.240 If Wimmer's explanation be adopted, Hlöfer and Ali may obviously have been local chieftains,

00:32:29.880 like those on the west coast of Norway.

00:32:33.200 Maurer's hypothesis therefore rests on insecure foundations.

00:32:37.660 Had a priestly class existed, it is curious that we should find no reference to it in Saxo, who frequently refers to laws of the heathen period.

00:32:50.220 4. There is one distinct reference to the existence of the priestly officials at the Uppsala Sanctuary, namely in Adam of Bremen.

00:33:02.060 Assigned to all their gods they have priests to present the sacrifices of the people.

00:33:09.520 But were these officials persons of exclusively priestly character,

00:33:13.820 or were they local chiefs entrusted with the performance of priestly duties,

00:33:19.640 like the Norwegian chieftains at Meeren?

00:33:23.060 In contrast to Norway, the land of small independent communities,

00:33:29.200 Sweden is distinguished from the earliest times by centralization of government.

00:33:35.340 At the beginning of the 11th century, we find the country exclusive of Skirno,

00:33:41.980 provided in seven provinces, each possessing an assembly and a lawman, Lugmutter.

00:33:49.660 These lawmen seem at this period to have been men of high position.

00:33:54.980 The secession, at all events in Upland, was hereditary.

00:34:00.180 Besides the Laman, there existed in Upland a council of twelve sages, Spökingel,

00:34:06.820 whose duty it was to advise the king, especially in the administration of justice,

00:34:14.400 and who likewise appeared to have been men of important position.

00:34:18.000 At their head stood, during the reign of Olafur Schuttkungel, three brothers, Arnviter, Dörviter, and Freviter, the two latter being named after the great gods.

00:34:36.980 Similar councils can be shown to have existed in other Scandinavian lands, examples in the Danish settlements in England.

00:34:45.120 Thus Lincoln and Stamford had each a council of twelve, who inherited their jurisdiction and bore the title of lawmen.

00:34:57.000 Bearing in mind the close connection which everywhere among Teutonic peoples subsists between the law and the priesthood,

00:35:07.100 it seems not unlikely that these consulists are the priests mentioned by Adam.

00:35:13.140 During the reign of the Christian king Olafur, their sacerdotal duties would necessarily

00:35:21.580 have to cease, but they may subsequently have been resumed during the heathen reaction,

00:35:29.200 which was in operation during Adam's time.

00:35:33.200 As regards the number, we may compare the twelve priests who officiated in the sacrifices

00:35:38.800 at Merin.

00:35:41.740 The identification is still more favored by the story of the twelve gods

00:35:45.740 who were appointed by Uldum as temple priests,

00:35:50.860 Hofgottar,

00:35:52.940 to keep up the sacrifices and administer justice among men.

00:35:59.020 It has indeed been suggested that the conception of the twelve gods

00:36:03.200 is a purely literary one and due to classical influence,

00:36:08.960 but the conjecture is needless.

00:36:11.740 A perfectly adequate explanation is provided in the existence of judicial councils of twelve, like that at Uppsala.

00:36:22.680 They probably date from very early times and indeed are not peculiar to the North.

00:36:30.780 Analogies are to be found in England, in cases where Danish influence is hardly probable.

00:36:37.180 A more important parallel is supplied by the Frisian Saga of the Twelve Ersingen,

00:36:45.180 speakers of the law, who could not declare to Karl the Great the nature of Frisian law.

00:36:53.180 Bodies of twelve delegates are found also among the Old Saxons and in Horvstein.

00:37:01.180 But though the priest mentioned by Adam may be identical with the counselors, the position

00:37:08.460 of high priest seems to have belonged properly to the king.

00:37:13.180 In Inlingatar, the mythical king Alfer is called Wurter Vestals, guardian of the altar.

00:37:24.900 The god Frey, the traditional founder of the ancient royal family, is in Ingis saga, distinctly

00:37:33.180 represented as a priest-king.

00:37:37.280 Both here and in Saxo, he is said to have instituted the sacrifices at Uppsala.

00:37:45.340 In another passage of Saxo, the origin of the sacrifices is attributed to a king, Hadingus,

00:37:53.500 seems to be identical with Njordr, Thrói's father. The sacrifices are, however, said

00:38:01.920 to be offered to Thrói. Again, according to the Ingling saga, a famine which arose

00:38:09.680 in the days of the legendary king Olafur Tregeligia was attributed by the people to

00:38:17.360 the king's remissness in offering sacrifice. The result was that the king himself was sacrificed.

00:38:27.280 There is evidence even from historical times. In Rimbert's Vita and Skari, the Swedish king

00:38:38.720 seems to perform sacerdotal functions. Together with his nobles, he casts lots before the meeting

00:38:46.000 of the assembly, thus discharging the duty which is assigned by Tacitus to the state priest.

00:38:54.320 Even in the latter part of the 11th century, we find a king, Sven, who was known as Blotswain,

00:39:03.520 Sacrifice Sven. He is said to have obtained the throne on the expulsion of the Christian king,

00:39:11.920 Ingvi Stinkelsen, by promising to offer sacrifice on behalf of the people.

00:39:19.960 In the north, therefore, priestly duties seem everywhere to be combined with temporal power.

00:39:28.220 The temporal chief is both judge and sacrificial priest.

00:39:33.500 It has been suggested that this absence of a priesthood in the north is a late development,

00:39:38.580 and due to encroachment on the part of the temporal powers.

00:39:43.620 But the evidence points distinctly the other way.

00:39:48.200 In the first place, the gods are represented as priest-kings.

00:39:53.460 The case of the god Frey has already been mentioned.

00:39:58.080 The god Ullr seems to bear a similar character.

00:40:03.440 Saxo, after relating the story of Ultan's exile,

00:40:07.080 says that the gods elected a certain urus, not only to the kingdom, but even to the honors of divinity.

00:40:19.500 Immediately afterwards, he speaks of him as a flamen.

00:40:23.900 There seems also to be some reason for believing that Baldr was once regarded as a priest-king.

00:40:31.960 Secondly, priesthood and chieftainship have the same emblem, namely the sacred arm-ring.

00:40:41.780 In Icelandic temples this was kept lying upon the altar, but at all public meetings the

00:40:49.020 Gothi wore it on his arm, and upon it all oaths were sworn.

00:40:56.400 In Simeon's History of the Church of Durm, a northern king, Guthrid, assumes an arm

00:41:04.240 ring as a kind of coronation ceremony.

00:41:08.460 This is to be compared with an incident in the story of the Danish king, Hrofer Krakki,

00:41:15.640 as related in the Prose Edda, namely his attempt to acquire from the Swedish king, Adils, the

00:41:23.640 ring, Sveagris, which had belonged to Adil's forefathers. It is to be observed that the

00:41:32.100 gods Ul, Baldr, and Thre are represented as possessing sacred arm-rings. Moreover, several

00:41:41.880 facts show that northern chiefs bore a more or less sacred character. In the prehistoric

00:41:49.780 age they were, according to the legends, liable to be sacrificed in times of misfortune. Such was

00:41:58.980 the fate of the Swedish kings Dolmaldi and Olufell Tratergia. They were believed to be

00:42:07.700 responsible for the famines which occurred during their reigns. This can hardly be explained except

00:42:16.340 on the supposition that the king was regarded as the representative of the god. The occurrence

00:42:23.220 of the famine showed that the god was not satisfied with his representative. Again,

00:42:29.460 popular chiefs were sometimes worshipped after death. Such is said to have been the case with

00:42:36.660 with the legendary king Olaf Gerstadagalfr, and even with a small chief named Grimmir,

00:42:46.040 grandfather of one of the settlers of Iceland.

00:42:49.980 Rhymbertus describes the formal deification of the Swedish king Erlikus.

00:42:57.460 Lastly, the dwelling place of the northern king seems like sanctuaries to have been regarded

00:43:05.180 as possessing a sacred peace.

00:43:09.080 The term field of peace is found applied to the Swedish king's dwelling as early as Beowulf.

00:43:19.120 SECTION 3 THE NORTHERN PRIESTLY SYSTEM COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE ANCIENT GERMANS

00:43:28.460 In the preceding sections I have endeavored to show one that the priest of the ancient

00:43:34.500 Germans was not a person endowed with secret knowledge, but a tribal official, and, too,

00:43:43.740 that in the north priestly duties were always combined with temporal power.

00:43:50.400 It remains for us to inquire which of the two systems is the older.

00:43:57.180 It cannot, of course, be denied that the evidence for the continental system dates from a period

00:44:04.180 long anterior to any record of that which obtained in the North. Yet in the North we

00:44:12.580 can find no trace of any system other than that which existed in historical times, and

00:44:20.640 all the evidence points to its antiquity. But can the continental system be a latter

00:44:29.420 development of one corresponding to that which we see in the North, there are several reasons

00:44:36.660 for at least taking this suggestion into account. The priesthood seems to be an essentially tribal

00:44:45.420 institution. In the private household, and even in the subdivisions of the tribe, priestly duties

00:44:53.900 are as in the north, performed by the temporal head. This seems to show that the origin of

00:45:02.480 the priesthood is bound up with the tribe as a whole. In spite of the existence of a

00:45:10.900 priesthood, royalty, where it is found, appears to have a sacred character. Among the Burgundians

00:45:20.640 in the 4th century, it was customary to depose the king in time of famine or military disaster.

00:45:30.420 It has been shown above that the Swedes, under similar circumstances, sacrificed their kings.

00:45:38.500 The two customs are clearly of similar origin. Again, that the Merovings kings were sacred

00:45:47.520 is shown by the fact that, like the gods, they were carried to the assembly in a cart drawn by oxen.

00:45:55.980 During the last century of their existence, they had practically ceased to have any share in the government,

00:46:02.640 and nothing but the sanctity attached to royalty could have preserved the dynasty so long from extinction.

00:46:09.860 The position of the tribal high priest is somewhat analogous to that of the state priests

00:46:18.160 of other European nations. Examples, the Rex Sacrificulus of the Romans, or the Archon

00:46:27.940 Balsillius of the Athenians. These latter offices were relics of former monarchy, stripped

00:46:37.760 the bald temporal powers.

00:46:40.780 Is not the same explanation possible also here?

00:46:45.300 Can the priesthood of the ancient Germans be due to the former existence of monarchy?

00:46:52.500 In Tacitus' time, most of the tribes with which the Romans came in contact were not monarchical,

00:47:00.460 but this need not always have been the case.

00:47:03.360 A nation may come into existence either through the confederation of smaller communities, as in Iceland, or through their union under one head.

00:47:15.360 That the ancient German tribes arose by the latter possess is more probable by the fact that many of them occupied territory which had been gained by conquest. 0.68

00:47:27.820 For in a state of civilization no further advanced than that of the ancient Germans, offensive

00:47:36.320 warfare can hardly be carried on successfully, except under a permanent head. 0.96

00:47:45.320 Again the genealogies which trace the tribesmen, primarily no doubt the noble families back

00:47:53.400 to a common ancestor, point to the former existence of monarchy, or at all events of

00:48:01.860 patriarchal government on a large scale. Moreover, it is to be observed that kingly power seems 0.79

00:48:11.940 to increase in proportion to the distance we advance from the borders of southern civilization. 0.97

00:48:21.080 For the tribes in the neighborhood of the Roman frontier, only the Hermundari and the

00:48:29.140 Marcomanni are known to have been monarchical, and of these the latter were newcomers.

00:48:38.940 Of the Goths, whose position was far more remote, we are told that they were subject

00:48:47.720 to somewhat more strict kingly government, though not to a degree incompatible with liberty. 0.79

00:48:57.600 Among the Swedes, on the other hand, the most remote people of undubitably Teutonic blood

00:49:05.360 mentioned by Tacitus, the king's power is said to be subject to no reservations.

00:49:14.380 The presence of a priesthood and monarchy side by side in the same state is no insuperable

00:49:22.440 objection to this theory.

00:49:25.360 The case may arise in several ways.

00:49:29.540 The sanctity attached to the king may become so great that he comes to be regarded as too

00:49:36.060 holy to engage in war or to transact worldly business.

00:49:42.760 A viceroy is then appointed, such as we find among the Vulgar Russians.

00:49:50.060 This viceroyalty may become hereditary and gradually develop into kingship.

00:49:57.200 This is what is actually found among the Thrancs.

00:50:01.400 Viceroyalty become hereditary among the descendants of Pippin of Laden,

00:50:06.020 though more than a century elapsed before the Meroving family ceased to reign.

00:50:13.880 In early times, however, it is frequently the case that the monarchy is not coextensive with the tribe.

00:50:22.680 Sometimes we find several kings in the same tribe,

00:50:26.920 a case which often arose through the division of power between brothers.

00:50:31.560 In other cases, the same king rules over several tribes.

00:50:38.520 Such was the case with Ariostus, Marobodus, and other kings with whom the Romans came

00:50:46.740 in contact.

00:50:48.940 This may arise either through conquest or through the attainment of predominant influence

00:50:54.220 in the time of peace.

00:50:56.800 The king of the subject tribe usually disappears sooner or later, but under ordinary conditions

00:51:04.840 the tribe seems to preserve its corporate existence, consequently also its assembly

00:51:12.100 and a tribal priesthood.

00:51:15.400 It may be observed that in the Roman age the monarchies of the southern and western Germans

00:51:23.340 seem as a rule to have been short lived.

00:51:28.740 On the whole, therefore, I am much inclined to accept this explanation.

00:51:35.940 It would of course be easier to give a definitive answer if we know how the priests were chosen.

00:51:45.220 Jourdain says that, in the case of the Goths, they were drawn from the nobility.

00:51:53.060 But assuming that the same rule held good elsewhere, one would like to know whether

00:51:58.380 the choice was still further limited to the community living in the immediate neighborhood

00:52:04.860 of the tribal sanctuary, for example.

00:52:07.820 There is a certain similarity, as has been shown above, between the position of the priests

00:52:15.680 and that of the Laman and Spikangel of the north.

00:52:22.060 Now among these, succession seems in general to be hereditary. 0.64

00:52:28.300 The Swedish Spierkinger, like the ancient kings, appear to have held their position

00:52:34.440 in virtue of their descent from the god Freud.

00:52:40.160 This is shown by a passage of Saxel.

00:52:44.180 Describing the constitution of Ringo's army at the Battle of Blavala, he proceeds.

00:52:51.560 The bravest of the Swedes were these, Arwaki, Keklu, Throk-Agratist, Guthfast, Gumi from Gislamarkaia.

00:53:08.800 These were the households of the god Frey, and most faithful intermediaries of the deities.

00:53:17.320 Ingi also, and Orly, Orlur, and Forky, sons of Errik, embrace Ringo's service.

00:53:28.640 They also trace the origin of their race to the god Frey.

00:53:34.460 Whatever may be the precise meaning of the phrase, numinum arbitri,

00:53:40.440 there can, I think, be little doubt that it is the Spickinger, or priest counselors of Uppsala, who are here referred to.

00:53:54.520 May not the priesthood of, for example, the Simnonis have originated in a similar manner?

00:54:02.860 Although this tribe formed only an outlying portion of Marobodos' kingdom, they claim to be the oldest and nobriest branch of the Suevik race.

00:54:15.220 The chief ground of this claim seems to have lain in the possession of an ancient grove sanctuary, which they believe to be the dwelling place of their god and the cradle of their race.

00:54:28.420 The presence of embassies from all the kindred tribes at their national festivals testifies to the general acceptance of the claim.

00:54:39.520 I do not see how such a sense can have been gained unless the Simnons had once possessed a powerful native dynasty tracing its descent to the tribal god.

00:54:55.360 Note 1. The Tribal Tradition

00:55:01.900 One of the most important elements in the law, which it was the special duty of the priest to preserve,

00:55:12.020 was doubtless the tradition of the tribe's origin.

00:55:16.300 We find references to these traditions even in the Germania.

00:55:21.700 Indeed, from chapter 2, it would seem that the Germans had already become conscious of the unity of their race, and had been classified the various ancestors in a common genealogy.

00:55:39.000 Such a genealogy necessarily presupposes the existence of many tribal traditions, and, consequentially, also of tribal cults.

00:55:52.620 The question of these tribal cults has hardly received the attention it deserves.

00:55:57.440 I believe that many of the difficulties of Germanic mythology are due to the combination

00:56:04.800 into one system of cults which were once peculiar to different tribes and localities.

00:56:14.200 In the north, the clearest case of a tribal cult is that of Thulgurter.

00:56:21.700 In one respect, this cult holds a peculiar position.

00:56:30.300 Thor-Göther is never mentioned as a member of the divine community,

00:56:35.420 either in the mythological poems or in Gildfagening,

00:56:41.460 nor does she stand in any kind of relationship to the rest of the gods.

00:56:46.580 Her cults formed no part of the Orthodox religion of the North.

00:56:54.620 In Skaldskalpermal, it is stated that she was the daughter of Hurling, the founder of

00:57:03.460 the Heligeland monarchy.

00:57:06.800 After their deaths, they were both honored with worship.

00:57:11.700 According to Saxo, however, she was the wife of Helgo and daughter of Cuso, king of the

00:57:20.700 laps.

00:57:22.480 This seems to be the older version, not only because Saxo gives the myth in some detail,

00:57:29.180 but also because Thorgerther seems to bear a distinctly lapish character in her use of

00:57:36.460 the bow and in the practice of magical arts.

00:57:41.100 She seems to have been one of the powers revealed by the Helligallander Ketel Hengir, who, like

00:57:50.540 other members of his family, did not worship the generally recognized gods.

00:57:57.240 She is also said to have been worshipped by an Icelandic settler named Grimkel, who came

00:58:04.140 from Ulkedal, a district the north of the Throntheimfjord. Beyond this her cult is only

00:58:13.620 known in connection with the celebrated Earl Hakon of Hlæthier, who ruled Norway from

00:58:20.940 975 to 995. She and her sister Ulpe seem to have been the chief, if not the only, objects

00:58:32.620 of his worship. He raised several costly temples to her honor, and is even reported on what

00:58:40.860 appears to be a fairly good authority, to have sacrificed his son to her in a battle

00:58:47.640 with the Hjomsvikingen. Yet, in spite of Hakon's great position, and the fact that he was the 0.98

00:58:55.880 the last important champion of heathenism in Norway, her cult seems to have met with

00:59:01.700 no general acceptance. She appears indeed to have been regarded rather as a troll than

00:59:08.300 a goddess.

00:59:10.860 How then is Hakon's worship to be explained? The reason is that he traces his descent from

00:59:17.440 the ancient kings of Haragirland. When his ancestors migrated to the south, they must

00:59:24.180 have brought their family cult with them. The persistent nature of family worship is 0.72

00:59:29.820 sown by the fact that we find the family settled in the neighborhood of the Thrandheimfjord,

00:59:36.880 at least a century before Haken acquired the government of Norway.

00:59:43.020 There is reason for believing that the cult of Frey is another and more important example

00:59:50.760 of the same class. Frey was one of the great gods of the North, and his cult deserves close

00:59:58.440 attention. It has been generally assumed by modern mythologists that he was a god of the sky

01:00:05.500 or sun, but for this theory there is no ground beyond an isolated passage in the Gylfgening.

01:00:14.100 The mythological poems throw little light on his character and need not be discussed here.

01:00:20.760 But the allusions to his cult, which are fairly frequent in historical and quasi-historical works, will, I think, when carefully considered, place beyond doubt that it was originally of a local or tribal character.

01:00:38.320 According to Adam of Bremen, the temple at Uppsala contained three figures, representing the gods Thor, Odin, and Frico, respectively.

01:00:52.560 Of Frico, by which he certainly means Frey, he says that he was regarded as the dispenser of peace and pleasure to mortals,

01:01:05.920 that his representation was phallic, and that he was invoked especially at marriages.

01:01:14.740 Elsewhere, Frey is represented as the giver of fertility in general.

01:01:19.580 In Sweden, his image was carried around the country, apparently in autumn, in a cart drawn by oxen, and accompanied by a young woman, who attended to his sanctuary, and was regarded as his god's wife.

01:01:37.240 His cult was known also in Norway, especially in inner Thrandheim, and from Norway was carried

01:01:47.320 to Iceland, where it seems to have been connected especially with the Harvest Festival.

01:01:54.060 Freyr, Njordr, and Thor were the three names invoked at the opening of the Icelandic Assembly,

01:02:03.320 and in the oath which was taken in courts of justice,

01:02:08.840 which seems to show that they were regarded as the chief gods of the land.

01:02:14.380 The Inling Saga gives the following account of Frey.

01:02:19.760 Nyordal and his son Frey did not originally belong to the Isir, Odin's tribe,

01:02:26.580 but to a tribe named Vanir.

01:02:29.300 They were given to the Isir as hostages.

01:02:34.740 Odin made them temple priests, and after his death, Njordr, and subsequently Frey, seceded him in the monarchy.

01:02:47.120 They continued to receive the tribute which had first been paid to Odin, and their reigns were blessed with prosperity and peace.

01:02:56.340 Frey fixed his capital at Uppsala and built a great temple there.

01:03:03.400 When he died, his death was concealed, and his body carried secretly into a great hell.

01:03:11.740 The tribute money was still taken and poured into the hell.

01:03:17.140 How after three years the Swedes became aware that he was dead,

01:03:21.620 but since prosperity and peace still continued, they believed that such would be the case as long as Frey was in Sweden.

01:03:32.640 Therefore, they would not burn him in accordance with Odin's ordinances,

01:03:37.660 but they called him the god of the world, and sacrificed to him for peace and prosperity ever afterwards.

01:03:46.600 The saga then goes on to describe the reigns of his son and grandson, and subsequent descendants,

01:03:56.420 the Ingling kings of Sweden.

01:04:00.480 According to this story, Frey is obviously the tribal god of the Upland Swedes, and the

01:04:07.160 ancestor of the Ingling family.

01:04:10.840 We have seen, however, that he has also worshipped in Norway, yet the cult may have been brought

01:04:17.840 here from Sweden.

01:04:20.440 When King Olafur Trigvason was Christianizing the district of Inner Throntheim, he seized

01:04:28.160 the Figurafre out of its temple and brought it to the assembly.

01:04:33.180 He is represented in the saga as Haranguin, the assembly, in order to convince them that

01:04:40.720 the figure was not divine. Frey, he said, was a king who formerly lived in Sweden. He

01:04:48.900 was so popular that on his death it was resolved that some men should be shut up alive with

01:04:54.100 him in his howl. No one, however, was willing to undergo this fate. They therefore made

01:05:01.900 two wooden men and put them in the howl with Frey, under the supposition that these would

01:05:08.520 give him pleasure. After a long lapse of time, robbers broke into the howl and took out the

01:05:14.680 wooden figures. They were then overcome with fear and fled. The Swedes kept one of the figures and

01:05:21.960 sent the other to Thrandheim. Both were called Frey and worshipped. This story seems to show that

01:05:30.280 the cult of Frey was believed to have been imported into Norway from Sweden. There is

01:05:37.560 no evidence that Threy was ever worshipped in Denmark. He is mentioned, however, by Saxo

01:05:45.160 five times. Two of these passages, referring to him as the ancestor of Swedish heroes at

01:05:52.720 Bravala, have already been quoted. The other passages are, which states that Hadingus,

01:06:01.500 having killed an unknown sea monster, offered a sacrifice to Frey in order to appropriate

01:06:09.540 the deities. He ordained this sacrifice to be a permanent institution, recurring regularly

01:06:17.540 as the years rolled by. It is called Freyblut by the Swedes. Again, Frey, the satrap of

01:06:29.740 the gods, took up his abode near Uppsala and instituted a new method of sacrifice to the

01:06:36.960 gods by offering human victims. Lastly, Starkathorus stays seven years in Sweden with the sons of

01:06:48.820 Frey until the proceedings at Uppsala, at the time of the sacrifices, drive him away

01:06:56.540 in disgust. This seems to have been during the days of the Yngling dynasty. In every passage, 0.98

01:07:05.940 therefore, Saxo seems to regard Frey as an essentially Swedish god. Fröblad is probably

01:07:14.740 the name of the great Uppsala festival. All accounts then point to Sweden, and especially

01:07:23.020 Uppsala as the home of the cult. The story of the Hau burial, and the belief that the

01:07:30.440 preservation of Freya's body would entail a continuance of the blessings which have

01:07:35.600 been enjoyed during his lifetime, is an illustration of the common northern belief that the spirits

01:07:42.640 of the dead continued their existence in the family Hau, and were able to confer blessings

01:07:49.060 upon their surviving kinsfolk and descendants.

01:07:53.840 We may compare the burial of Hafdan the Black, father of Harald Harfagri.

01:08:02.380 On the account of his popularity, the four regions of his kingdom disputed for the possession

01:08:08.700 of his body.

01:08:10.640 The dispute was settled by the cutting of the body up into four pieces, each of which

01:08:16.540 was Howlaid in a different region.

01:08:20.220 The cult of Frey, though by far the most important of these ancestral cults, does not by any

01:08:26.280 means stand alone.

01:08:28.720 There can be little doubt that Skjöldr must once have occupied among the Danes a position

01:08:35.120 somewhat similar to that of Frey among the Swedes.

01:08:39.460 In extant documents he is not often referred to as a god, but the importance of his cult

01:08:45.480 may be estimated by the long continuance of the name Sköldingar as the designation for

01:08:53.440 the Danes. I suspect also that the origin of the Balder myths is to be found in a tribal

01:09:01.000 cult, though it is difficult to fix its locality. At any rate, the existence of two independent

01:09:09.280 traditions, the one favorable, the other hostile to Balder, seems best to be explained on this

01:09:17.880 hypothesis. It is not unlikely that the cults of Urur and Heimdala have a similar origin.

01:09:28.240 Cults of the same kind were known also on the continent. In the old Saxon renunciation formula,

01:09:35.340 the convert is called upon to renounce Thune, Vodan, and Saxonaut.

01:09:43.320 The last name is identical with the name Saxonaut,

01:09:47.860 which stands at the head of the royal genealogy of Essex.

01:09:52.760 We can scarcely go wrong in referring this personage as a tribal god of the Saxons.

01:10:00.560 Most of the other English royal houses trace their descent through Wolden to a certain Geet, of whom Aeser says that he was worshipped long ago by the pagans as a god.

01:10:17.840 He seems to be the same individual who is represented as robbed of all sleep by his passionate love.

01:10:25.780 Heligoland was dedicated to a god, Fosit.

01:10:32.980 This name is never met with elsewhere, and seems likely that his cult was purely local.

01:10:42.100 Tacitus says that the Germans classified their race in three great divisions,

01:10:48.660 Iguenos, Herminones, and Istaunus.

01:10:55.780 According to their dissents from the three sons of Manus, it seems likely, therefore, that worship was once paid to these brothers.

01:11:06.240 Perhaps the cult of Ermen may be traced.

01:11:09.240 When the elder Drusus was on his expedition to the Erb in B.C. 9, he heard that there were pillars of Hercules in existence,

01:11:21.540 but was prevented from obtaining more precise information by the difficulty of crossing the sea.

01:11:29.560 From Tacitus' accounts, it would seem that these pillars were rumored to be in the direction of Holstein.

01:11:38.060 Now this was in the 2nd century, a country occupied by the Saxons,

01:11:43.900 In the time of Karl the Great, that is to say, some centuries after the westward migration of the Saxons,

01:11:53.140 the chief object of their worship was a lofty wooden pillar in the neighborhood of Erisberg.

01:12:00.720 This pillar, which was called Ulminsen, was destroyed by Karl in the year 772.

01:12:08.840 Is it not likely that the Saxons practiced a similar cult in their earlier home, and

01:12:16.800 that this was the source of the story mentioned by Tacitus?

01:12:21.840 This view is especially favored by a passage of Vidukind.

01:12:26.900 After describing a legendary victory of the Saxons, he proceeds.

01:12:32.940 In the morning they planted their eagle at the eastern gate, and, piling up an altar

01:12:39.920 of victory, they paid appropriate reverence to the objects of their worship, according

01:12:47.160 to the superstition of their fathers, representing by name Mars, by the likeness of the Pillars

01:12:54.860 of Hercules, by position the Sun, who is called Apollo, by the Greeks. By Mars he means Ermen,

01:13:06.540 as is shown by the next sentence. Hence the view of those who hold that Saxons are descended from

01:13:14.460 the Greeks has a certain amount of probability, for Mars is called Hermen or Hermes in Greek.

01:13:24.860 In spite of the confusion of native and Greco-Roman mythology, this passage shows that the Erminsel was connected with the cult of a deity or hero named Ermin, and it is improbable that this was the god whom the Romans called Hercules.

01:13:45.180 The cult of Hercules was known also to the Cherusci, another tribe of the Erminus, though

01:13:57.120 there is no evidence that the cult here took the same form.

01:14:02.500 Probably the cult of Ermin was known to all the Erminos, but its association with the

01:14:09.860 sacred pillar may have been peculiar to the Saxons.

01:14:15.180 In the same way it seems to me not unlikely that the cult of Frey was originally only a local form of a far more widely spread religion, it has often been remarked that Frey bears a strong resemblance to Throti, the mythical peace king of the Danes.

01:14:36.400 Again, the cult has features in common with that of Nyrthus, attributed by Tacitus to certain tribes on the southwest shores of the Baltic.

01:14:48.300 The word Nyrthus is identical with Njordr, the name of Frey's father, while Frey itself seems to be an abbreviation for Ingifrey or Ingunar Frey,

01:15:03.300 which recall the Ingoenus of the Roman Age.

01:15:09.900 It seems likely, therefore, that a similar cult was once common to all the maritime tribes.

01:15:18.540 Note 2. Priestesses and Prophetesses in the North

01:15:26.280 In Icelandic historical works, the word Gythia occasionally occurs.

01:15:33.300 It seems to be applied to women who belong to the magisterial families. 0.93

01:15:40.900 In Kristni, we hear of a certain Fritgerther,

01:15:46.960 who is represented as offering sacrifice, and who is called Gythia,

01:15:53.440 in a verse immediately following.

01:15:56.600 Her husband was absent when the sacrifice was offered,

01:15:59.880 but whether she was acting as his representative or not is not stated. 0.54

01:16:06.440 In Vassenfirtinga, mention is made of a woman called Steinvur, 0.99

01:16:14.980 who possessed a public temple, and claimed the temple dues from merchants. 0.54

01:16:22.220 When these were withheld by a Christian merchant,

01:16:25.640 she applied to her relative, Brodhelgi, for assistance.

01:16:31.560 The case is not altogether clear.

01:16:34.960 It seems probable, however, that Steinwur had inherited the temple,

01:16:40.860 but that the magisterial rites appertaining thereto,

01:16:45.940 which could not be held by a woman,

01:16:48.280 had passed to Brodhelgi, perhaps as the nearest male relative.

01:16:53.620 A Þuríðr Þófgíðja is mentioned, and Þúrláðgíðja, but in these cases the reason

01:17:07.740 for the title is not stated.

01:17:10.920 There is no ground for supposing that the Gíður laid claim to prophetic powers any

01:17:19.060 more than the Góðar.

01:17:22.120 Outside Iceland there is no historical evidence for the name, though there is no reason why

01:17:27.840 such persons should not have existed, at least in Norway.

01:17:33.100 The völva, or wise woman, is a being of an entirely different class. 0.95

01:17:40.420 The Icelandic völir were women who wandered from place to place, foretelling the future

01:17:48.140 and practicing Seder magic. There were no recognized position in the state,

01:17:55.900 but Vorur, who had acquired a reputation, were often received with great honor and accompanied

01:18:04.780 by a considerable number of attendants. Their character seems to have been much the same in

01:18:11.820 Norway, and other northern lands. Their powers were not doubted, and in the mythological poems

01:18:19.980 Volusbau and Vegtomskvitha we find them consulted even by the gods. Yet they appear to be more or

01:18:32.900 less in opposition to the orthodox religion of the north. The mythological poems represent them

01:18:40.860 as hostile to the gods, and the latter disguise themselves when they consult them. 0.92

01:18:48.380 It seems probable that the Vorur are survivals of a more primitive form of religion. 0.58

01:18:55.920 They are to be compared with the Haliarunos, or sorceresses, who, according to the legend

01:19:03.200 related by Jordains, were expelled by the Gothic king Philemer from his territories.

01:19:12.200 They seem to have been largely of Lappish, or Finnish, nationality.

01:19:19.760 In Vatensdela, we find mention of a Lappish vulva named Haether.

01:19:28.920 This seems to be a generic name.

01:19:31.660 It is applied also to a mythical vulva in Volusbald.

01:19:38.040 In Hinluleod, Hether and Hrostiophel are said to be his sister and brother.

01:19:47.080 The latter is the Hrostiophus Phinicus, who, according to Saxo, was consulted by Odin after

01:19:57.180 Baldr's death.

01:19:59.680 In the Ingling saga, the mythical Volva Hyldur is represented as practicing Seder on behalf

01:20:08.140 of the Finnish queen Drifa.

01:20:11.840 The Volu seem to be related in some way to the Nurnir.

01:20:17.720 The latter are not, it is true, mentioned in any document that can claim to be historical,

01:20:25.180 But it seems no unlikely that some primitive custom may be traced in the legends which

01:20:32.340 relate how Nurns came to a house to shape the destiny of a newly born child.

01:20:40.700 It is probable that in early times but little distinction was drawn between the shaping

01:20:47.740 and the foretelling of destiny.

01:20:51.200 The term Githjur is never applied to the Wohlu, and there is no evidence that they were regarded

01:21:00.360 as priestesses.

01:21:03.520 They have no part in the three distinctive duties of the Germanic priesthood, namely

01:21:09.500 the offering of public sacrifices, the preservation of the law, and the guardianship of the sanctuary.

01:21:18.420 On the other hand, it is possible that there may have been, at certain sanctuaries, a class

01:21:24.800 of priestesses distinct from the Icelandic Gyður, and showing a certain resemblance

01:21:31.600 to the Vúður.

01:21:34.020 According to Inglinga Saga, the goddess Freyja was a blot Gyður, sacrificial priestess,

01:21:42.740 and first taught Sæður to the Æsir.

01:21:46.980 After Freya's death, she kept up the temple and the sacrifices at Uppsala, all the other gods being now dead.

01:21:55.880 But it is doubtful that the story is founded on old tradition, for there is no evidence that Freya was known in Sweden.

01:22:05.640 She was the favorite goddess of Icelandic mythology, and the author may have contrived to bring her into the story

01:22:13.880 by introducing a feature from the political organization of his own country.

01:22:21.500 It is possible, however, that there were women somewhat resembling Volur at the Uppsala Sanctuary.

01:22:31.160 In the portraiture of the mythological sanctuary Asgard,

01:22:36.440 three maidens or Norns are represented as living beneath Yggdrasir's ash.

01:22:43.880 Their duties were to water the tree from the sacred spring, and to shape the destiny of

01:22:51.520 man.

01:22:53.640 Now it can hardly be doubted that the picture of Asgarthr is in great measure drawn from

01:23:00.240 some northern sanctuary, and in all probability this was Uppsala.

01:23:08.440 It is not indeed stated that there were Norns beneath the Evergreen, or in the neighborhood

01:23:14.980 of the Sacred Spring at Uppsala, but it was apparently a northern custom to deliver prophetic

01:23:23.140 utterances beside Sacred Springs.

01:23:28.020 We know also that Uppsala possessed an oracle so famous that it was consulted even by foreign

01:23:35.300 princes.

01:23:37.940 in the story of Gunnar Helminger, whatever may be its foundation in fact. We find mention

01:23:45.920 of a young woman who attended to Frey's sanctuary and consulted his will. The hypothesis therefore

01:23:53.780 has a certain amount of probability. But it is to be observed that the word Gitya is not

01:24:02.420 used in the story of Gunnar Helminger. And if the sanctuary prophetesses at Uppsala form the model

01:24:11.280 of the mythical Norns, it is hardly likely that they can have been regarded as priestesses in

01:24:18.440 the northern sense. They are rather to be compared with the Greek prophetesses at the shrine of

01:24:25.860 Delphi, while the Gothar, or Spekingar, may have corresponded in some degree to the fancy

01:24:36.000 Greek word.

01:24:55.860 Thank you.

Asatru Folk Assembly - January 08, 2024

The Ancient Teutonic Priesthood, a reading

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