Finn Rasmussen July 2017

The Golden Horns

Life and Religion of the original Anglo-Saxons

1. Reconstruction of the two horns based on drawings.

This book is aimed at students and graduates of History and Archaeology. In

particular those interested in the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons. It provides an
original analyse of archaeological finds and documentation of the Anglo-Saxon
religion.
The book does not presuppose historical knowledge, so it can be read by
anybody interested in the English heritage.
The mysterious figures on the famous Gold Horns unveil the view of life among
the heathen Angles.
The two Gold Horns are the most precious find from the Danish antiquity
because the pictures on the horns offer a substantial explanation of the pre-
Christian religion by the Germanic tribes. The Gold Horns were sacrificed and
buried by a group of Angles a short time before they immigrated to England.
The immigration of the different Angle tribes from South Jutland can be traced
to different parts of England.
The Angles brought their view of life with them and this can be observed by
finds from the heathen Anglo-Saxons. The most important of these finds are
described: The Sutton Hoo ship burial, Franks Casket, the square-headed
brooches, idols, amulets, funeral ceramics and drinking vessels.
A most remarkable invention by the Angles was the runes. The meaning of the
runic alphabet is revealed as a description of the Germanic outlook on life.

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Contents
Introduction 4
The Find 6
Use of Drinking Horns 7
Runic Inscription 11

The emigration of the Angles 14

Ellem Syssel 18
Istathe Syssel 23
The Geats 27
The Wulfings 32
Barwith Syssel 36
Origin of the Angles 41

The Angles in England 44

Social stratification 47
The Sutton Hoo ship-burial 53

The Saxons 57
The East Saxons 61
The Saxon Emigration 67
The Jutes 77
The Aesir gods 82

The long horn 88

The Double Snake 91
The Worker 95
The Ruler 96
The welcome Symbol 98
The dead Soul 101
The Origin of the Long Horn 103

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The short Horn 106
Tiw 108
Deer and Dogs 112
Serpent 114
Mother of Life 115
The Twin Gods 119
The two Warriors 122
Stamps 126

The runic Alphabet 129

The human Life Circle 132
The Germanic Calendar 137

The Myth of the Divine Twins 140

Germanic Gods 142
Germanic gods of prosperity 146
Frey and Njord 154

The Origin of Religion 158

What happened to the Divine Twins? 161

Figures 165
Bibliography 168
Index 170

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Introduction
The two Golden Horns from Gallehus are the most precious find from the
Danish antiquity.
They are decorated with a hundreds of mysterious figures and symbols, which
give unique information on Germanic religion, and social life. They also throw
light on the mysterious origin of the runic alphabet. The Golden Horns made
me begin my study of Germanic religion.
Ever since the Gold Horns appeared there have been hundreds of different
explanations of the figures and symbols of the horns. Some have tried to find
connections to Christianity. This theory did not succeed, because the horns
were buried about 420 AD and at that time Christianity was not known to the
Germanic tribes. Another attempt to see a connection to the Old Norse
mythology also had a negative result, as the gods Thor and Odin from Norse
mythology was not worshipped in Jutland until the Viking Age, 750 -1050 AD
Historians of religion stated fifty years ago that the Gold Horns have pictures
of the Divine Twins (Ward 1968), which means that some Germanic tribes
worshipped these gods. However no examination was made of the many
symbols of the horns. Moreover no thorough study has been made of the many
picture symbols on finds from the Germanic's.
The exceptional runic inscription on the short horn and other circumstances
with the find of the horns makes it probable that the horns were sacrificed and
buried when a group of Angles emigrated from south Jutland into England. This
idea lead me to the study of the mass migration of Angles from South Jutland
to England. The Old English Beowulf Poem has an excellent description of the
situation in South Jutland around AD 500. With the help of this and other
sources it is possible to identify different ethnic groups in south Jutland and
follow their migration.
The first half of of this book is a description of the culture and social life of the
Germanic's before they left the Continent and after they invaded England. We
now call the Germanic settlers in England Anglo-Saxons. Angles or Saxons are
not names of ethnic groups. At the time of the migration British monks called
the Germanic invaders Angles or Saxons. The first half of this book provides an
original analysis of archaeological finds and documentation of the Anglo-Saxon
invasion.
This is followed by a description of the religious ideas of the Germanic tribes.
We will see that these ideas were very much the same for all Germanic's
including the Anglo-Saxons. The religious ideas were based on three important
gods, which we will describe. The analysis is documented throughout by picture
symbols on archaeological finds.
What makes the interpretation of the horns difficult is the fact that there are no
written testimonies from the Germanic tribes themselves. The method to study
prehistoric symbols is to observe the context of the symbol and to compare the
symbol with similar symbols from other finds. I have used this method for the
hundreds of symbols on the Gold Horns and published the result (Rasmussen
1990). This book will be based on these results, but I will not go into detail with
all the symbols. Instead I will concentrate on explaining the general ideas and
the tale of the horns.
In Denmark the period 1-400 is known as Roman Iron Age and the period 400-

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750 Germanic Iron Age. I will use the term Germanic Age for the entire period
and the term Germanic's for all the tribes in Europe who spoke a Germanic
language. The modern name Germans would be misleading. In the Germanic
tribal society the social security was based on lineage. The chieftain or the king
did not have a strong power. In the last part of the Germanic Age the central
power of the king increased. This change in the social system was
accompanied by two new religions: Christianity in England and the Old Norse
mythology in the Nordic countries.

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The Find
Scarcely any other Danish prehistoric find has so exited the minds of both
scientists and ordinary people as the Gold Horns. The horns were found in a
field in the village Gallehus in South Jutland. The story of their find has almost
become folklore. One day in the summer of 1639, a poor orphan lace maker
was going to the town in order to sell her lace when she tumbled over the
longer horn as it protruded from the path. She stooped to examine what she
had taken first for a tree root. The horn reached the lawful owner of all treasure
trove, the king that is Christian IV. The girl was rewarded with a new skirt. The
king caused the narrow end of the horn to be plugged with a screw plug and
passed it on to his eldest son as a drinking horn. In 1641 a drawing of the horn
was made by Ole Worm, physician-in-ordinary of Christian IV. Ole Worm was
professor of anatomy and a very skilled drawer, particularly of antiquities. He is
considered to be the father of Archeology in Denmark. Ole Worm’s drawing is
the only documentation we have left of the decoration on the long horn.
A hundred years later a small farmer from Gallehus found the shorter horn,
only a few paces from where the first one had been found, but a couple of spits
deep, when he was digging clay for daubing his cottage. This horn was shorter
because only the broad part was preserved, but it was broader and had almost
the same weight as the longer horn 3 kg. Three independent drawings of the
shorter horn are in existence.
The Gold Horns suffered a sad fate. In 1802 they were stolen from the Royal
Cabinet by an impoverished goldsmith and forger, who at once smashed them
and melted them down. They are known now only from drawings and
measurements. Never the less the Gold Horns belong to the Danish national
heritage. Almost every Dane has heard about them. They represent treasures
that can be found in the Danish soil and are messages from a fantastic,
mysterious or glorious past. Adam Oehlenschläger who wrote the Danish
national anthem, also wrote a poem: "The Gold Horns" just after the horns were
stolen. He describes the horns as gifts from the Gods of Nature to those people,
who perceive the High
in the Natures Eye .
Later in the poem are the lines:
Then sounds in mould
the ancient gold .
But people only see the curiosity and gold value of the horns. The Gods of
Nature give up to enlighten those people, and the poem ends:
The truthful moment now has come,
the sacred gift forever gone.
However we still have rather accurate drawings of the unique find and they
give us a possibility to understand the message of the horns. The many
symbols of the horns explain in detail how the ancient Germanic people
comprehended the human life.

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Use of drinking Horns
There is no doubt that drinking horns were used for rituals by the Germanic
tribes. Almost all leaders had two drinking horns in their grave. This is testified
by the find of mountings and chains made of silver or bronze, occasionally
gilded. Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. wrote that the Germanic's hunted
an ox, which they called aurochs: ”Their horns differ very much from those of
our oxen in size and shape, and kind. The Germani collect them eagerly,
encase their edges in silver, and use them as beakers at their most magnificent
banquets”. The Roman author Plinius from first century A.D. records that the
Germanic's drink from the aurochs horns and that they always fill two horns.
The deities adored by drinking of the two horns were “the Divine Twins”. They
were in many cases depicted as two young men, but sometimes they appeared
as two snakes, two dogs, two birds or two monsters. The Divine Twins can be
seen at the decoration of almost all silver mountings of Germanic drinking
horns.

2. The uppermost ring of the short horn; Drawing by Paulli.

The Divine Twins appear several times on the Gold Horns. Figure 2 shows the
decoration at the uppermost ring of the short horn. Here we see the Divine
Twins represented by two horned gods placed at the convex side of the horn,
and by two warriors at the concave side.
The Sutton Hoo ship burial is the richest archaeological discovery from the
Germanic Times. It is the heathen funeral monument for Redwald, King of the
East Angles 615-628. Among the many precious grave gifts was his two
drinking horns of unusually large proportions. The silver mounting round the
rim had several pairs of human masks, illustrating the Divine Twins. The
terminals of the horns had silver mountings with birds head finials, meaning

7 
that each horn contains the force of one of the Divine Twins. Similar horns were
found in a rich burial in Taplow, Berkshire (figure 3).

3. Silvermounting for one of the two drinking horns from Taplow in Berkshire.

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4. Replica of the helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship-grave.

Most of the treasures in the Sutton Hoo ship-grave have pictures of the Divine
Twins. Figure 4 shows a replica of the magnificent helmet from the grave. Some
of the bronze plates on the helmet have the motive seen on the copy beside
the helmet. Her we see the Divine Twins performing a war-dance.
The worship of the Divine Twins was common for all Germanic tribes, and for
many other people like the Indians, the Baltic's, the Greeks, the Romans and
many more. It is a very old and worldwide religion. The Divine Twins were
believed to steer or direct the life of the individual. They could be present many
places in the outer world and inside man. When the Divine Twins were called
at the ritual, they would be present inside the participants in the drinking ritual,
and when they drank from the horns the Divine Twins would enjoy as well. In
this way the participants would feel the divine power of the Divine Twins inside
themselves.
Drinking horns were particularly used at the midwinter festival. The Divine
Twins were involved in the continuation of life and the new cycle of life that
began at midwinter. Medieval calendar sticks have the horn mark as symbol for
midwinter and New Year. In the medieval guilds all participants drank from the
same horn in order of precedence. A similar procedure probably took place at
the Germanic drinking rituals.

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5. Wall painting from Pompeii

Figure 5 shows a wall painting from Pompeii, destroyed by volcanic eruption by

78 A.D. Here we see how a Roman family worshipped the Divine Twins, and
their mother. The Roman names for the deities were Castor, Pollux and Leda.
Later we will study the picture of the divine twins on the short horn and try to
find their Germanic names.

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Runic Inscription
When we look at the finding place of the horns there is no grave, so the horns
were not a grave gift. The burial of the two horns at some distance and near
the surface makes a treasure dump unlikely. Consequently we can presume
that the burial of the horns was a sacrifice. The name of the village, Gallehus
means “house at the gallows”. That means that Gallehus from old time was a
place where the gods could be contacted. It was a good place for sacrifice.
Since two drinking horns were used for worship of the Divine Twins, I assume
that the sacrifice of the Gold Horns was dedicated to them.
The Divine Twins were able to guide and direct people, in particular on a
voyage. As far as we know, all migrating Germanic tribes worshipped the
Divine Twins. The purpose of worship is not a material output from the gods.
The real value of religion is that the believers get trust in their future life, hope,
security, courage and energy. These effects are reinforced when the rituals are
made in social groups. It is probably that the sacrifice of the horns was made
on behalf of a whole tribe.

6. The Germanic runic alphabet in the outer circle and the sound of the runes in
the inner circle.
The short horn has a runic inscription by the rim (figure 2). Maybe the
inscription can explain the burying of the horns. The runes belong to the
Germanic runic alphabet which contains 24 runes (figure 6).

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The runic inscription says;
"EKHLEWAGASTICh HOLTIJACh HORNA TAWIDO",
This can be translated into:” I, guest of the living, from Holt, the horn I have
done."
Lev is the ending of many Danish village names. The corresponding ending in
England is ley and in Germany leben. In German leute means “living people”.
The person named Levgast who sacrificed the Gold Horns must have been rich
and powerful. I believe that the famous Levgast is mentioned another place.
Almost the same name can be found in the Nibelungenlied, a heroic epic poem
written in Middle High German. The Nibelungens were the Burgundian royal
house. Together with a Sarmatian tribe and some East Germanic tribes the
Burgundies invaded the Roman Empire 407 and established a kingdom around
Worms. The Roman army in North France and Belgium was composed of Saxon
and Scandinavian mercenaries. They attacked the Burgundies after a few years
Ca 415. According to Nibelungenlied a participant in this attack, Liudegast was
king of Denmark. The Burgundies killed twenty-nine Danish knights but
Liudegast was rich in gold and he was captured and brought to Worms as
hostage. The Burgundies allowed one survivor to return to the Danish camp
with the news of their king's capture. After a few years Liudegast agreed to be
vassal of the Burgundies and was released. In 436 the Burgundian king tried a
military campaign in Belgium but here the Burgundies were totally destroyed
by Romans, Saxons and Huns.
We may assume that Levgast returned to South Jutland ca. 420 and organized
the emigration to England. Levgast was a professional warrior who served in
the Roman army. It was normal practice for the young Germanic tribe leaders
to serve in an army of a foreign king. In the military service abroad they
achieved education, wealth and fame. Tacitus writes about the Germanics:
If their native state sinks into the sloth of prolonged peace and repose, many of
its noble youths voluntarily seek those tribes which are waging some war, both
because inaction is odious to their race, and because they win renown more
readily in the midst of peril, and cannot maintain a numerous following except
by violence and war.
This description by Tacitus 100 AD could be relevant for the tribes in South
Jutland around 400. From his contact with other Saxon warriors Levgast
probably had good information on the situation in Britain Ca. 420 and knew in
which area to settle.
Levgast says that he comes from Holt, which must be a familiar place for
people and gods who live in the area around Gallehus. The nearest place with
the name of Holt is a village 25 km from Gallehus (figure 7). Most experts think
that the expression "I have done" refers to the manufacture of the horn. But
since Germanic manufacturers normally don't mention their name, it is more
likely that the expression refers to the burying of the horn. The whole
inscription is directed to the gods. Maybe Levgast was the owner of the horn.
The inscription refers to the sacrifice of the horn and what Levgast has done in
Gallehus is the sacrifice. The word TAWIDO was written with very thin runes,
possibly in connection with the burying of the horn.
The valuable horn could hardly be sacrificed privately for the chieftain. When
the chieftain made this sacrifice he would show his confidence to the tribal
gods and the tribe would have confidence to him as the leader of the

12 
emigration. So we will assume that the sacrifice was on behalf of a whole tribe.
Only an important event for the tribe could require this precious gift for the
gods and the occasion could be that a considerable part of the tribe emigrated.
April 16. A.D. 413 there was a total solar eclipse in South Jutland. This very
rare and dramatic event could give occasion for the emigration and for the
sacrifice of the horns.

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The migration of the Angles
The immigration is described by the Venerable Bede:
“From the Angles, that is, the country which is called Anglia, and which is said,
from that time, to remain desert to this day, between the provinces of the Jutes
and the Saxons, are descended the East Angles, the Midland Angles, Mercians,
all the race of the Northumbrians, that is, of those nations that dwell on the
north side of the river Humber, and the other nations of the English."
It is documented by archaeological finds that people from Jutland and North
Germany migrated into England after 400. In fact there is a remarkable
decrease in population in South Jutland in the middle of the 400s. The migrants
were not tribes but small ethnic groups of less than 100 persons. The migration
was was carried on for about 150 years. Bede places an old homeland of the
Angles between the Jutes and the Saxons. But there were several tribes and
ethnic groups in South Jutland and we do not know if one of them was called
Anglian. When these people immigrated into England they were all called
Angles. Bede called the Germanic population in England “gens angelorum” and
that included the Jutes and the Saxons. That is because all the Germanic
invaders had the same cultural background, where they worshipped the same
god Ing, one of the Divine Twins. The name Angles means “Ing's descendants”
or “Ing's supporters”. Ing was speculated already by Noah Webster (1823) to
have given England its name. According to Bede the Angles settled in all
England north of the Thames. the Saxons settled south of the Thames and the
Jutes settled in Kent and on the Isle of Wight.
It is possible that we can trace the emigrants from South Jutland with the help
of old place names. The oldest division of Jutland was in Syssel's that was
possibly named after ancient tribes. Figure 7 shows the three most southern
Syssel’s in Jutland. In the Middle Ages (1375) these Syssel’s were named the
Duchy of Slesvig. Today Barvith Syssel and most of Ellem Syssel is part of
Denmark and Istathe Syssel is part of Germany.
In the next chapters I will describe the emigration from the three Syssel’s
beginning with Ellem Syssel from where the first organized emigration came.
Here I will start by examining the reason for the migrations.
In the period of the great migrations 375-575 the world temperature was 0.4 C
lower than in the preceding and following periods. This may have caused a
reduced production and thus forced the conquest of new areas for exploitation.
The result could have been the start of the Germanic migrations. The North Sea
had a nasty little jump in level between 350 and 550, flooding the coasts of
northern Europe with an extra 2 feet of water At the start of this rise, the areas
along the North Sea cost were well-settled. Then the sea level rose, and
sending the inhabitants, Angles, Frisians and Saxons fleeing into ill-prepared
Roman territories. The Germanics were not very bound to their settlements.
The younger generation had no ownership to the house or the livestock. The
houses were constructed of wood and new ones were raised in new places
every generation. They had no fortifications and no king to protect their home.
Their protection was to be found within the tribe.
South Jutland was inhabited by at least three militant tribes who settled there
as early as in Roman times. The Romans exploited the Germanics in order to
get slaves and mercenaries and the Germanic tribes also fought each other. In

14 
these harsh conditions South Jutland seemed an attractive place, protected by
sea and forests. But tribes here were also fighting each other, which can be
seen from barricades, sacrifices of war booty and legends. At the south border
of Barwith Syssel the remains of a palisade called “Æ vold” dated to 279 have
been found (figure 7). A ditch was placed south of the palisade which means
that the defense was against enemies coming from the south. At the north
border of Istathe Syssel lays the Olgerdike (figure 7) guarding against enemies
coming from north. In this dike three rows of palisades were found and dated to
123, 140 and 201 AD.

7. South Jutland with three Syssel’s that was the old homeland of the Angles.

15 
After 400 the situation for the tribes in South Jutland became more difficult
owing to the military pressure from Danish kings coming from the Danish
islands. The Germanics would not be controlled by foreigners and refused to go
to war for foreigners. Furthermore there were internal wars of succession. There
are many reports of unsuccessful successors who had to flee for their life.
Fightings about kingship were normal whenever a king died. But even for small
landowners the order of succession could be a reason for immigration because
it was tradition in a Germanic family that there was only one heir. All the
reasons for Germanic migration can be summarized to one: They were a people
with a strong urge for freedom. This freedom could be achieved in Britain,
where there were no rulers after the Romans had disappeared.
The Danes were not a tribe, but an alliance of chieftain families. Any small king
or chieftain could be called a Dane if he accepted to be part of the alliance and
loyal to the leading Danish king. The Danish kings visited each other and had
religious rituals like the drinking horn ritual together. The Danish kings did not
necessarily have family relations with each other. This social system was
different from the tribe society, where the king had ethnic relations with his
people. The word “king” means “kin, relationship”. The Danish groups had to
help the leading Danish king in war and they were not free. But this alliance
gave the Danes some guaranty of not being attacked by other Danes and
strength to defeat the non Danish tribes.
The word “Dane” comes from the Indo-European stem “dan” meaning
“floating”. For instance the Greek people in Homer´s poem Ilea-de were called
Danaen. The great rivers in Eastern Europe have names like Danube and Don.
The first time we hear about Danes in Scandinavia is about 275 when the
Greek Aikthikos travelled in the Baltic Sea. He met the Danes and he says, that
the Danes are the best shipbuilders and the best seafarers (Wüttke 1853).
In order to understand the situation in South Scandinavia about 500 we will use
the Beowulf Poem, the most important work of old Anglo-Saxon literature. Sam
Newton has indicated how the poem originated (Newton 1993). The Small
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 500s already had a warrior elite. In the royal
mead hall they listen to poems about heroes from the past, sometimes with
accompaniment by a lyre. The poems described the ideals for the warrior class:
strength, agility, cruelty, loyalty, adornment, weapons and descent. Especially
the deeds of the kings ancestors and the royal pedigree was kept alive for
generations. This oral literature established an ideal self image for the
aristocracy and excluded people who did not live up to these standards. The
heroic past was so essential for the identity of the rulers that the poems
survived in Christian time. Only Christian monks could write, but the bishops
and monks belonged to the establishment of ruling families. The first written
versions of the Beowulf Poem were probably composed in a monastery in East
Anglia in first half of the 700s. The copy we know of is probably made in the
1000s
The Beowulf Poem gives an excellent description in 3182 lines of the situation
about 500 in South Scandinavia where the Danes were dominating. The first
11 lines is a description of the Danish king Scyld, who must have lived about
450 (Translation by Slade 2002).

Listen! We --of the Spear-Danes in the days of yore,

of those clan-kings-- heard of their glory.

16 
how those nobles performed courageous deeds.
Often Scyld, Scef's son, from enemy hosts
from many peoples seized mead-benches;
and terrorised the fearsome Heruli after first he was
found helpless and destitute, he then knew recompense for that:-
he waxed under the clouds, throve in honours,
until to him each of the bordering tribes
beyond the whale-road had to submit
and yield tribute:- that was a good king!

The kings name Scyld means “guilt, debt” and probably refers to the tributes
he received. His descendants were called Scyldings. The Beowulf poem
mentions several other Danish chief clans but the Scyldings were the most
powerful of them. It is not clear from the poem where the Scyldings had their
home, but it is very likely on Funen near Gudme (“Gods home”). The
archaeological finds of the great settlement in Gudme are exceptional. In the
400s the area of South-east Funen was one of the richest societies in North
Europe. There were more than fifty simultaneous houses and several
cemeteries. The wealth in gold must have come from tributes and partition in
wars.
In line 6 we hear that the “Heruli” was terrorised by the Danes. In the original
old English text the word is “Eorle”. The word “Eorl” is the same as the word
“Eril” found in runic inscriptions from about 500. Eiril is a title of the chief of the
tribe and means spokesman (from “oral”). The Romans called some tribes of
Scandinavian origin “Heruli” because they were lead by an Eril. Later in the
history the word Eril became Jarl in Scandinavia and Earl in England. Some of
the “Heruli” we hear about in line 6 are probably groups from South Jutland
who preferred to emigrate to England.

17 
Ellem Syssel
The old English poem Widsith tells about tribes in the 400s. For example
"Offa ruled Anglen, Alewih the Danes, who was the most spirited of all those
people; he did not, however, accomplish heroic achievements beyond those of
Offa, for of these men Offa, being in his youth, first conquered the greatest of
kingdoms. No one contemporary with him made a greater heroic achievement
in battle. With his lone sword he defined a frontier against the Myrgingas at
Fifeldor”.
Fifeldor is the mouths of River Eider at the south border of Istathe Syssel. The
Danes must be neighbors to the North of the Angles. The name of their ruler,
Alewih probably comes from al = “grow, crop” and awi = “island”. An island in
Ellem Syssel a little North of Old Anglen has the name Als and this name has
the same meaning “grower island”.
From the old Norse legends we hear that king Eylime (probably from Ellem
Syssel) had a daugther and she had a son Sigurd, known as “Siegfried the
Dragonslayer” in the Nibelungenlied. Sigurds father was killed and his mother
then married the Danish king Alv. In this way the Danes got influence in Ellem
Syssel. Alf lived about 400 and Alewih about 450 when Offa was “in his youth”,
but they could belong to the same royal house because their names began with
an “A”. It seems that the Danish group of chieftains from East Denmark had
installed a ruler in part of Ellem Syssel namely the island Als.
Sigurd was fighting for the Burgundies in the war against the Saxons about 415
and married the daughter of the Burgundian king. Levgast was fighting for the
Saxons and became prisonner of the Burgundians. Therefore Levgast and
Sigurd were old enemies. Sigurd was allied with the Danes and Sigurd’s family
had a claim on the throne of Ellem Syssel. This could be the reason for the
emigration of Levgast from Ellem Syssel. The Ellem tribe was the first in South
Jutland to be threatened by the Danes and they were the first ones to emigrate.
Gallehus, where the Gold Horns were buried, lies in Ellem Syssel, where we also
have the village Ellum (figure 7). Ellum means “elle home”, but the meaning of
“elle” is questionable. I believe the meaning was “mighty” or “vigorous”, which
would be an appropriate name for the tribe. The word elephant means “mighty
phantom”. Elves are powerful spirits. The Scandinavian word “elv” is a vigorous
river. Elle was a common personal name in the heathen period. According to
the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, some chieftain Elle came to the land of Britain with
3 ships in 477 and landed near Southhampton. He ruled in Sussex 477-515.
Nearby Southhampton we find Eling former Elinges (“ followers of Elle”). Aelle
was also the name of the king of the Anglian kingdom Deira 560-589.
Place names similar to place names in Ellem Syssel can only be found in one
area in England. That is an area north of Norwich in Norfolk. Here we have
Aylsham, Eylmerton, North Elmham and South Elmham all called after Ellem. In
North Elmham was found Spong Hill, the greatest cemetery in England from
Anglo Saxon time. There was a cemetery with 2259 cremation burials from the
period 450 – 600. They were covered with small barrows.
Another place name peculiar to the same area north of Norwich is Reepham
probably named after Ribe in Ellem Syssel. Horstead in the same area is
probably named after Horstedt in Istathe Syssel. Ludham northeast of Norwich

18 
could be named after Lydersholm and Løgumgårde in Ellem Syssel. Most
remarkable is the village Holt in the area north of Norwich. The name Holt can
only be found at one place in Jutland namely in Ellem Syssel. The very name
Holt was mentioned in the runic inscription of the short horn.
The emigration from Ellem Syssel was one of the first organized emigrations of
Angles to Britain that we know of. The journey was organized by family groups.
Germanic people would not feel safe abroad without their kinsmen. The
similarity of place names also shows that the settlement was organized by
groups who came from the same locality.
Norfolk had a special history before the Germanic invasion. Norfolk was the
homeland for the British Iceni tribe and did not became a colony like most of
the Roman province Britain. Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni tribe who had ruled
as a nominally independent ally of Rome, left his kingdom jointly to his
daughters and the Roman Emperor in his will. However, when he died, his will
was ignored — the kingdom was annexed as if conquered, Prasutagus´ widow
queen Boudica was flogged and her daughters were raped as a statement that
they were enslaved. In AD 60, while the Roman governor, Suetonius, was
leading a campaign in northern Wales, Boudica led the Iceni people, along with
the Trinovantes and others, in revolt. They destroyed Camulodunum (modern
Colchester), formerly the capital of the Trinovantes. Londinium (London) was
burnt to the ground, as was Verulamium (St Albans). An estimated 70,000–
80,000 people were killed in the three cities. Suetonius, meanwhile, regrouped
his forces and, despite being heavily outnumbered, defeated the Britons in the
Battle of Watling Street. The crisis caused the emperor Nero to consider
withdrawing all Roman forces from Britain, but Suetonius' eventual victory over
Boudica re-secured Roman control of the province. Boudica then killed herself
so she would not be captured. The Iceni were killed or they escaped to
wetlands. The following many years Norfolk had a smal population. Tacitus
described the defeat of the the Iceni and then wrote: Rome creates a desert
and call it peace.
Archaeological finds of cremation burials show that some Germanics lived in
Roman Britain already in the 300s. Some could be discharged Roman soldiers
that came from Germanic populations inside the Roman Empire. Some
scholars (Myres 1986) believe that these settlers were laeti. Laeti was a term
used in the late Roman Empire to denote communities of people from outside
the Empire permitted to, and granted land to settle on imperial territory on
condition that they provide recruits for the Roman military. Laeti was used in
the 200s and 300s and almost all of them were Germanics. In Britain they
settled near the Roman fortresses.
In 407 the Roman military in Britain chose as their leader Constantine III,named
after the famed emperor of the early 300s Constantine the Great, a man who
had himself risen to power through a military coup in Britain. In order to take
the power as Roman emperor Constantine III left Britain with the Roman troops.
Then the Britain’s revolted against the Roman administrators. The Britain's
took arms and defended the towns against the Barbarians. The power was
taken over by small kings. This process did not succeed north of the Thames,
probably because the British population there was minor and there was more
Germanic laeti. East Anglia and the Middle lands was open for settlers.

19 
8. Finds from the first half of the 400s. (Böhme 1986)
According to (Böhme 1986) Germanic troops stationed in Britain in the late
300s were transferred from garrisons on the Danube frontier and in Gaul.
Military equipment from these forces are found up to the mid 400s. The finds
are marked on figure 8. There are finds of soldiers outfit in all England but very
few in East Anglia. The British handicraft is metal objects with ornaments in
Romano-British stile. From figure 8 we see that the British objects are found in
the same areas as the soldiers outfit and they probably belong to the soldiers
and their families. On figure 8 we also see the finds from the first half of the
400s of Germanic brooches. These cruciform brooches have a source area in
Slesvig-Holstein and can be considered Anglian. The brooches are used by
Women and signify the first non-military Anglian settlements. They are found
on figure 8 in East Anglia and in in the upper Thames Valley (Oxfordshire). The
settlements are accompanied by cemeteries with cremation burials. New
cemeteries From the mid 400s indicate arrivals of new contingents from the
North See coastal areas to settle in the Midlands and outside the original
settlement area of East Anglia.
In Norfolk flows the river Wensum. This river is one of the few rivers in Britain
with a Germanic name. Wen or Wend means “winding” and the river is really a
meander. The suffix –sum is common in Friesland and South Jutland and means
“a place”. The Wensum River flows through Norwich and later becomes a
tributary to the smaller River Yare. These rivers are and were navigable from
Yarmouth up to Norwich. Norwich possibly has its name from the god Njord/Nor
and means “Njords harbor”. The emigrants from Ellem probably arrived this
way.
I guess that this emigration involved three boats at the most. The boats used
for the Germanic emigrations to England were rowing boats of the Nydam boat
type. The boat from 350 found in Nydam Moor in South Jutland was made of
oak and 23m long. Nydam Moor was the sacred place for the Ellem tribe to

20 
deposit their war loots (figure 7).

9. Two wooden heads from the front end of the Nydam boat 350.
At the front end of the Nydam boat was found two male heads (figure 9). The
heads were designed to be removed from the boat and should be seen as idols.
It seems that the people who came with the boat from the Baltic Sea had the
Divine Twins to guide them on their expedition.
The Nydam boat had room for 24 oarsmen and a number of passengers. The
daytrip would be at most 30 km and the travelers had to go ashore in the night.
The distance along the Frisian coast to Calais and from there to Britain is 1000
km and would take 33 days in case of good weather. In fact many of the
Germanic emigrants settled in Friesland some time even for years. This is
verified from settlements from the 400s found in the coastal areas of the North
Sea.
The settlement of Hjemsted (figure 7) in Ellem Syssel from about 450 has been
excavated and a reconstruction can be seen at figure 10. This area was rich
and flourishing in the period 300-500. Many remains of iron production were
found here. It is remarkable that the place name Hempstead is found only four
places in Britain two of them in Norfolk near the other place names that seem
to have their origin in Ellem Syssel. If the inhabitants in Hjemsted immigrated
to England 450 they may have settled in Norfolk.

10. Reconstruction of the village of Hjemsted about 450.

The archaeological finds from Germanic settlements in Jutland and the Anglo-

21 
Germanic settlements in England indicate that the communities were made up
of a few farmsteads like in Hjemsted or even smaller. Overall the archaeological
and skeletal evidence seems to point to that the households formed the basic
residential and economic units. The household comprised 5-9 individuals most
likely the family of the master of the household including 3-4 children. We may
add the one or the other unmarried brother or sister and surviving parent. The
inhabitants in the community were ethnic and cultural related. Men who could
carry arms came from the communities in a tribal area and met at a thing. A
powerful or clever household master was eril/earl (“spokesman”) of the thing.

22 
Istathe Syssel
In Istathe Syssel we find the village Isted (figure 7) that once had a local court.
The names Istathe and Isted are related to the Goddess of forth-bringing called
Easter, Eostur or Ostara. She was an aspect of the Mother of Life which we will
discuss in a later chapter. She was most popular amongst the tribes in South
Jutland and with the Angles in Britain. Istathe Syssel had a rather dense
population. The tribe in the eastern part was dominant economically and
militarily in some periods. I will call this part Old Anglen. The part of Istathe
Syssel north of the Schlei is still called Anglen (figure 7). These Old Angles had
a sacred place, Torsbjerg Moor where they sacrificed their war loots. A village
nearby is Süderbrarup and this name is related to the common word “bravo”
and the Danish word “brage” meaning talking loudly and making noise. Thus in
Brarup the Angles had loud religious rituals. In the 5 th century, when many
Angles emigrated, the sacrifices in Torsbjerg Moor took an end.
Istathe Syssel had a dense population before the migration, which can be seen
from the many archaeological finds and from many pollen from useful plants
preserved in the moors. Both were remarkably reduced at the end of the
migration age. More or less the same is seen in the rest of South Jutland and in
Holstein. From the excavated burial places we can learn something about the
migration. The activities in the cemetaries come to an end about 500 in
Slesvig, Holstein, West Mecklemburg and the Elbe -Weser Area caused by a
substantially emigration (Böhme 1986).
The cemetery in Süderbrarup existed from about 150 when the Angle tribe
arrived and stopped about 575 when the migration age took an end. 1234
burials were found; almost all cremations in urns. Spong Hill in Norfolk is a
similar cemetery. There are precise parallels in pottery forms and decoration
between Süderbrarup and Spong Hill. A substantial part of the population in
Istathe Syssel must have immigrated to England.
However there are cemeteries (Issendorf and Westerwanna) in the coastal area
between River Elben and River Weser that have the same parallels to
Süderbrarup and Spong Hill. Issendorf was used 380-550 and has 5500 urn
graves. This cemetery does not seem to be introduced by the previous local
population. It must have been used by immigrants. Similar preliminary
settlements from the 400s have been found along the North Sea coast in the
Frisian area. The Frisian terp Ezinge was abandoned in the 300s. In the 400s
new houses were build and sunken huts. Anglian pottery and cruciform
brooches were introduced. This means that many emigrants from South Jutland
had a long stay, probably years, by the North Sea coast before the crossing to
England.
The history of the people by North Sea cost is poorly understood. The people
who wanted to have contact with the Romans and later the Francs had to travel
along the coast and from there into the rivers Elbe and Rhine. Trade had the
same route with slaves, weapons, hides, wool, cattle, fish, jewellery or money.
There must have been a lot of shipping along the coast. According to the
Romans transportation by land was 60 times more expensive than
transportation by sea. The people who lived by the sea had to adjust to the
natural forces. They had to be independent, inventive and brave. There are
stories from the 300s that warrior groups from these areas called Saxons

23 
plundered at the French coast and the British coast. The people by the North
Sea cost had boats and knew where the safe sailing routes were. They were
ready to migrate or to help other emigrants for a payment. About 400 wars
between the tribes in South Jutland began. The ethnic groups in the western
part, the marshland, probably preferred to emigrate rather than to take part in
these wars. They may have been the first Angles to emigrate, even if we do not
hear about them.
In Anglen there were three large cemeteries, Süderbrarup, Sörup and Husby.
Süderbrarup is exceptional because its use increased whereas the use of the
other two was already declining from 320. It seems to me that most of the
population of Istathe Syssel had emmigrated about 500 except from the centre
of power near Süderbrarup.
The first dated mention of Angles in Britain is in 443 AD, when The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle states that:”the Britons sent men to the chieftains of the Angles and
asked for help against the Picts.” We can assume that Offa ruled the Angles in
Istathe Syssel about 450, at the time when the emigration of the Angles was
going on. Many Angles settled in Mercia and the Royal house of Mercia has the
following sequence of kings
Wearmud – Offa – Angeltheow – Eomer – Icel – Cnebba – Cynevald – Creoda.
Creoda was the 6th king after Offa and is told to have ruled Mercia from 582.
Thus Offa could have been king about 450 if we take 20 years for each
generation. The three first names on the list, Wearmud – Offa – Angeltheow,
must have been kings in Istathe Syssel, the old homeland of the Angles.
The name Wearmud is composed of ver = “man” and mundr = “protection”.
This name may refer to one of the Divine Twins with the name Hermund
meaning “high protector”. The name Offa is probably related to “offense”
derived from of = “against” and fend = “strike”. Angeltheow means “minister
of Anglen”. Theow means “servant” or “minister” (the latin word minister
means “servant”).
We do not know if Icel belonged to the lineage. The name Icel is probably
derived from the British tribe the Iceni, who lived in East Anglia before they
were massacred by the Romans. In the 500s there still was an ethnic group the
Iclingas in the Midlands.
The story in the Beowulf Poem takes place about 515 when the young warrior
Beowulf visits the Danish king Hrothgar, grandson of the aforementioned
Danish king Scyld. Later Beowulf also visits the hall in Old Anglen that once
belonged to Offa. Here Beowulf praises the heroic deceased king Offa and tells
(in line 1960) that Eomer was born in Offas house. Beowulf also tells that
Eomer was a descendant of Offa´s father Garmund (Wearmud in the pedigree
of Mercia), but a homage to Offa. This indicates that Offa was Eomer´s
grandfather. Eomer´s mother was Offa´s daughter, so the line in the Royal
house of Mercia was intact. In the royal house of Mercia Eomer was successor
and possibly son of Angeltheow. Angeltheow was married to Offa´s daughter.
The old English Widsith-poem is probably the oldest poem in Germanic
language and I believe it gives a very reliable catalogue of Germanic heroes,
tribes, and places about 500. According to the Widsith-poem Ongentheow was
king of Sveer. In the Beowulf Poem Ongentheow is mentioned several times.
Ongentheow is obviously the same person as Angeltheow. The difference in the
names could be due to different languages. In Snorre´s history the Swedish

24 
King Egil has the same two sons as Ongentheow has in Beowulf namely Othere
and Onela. So we will assume that Ongentheow and Egil was the same
person. The ashes of Egil/Ongentheow have been found in a grave mound in
Uppsala dated 510-15. It is remarkable that the name Eomer begins with a
vowel like the other members of the Swedish royal family. The reason for that
this is that the Swedish kings descended from the god Ing and were called
Ynglinger. Angeltheow and Offa´s daughter had two other sons together,
Othere and Onela, and their names start with a vowel (Figure 11).

11. Descendants of Wearmud and Ongentheow

The solution to the problem of the origin of King Ongentheow could be that he
was born in Sweden but came to King Offa in Old Anglen as a mercenary. The
normal way for a young prince would be to join the hird of a powerful king.
Hopefully the stay would give the prince education as a warrior, fame and
wealth. Beowulf did the same when he visited the Danish King Hrothgar.
Ongentheow probably married king Offa´s daughter. Offa died possibly about
480. His grandson Eomer emigrated to England and became the first king of
Mercia. Offas daughter became the ruling Queen of Old Anglen about 480-500,
and her husband became the military ruler with the name Ongentheow
(“minister of Anglen”). In time Ongentheow also inherited the Swedish kingdom
and here he was the ruling king. Most of the time he resided in Sweden
whereas Offa´s daughter resided in Old Anglen.

25 
12. Anglo-Saxon burial places. (Leeds 1970).

The map figure 12 shows that the Germanic immigrants settled near the
rivers. They sailed up the rivers by rowing boats until they found fertile soil.
They avoided large forests and the wet areas near the wash. It is striking that
they avoided Roman remains: roads, towns or farms. The Britons preferred to
live in stone houses in towns but the Germanics made houses of wood. Only in
Kent is found a number of Germanic cemetaries near Roman settlements. This
may be attributed to the peculiar origin of the Kentish settlers.
The immigration of Germanics into England took speed about 450. At this time
the Roman military presence finally took an end, probably because there was
no transfers of new troops from the continent. The archaeological finds of
soldier-outfits (figure 8) finish about 450. Following this decline the British
commanders asked for help from Angles. There was a substantial immigration
of Angles from Istathe Syssel and from other areas by the North Sea Cost. They
settled in East Anglia, in the Midlands and by the Thames river-bed.
The first immigrants in Mercia settled along the River Trent. They arrived by sea
up the River Humber and from there up the River Trent. The marshy land on its
lower reaches was uninhabitable and as in the Fensthe Angles penetrated right
into the interior of the country before they found a resting place. Eomer may
have followed the same route. The name Trent have been explained to be a
Roman name or a Celtic name, but I think it was used by the Angles because it
is similar to Trene, the biggest river in Isthate Syssel. When a spring tide
meets the downstream of Trent there is considerable tidal bore still called
“Trent Aegir”. Aegir is the Angle name of the God of the Sea. Mercia became a
strong independent kingdom and was the last Anglo-Saxon Kingdom to be
Christianized.
The long River Eider forms the border between Slesvig and Holstein. The name
Eider or Aegidore means “Aegir´s door” and Aegir is God of the sea, a terrifying
Giant. We find the same name in the Aegean Sea in Greece. Saxo
Grammaticus in "Deeds of the Danes” tells us that Uffe (Offa the king of
Angles) fought the Saxon´s and defended the border against the Saxon´s. It is
told that Offa won a single combat held on an island in the middle of Eider,
probably the island where the Rendsborg Castle was built much later. Saxo also
tells us that “Wermund got his son Uffe for a wife the daughter of Frowin, the
earl of the men of Slesvig. Then the Swedish king Atisle (Eadgils) attacked and
killed Frowin.” and “Frowins sons Ket and Wig went to Sweden in diguise and
assassinated Atisle (Eadgils).” The killing of Frowin could have happened when
Eadgils was in exile by the Geats in Istathe Syssel ca. 530. Saxo´s statement is
obviously wrong since Offa died about 480. The historian Saxo very often
places old historic events in wrong sequence. Nevertheless it is quite possible
that Offa married the princess of the tribe that he had besieged. Beowulf tells
us that Offa´s bride Thryth came to him over the water, probably the River
Eider.
According to the Widsith Poem Offa´s victorious fight with the sword was
against the Myrginger (“moorwalkers”). Frowin´s family had their homeland in
the swampy area south of the River Eider. In the royal house of Wessex we

26 
find the king Frowin and his son the king Ket. Their old homeland south of the
Eider was indeed close to the Saxon area. It is possible that Ket immigrated
about 540 and became king in Wessex. He is one of several examples of
emigration from South Jutland of defeated Anglian rulers.

27 
The Geats
The Beowulf Poem tells of Ongentheow fighting with the Geats and I believe
that the fight was about the power in Istathe Syssel. Now let us look at the
Geats. Beowulf did not belong to the Geat lineage, but he grew up by the
Geats. From the Beowulf Poem we hear that the Geats were West Danes. The
Geats were not a tribe but a family of chieftains called Geats/Goths. In such
troubled times it was a good solution for such a group of warriors to join the
Danish kings.
The name Geat have caused many proposals for the original homeland af the
Geat´s such as Gotland in the Baltic Sea, Östergötland, Vestergötland or
Gotaland (former name of Jutland). All these words (including the tribename
“Goths”) have the meaning “good” originally meaning “fit, adequate,
belonging together”. The proto-indo-european root ghedh- means “to unite,
be associated, suitable”. Many Germanic groups would call themselves
suitable in their own dialect. Geat was probably pronounced with “j”. In
connection with words meaning “good” I will mention that the leader of some
communities in the Viking Age had the title “gothi” in Old Norse. In Old Gothic
the title was “gudja”. This was common on Iceland, where there was no king.
But the title “gothæ” is also seen on rune stones in South Scandinavia. The
gothi was not a warrior but a religious, political and economic authority of the
community. He was priest, decision maker and landowner.
Beowulf was nephew of the Geat King Hygelac, son of Hrethel (figure 13). We
know from records of Gregor of Tours that the “Danish King Hugleicus” was
felled in a battle in the Rhine mouth 520. Beowulf escaped from the battle and
later he became king of Geats. In Istathe Syssel we have the village
Hollingstedt (figure 7) former Huglestad, probably Hygelac’s town. Maybe at
this time the Geats had taken the power in part of Istathe Syssel, as some
place names Gettorf and Gottorp could refer to the Geats/Goths (figure 7).
There is, however, reason to believe that the Geats had thier homeland south
of the Schlei near Eckernförde Inlet (figure 14) at least in Beowulf´s time. They
might have moved formerly from another place in Scandinavia.
About 500 the Swedish Kings sons Onela and Othere (in Swedish Ottar)
attacked the Geats. In 505 Haethcyn, King of Geats and his brother Hygelac
attacked the Queen of Old Anglen, Offa´s daughter and Ongentheow´s wife,
and captured her. The same year Ongentheow attacked the Geats and rescued
his wife. Ongentheow´s attack is seen in Beowulf line 2922-25:
Nor aught expect I of peace and faith
from Swedish folk. 'Twas spread afar
how Ongentheow reft at Ravenswood
Haethcyn Hrethling of hope and life,
These fightings was battles were probably about the power in Istathe Syssel. At
this time it must be assumed that the Geats were superior in Istathe Syssel,
although many of the inhabitants had left for England. The headquarter of the
Angles was in Brarup near Thorsberg Moor. Nearby lies today a place called
Rabenholz (“Ravenswood”). This is very likely the place of the battle named in
Beowulf. Haethcyn king of the Geats was killed and his brother Hygelac became
king after him. During this attack Ongentheow was fatally injured, and
presumably dead or alive brought to Sweden and buried in Uppsala. His son

28 
Ohthere subsequently became king of Sweden.

13. Descendants of Hrethel and Ecgtheof

When Othere died ca.530 his brother Onela took the power. Otheres sons
Eadgils (in Swedish: Adils) and Eanmund had the right to the kingship and they
were threatened by Onela. They escaped to Geat land, where Hygelac´s son
Heardred was king. Onela immediately attacked Geat land and killed his
nephew Eanmund and King Heardred. Then Onela went back to his home in
Sweden but he let Beowulf hold the throne and rule the Geats. Five years later,
however, Eadgils took revenge and killed his uncle when he invaded Sweden
with arms and men supplied by Beowulf, now king of Geat land. Subsequently
Eadgils became king of Sweden.
Line 2939 tells more about Ongentheow´s attack on the Geats
then he besieged the huge (sacred) grove, the survivors of swords
weary with wounds; he often threatened woes
to the wretched company in the length of the night
said: he in the morning by the edges of a maiche
he would sacrifice one of them on the gallow-tree
as game for the birds
Ongentheow belonged to the Swedish Yngling clan who believed they were
descendants of the god Ing. His attention was to sacrifice the prisoner
Haethcyn to Ing by hanging him in a gallow in the sacred grove Ravenswood.
But it never happened, because Haethcyn was rescued by the Geats.
When the last king of the Geats, Beowulf was going to die, he had no
descendants. The poem says:
From his neck Beowulf unclasped the collar of gold, to his vassal he gave it.
Thou art the remnant of all your race, the Waegmunding name. For wyrd has
swept all my line to the land of doom.
Waegmunding means member of the Wearmud clan (figure 11). It seems that a
member of the old clan had survived during the Geatish rulership and now
could take over again in Old Anglen.

Almost the only archaeological finds from Istathe Syssel at the time of the
Geats are the gold bracteates. They are thin gold amulets only printed one
one side and they were used to hang in a necklace. About 1000 bracteates
have been found. They were produced in the period 475-565 and most of them
are found in South Scandinavia. The pictures on the gold bracteates are
inspired of the pictures of gods on Roman coins, but the gods on the gold

29 
bracteates are Germanic as we will see later and they will hopefully give us an
idea of the beliefs at least among the elite, the warrior class.
Karl Hauck has demonstrated that some types of gold bracteates were
invented in Gudme on Funen (Hauck 1985-1989). Many bracteates have been
found near Gudme and they were obviously produced there. Presumably the
leading Danish king Hrothgar had his hall on Funen. The powerful Danish Royal
family resided there. They possessed gold and invented the use of gold
bracteates. When the Danish king gathered with other Danish chiefs they could
perform a ritual (presumably an animal sacrifice or a drinking horn ritual). Gold
bracteates could be produced for the occasion and be worn at the ritual. When
the participants kept wearing these medals it would strengthen the unity of
the Danes and loyalty between the allies even if they did not belong to the
same ethnic group or family. Gold bracteates of lower quality were produced at
the gatherings at minor rulers in South Scandinavia.
When a gold bracteate is found in a grave and the sex can be identified it is
almost always a female grave. The mistress of the house wearied the gold
bracteate. The mistress took care of the supplies for the house and she kept
the gold. She was responsible for the drinking ritual. The welcome symbol on
the long gold horn figure 42 shows a woman offering a drink from a drinking
horn. The Beowulf Poem gives us a picture of the life in the mead hall.
line 612……………. Wealhtheow came forth
Hrothgar's queen, mindful of etiquette,
greeted, gold-adorned, the men in the hall
and then the noble lady gave out full cups,
first to the East-Danes homeland-guardian
bade him be blithe at the partaking of beer

line 622…………... until the time came

that she to Beowulf, the ring-adorned queen
blossoming in spirit, carried a mead-cup
she greeted the Geatish prince, thanked God

Wealhtheow means “power-servant”, “minister of finance” and she wears

plenty of gold adornments. The first cup is offered to the most powerful guest
the East-Dane king, who is probably Hrothulf from Seeland. Later she offers a
cup to Beowulf and the offering is accompanied by thanking God. Another
place in the poem we are told that the queen gives Beowulf presents of gold
one of which a gold neck ring. Very likely he also received a gold bracteate.
When Beowulf returned to the Court of the Geats he gave the neck ring to the
Geatish queen.

It is obvious from the many finds of a pair of drinking horns that the worship of
the Divine Twins by a drinking ritual was a common to most Germanic tribes.
The Beowulf poem, the female graves and pictures like figure 42 and 49 makes
It quite clear that the mistress of the house was the leader of the ritual. For the
Germanic's a woman had the best contact with the gods and the woman had to
take care of the gold. For the Germanics gold was not a means of payment.
Gold belonged to the gods and had divine power. Gold bracteates are mostly
found as sacrificial hoards in many cases together with other gold articles.

The Beowulf Poem (line1684-86) says about the Danish King Hrothgar that he

30 
was
the finest of the world-kings between the seas who delt out tresures on
Scedenigge
Scedenig is the original form of Scandinavia. I have not seen a proper
explanation of this word but to me there is no doubt that the meaning is
“sheath waters”. Danish “skede” means “sheath”. “Aw” has the same origin as
latin “aqua” and means “water”. The most characteristic of South Scandinavia
are the many narrow belts and sounds and they can be called sheaths. In
Beowulf´s time “Danish” was a political designation of some rulers and
Scedenig was a geographical designation of an area.

14.Gold bracteates found in Istathe Syssel and Holstein about 500.

The distribution of gold bracteates on figure 14 tends to show that they were
used and possibly produced south of the Schlei Inlet. About 500 when they
were used, this area was probably controlled by the Geats. The gold bracteates
were invented by the leading Danish king on Funen and used by other kings in
the Danish alliance. The Geats were Danish and probably produced gold
bracteates themselves. Offa´s daughter probably ruled the Angles north of the
Schlei until about 500 but I doubt that gold bracteates were used by her
people because they were not Danes.
Figure 15 shows one of the gold bracteates from the map figure 13. The
inscription in runes says:
ALGU meaning “I protect”
I believe that this word is related to the Gothic word “alh” (“god, protector”)

31 
and the name of the Germanic Divine Twins “Alki” (“protectors”) reported by
Tacitus about 100. The ending U may be the first person singular. The protector
must be the depicted deity. The swastika sign is a symbol for the heaven that
turns around and shows that this god was in heaven. His enormous hair is a
sign of his juvenile power. The bird in his hair shows that he can fly. Out of his
mouth comes speech, because he gives advice. The eight balls is probably an
illustration of the eight parts of night and day, that the Germanics allowed for
(see later chapter).

15. Gold bracteate from Geltorf by the Schlei. (Hauck cat. 254)

There are good reasons to believe that Ing was the the most popular god in
South Scandinavia including the Angles. He is depicted on most of the gold
bracteates.
In the Beowulf Poem the Danish king Hrothgar is called:
The wise lord of the Ingwine. (line 1318) and
The protector of the Ingwine (line 1043).
Ingwine means friends of Ing. This suggests that Ing was worshipped by the
people in South Scandinavia. As early as 100 AD, the Roman Tacitus called the
Germanic people near the North Sea Ingaevones and the Roman Plinius called
them Ingvaeones. The Christian monks who wrote down the Beowulf Poem
tried to eliminate any pagan gods from the manuscript but sometimes it
becomes apparent which god was worshipped about 500. Beowulf´s sword is
called Incgelafe (line 2577). The Frisian king Finn´s holy treasures is called
Incgegold (line 1107). Line 1314 says: The ruler of the Elves could bring about
a change for the better. The Elves are dead souls and it was told in Viking
Mythology, that Frey (another name for Ing) had his home in Alfheim, (“home
of Elves”).

32 
The Wulfings
The Wulfings were a militant ethnic group and is well known from many
legends. When the Langobards lived in Holstein about 100 they are told to
have had conflicts with the Wulfings. The homeland of the Wulfings was
probably in North Holstein around the Kieler Inlet. Widsith Poem has line 28-29:
Sigehere ruled the Sea-Danes for a long time,
Hnæf the Hocings and Helm the Wulfings
The Wulfings are grouped with two Danish clans which suggests they were
located in the same sphere. 30 km east of the Kieler Inlet we have the place
name Helmstorf. According to legends King Helm was killed and his son Halga
and daughter Wealhtheow was fostered by the Danish King Healfdene.
Wealhtheow later married King Healfdene´s son Hrothgar and she had an
important role at the court when Beowulf visited King Hrothgar about 515. Her
name Wealhtheow was responsible for the economy and the delivering of
tresures. Beowulf says: “Often twisted-rings she gave to the warriors.” The
heroic Halga, brother to Wealhtheow and fosterbrother to Hrothgar was dead
at the time of Beowulf´s visit. Halga´s son King Hrothulf was present at the
time. He was a Wulfing as his name indicates (figure 16). From the history of
the Goths we know that the Wulfing King Hrothulf did military service for
Theodorich the Great (king of Goths 493-526). At the time of Beowulf´s visit
515 King Hrothulf would have returned from his military sevice by the Goths.

16. Descendants of Healfdene and Helm.

In Beowulf (459-63) we hear King Hrothgar speak to Beowulf about his father
Ecgtheow:
Your father kindled the greatest feuds among the Wulfings when he became
the killer of Heatholaf. Because of fear of strife, Wulfingas was unable to keep
him. Then he sought the South Danes over the surging waves.
Ecgtheof killed one of his own clan, the wulfings and was afraid of a revenge
and he asked the Danes for help. This was probably a good idea because the
Danish Queen Wealhtheow was a Wulfing herself. King Hrothgar later (470-72)
tells that he “sent ancient treasures over the waters to the Wulfings and
made peace.” The Wulfings and the Geats were neighbours. The name
Ecgtheow means “edge servant, sword servant” and he had this name because
he was married to the Geat King Hredel´s daughter and consequently not a
real Geat. Ecgtheows son Beowulf was both Geat and Wulfing and got a name
with “wulf”. Beowulf was fostered by the Geats from 7 years old when his
father died. When Beowulf eventually became king of the Geats about 533 he
probably soon had the supreme power in Istathe Syssel.

33 
Sam Newton has demonstrated that the Beowulf Poem was probably recited by
the East Anglian royal court (Newton 1993). Beowulf was a Wulfing and the
East Anglian kings were called Wulfings. In the descent of the East Anglian
Royal House we have the following pedigree
Woden – Caser – Tyttman – Trygil – Hrotmund – Hryp – Wilhelm – Wehha – Wuffa
– Tyttla - Redwald
I will now go through what we know about the various names in the pedigree
above. Wehha is told to be the first king of East Anglia and he died 571. The
name Wilhelm (later known as William) could be called after Helm, who ruled
the Wulfings in the 400s. In the Beowulf Poem Wulfings were also called
Helmings. In present time there are two places called Helmingham. One in
Norfolk and one in Suffolk. Additionally the town Hemley is placed four miles
south of Sutton Hoe. Caser means Roman Emperor. It is peculiar that he is
only present in the East Anglian pedigree. This may be because Roman
emperors claimed to descend from the twin wolfs Romulus and Remus. The
name Hrotmund is known from the Beowulf Poem as son of Queen Wealhtheow
and grandson of Helm (figure 16). Sam Newton has pointed out that Hrotmund
possibly had to go into exile because of a dynastic struggle with his cousin
Hrothulf about the Danish throne. Saxo writes in his Legends, that Hrothulf
(Rolf Krake) killed Hrethric (Rorik), Hrothmunds brother (figure 16).
I agree with Newton´s arguments but contrary to him I believe that the
homeland of the Geats and the Wulfings were at the south cost of the Baltic
(figure 14). My arguments for this are in the chapters “The Geats” and “The
Wulfings”.

17. Gold bracteate from Undley near Lakenheath in Suffolk, about 500.

A very interesting find from the Anglian settlers in England is a gold bracteate
found in Undley near Lakenheath in Suffolk (figure 17). It was supplied with an
eye and a double spiral so it could be worn as an amulet. The inscription is the

34 
oldest found statement written in English. The runes have to be read from right
to left starting at the double spiral. They are all of the old Germanic type from
figure 6 except the O-rune which is of the Anglo-Frisian type. The three words
are separated with a circle. The transcription into Latin letters is
GAGOGA ¤ MAGA ¤ MEDU meaning “Yah Yoh Yah reward for kinsmen”
The three syllables of the initial word are written as bind runes, with side-twigs
attached to the X shape of the G-rune to represent the vowels A and O. The
same word is found in an inscription at a lance-shaft sacrificed in the Kragehul
Moor in Funen in the 5th century. It was an acclamation and the pronunciation
probably was “Yah Yoh Yah” figure 63. MAGA means “kinsmen”. Related to this
is Danish mage = “spouse”. MEDU means “reward”. Related to the word
“medal”. The suffix -U determines the dative case.
The inscription tells us that some leader gave copies of this medal to some of
his kinsmen probably in connection with a settlement of a group of Angles in
the area.
On the medal figure 17 we find a helmeted warrior. Normally a god does not
need a helmet, so this medal is produced in a another society than the medal
figure 15, probably in England. The helmet is a symbol of protection and means
that the depicted god is protecting. Since we know that the Wulfings were
called Helmings it is possible that the helmeted god was a Helming. Therefore
the Helming king who distributed the Bracteate was of the same descent as the
god. Could the king be one of the Helming kings in the Royal House of East
Anglia? As Sam Newton pointed out Hrotmund could have moved to England
with men and gold a few years after 515 when Beowulf met him. He could have
achieved a small kingdom in Suffolk, and he would know the Bracteate tradition
very well from the Danish court.
We should not expect the pedigree of East Anglia referred to in this chapter to
be too strict. Occasionally names were deliberately put in a pedigree to justify
the name of the clan. Wuffa means “little wulf” and probably was introduced
only because the East Anglian kings were called Wulfings. If two succeeding
kings were brothers there would be room for three kings before Wehha died.
However it might be another Helming king that made this bracteate. In this
connection I notice that the Danish kings names began with the letter H.
Alliteration was magic and the H-name meant “high-born” attesting that the
person belonged to the nobility, the warrior class. Hryp was probably the last
king in East Anglia who was born in Scandinavia.
On the bracteate (figure 17) we see the twin boys Romulus and Remus suckling
a she wolf. The same motif is found on many Roman coins from the time of
Emperor Constantine the Great 303-337. On the other side of these coins could
be the image of an adult Romulus or of the Emperor himself. The coins in gold
or in bronze were given to Roman soldiers. The Divine Twins were very popular
among Roman warriors and Germanic warriors who did military service for the
Roman emperor although the Germanics had their own names for the twins.
Nevertheless the she wolf on the gold medal signifies that some Angles had
adopted the Roman myth that a she wolf suckled the Divine Twins. The ethnic
group Wulfings probably believed in this myth. A Wulfing warrior believed that
the Divine Twins could help him in fight, and might even have looked upon
himself as an incarnation of the Divine Twin.
The eight pointed star beside the god (figure 17) symbolizes heaven. That
means that he is a spiritual invisible power. Probably the name for this god

35 
was Ing the vigorous Divine Twin worshipped by all the Angles. His spirit is
supposed to take abode in the king. Notice that the place name Ingham (“Ing´s
home”) is only found three places in Britain. One of them is in Suffolk near the
finding place of the gold medal (figure 17). This area is near the River Little
Ouse, that makes the border between Suffolk and Norfolk. The Angles who
settled here probably came by this river. The second Ingham is in Norfolk north
of Norwich and the third one in North Mercia. In Yorkshire we find an Ing's
Meadow and an Ing's Field, while in Mercia (Nottinghamshire) there is an Ing
Close and an Ing's Holm.
In West Stow only 2 km from Ingham in Northwest Suffolk an Anglian village
from about 500 has been excavated and reconstructed (figure 18).

18. The reconstructed Anglian village at West Stow about 500.

We know of 55 bracteates in England from the period 500-575. The 29 from
Kent are type D and believed to have come with Jutish settlers. The remaining
English bracteates have the same motives and belong to the same religious
tradition as the Scandinavian, but the style is different from their Scandinavian
counterparts. Additionally the material is mostly silver, which means that they
are mostly produced in England.
Sam Newton has pointed out that several of the royal treasures in the Sutton
Hoo ship burial have wolf symbols. The purse figure 28 shows two wolves
attacking a man from both sides. But I believe that they are not really
attacking, they seem to whisper in his ears and guide him. Some people may
think that they look like dogs, but I think that the fore part of their bodies are
so strongly built that they look more like wolves.
The motive of the she wolf and twins seem to be popular in East Anglia. It is
found on coins for instance on coins from King Æthelberth of East Anglia from
the 700s (Newton 1993).

36 
Barwith Syssel
Heathobards are called Hadbarder in the Danish legends. They took their name
from had = “fight” and bard = “ax” and called themselves “battleaxes”. They
were the tribe in Barwith Syssel (figure 7) and the name of the syssel comes
from bard = “ax” and with = “woods” .Other people were named after their
weapons. Longobard is “long ax”. Saxon is “sword man”. German is “spear
man”. The Heathobards had a sacred moor in Ejsbøl (figure 7), where rich war
loots were sacrificed about 300. The Heathobards were rich and legendary
warriors. In Saxo Grammaticus´ "Deeds of the Danes" we have many legends.
The deeds of the Heathobard kings are among them. The king Ingeld was
called after Ing, one of the Divine Twins. One legend tells of a “common”
goldsmith in Ingelds court. He dared to court the queen and therefore had
some of his hind chopped of. The Heathobards had some of the same ideas as
the other Angles like the idea of the Divine Twins. This can be seen from the
wonderful buckle (figure 19) from Galsted (figure 7). Unfortunately the lower
part of the buckle is missing.

19. Buckle from Galsted in Barwith Syssel. 400s.

The Heathobards were the last tribe which offered resistance against the
Danish military pressure on the tribes in Jutland. The Widsith poem again gives
us an idea of what happened.
“Hrothulf and Hrothgar, nephew and uncle, kept peace together for a very long
while, after they had driven off the tribe of the Wicingas and humiliated the

37 
vanguard of Ingeld and cut down the host of Heathobardan at Heorot.”
The name Hrothgar (in Danish Roar) comes from hroth = “victorious” and gar =
“defender”. The Danish king Hrothgar probably had his main residence on
Funen and the young warrior Beowulf arrived there about 515. Another Danish
king Hrothulf (in Danish Rolf) meaning “victorious wolf” was visiting king
Hrothgar when Beowulf stayed there. We know from the history writer Jordanes
that king Roduulf (Hrothulf) and his men about 507 were fighting for King
Theodoric the Great, who was king in Italy 493-526. When Hrothulf returned to
the Baltic area about 510 with a small group of professional warriors he
became a powerful king. From Widsith we hear that he helped his uncle
Hrothgar for a while.
At that time the feud between Heathobards and Danes was already ongoing
and longstanding. The Norse Saga literature refers many of the battles, but I
don’t think they are essential to this book.
Now let us study the lines 57-85 in the Beowulf Poem:
haughty Healfdene, who held through life, 57
sage and sturdy, the Scyldings glad.
Then, one after one, there woke to him,
to the chieftain of clansmen, children four:
Heorogar, then Hrothgar, then Halga brave;
and I heard that -- was -- 's queen, 62
the Heathoscylfing's helpmate dear.
To Hrothgar was given such glory of war,
such honor of combat, that all his kin
obeyed him gladly till great grew his band
of youthful comrades. It came in his mind
to bid his henchmen a hall uprear,
ia master mead-house, mightier far
than ever was seen by the sons of earth, 70
and within it, then, to old and young
he would all allot that the Lord had sent him,
save only the land and the lives of his men.
Wide, I heard, was the work commanded,
for many a tribe this mid-earth round, 75
to fashion the folkstead. It fell, as he ordered,
in rapid achievement that ready it stood there,
of halls the noblest: Heorot he named it
whose message had might in many a land.
Not reckless of promise, the rings he dealt, 80
treasure at banquet: there towered the hall,
high, gabled wide, the hot surge waiting
of furious flame. Nor far was that day
when father and son-in-law stood in feud
for warfare and hatred that woke again. 85
Something is missing in the original line 62:
hyrde ic þæt wæs….. Onelan cwen,
I think that Ongenthows son Onela was married to Hrothgars sister. Onela had
the same age as Hrothgar. We don’t know the name of his bride because of the
missing part. Onela was a Scylfing like his father Ongentheow as told in line 63
(figure 11). Heatho- scylfings are fight-Scylfings.

38 
The Danish king Healfdene was slain by the Heathobard king Froda about 495.
About 500 the three sons of Healfdene made a counterstrike, invaded the
Heathobard territory, and slew Froda. Most battles at that time were nightly
surprise attacks with burning of the hall. Both Heorogar and Halga fell in
connection with the warfare and then Hrothgar became the leading Danish
king. Hrothgar is praised in line 64-66. Halga (heil-ger = “useful spear”) did not
belong to the Scyldings. When his father the Wulfing king Helm was killed,
Halga was fostered by the Danish king Healfdene and became a famous Danish
warrior king.
In the lines 67-82 we hear hat Hrothgar planned and let build a marvelous
mead-house that he called Heorot. Heorot means “hart” the male stag and it is
possible that yhe hall was placed where the village Harte is now in Barwith
Syssel (figure 7). West of Harte lays Trældiget a 15 km long bank with a moat
from ca. 500. It was a defence against enemies from the west, probably the
Heathobards. Mid-earth (line 75) is the human world between heaven and
underworld. Many tribes took part in the building of the hall. In line 82 we hear
that the hall is adorned with antlers. In Jutland the young stag was a symbol of
the heavenly Father also called bull or Tiw. Hrothgar probably choose the name
Heorot because he intended to get support from the tribes in Jutland.
The plans for Heorot ran into trouble because a monster named Grendel, who
lived in the moor-land, for twelve years, attacked Heorot by night and killed
Hrothgars men. The name Grendel is related to “grind” and probably means
“giant”. “Grind” is a mans name in Old English and in Swedish. The myth might
conceal guerilla warfare from inhabitants around Heorot. They attacked in the
night and King Hrothgar could not sleep there. The hall was built on
Heathobardan territory. Beowulf was called to Heorot in order to slay Grendel,
and Grendel actually got a deadly hit. But then Grendels mother, a witch, came
to Heorot at night and kidnapped some Thanes (could it be renegades?).
Beowulf had to go down in the moor where she lived and hit her. Here he also
found Grendels body and brought the head of the body home to Heorot.
Grendel mother must be the traditional Mother Earth. She was worshiped in
Jutland by sacrifices in moors but the tradition took an end died out in the 5th
century when many Angles immigrated. The Beowulf poems description of the
brilliant life at Heorot compared to the life of the outcasts in the moor-land
gives an idea of why the traditional tribe sacrifices in moors disappeared.
When Beowulf visited Heorot he heard that Hrothgars daughter Freawaru
would be given in marriage to Ingeld, son of the Heathobard king Froda, as a
means to bring peace between the Danes and the Heathobards. Beowulf from
2024 says:
Hrothgar's daughter Freawaru to nobles continuously bore the ale-flagon, she
is promised, young, gold-adorned, to gracious son of Froda. This has
arranged the Friend of the Scyldings the kingdom's shepherd, and counsel
reckons it, that he with this woman a great part of the slaugter-feuds conflicts
would settle.

He foretells, however, that an old warrior will encourage a young Heathobard

king to avenge his father’s death against the son of the Danish man who killed
his father and who struts about in his Heathobardish war-gear; Line 82-85
foretell that Heorot will be burned in a war between a father and a son in law.

39 
The allusion to the burning of Heorot is to the Heathobard campaign against
Heorot under the leadership of Ingeld; Heorot does burn and is destroyed, but
the Danes are victorious over the Heathobards.

From the Widsith poem and the Beowulf poem we see that the Danish king
Hrothgar defeated the Heathobardan king Ingeld ca.520. Ingeld himself was
not killed. Ingeld is called Withergeld, “the avenger”, by the Danes. Ingeld and
his housecarls probably made an attack on Heorot and burned it before they
organized the emigration of the Heathobards. Since the Heathobards are called
Wikings in the Widsith-poem , they shoud be familiar with long sea journeys.
When the Heathobards began their immigration about 520 most of England
was already inhabited by other Angles. They had to settle at the very north.
Here they established a kingdom named Bernicia. This name is related to the
bards. Berwick in Bernicia was called Bardowic earlier. Howick, also in Bernicia
reminds of Ho Bay at the West cost of Barwith Syssel. In Bernicia we have the
place name Ingram. In the Bernician royal genealogies we find the names
Ingibrand, Inguec and Ingui all related to the popular Anglian god Ing. Ida, king
of Bernicia from 547 had a great-grandfather named Ingui. If that is reliable
Ingui would have been king 490 and was not the same person as Ingeld. Ing-ui
or Ing-wi means “Ing dedicated” and Ing-eld means “Ing mighty”. It is possible
that Ingui could be Froda because the god Ing was also called Frey and Froda is
called after Frey.
Legends about Ingeld was preserved in Northumberland. In 797 the priest
Alcuin wrote a letter to the munks in Lindisfarne and blamed them for listening
to the the heaten poem Hieneldus. He said: Quid eium Hinieldus cum Cristo
(What has Ingeld to do with Christ ?). The poem is lost, but the Danish munk
Saxo read it about 1200 and translated it to Latin. Olrik has translated it back
to English and I quote two strophes

18 A cruel fate has befallen Fróthi’s kinsmen

when the king was given such a coward as heir:
no greater worth hast thou than a hunted goat,
or than sheep in shambles shrinking in terror.

19 Shall Sverting’s12 seed hold sway over Denmark,

Seated at Leire with Saxon warriors,
on thy lap whilst thou fondlest the linen-clad woman,
the fair-haired daughter of thy father’s banesman.

The whole poem is a speech of an old warrior about the ideals of the warrior
society. He blames Ingeld for luxurious living, cowardliness and for not taking
revenge for the killing of his father Frothi. Hrothgar is called Sverting
(“incendiary”). In a Scandinavian epos Freawaru is called Hrut = Heorot,
named after her fathers mead-house. At the end of the poem Ingeld stands up
with his sword and disowns his bride, which means war.
At Yeavering (Northumberland), a seventh-century royal estate of the kings of
Bernicia has been identified from place-name evidence and the testimony of

40 
Bede. The 'township' was made up in each phase of a major timber-built hall, a
few smaller buildings including a temple (later church), a timber grandstand,
and a large enclosure next to the residential complex. The successive timber
halls of the early and mid-seventh century are the largest domestic structures
uncovered so far on any early Anglo-Saxon site. With their internal length of c.
25 m and their floor areas of 260 and 290 sq.metres, respectively, each could
have accommodated 60 men. Fenced enclosures were attached to the main
hall in each phase, and like the partitions inside the halls, they hint at social
and functional differentiations among the residents. The grandstand capacities
of approx. 150 people indicate the size of the group or groups assembled here,
probably for council meetings, highlighting the function of this estate as an
administrative centre (Hope-Taylor 1977).

41 
Origin of the Angles
Our interest is to find the origin of the Angles and the origin of their ideas. This
will be difficult because they did not use writing. We only have archaeological
finds to base our investigations on. The tribes in South Jutland (figure 7) seem
to have had similar ideas and they adored the same god Ing. After they
immigrated into England they were all called Angles. It is possible that the tribe
in Anglen was called Angles. The traditions of the Angles can be traced back to
what archaeologists call the Grossromstedt culture named after a cemetery
with 600 graves found in Grossromstedt in Thüringia. These graves are the
result of a massacre of some Germanic tribes from the Roman army 11 B.C. 30
of the graves displayed a pair of drinking horn mountings which proves that
these Germanic tribes worshiped the Divine Twins. Other finds from the graves
in Grossromstedt are typical for the Germanic finds in Thüringia and areas
along the Elbe River.
A very impressive cult site belonging to the Grossromstedt culture was found in
a moor Oberdorla in Thüringia. Here there were 70 cult sites separated with
fences. Many of them had rude wooden idols, mostly female, and some shaped
like a phallus. Figure 20 shows the most delicate idol (Behm-Blancke 2002).
Large amounts of remains of animals and humans indicate that sacrifices were
made. The site was in use 500 B.C. until 600 A.D. Cult sites in moors are found
in South Jutland as well as in Thüringia and indicate a similar way of worship of
a goddess.

42 
20. Open-air idol from Oberdorla, Thüringia height 32 cm. 200s.
The Elbe-Germanic tribes including the Angles called themselves Svebic
(“kinsmen”). In 9 AD three Roman legions were wiped out in a battle with a
Svebic army at Teutoburgerwald. After that event the Romans tried a revenge
against the Germanic tribes between the Rhine and the Elbe. These events will
be described in the chapter: The Origin of the long Horn. In the end the Romans
gave up trying to conquer the land and instead they tried to bribe Svebic
chieftains, but the Svebes forbade all import of Roman luxuries. In fact there
are remarkable few Roman luxuries in the Elbe-Germanic graves. In South
Jutland no rich prince graves have been found at all. In these times of constant
threat of war the Svebic tribes needed some military organization. It seems
that some of the Svebic tribes wore not organized by a powerful prince. Instead
their organization was based on ethnic relations and common religious rituals.
In some of his letters the Roman Lucius Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD) describes the
fate of Germanic tribes. He tells that in his time there were large
displacements of Germanic tribes. When a tribe was defeated they had three
possibilities. They could emigrate to another area, where they were allowed to
settle. They could assimilate into the the victorious tribe. Or they could be
destroyed. In fact the Roman Tacitus refers how the Brukter tribe was
destroyed by other Germanic tribes.
Some of the Elbe-Germanic people, who called themselves Angles, seem to
have migrated to the north. At Ptolemy’s map from 130 AD the Angles are
placed on the left bank of the Elbe River south of contemporary Hamburg.
Tacitus locate them approximately the same place 100 AD. In the 100s there is
an increase in the population in Istathe Syssel due to invading Angles. This
could not have happened without fighting. From the 000s there are found
burned down villages in Istathe Syssel. The new buildings have a new style,
which is the same as in the old home of the Angles by the Elbe River. The Olger
Dike was build 31 AD and renewed the next 100 years (figure 7). This was a
wall built by the Angles against invading settlers and rubbers from the north.
150 AD the sacrifices in the Torsbjerg Moor changed from agricultural products
to weapons. Torsbjerg Moor is placed in the part of Istathe Syssel that is still
called Anglen and this moor must have been a sacred place for the Angles. In a
village nearby, Brarup the Angles had loud religious rituals. In the 5 th century,
when many Angles immigrated, the sacrifices in the Torsbjerg Moor takes an
end.
The Heathobards had Anglian culture but they might also be part of the
Longobards, who according to Ptolemy stayed by the Elbe River. In that case
the invasion in Barwith Syssel probably was before the invasion of Istathe
Syssel. We do not know what happened the original tribal population in South
Jutland. Some kind of assimilation must have taken place since the use of
sacred places like Torsbjerg Moor was carried on. On the other hand the
fortification walls mean warfare. My explanation is that the local tribes in South
Jutland already were opponents. When an Anglian group settled by a local tribe
they brought with them a more advanced military technique. In that way they
“protected” the local tribe against the neighbors.

43 
21. Pots used for grave gifts.
a) Oberdorla, Thüringia about 200. (Behm-Blancke 2002).
b) Hjemsted South Jutland about 450 (Ethelberg 1986).

About 200 some tribes here called the Angles had established themselves in
South Jutland, and this is marked by a special tradition of pottery in that area.
Their culture also seems to have influenced neighboring areas like Funen and
Holstein. An example of the pottery is seen at figure 21 b). This pot is typical
for the graveyard in Hjemsted, Ellem Syssel (figure 7). The inhumation graves
were orientated in the East-West direction. The body was placed on the side
with the face to the South, and in front of the body were grave gifts like the pot
here.
From about 275 there is war booty in Ejsbøl Moor, near Haderslev. The Angles
lost a great sea battle the tribe to the North. I have referred a legend in the
chapter about the East Saxons that might possibly be a description of the
battle. According to the legend Balder was king of the Angles at that time.
After the defeat the Angles had less influence.
The two pots in figure 21 have the same decoration with three lines in a zigzag
pattern. This is an indication that the Angles in Slesvig-Holstein brought some
of their culture and beliefs with them from Thüringia. This type of decoration on
funerary pots is very old and common for several Germanic people. The three
line symbol has a religious meaning and may represent the three forces in life.
The Gold Horns give a careful explanation of the idea of the three forces of life.
This will be examined in later chapters, but I would like to state, that the three
goddesses of fate are representations of the three forces of life.
There were many migrations along the Elbe River. In the 000s the Angles
emigrated from Thüringia downstream the Saale River and the Elbe River to
Slesvig-Holstein. This emigration can be traced for instance with place names
ending on -leben in Thüringia, -lev in Jutland and at a later time -low in
England. They probably brought knowledge of alphabets with them. I support
the theory that the runes were created with inspiration from the north alpine
alphabets. It is commonly accepted that the runic alphabet with 24 runes was
invented in Slesvig-Holstein about 150 AD. The basic idea of the runic alphabet
is the three forces of life. This will be explained in a later chapter.
The Anglian tribes had fights with tribes to the north and to the south, which

44 
can be seen from their weapon sacrifices in moors. 400 A.D. when the time of
great migrations started, the fighting’s increased. In that period the climate
became cold. Several old poems and sagas have legends of heroic kings of this
period. One king of the Angles before the emigration was Offa, described as a
Danish hero by Saxo. Saxo refers a legend of Offa and another king named
Hading,(probably a Heathobard from Barwith Syssel). According to the legend
they ravaged and plundered each others land. I these colder times the
agricultural production was decreasing and raiding for cattle and slaves was
better than fighting. Another threat came from the kings of East Denmark, who
drove away the chieftains (eril’s) in Jutland and established kings of their own
lineage. These unfavorable circumstances may have motivated the leaders of
the Angles to organize an extensive emigration to England.

45 
The Angles in England
In order to simplify we may call the part of England south of the Thames for
Saxon and the rest for Anglian. The Saxon and the Angle part of England had
some differences in culture beginning in the time of the great migration 375-
575 A.D. The use of clasps at the sleeves of the woman’s costume is special for
the English Angles and shows that they brought some of their culture with
them from Scandinavia. The clasp fashion was inspired from South West
Norway and Denmark and spread from Norfolk all over the Angle England. The
Saxon women didn’t use clasps and probably had a dress like a tube fastened
on the shoulders with two brooches. The Angles typically used one cruciform
brooch to fasten their cape.

22. Urn from Spong Hill, North Elmham, Norfolk (Myres and Green 1973) and
urn from Sancton, Yorkshire. (Myres and Southern 1973) 400s.

The Germanic immigrants in England brought their own kind of buildings,

pottery, jewellery, language, runes and religion. In many cases the shape of the
pottery was the same as by the Angles in South Jutland and by the English
Angles. The same can be said about the decoration of the pottery. For instance
it is clear that the decoration of funeral pottery with three lines was a tradition
that Angles brought to England. Compare the decorations on the pots figure 21
and figure 22. The three line symbol gives us an idea of the beliefs of the
English Angles.
It has been pointed out (Myres 1986) that one of the urns from Caistor-by-
Norwich, Norfolk, came from the same workshop as that which made two
others for cemeteries in Holstein and Slesvig. Among the cremation urns from
the Anglian cemetary at Sancton, Yorkshire there are too many close parallels
with the corresponding pottery from Borgstedt in Istathe Syssel (figure 7) to be
explicable by pure coincidence.

46 
Some of the Elbe-Germanics that lived by the lower Elbe about 400 may have
called themselves Angles. At least we know that they migrated into East Anglia.
A cemetery at Issendorf at the left band of the lower Elbe, has 5500 urn graves
from the period 380-550 A.D. Some of the urns are so similar to urns found at
the cemetery at Spong Hill in East Anglia that they must have been made by
the same potter. Furthermore the style of the jewellery in the graves at
Issendorf has close relations to the Elbe-Germanics in Thüringia.
In the present book we will explore the religious ideas of the pre-Christian
Anglo-Saxon culture. As mentioned earlier this task is difficult because the
heathen Anglo-Saxons did not use writing. The preserved runic inscriptions are
very few and short. Most of the inscriptions are lost because runes were written
on wood or leather. But the task is not hopeless. Pottery and metal objects are
found in graves and they have preserved picture symbols, which obviously
have a religious meaning.

23. Cruciform brooches about 500. a) Olde, Norway. b) Dankirke, South

Jutland. c) Wakerley, Northhampshire. (Hines 1984).

Cruciform brooches (that is, in the shape of a cross) evolved in Holstein and
Scandinavia in the course of the 400s. The first cruciform brooches, brought to
and made in England by Anglian and Jutish settlers, were closely similar to their
continental counterparts. In England they are found predominantly in East
Anglia, but also in Kent, the east Midlands and as far north as the Humber. This
brooch was made mostly in the period 475-525. The three cruciform brooches
in figure 23 are not imported. They are produced by local craftsmen. In
Dankirke in Ellem Syssel (figure 7) was found five cruciform brooches like figure
23 b) together in one pile, which is quite unusual. Normally only a single

47 
brooch is found in a woman’s grave. Dankirke was a rich village in the period
300-500 with trade and craftsmen. Only part of the village is excavated, but
here 38 Roman coins were found. Near the village many remains from iron
production are also found
The cruciform brooches obviously have a common symbolism. Normally the
heathen cross is a symbol of the spiritual world. However the big monster is a
symbol of the forces in the realm of death. The three knobs at the head-plate
probably mean the forces in the world of the living. The three knobs have the
same meaning as the three line symbol. They are symbols of the three forces in
life. The square head-plate probably represents life itself. Life was understood
as a circulation similar to the circulation of the sun night and day. The deceased
might be reborn usually in his own tribe.
The serpent-like monster of the foot-plate probably represents the earth with
its destroying and generative forces. The earth as the foundation of life. The
serpent in the underworld is pictured on the Gold Horn. The pearl in its mouth
is a symbol of the soul that is going to be reborn. In Jutland funeral ceramics
with a serpent have been found. See also the carved stone figure 54. The
serpent symbol will be described in a later chapter.
The brooches seem to be markers of group identity and common religious
belief. It also appears from the burial places that the Angles had common
religious ideas. The substantial number of immigrants in the 400s came in
ethnic groups that originated in small areas on the Continent. Each ethnic
group settled in a small area in England. The people from Ellem Syssel settled
in part of Norfolk. The 2259 cremation burials at Spong Hill corresponds to a
local population of 400 persons. 227 of the cremations included bones of a
cremated horse. These graves belonged to small landowners and could not be
an elite. About 15% of the graves had weapons. In the 400s we have no
indications of a warrior elite and fightings between the small landowners. In
East Anglia the British population was thin and the Angles did not have to fight
them. In such a society of new settlers it would be particularly appropriate to
maintain the traditional culture from the old land.
In the Roman time the Germanics lived in tribe societies. The ethnic groups
lived together in local communities. The members of the groups helped and
protected each other. Important decisions was taken by a gathering of
representatives. According to Tacitus the fields belonged to the community.
The domestic animals belonged to the families. Even if some young men took
part in warfare abroad they did not become a warrior class. Some tribes had a
chieftain called “eril” or “gode”. Other tribes like some Danish groups had a
king. We will see that he long Golden Horn belonged to such a traditional
culture. The settlements in England look like the settlements in the old land
(figures 10 and 18). We may expect that most of the culture from the old land
was maintained in England in the 400s.

48 
Social stratification
About 500 a secondary migration occurred. The 57 inhumation burials at Spong
Hill appeared about 500-575. They correspond to about 30 living persons or
about 5 families. These graves are more rich and the wealthy group probably
arrived from abroad and bed for elite status. Matthew Paris tells in his Chronica
Majora that in the year 527 many Germanic petty chiefs arrived in East Anglia
and Mercia.
The emerge of Inhumation burials in the Anglian cemeteries is a sign of social
stratification. In contrary to the cremation the inhumation gives a possibility
for having contact to the soul of the deceased and even ancestor worship. The
inhumations may have valuable belongings of the deceased. The grave may
show the status of the family. Inhumation seems to be more popular when the
family is getting more important than the community
In Tyttels Halh 9 km west of Spong Hill was found a cemetery founded in the
late 400s. Here was 28 inhumation burials. One boys grave included part of a
sword scabbard. In the well- equipped women’s graves was found British
types of textiles and British types of beads (Walton Rogers 2013). Thus we may
assume that the men in the household were armed Germanic settlers from
abroad and the women were wealthy British natives.
The newcomers had a different culture but settled near an ethnic community
that did not belong to. Furthermore people had moved around and the
community area was mixed up with foreigners some of British background. In
this situation it was difficult for the ethnic group to make decisions for the local
population. Instead of ethnic gatherings there might have been gatherings of
the local inhabitants. The strongest and richest families in the area could mark
the development. The weakening of the ethnic community lead to social
stratification.
Part of the native British population disappeared from the areas where Angles
and Saxons lived. The two people in East and West England were separated by
vast forests. Their language and religion was different. Archaeological finds
confirms that there was no trade between the two people. Examination of Y-
chromosomes of the contemporary English population and the north Welsh
population have shown that they have very little conformity, which indicates
that there was never close contact between the populations (Weale 2002). On
the whole, the British absolutely hated the Anglo-Saxons and refused to have
much contact with them.
In the mid 500s the British monk Gildas wrote The Conquest and Ruin of
Britain. It contains an account of the coming of the Anglo-Saxons to Britain. He
describes the ferocious Saxons, hated by man and God. They came as
mercenaries and devastated town and country round about. Gildas describes a
British victory over the Anglo-Saxons about 510, but at the time of writing, the
mid 500s the cities of our land are deserted, in ruins and unkempt.
The wasteland may have another reason. In 540 there was a world wide
climate catastrophe (Keys 2000). This resulted in failure of crops and famine.
Probably there was a huge eruption from the volcano Llopango in El Salvador.
The sun darkened for one and a half year caused by dust in the atmosphere.
Cassiodorus writing in Italy among others in different parts of the world referred

49 
to a dimming of the sun: “We have had a spring without mildness and a
summer without heat ... The months which should have been maturing the
crops have been chilled by north winds. Rain is denied and the reaper fears
new frosts.” Tree-ring evidence from the British Isles shows that the tree
growth was slow in the period 535-555.
The famine also lead to spread of the bubonic plague starting in the Middle
East. The plague reached the shores of the British Isles 547, but it only affected
the British people, who had good connections to the Mediterranean Area.
Furthermore the British population was denser in villages, where they could be
infected. It is probable that more than 60% of the population died. In legends
from this time the Celtic British area is described as a Waste Land. Even the
famous British warrior King Arthur died from the plague. The Anglo-Saxons
eventually invaded the waste land. The Celtic language was eliminated from
England. In 650 only Wales and Cornwall were outside Anglo-Saxon control.
The following timeline is taken from Wikipedia.
535 & 536: The extreme weather events of 535-536 likely caused a great
famine and thus population loss.
547: Bernicia established by Anglo-Saxons taking over part of a Celtic area
called Bryneich.
About 549: A great plague caused much population loss.
About 560: Anglians with their leader Aella conquered all of east Yorkshire and
the British kingdom of Ebrauc, and there established Deira.
573: Battle of Arfderydd at Arthuret in Cumbria: Celt fought Celt and weakened
their numbers.
581: Aella of Deira took land from the Britons, thus establishing or enlarging
Deira. He conquered a realm of the Britons and the town of York.
Around 584: The Kingdom of the Iclingas became Mercia.
The battles between Angles and Britons in Deira may be the background for an
account from Rome about 590. Here Pope Gregory the Great met some slave
boys with light hair. They told him they were Angles and their king was Aelle.
The Pope said they were Angels and this made him send the missionaries to
Britain in 595. The Pope intended to make York the second archbishopric after
Canterbury and bishop Paulinus was sent by the Pope in order to be
archbishop. He got the title of archbishop of York and also became a Saint but
stayed in Kent because the Christian influence in Northumberland was weak.
The royal palace of Deira was placed by the River Derwent east of York and so
was the kings pagan temple at Goodmanham. This is consistent with the
archaeological record which shows the greatest concentration of early Anglian
cemeteries in the east. Examples of this are Sancton and Londesborough and
early Anglian barrow burials at Driffield and Uncleby. In 627 Paulinus came to
Deira with Edwin, the king of Deira. This was due to military help from the
Redwald, the powerful king of East Anglia. Edwin was baptised by Paulinus and
Paulinus was pronounced Bishop of York by Edwin. They burned down the
pagan temple, which was surrounded with a high hoarding, and they began the
building of a church.
The strides between the tiny Germanic chiefdoms and against the Britains lead
to the forming of slightly larger units and by 520 there were small kingdoms.
The famine lead to plundering, war and emerging of new rulers many places in

50 
the world. In Anglo-Saxon England the fight for reduced resources and
increasing insecurity reinforced the forming of larger kingdoms such as East
Anglia and Mercia. Wehha was the first king of East Anglia after the union of
Norfolk and Suffolk. He died 571 and it may be that the union was in 560.
The climatic catastrophe in 540 was significant for the birth of England. But
there might be other circumstances. The conquering of the Waste Land in
Britain resembles the conquering of the Wild West in North America. In both
cases the Anglo Saxons use the opportunity to settle in new land using military
power to drive away the inhabitants. The Germanics may have had an urge for
freedom that led to migrations. This urge was predominantly by the younger
generations who did not have a right of succession in the traditional Germanic
family. They left home and joint the army or settled abroad.

24. Square-headed brooch from Fairford, Luton. Guilt bronze. Drilled holes
suggest repair in antiquity. (Hines 1997)

Now I will come back to the Angles. Square-headed brooches were the most
expensive and complex items of jewellery used by Germanics in the migration
period. More than 200 were found in England (Hines 1997). They were all
produced by local craftsmen. The brooch with square-head and two creatures
licking the diamond-food originated in South Scandinavia in the first half of the
400s. Many square-headed brooches are found in Denmark and South Norway.
About 500 the fashion of the square-headed brooch was taken up in Kent and in
the Anglian zone. The fashion was probably brought with a secondary wave of
immigrants with higher status from South Scandinavia. At this time more
families from the chieftain class in South Jutland took part in the emigration. It

51 
is likely that they established their social system in England as well as their
status symbol: the square-headed brooch.
These brooches were worn by women of families of very high social status.
They were used in the period 500-570 when power was more and more
unevenly distributed. The numbers of these brooches declined 550-570,
probably because the social elite became more restricted and close. The graves
after 550 are less richly furnished than the earlier ones. The latest square-
headed brooches may have been used by remnants of an old high-status group
losing power or transforming itself into a new elite with new habits. Notice that
about 560 the kingdoms of Deira and East Anglia was established and soon
after Mercia came up.
Square-headed brooches were used the same way as their more modest
predecessors the cruciform brooches; singly, generally on the breast to fasten
a heavy outer cloak. In the graves they are placed almost horizontally like at
figure 24. This position can be seen at several contemporary pictures of
women. At figure 50 we see two of the thousands of gold foils called
“guldgubber”, which have been found. They were used for worshipping of the
goddess and depict the goddess or/and the adorant. Here we see that the
goddess wears a big square-headed brooch.
The square-headed brooches all have different details, but they all have the
similar symbolism and the general idea resembles the idea of the cruciform
brooches. On the square-headed brooch figure 24 we still have the serpent
monster at the foot-plate, but now the three forces of life play the role as the
two eyes and the nose of the monster. At the Fairford brooch the three forces
are pictured as heads probably showing the three goddesses of fate. At the
back of the head the monster of the square-headed brooch always have two
smaller biting monsters. They are guiding the big monster and represent the
Divine Twins. A similar symbol on the Gold Horn will be used later to explain
this idea.
The inside of the big monster represents the lower world under the surface of
the earth. Here lies the factory of regeneration. In this area some brooches
have human bodies or faces. In figure 24 we have a head inside the monster
probably representing a deceased souls passing the realm of the dead on the
way to be reborn. At the head-plate we have two more heads representing
deceased souls. The masks seem to have bird’s beaks probably because the
souls are able to fly.
The head-plate symbolizes the upper world, but the invisible spiritual part of it.
In the middle we have two eyes of the generating Goddess. This Goddess of
Life gives birth to all creatures. The Angles called her Eostre or Easter. She
appears as the morning light of the eastern sky. She was worshipped at sunrise
and at a springtime festival. She is often symbolized with two eyes rising from
the earth. The eyes might be symbols for shining celestial bodies.
If we look again at the head-plate figure 24, we see that the part with the eyes
in the middle is surrounded with two outer spheres with spiritual life. In the
outermost sphere we find some powerful protecting spirits. They could be
ancestors and legendary heroes.
The advanced square headed brooches are very focused on the spiritual world
and the ancestors. It is typical for societies with inequality, that the elite use
some ideology or their heritage for legitimating their power. The square headed
brooches still adored the goddesses of faith of the lower world although this

52 
idea seems to be obsolete by the elite about 570, when the square headed
brooches went out of fashion.
Fortunately we can find the name of the Great Goddess of the Angles thanks to
the Northumbrian monk Bede who in 710 wrote a treatise called The Reckoning
of Time, where he describes the heathen Anglo-Saxon names of the months.
Eosturmonath (April) has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and
which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour
feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season
by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the
old observance. Paschal is an archaic English form of the Hebrew word, pesah.
Bede here explains that the English church have adopted the name “Easter” of
a heathen festival for the prime Christian festival in the springtime.
In England a few locations witness of the worship of Eostur: Eastry in Kent,
Eastra in Cambridgeshire and Austerfield in Yorkshire. When I look at place
names in East Anglia I find it peculiar that 16 names begin with east- and only
5 names begin with west-. It could it be that some of the original east names
were related to the Anglian goddess Eostur?
When the Anglo-Saxons were Christianized in the 600s their fate in goddess
Eostre gradually disappeared, but she was still worshipped in South Jutland
until Denmark was Christianized about 1000. Delineations of the goddess can
be seen on some sceattas minted in Ribe about 710 (figure 7) . Sceattas are
small silver coins minted at the Germanic trading centers around the North
Sea. In the 600s and 700s Frisians, Anglo-Saxons and Jutes developed a
common culture. They had the same language, techniques and social system.
The Frisians were the first to make cloth of wool for sails and build sailing ships.
They traded cloth, slaves and Frankish swords. Some of the first sceattas were
minted in the 680s in the Frisian town of Dorestad just south of Utrecht. Other
early mint centers were Ipswich in East Anglia and Domburg at the Frisian
island Walcheren. In 705 a craft and trading centre was established at Ribe
inspired by the Dorestad.

53 
25. Three sceattas of the so called Wodan/Monster type. 710.
In figure 25 we see the front side of three sceattas to the left. The two upper
ones were found in Jutland and the lower one was found in Cambridgeshire, but
they are possibly all minted in Ribe. The name Wodan/Monster of this type is a
misunderstanding. We see the two eyes of the goddess raise from the sea.
Light rays radiate from the eyes and the eyes may represent celestial bodies.
The even armed cross is an old heathen symbol for the spiritual heavenly
world. In the outer ring we see some male faces. They probably have a similar
meaning as the faces at the head plate (figure 24) they are spirits of ancestors.
The snakes are invisible forces. Another example of the Germanic rising
Goddess can be seen on mountings from the 5 th century (figure 33) and will be
explained later.
The Goddess of Light was worshipped in South Jutland as late as 960. This is
documented by a report from an Arabic merchant, At-Tartuschi, who visited
Hedeby in Istathe Syssel about that year. Among other things he tells that the
inhabitants worship “al Shira”, apart from a little group of Christians, who have
a church there. He was there when they all celebrated the Goddess by eating
and drinking. Those who sacrifice an animal (ox, ram, goat or pig) put the head
of the animal on top of a pole outside the front door. The name “al Shira”
means “The shining One”, but it is also the name of “Sirius”.

54 
The Sutton Hoo ship-burial
The Sutton Hoo grave field contained about twenty barrows and was reserved
for people who were buried individually with objects that indicated that they
had exceptional wealth or prestige, probably belonging to the royal family of
East Anglia. It was used in this way from around 575 to 625. The ship-burial is
one of the most magnificent archaeological finds in England due to its size and
completeness and the quality and beauty of its contents. The exceptional
artifacts show us elements of the heathen religion of the Anglians before the
arrival of Cristianity and the Aesir religion.
The Frankish coins in the belt purse testify that the grave belonged to Redwald.
He was king of Anglia 615-628 . Redwald means “victorious ruler”. He also had
the title Bretwalda, “Britains ruler” signifying that he was leader of a dozen
kings in the Germanic part of Britain. The ship in which Redwald was burried
had room for 38 oars. His body with jewelry, weapons and regalia’s were placed
in a wooden hut in the middle of the ship. A ship-burial was a heathen idea. The
meaning was that the dead spirit could sail with the spiritual ship to the realm
of the dead. Ship-burials from the 600s are only found in East Anglia and in the
Vendel area 100 km north of present day Stockholm.
In the Vendel ship-graves close archaeological parallels to the Sutton Hoo ship-
burial are found, in particular the helmet (figure 4). Helmets of a similar shape
were used by the cavalry of the Byzantine Army in the 500s and the Swedes
may have taken part in wars of this army. They copied the form of the helmets
but the decorations are clearly Scandinavian. Forms for stamping bronze plates
for these helmets have been found on the island of Öland in the Baltic Sea. The
helmets found in Vendel may have been produced on Öland.
There are several reports on these helmets from the 500s. It is told that a
magnificent helmet is given to Beowulf from the king Hrothgar. The helmet was
called a boar. Beowulf carried this helmet when he had to fight Grendels
mother. Eadgils (Adils) who became king of Sweden about 535 by help of
Beowulf also possessed a boar-helmet called Hildesvin (“battle–boar”).
According to Snorre he conquered the helmet from another king. According to
Saxo Hrothulf (Rolf Krake) tried to rob the helmet from Adils. We see that the
boar symbol was used by Danish and Swedish kings in the 500s. The Sutton
Hoo helmet has boar heads on the eyebrows (figure 4). The helmet from the
barrow in Benty Grange, Derbyshire is boar-crested (figure 66).
We can speculate on how Danes or Swedes brought their helm tradition to East
Anglia. Newton and myself believe that the East Anglian royal family claimed
to descend from the Wulfings. In the last half of the 500s they probably had
contact to the rich Swedish kings. The shield from Sutton Hoo was renovated
and appears to have some age before it was placed in the grave. A similar
shield with similar splendid decorations was found in a Vendel grave in
Sweden and suggest personal contacts with the Baltic Area. One possibility is
that a boy from the East Anglian royal family was fostered by a Sweedish king.
He could also have been in military service by a Swedish king in the same
manner as Beowulf did. After some years of military service he could have
returned to East Anglia with his men including craftsmen. Maybe he was
married to a Swedish princess. We do not know the name of Redwalds wife, but

55 
she was mentioned to be a hard core heathen. In the 600s we find the first
gravestones with runic inscriptions. They are raised in Blekinge by a lineage of
Danish kings that all have wulf-names.
575 is the end of the Migration Age and about that time there was a
fundamental change in Germanic elite culture in all Europe. The decorative
animal style changed from Style 1 into a more sophisticated Style 2. The use of
gold bracteates in Scandinavia stopped. The reason for this change is obscure.
May be it was a consequence of the climatic catastrophe in 540 and the famine
in the following time. The crises would cause some elite groups to loose power.
The elite groups that gained power seem to drop the ethnic connection to their
subordinates and instead focused on the family and cultivated connections to
foreign elite groups. In other words abandonment of the tribe society.
At the end of the Migration Age the Frankish rulers and the Swedish rulers
turned out to be the most powerful and rich Germanic's. These places
attracted artisans and splendid examples of style 2 has been found there. The
Frankish influence is seen in Kent and the Swedish influence is seen in East
Anglia.

26. Mythical eagle placed on the shield in Sutton Hoo. The face on the leg is
copied.
I will examine some more of the objects from Sutton Hoo in order to understand
the religious ideas at the kings court. I already mentioned the pair of drinking
horns (figure 3) and the decorated bronze-helmet (figure 4). Both finds are
related to the worship of the Divine Twins. The royal scepter (figure 59) is also

56 
important, but the interpretation of the scepter will be covered in the later
chapter “Tiw”. Right now we will have a look at the mythical eagle that was
placed on the kings shield.
The characteristic mythic eagle with rolled up beak and claws can be traced
back to the Scytian and Sarmatian tribes. An eagle in gold adorned many
warrior standards, weapons and jewellery. The eagle symbol was very popular
among Sarmatian warriors and was probably the most common animal in the
Sarmatian animal style. The eagle was a symbol of the mistress of heaven who
brought the dead soul of the warrior to the realm of death. In Roman time the
Sarmatian warrior elite got considerable influence in some Germanic tribes.
About 300 the eagle symbol spread to the warrior elite in some Germanic tribes
like the Goths and Saxons. Since then an eagle symbol has been used in royal
coat of arms and is still used today in national symbols for Germany and USA.
About 600 the mythical eagle is seen on the Baltic Islands in Scandinavia and
even in Sotton Hoo (figure 27).
The body of the bird (figure 26) is a reconstruction. The bird has womanly
marks. The decorated costume resembles a woman’s dress and cloak. In the
Norse mythology the goddess Freya had an eagle slough. The eyes and
especially the eyebrows are big and they show that she is watching everything.
The beak and claws are very long and have to be rolled up, when they are not
in use. They are long in order to reach out and catch the souls. At the back of
her head we have a monster that seems to be interested in eating souls. I
suppose that this is a symbol of the big monster in the realm of death that we
have seen on the cruciform brooches (figure 23). The crest on the helmet from
Sutton Hoo is probably the same monster of death (figure 4).

27. Lid from a belt purse, where king Redwald kept gold.
The mask on the leg of the eagle is very interesting. It is a male face with a
beard. The technique is glass or precious stones held by silver threads. The
same symbol is seen on most finds of the mythical eagle symbol. The mask
probably represents the soul of a deceased human. The symbol placed on the

57 
shield could testify that the king trusted the Mistress of Heaven. It could also
testify that the king had the protection of the Goddess of life and death. That
would give him divine power.
Now we look at the marvelous belt purse from Sutton Hoo. Two of the golden
decorations show the mythical eagle bent over another bird with a wide beak.
It could be the mother protecting the young. This apparent younger bird could
be her offspring. A bird with a wide beak is also seen on the nose and eyebrows
of the helmet (figure 4). I imagine that the young bird is a symbol for Eostur,
the goddess of dawn. She brings the morning light and the new life. Eostur was
the goddess of birth by the Angles. The two goddesses are two aspects of the
goddess of life.
The Venerable Bede gives the information that February was called Hreth-
monath and March was Eostur-monath. Bede is referred in the chapter The
Germanic Calendar. Both months were named after goddesses and the
goddesses were worshipped in the respective months. The name Eostur means
“light rising up”. The Indo-European word “aus” means “to shine”. She was
responsible for the morning light, the rising of the sun and the stars and for the
new life. Similar names are found for goddesses in the Antique: Usatara
(India), Aset Egypt) called Isis by the Greeks, Ishtar (Babylon), Astarte (Syria),
Esther (Jews), Aurora (Latin), Ausrine (Latvia) and Ostara (Frisia).
The meaning of the name Hreth is doubtful. Some authors believe that the
word hreth means “quick” and has to do with natural phenomena in February. I
think that the word hreth is similar to the Danish word “ræd” meaning “afraid,
horrified”. The old bird represents the Mistress of the dead and she comes
flying to pick up the dying. Thus she was probably called Hreth (“horrible”).
Another interesting symbol on the purse is a man between two wolves. I will
examine that symbol in a later chapter: “The welcome symbol”.
In 596 Pope Gregory the Great sent a delegation to England in order to
Christianize the king of Kent. At that time there were more than a dozen
heathen kingdoms in England. These kingdoms had emerged through many
battles between the Anglo Saxon groups and through the defeating of the
Britons. In the Anglo Saxon society the power was centralized at the royal
family. Still the power of the king was not stable. He was not representing a
single ethnic group as the earls once did. He was ruler of several ethnic groups.
His inheritance alone could not guarantee his legitimacy. His alliances could not
be trusted. He could be threatened by rebels or assassins. The Christian
missionary bishops offered the king to have his legitimacy by God. If the king
introduced Christianity as the official religion of his Kingdom, he would be
looked upon as chosen by God, by the church by his subjects and by other
Christian rulers. In the old Germanic communities the iril/earl was leader of the
worship of the gods of the community. When the leader worshipped a new god,
the common man would probably prepare himself for that. Consequently the
main interest of the first Christian missionary Bishops in England was to
convert the kings.
The best results of the mission were in Kent, South of Thames and
Northumbria, probably because these areas had a considerable population of
Britons and even a few surviving Christians. East Anglia and the Midlands were
more tardy. Mercia was the last kingdom to be Christian.
In 731 Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People writes the
introduction of Christianity in East Anglia. It can be seen that the missionary

58 
work was concentrated on the powerful kings:
Edwin (King of Northumbria) was so zealous for the worship of truth, that he
likewise persuaded Eorpwald (King of East Anglia), son of Redwald, to abandon
his idolatrous superstitions, and with his whole province to receive the faith
and sacraments of Christ. And indeed his father Redwald had long before been
admitted to the sacrament of the Christian faith in Kent, but in vain; for on his
return home, he was seduced by his wife and certain perverse teachers, and
turned back from the sincerity of the faith; and thus his latter state was worse
than the former; so that, like the ancient Samaritans, he seemed at the same
time to serve Christ and the gods whom he had served before; and in the same
temple he had an altar to sacrifice to Christ, and another small one to offer
victims to devils; which temple, Aldwulf, king of that same province, who lived
in our time testifies had stood until his time, and that he had seen it when he
was a boy. The aforesaid King Redwald was noble by birth, though ignoble in
his actions. Eorpwald was, not long after he had embraced the Christian faith,
slain by one Richbert, a pagan; and from the time the province was under error
for three years, till the crown came into the possession of Sigebert, brother to
the same Eorpwald, a most Christian and learned man.

59 
The Saxons
The Germanic tribes normally used spear as their weapon. The word “German”
means “spear men”. The use of spear does not demand much training. All men
in the tribe could use it and they actually did I case of war. The word Saxon
refers to the word “sachs” meaning “short sword”. In order to fight with a
sword you need more training. The sword could not be used of all men in the
tribe but only of a minor warrior group. The short sword gives freedom of
movement and is convenient for raids. Ambitious young men in Germanic
tribes obtained arms and training by joining some warriors and taking part in
war or plundering somewhere far away. Already about 100 Tacitus mentioned
companies of young Germanic warriors, who did not belong to a specific tribe.
For a young man in a Germanic tribe it was tempting to seek fame and fortune
through plunder and piracy. Times were insecure. A tribe could be plundered by
a warrior group from another tribe and the prisoners sold as slaves to the
Romans. In those times formation of warrior groups was almost inevitable.
The Saxones are one of the Germanic tribes mentioned on the map of Ptolemy
from 130 AD. Ptolemy placed them on the east bank of River Elbe in modern
Holstein. He placed some islands in front of the inlet of River Elbe and called
them Saxon Islands. Tacitus in his list of Germanic tribes from 100 AD does not
mention the Saxons. At the East bank of the Elbe he places the Reudigni tribe.
Many authors, myself included, believe that Ptolemy never placed Saxones on
the map and that his name of the tribe there has been misinterpreted by the
many copyists. The copyists lived in a time when the Saxons were well known.
One copyist wrote Axiones instead of Saxones
In the land on the west bank of River Elbe Ptolemy as well as Tacitus placed
the Chauci tribe. The tribe name probably means “hackers” because they
fought with axes, hatchets. In the period 1-200 the culture of the people in this
land was similar to the culture in the western parts of Schleswig and Holstein .
They all resembled one another in their funeral fashions. Their urns were
similar both in shape and ornamentation (Hodgkin 1952). These people living
near the North Sea were called Ingvaeones by the Romans and they had the
same god Ing.
The only written history of the old Saxons is due to Widukind of Corvey in the
1000s. He wrote that people came over the Sea and took land in Haduloha and
that there was a battle for the land. The name Haduloha is later known as
Hadeln and originally Hadeln was the name of the whole area between the
rivers Elbe and Weser. To day Hadeln is the name of a part of this area, but in
this book I will call the whole area Haduloha. Of several explanations of the
name Haduloha I believe in the following. The English word “hade” means
slope, rise and possible seaside. The old German word “loh” means clearing or
meadow. The Indo-European “louko” means “open space”. Thus Haduloha could
mean “seaside meadow”. This is a good description of the landscape as a large
part of it is (and was) marsh and there is little woods. The invaders were a
warrior group belonging to some tribe. We do not know when they came and
what they were called. I the second half of the 200s inhumation burials
appeared at the West Coast of South Jutland and Holstein, which may be
interpreted as the existence of a warrior class in this area. In the 400s the Jutes
had connections to Haduloha. We can assume that some people came from
Jutland or Holstein by boat and tried to take some land in Hadeln.

60 
Since there is no change in the material culture in Haduloha we know that the
Chauci tribe was not wiped out. The result of the invasion of a foreign warrior-
group could be the establishment of a warrior class in Haduloha. But there is
no indication of a princely ruler in Haduloha neither from written sources nor
from archaeological finds. It is more likely that more warrior groups established
themselves in different parts of Haduloha. Some of them must have been
former Chauci groups. Anyway the Chauci's probably originally emerged as an
alliance of ethnic groups.
Haduloha had exceptional many warrior graves from the last half of the 300s
and from the 400s, cremations as well as inhumations (Böhme 1974). The
leading Germanic warrior families in Gaul and in Haduloha were rich. This
appears from the splendid equipment of the graves. The style and wealth of
the equipment indicates that these warriors had served in the Roman army. In
some of the graves in the area between the Rhine and the Weser are found
coins emitted by rulers in Gaul in the first half of the 400s. These Roman rulers
could be usurpators, who strived to be emperors in Rome. The coins directly
indicates that the Germanic warriors were paid as mercenaries by these rulers
(Böhme 1974). I have mentioned that Saxons helped the Romans in wars
against the Burgundies 415 and 436. Aetius, the ruler of Roman Gaul, we know
had Saxons on his side when he defeated the Huns in 451.
The rich Germanic warrior graves in Haduloha indicate that these Germanic
warriors were allied with Roman rulers. We may presume that Haduloha was
divided in minor estates each controlled by a warrior family or by a group of
warriors. The different groups in Haduloha did not fight eachother. There are no
warlike signs at the settlements. The chieftains were independent and they
could go on raid by themselves anywhere but in Haduloha. They could also join
each other and take part in wars allied with Roman rulers. That is probably
what happened in the few cases we know, when it is told that Saxons was
fighting with the Roman army. From about 400 the people in Lower Saxony,
including Haduloha, are called Saxon. Haduloha was the first Saxon land.
Lebuin was missionary by the Saxons. He died 776. “The Life of Lebuin”
written in the 900s has a description of the social organisation of the Saxons.
In olden times the Saxons had no king but appointed rulers over each village;
and their custom was to hold a general meeting once a year in the centre of
Saxony near the river Weser at a place called Marklo. There all the leaders
used to gather together and they were joined by twelve noblemen from each
village with as many freedmen and serfs. There they confirmed the laws, gave
judgement on outstanding cases and by common consent drew up plans for
the coming year on which they could act either in peace or war.
Marklo means “demarcated meadow” and is now a village in Haduloha.
The Romans called the people near the sea Chauci. In 47 Chaucis and Frisians
raided Gallia Belgica. 170-200 Chauci raided the Continent and Britain. After
200 the Chauci are no longer mentioned in these coastal regions. The
prevalent theory of the origin of the Saxons is that the Saxon tribe from the
east conquered and drove away the tribes to west. But from the cemeteries
with thousands of urns we know that this land still had a considerable
population. They had almost the same beliefs as the Angles as we can see
from their urns. J.N.L. Myres in his excellent book (Myres 1986) concludes: “It
would thus seem likely that the westward extension of Saxon power in the
third century, while it broke up the old political hegemony of the Chauci, did

61 
not displace the bulk of the population.” This statement opens for another
theory: that in some tribes, like the Cauci, a warrior groups emerged. These
warriors were called Saxons.
Influenced from the East more ethnic groups in the Frisian areas and areas
around the Rhine Mouth established warrior groups with swords. In the period
200-400 the ethnic groups lost their distinction and were replaced by Saxons
in the reports. A warrior group would have the military power in the tribe and
they probably exploited the resources in the tribe, but they earned their living
as mercenaries or by plundering and piracy. As far as I know the Saxon's did
not raid other Saxons or Frisians. The warriors needed military adventures in
order to obtain power and wealth so they rowed their boats on River Elbe and
along the North Sea cost. The Germanic boats were clinker built whereas the
boats in the Roman provinces were carvel built. A clinker boat needs less
internal framing and is lighter, faster and much easier to row.
The spread of the warrior society is indicated by the emerge of inhumations. In
Northern Netherlands the dead were cremated until about 400. From that time
cremations and inhumations were found side by side.
In the period 250-285 a number of forts were build on the Gallic and British
coasts. The first recorded Saxon raid on these coasts was in the 280s. In 285
Carausius, a commander of Roman legions, was given the task of eliminating
the Frankish and Saxon pirates. His mission was very successful but he was
accused of being in league with the pirates and keeping their plunder for
himself. He was condemned to death by the emperor of Rome, but Carausius
declared himself emperor of an independent Britain and reigned until 293. In
370 seaborne Saxons called Kouadoi, interpreted as Cauci, settled in Batavia,
an island in the Rhine Delta. From there they drove away a Frankish tribe.
The priest and historian Orosius wrote in 416: “The Saxons are a people of the
Ocean settled in pathless swamps and on the sea shore” Numerous mound-
settlements have been found among the marshes that fringed the sea most of
the way from the Elbe to the the Rhine. A typical excavated mound is
Feddersen Wierde in Haduloha. The population on the mound increased in the
000s. In the 100s a chieftains house was coming up on the mound. This house
is unusual by having no cattle-shed although it is provided with three barns. In
connection to the chieftains house are some fifty houses including a bronze
casting-house and a forge. The complex was in contrast to the other houses on
the mound surrounded by a rampart with palisade. The fortified complex
probably belonged to a warrior group. These people may at some time have
been called Saxons. About 450 the occupation ceased, probably because of
movement overseas to England. Pottery and other objects from the final phase
correspond very closely with those found in settlements at Mucking, a site on
the Thames estuary. Many settlements in Haduloha was abandoned in the
400s. Another site excavated in North Holland seems to show a similar history.
Many of the settlements and large urn-fields along the North Sea cost area
came to an end about 450. The number of finds decrease remarkably in the
period 450-600. Pollen diagrams from Lower Saxony and Schleswig - Holstein
also show a decrease in settlement indicators.

62 
The East Saxons
In the period 100-500 the South coast of the Baltic Sea between the Elbe River
and the Odra River was sparsely populated. The few informations we have
about the Germanics in this area justify to call them East Saxons. In this period
there was a change in their culture and religion. The original religious ideas of
the Germanic tribes were similar to the ideas of the Angles. However in times
of migration tribes had to change their social system and religion. In some
tribes warrior groups arose. The warrior groups were frequently living apart
from their tribe, fighting together with or against foreign warriors that may
have had a more advanced culture. The rise of a new warrior culture was
inevitable. Some East Saxon warrior groups adopted the ideas of Woden,
Thunor and Freya. I will now try to understand how how these foreign religious
ideas became part of the Germanic pantheon.
100 A.D. areas east of the Vistula River were dominated by Sarmatian’s.
Ptolemy called Eastern Europe Sarmatia and on his map we find the Sarmatian
tribe Budini north of the source of river Dnepr in modern White Russia. The
letter B in the tribe name was probably pronounced W, but the Greek alphabet
does not include a letter W. The Greek Ptolemy only had the letter B (soft b)
for the sound W. Herodotus about 400 BC placed the Budini at the Middle of
River Dnepr. They were tall, blond, with blue yes and light skin. Their language
was Scytian (Sarmatian). Alexander the Great called them Otena. The tribe
name Wudini is derived from “Wu Din” meaning “victorious warrior” in the
languages Sanskrit and Sarmatian. The word Wu Din was originally a title of a
Sarmatian war-lord. The name Wu Din became Wotan by the East Saxons,
Woden by the Saxons in England and Odin in Scandinavia.
The Sarmatian tribes were horse riders. Sarmatian culture includes riding,
military techniques,a chieftain caste, interment of the dead, burial mounds,
grave stones, sacrifice of horses, heavenly gods, precious jewellery,
ornamentation with animals and high status of women. In their society there
was a warrior class with an advanced military technique.
There are reports of Sarmatian attacks on the Roman border but equally
sometimes Sarmatian cavalry was used in the Roman army. Sarmatians had
contact with Germaninic tribes and they combined against the Roman Legions,
but they were also rivals. An example of these contacts is the Roman emperor
Maximin, who had a Gothik father and a Sarmatian mother. He was the first
non-Roman to become emperor in 235. Warriors with Sarmatian heritage were
somehow adopted in some Germanic tribes where they became military
leaders. Warfare and the influence from Sarmatian culture caused a new social
system in Germanic tribes. The warriors were tribe leaders and they became
more powerful and superior to the rest of their own tribe. Their social contact
with leaders of other tribes could be military cooperation, marriage,
educational residence of sons or precious gifts.

63 
28. Part of Scytian drinking horn from Merdjany, Kuban 200s BC.

Sarmatian religion is illustrated at figure 28. The Mistress of life and death sits
in Heaven with her attributes: a tree of life and a horse scull. The horseman is
a dead soul. He receives the drink of immortality in his horn from the bottle of
the Goddess. After that he lives in the other world with the departed heroes.
The chieftain class in some Germanic tribes adopted Sarmatian culture
including their religion. The chieftains of the Germanic tribe officiated as
priests and the humbler classes in the society normally accepted a lead given
by their superiors. The new gods resided in heaven and were called Aesir
(“elevated”).
The ancestor Woden was worshipped like a god and he also resided in heaven.
When the worshippers of Woden died their spirit went to heaven, and they
were placed by Woden’s table according to their rank and reputation. They
were not reborn as they would be in the traditional Germanic cyclic religion.
The noble descent was very important for the chieftain and warrior class
because it legitimated their power. They believed that their powerful dead
ancestors lived in another world and they practised ancestor worship. The idea
of the living ancestor is related to interment burial. When the dead body of the
person was buried with his personal belongings the descendants could easily
imagine that the dead person was a living spirit. The cremation, which was
the traditional burial for the Germanic's implied the idea, that the dead soul
had forgotten his previous life and was moving around in order to be
reincarnated. These two principles are called respectively salvation religion and
cyclic religion. One kind of burial can not always be connected to one kind of
religion. For example Christianity use interment as well as cremation. The
occurrence of isolated interment burials in Germanic cemeteries seem to
spread from east to west. I will take that as a sign of the rise of a new elite of
chieftains and warriors in the Germanic tribes.
Samland is now Kaliningrad and lies near the outlet of River Memel in the
Baltic. The source of River Memel is near to the source of River Dnepr, where
Sarmatians lived. In the 000s AD we see burials in Sarmatian style in Samland

64 
with burial mounds, rider outfit and horse sacrifices. The society in Samland is
called Dolkheim-Kovrovo-Culture (Nowakowski 1996) Here we also have
ordinary cremation burials, which means that the Sarmatian warrior class lived
side by side with the Baltic farmers. Artefacts produced in the Roman Empire
are found in the graves and show that the Samland warriors took part in the
Roman wars. The Samland society is the first time in the Baltic Area, where we
find a warrior elite living together with ordinary farmers. But in the following
centuries this kind of community spread to the west.
About 100 we see a similar culture with horse sacrifices by a Germanic tribe at
the outlet of River Wistula. About 275 the Greek Aithikos sailed around the
European Continent (Wüttke 1853). He noted that River Oder was the border
to the Saxons. At the outlet of River Oder he met a Germanic tribe with a
Sarmatian chieftain. He describes them as merchants and pirates and very
good shipbuilders. By the outlet of Oder some early burial mounds and horse
sacrifices have been found.

29. Sarmatian spearheads about 200 a) found in Dahmsdorf near Berlin, b)

found in Kowel, Northwest Ukraine. (Shchukin 1994)
Ritual spearheads produced by Sarmates are decorated with a characteristic
Sarmatian tamga symbol. The tamga is used as a heraldic symbol, but it
originally symbolizes a fire alter. A few of these spearheads have a Germanic
inscription with runes, figure 29. The inscription RANJA meaning “the runner”
may be the name of the spear. The other inscription TILARIDS means “target
hitter” likewise the name of the spear. The two spearheads were probably
produced for Germanic warriors possible Saxon.

65 
30. Buckle from Kossewen, Samland about 200.
The Scythians ( who are Sarmatians as well) had a very characteristic eagle
symbol probably as a symbol of the Mistress of Heaven. By the Germanic
farmers the Goddess of Life and Death would primarily reside in the Earth. But
by the Sarmatic or Germanic warrior groups who moved from place to place the
Goddess had to be in heaven. Like the Valkyries in the Viking Age the heavenly
goddess would pick up the soul of the slay'd warrior and brig him to the Realm
of Death. On the buckle from Samland figure 30 we see the eagle sitting on
top of the world. (Museum für Vor- u. Frühgeschichte Berlin.)

31. Wooden cup found in Vimose in Funen about 300.

The war booty in Vimose (“sacred moor”) figure 31 belonged to an army from
the South Coast of the Baltic, that is from what I call the East Saxons. A similar
eagle symbol has been found in Germanic princely graves in Silesia about 300
perhaps belonging to Vandals. In the 500s we see the eagle symbol in
Scandinavia for instance on the island Gotland and on the island Funen. See
the gold bracteate from Gudme figure 85. About 600 the eagle symbol came
to England from Scandinavia, not from the Saxons. See the eagle from Sutton
Hoo figure 26

66 
We have a description of Odins entry in the Germanic world. The Icelandic
historian Snorre in his Prose Edda 1230 wrote :
Odin made ready to journey out of Turkland, and was accompanied by a great
multitude of people, young folk and old, men and women; and they had with
them much goods of great price. And wherever they went over the lands of the
earth, many glorious things were spoken of them, so that they were held more
like gods than men. They made no end to their journeying till they were come
north into the land that is now called Saxland; In that land Odin set up three of
his sons for land-wardens. One was named Vegdeg: he was a mighty king and
ruled over East Saxland; his son was Vitgils; his sons were Vitta, Hengest's
father, and Sigarr, father of Svebdeg, whom we call Svipdagr. The second son
of Odin was Beldeg, whom we call Baldr: he had the land which is now called
Westphalia. His son was Brandr, his son Frjódigar, (whom we call Fródi), his son
Freóvin, his son Uvigg, his son Gevis (whom we call Gave). Odin's third son …
The genealogy from the Royal House of Kent includes a sequence Woden—
Witta—Withgils--Hengist. We can recognize this sequence of four names in
Snorres list. In the genealogy of the West Saxons (Wessex) we find a sequence
of kings Woden—Baeldaeg—Brand—Freothogar—Freawin—Wig—Gewis. These
seven names are the same by Snorre. The reason could be that Snorre in
Iceland had knowledge of old Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. These manuscripts
were written by monks. The Anglo-Saxon monks tried to keep track of politics,
that i.e. the line of kings in England, and their ancestors, even from the time
before the settlement in England. Woden is a title of a victorious chieftain and
any Saxon family could claim to have an ancestor with this title.
A new religious practise in a tribe could only be introduced by a person who
had this practice and resided in the tribe. We do not know exactly how the
foreigner got the position, but we might get a general idea from old legends.
The Danish History, Book III (Saxo) has a long story about Balder but here I will
refer only the essentials. Balder lived in the last half of the 200s. Balder
wanted to marry a princess of a kingdom in South Jutland and conquer her
kingdom. This kingdom might be in Ellem Syssel (figure 6) with the village
Bolderslev, where Balder is told to have died. He attacked Hother, who was
engaged to the princess. Hother was a Hadbard and he has given name to the
town Haderslev in Barwith Syssel. One of their battles was naval. Balder said
he was descendant of the Gods and had Odin and Thor with him. Hother was
helped by the three norns, who gave him a magic coat of mail. Hother won
the battle and Balder took the flight. Gelder, the King of Saxony, who met his
end in the same war, was set by Hother upon the corpses of his oarsmen, and
then laid on a pyre built of vessels. This battle probably has a connection to a
sacrifice from about 275 of war booty in Ejsbøl Moor, near Haderslev. Here was
found iron spikes from a burned ship, a precious golden belt and weapons from
200 men. The find may represent the belongings of the Saxon king Gelder.
Hother and Balder had more wars and Balder acquired the princess and her
kingdom for a while. In the last battle Balder was deadly wounded by Hother.
In Neudorf-Bornstein in the South East end of Istathe Syssel was found a rich
grave with a precious belt similar to the belt in Eisbøl. This may be Balders
grave. A lot of stories has survived in Norse Mythology about the death of
Balder, Odins son, probably kept alive by the Saxons in Balders lineage. But
the worship of Odin did not succeed in South Jutland until it was taken up again
in the Viking Age.
Now I have presented a few informations about the East Saxons. They typically

67 
formed professional warrior groups. Their means of transport were well build
rowing boats or horses. They adopted some Sarmatian traditions and religious
ideas. The warrior groups could be rulers in the local tribe. They were allied to
other warrior groups sometimes with family connections. The warrior groups
came from different tribes, but they sometimes worked together as an
association called Saxon. In 260 the three associations Saxons, Alamannies and
Franks broke through the border of the Roman Empire and conquered South
Germany, so the border had to be moved to the south.
Hengist invaded Kent with some Jutish warriors but according to the genealogy
of the Royal House of Kent he was a descendant of Witta. Witta is mentioned in
the Old English poem Widsith, the most reliable description of Germanic tribes
in the 400s. It says “Witta weold Swæfum” The Swefs, that Witta ruled,
probably lived near the contemporary city Schwerin 100 km east of Hamburg.
In this neighbourhood are several place names with “Witte”. In addition there
are villages called Wotenitz, Wotenick and Wotrum named after Wotan and
Jassewitz named after Aesir, the heavenly gods. We may call the Swefs tribe
East Saxons since Snorri called this part East Saxland. Personal names and
place names indicate that the Swefs about 400 had a chieftain class that had
adopted the Aesir gods from the Sarmatians. Hengist probably belonged to the
East Saxon tradition. From Schwerin you can paddle down a tributary of the
Elbe onward the Elbe and out to Haduloha. Later I will present some indications
that Haduloha in the 300s became populated by Saxon warrior groups coming
from different tribes Caucis, Jutes, Swefs and probably more. Haduloha was a
wealthy stronghold of the Saxon warlords. The Saxons here probably developed
some of the same ideas. In the middle of Haduloha we have the placename
Odisheim probably named after Odin/ Wodin.
The area between Elbe and Rhine including Haduloha is called Lower Saxony
and Westphalia. The population here seems to have achieved a common
pagan culture in the period 400-800 and they are called Old Saxons. They had
some east Saxon ideas like the independent warrior groups. The warrior elite
seem to be influenced by Sarmatic culture and they worshipped ancestor god
Wotan. Warrior graves with horse burials have been found. In the Saxon
cemetery in Liebenau on the west bank of Weser are some horse burials. The
oldest is dated to about 500 (Hässler 1983). At 800 the Old Saxons were
eventually subdued by the Frankish king Charlemagne and ultimately forced to
convert to Christianity. The Saxon was forced to answer the question: “Do you
renounce Wodan, Thunor, Saxnot and all other monsters?” Saxnot is well
known from other texts and he was probably Tiw, the supreme Germanic god.

68 
The Saxon Emigration
The Saxons were not a tribe located somewhere at the North Sea Cost. They
were warrior groups with members from one or from different tribes.. Many
efforts have been made to determine the material and spiritual culture of
Saxons, where it originated and where it emerged in England.
In Haduloha the equal-armed brooch was common in the 400s, and since it is
almost only found in Haduloha, it must have been produced there. This brooch
was made by the technique called ship-carving, a technique first found by
Germanics in Roman service. We may assume that some Germanic craftsmen
have moved from the Roman area to the Germanic area. The brooch is called
Saxon. Some of the women, who ware this brooch, were married to Saxon
warriors in Haduloha. A few of the equal-armed brooches have been found in
the Anglian areas in Middle England. The immigrants here arrived by the Ouse
River through the Fens. Women from Haduloha probably brought the brooches
with them. These women could also be Angles from South Jutland who had
stayed a short time in Haduloha.

32. Equal-armed brooch and two eagle brooches from a grave in Anderlingen,
Haduloha, 400s (Hässler 1991).

The brooches figure 32 are guilded. They belonged to an inhumation burial in

an old bronze-age mound in Haduloha. The equal-armed brooches are allways
found singly. They were worn on the breast to hold a cape. Most Germanic
ornaments have a spiritual meaning and we may expect the same for the this
brooch. I guess that the two almost symmetrical parts represent the upper
world and the lower world, heaven and earth. We have more ore less the same
idea in the cruciform brooch and the square-headed brooch. On the bridge
between the two worlds, figure 32, is placed a schematic figure that may be
explained as a human soul flying to heaven. Opposite placed animals are found
in both worlds. They may represent all living creatures.
The two small brooches have been worn on the shoulders to hold the dress.
The mythical eagle represents the mistress of heaven like on figures 26,30, 31
and 85. It is interesting that the eagle carries a human mask just like the
eagle from Sutton Hoe figure 26. The mask represents a dead soul, that is

69 
carried away by the heavenly mother.
In the second half of the 300s some Germanic warriors settled in Gaul. The
Roman army in North France and Belgium was composed of Germanic
mercenaries. Böhme has studied more than 100 Germanic graves in the area
between the Rhine and the Seine. Most of them included weapons and were
men's graves. These Germanic warriors were well paid by the rulers in Gaul
and some of them seem to have been landowners. (Böhme 1974). The
brooches and hairpins in the women's graves followed the same fashion as the
women in the graves east of the Rhine , which means that the Germanic
warrior families in Gaul came from the Germanic area now called Lower Saxony
(especially Haduloha). After 400 the fashions developed independent
indicating that the migration of Germanic warriors into Gaul decreased.

                               

33. Bronze strap ends from Abbeville by River Somme 400s (Salin 1904).
In the second half of the 400s some of the Germanic warriors from Gaul
invaded the south coast of England. The Germanic cemeteries south of the
Thames are composed of inhumation burials, and if there are cremation burials
in a cemetery they are only a minority. In men's graves are found weapons and
bronze buckles. In women's graves are found brooches and girdle hangers.
Evison has shown that some of these artefacts were produced in North Gaul
near River Somme. The production continued in England for a few decades
(Evison 1965).
Many of the bronze artefacts have ornaments similar to figure 33 Here we see
two mythical animals in the opposite direction facing a mask. The two animals
probably represent the Divine Twins, the most popular deities by the
Germanic's in the period of the great migrations. The mask probably
represents the Goddess of Light appearing as the Dawn. According to Bede the
Angles in England called her Eostur meaning “raising light”. I mentioned that
she was worshipped by many nations the Antique. The bronze founding
technique was first used in the Roman provinces but the ornamentation was
Germanic. The interpretation of the symbols will be explained elsewhere.

70 
34. Decoration on a brooch from Canterbury, Kent
The same style and almost the same motive is seen on the brooch from
Canterbury figure 34. But here the mask looks like a man. On the buckle from
Galsted, figure 19, we also have a man's face. We probably see the Divine
Twins guiding the rebirth of the man. The face that is lying down on the buckle
my represent the dead man before his rebirth.
Gildas, a British priest writing about 540, says that that an appeal for help was
send from the ruler of Roman Britain to Aetius, ruler of Roman Gaul. When the
Huns were defeated 451, Childerich became king of the Frank's and ruled the
Roman province Belgium. From there he was fighting the Saxons, Allemannies
and Goths. The fighting with the Franks may have lead Saxon warriors in Gaul
to immigrate into the rich South England. These warriors would have good
chances there because the first Germanic kingdom was just established by
Hengist in Kent.
The burials south of Thames indicate an invasion of warrior families from north
Gaul in the second half of the 400s. The Germanics did not write reports so we
do not know what the invaders called themselves. Some modern authors call
them Franks because they came from north Gaul. Franks was a collective name
for several ethnic groups, who abandoned maritime expeditions and settled
inland. We do not know what the Germanic warriors who arrived from Gaul
called themselves. The native Briton writers called them Saxons, and I prefer
to do that. The Romans and the Britons called all the Germanic people in
Britain Saxons. In Christian times the Anglian clerks used the Latin word
Saxonia for the Germanic part of Britain. The clerks used the word Angelcyn for
the Germanic's in England and Englisc for the language. The word Saxon was
political rather than ethnic.
In Sussex the first Germanic finds from the second half of the 400s are
concentrated in an area near Brighton, where the Romano-British settlement
had been sparse. Germanic cemeteries have been found 20 km east of
Brighton and 20 km west of Brighton at the stronghold Highdown. The Saxon
conquest of Sussex is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 477. The
time has to be corrected because the years in the Chronicle has appeared to be
20 years too late.
457(corrected): Ælle landed I Britain and his three sons- Cymen and Wlencing
and Cissa- with three ships, at the place which is called Cymenes ora; and
there they slew many of the Welsh and some that flight they drove into the
wood that is called Andredesleage.
And in 471(corrected). Ælle and Cissa besieged the stronghold of Anderida and
slew all that were therein, nor was one Briton left there afterwords.

71 
The name “Ælle” means “the high one”. He and his Saxon warriors probably
came from Gaul. Ælle fouded a kingdom in Sussex. This was the second
Germanic kingdom in Britain after Kent.
In the 400s there was also a migration to England from the coastal areas
between the Elbe and the Rhine. Some authors call the people in these areas
Saxon because Saxon warrior groups came from there. However the inhabitants
in general were not called Saxons. Furthermore the immigrants from there
settled in all England and not only in the so called Saxon areas south of the
Thames. The migration is seen from the spread of the use of saucer brooches
from this area into England. The female graves show that a pair of saucer
brooches were used to hold the dress, one at each shoulder. The distribution of
these brooches in England has been used as a mark of a Saxon invasion
because , but the saucer brooches in England are spread both north and
south of the Thames. Many immigrants came from the Frisian area. The East
Roman historian Procopius wrote about 550, that in his day the population of
Britain, apart from the native Britons, was divided between the Angles and the
Frisian's.
Applied saucer brooches were made of two separate circular plates of bronze.
The decorated and stamped plate was fixed unto a plain metal back plate. The
diameter could be from 2 to 8 cm. These brooches were used by Germanic's
already in the 200s at the Upper Elbe, modern Tjekkia. The Germanic's here
were called Marcomanni. About 260 several Germanic alliances attacked the
Roman border: Alamannies, Saxons, Franks and Marcomannies as well. The
saucer brooches became fashionable and spread to the Lower Elbe and the
Weser and the Rhine. There is a later variant where the entire brooch is cast in
one produced with chip-carving. During the first half of the 400s both types
spread to England and their use stopped on the Continent. Most of the saucer
brooches in England was produced locally but the fashion must have been
brought by emigrants. The saucer brooches became very popular in England in
the 500s.
Most of the saucer brooches have geometric designs such as concentric circles,
star, cross. scrolls or mask. The meanings of these motifs are not clear, but I
think it would be a mistake to explain them as pure decoration. The Germanic's
had no written language and they used figurative language to express their
ideas. Most Germanic decorations have a spiritual meaning. Working out was
personal and slightly different for each specimen. Now I will propose an
interpretation of the decorations.
Concentric circles are often used as symbol for the shining Sun. If we accept
this interpretation and look for Germanic deities related to the Sun, we may
consider picture symbols like the strap ends figure 33. There we see the raising
of the goddess Eostur (“raising light”). She probably was responsible for the
raising of the Sun. For that reason we get the idea that the designs are
symbols of the Goddess of Light.
By the lower Rhine River 150 alters from about 200 A.D. have been found with
the inscriptions like Matronae Austriahenae. The area near Cologne was
controlled by the romanized Ubii tribe. In this area alters with the three
Matrones were built by different ethnic groups. The inscription probably means
“Matronae for the Austrians”. This information tell us that the name of the
goddess of delivery was something like Austria at least for some of the
Germanic tribes.

72 
Unfortunately we do not have myths of Germanic gods in writing. In the Edda
poem Sigrdrífumál ("sayings of the victory-bringer") we have an invocation of
the gods. The valkyrie Sigrdriva offers a horn full of mead to Sigurd and gives a
speech beginning in stanza 2.

Hail, Day! Hail, sons of Day!

Hail Night and her daughter now!
Look on us here with loving eyes,
That waiting we victory win.

This fragment is the only direct invocation of the Norse gods which has been
preserved, and it is sometimes dubbed a "pagan prayer". Day is the God of
Heaven (Tiw). Sons of Day are the Divine Twins. Night is the mother of gods
(Hretha) and her daughter is the Dawn, (Eostur). This myth is similar to ancient
myths from India, Grece and the Baltic countries.
Some saucer brooches are decorated with a star. I believe that the star
represents a heavenly deity. In some Edda poems one of the Divine Twins, Frey
appears as the Morning Star.

35. Pair of applaid saucer brooches from a grave in Great Chesterford, Essex
about 450 (Evison 1994).
Saucer brooches with cross decoration have been found near the Elbe River
and in England figure 35. The circle cross is a very old and widespread symbol
used in Europe since the Neolithic, and it is also used in the Nordic Bronze Age.
It is sometimes called a Sun Cross, but the Sun has no cross. The circle cross is
probably a worldwide symbol for the spiritual world, Heaven. All prehistoric
people believed in the spiritual world. The arms are the four directions of the
world and the circle is the end, the horizon. There is nothing else in this
symbol, because the spiritual world is invisible. According to the bible Jesus
was fixed to a pole, “stauros”. In the 200s the Christian Church condemned the
Cross because it was pagan. The first time we see the use of the croos In the
Christian Church was in middle of the 400s, when it is seen on a sarcophagus
in the Vatican, and then it was an equal-armed cross, meaning the spiritual
world, Heaven. The Germanic's used the circle cross in the same meaning, and
we may assume that the brooch with the cross was an adoration of the
heavenly gods.
Many of the saucer brooches with cross have scrolls as the one figure 35.
Scrolls are decorative elements, but they are also symbols of force and energy.
They represent invisible forces. Together with the heavenly cross, the scrolls
may represent natural forces, coming from abroad.

73 
36. Saucer brooches from North Wessex, a) East Shefford, b) Collingbourne
Ducis (British Museum).
Another common decoration was scrolls, spirals in a row, figure 36a. This is
called a “Meander” in classic archaeology and a “Running Dog” in Nordic
archaeology. Beside a decoration it is a symbol of the movement of time. See
the short horn figure 57. The inward going spiral represent the night and the
outward going spiral represents the day. Thus the decoration may be an
adoration of the gods of Day and Night. Another interpretation would be that
the inward going spiral represents the death of a human being and the outward
going spiral represents the new life. See the chapter “The Human Life Cycle”.
The early applaid saucer brooches in England are distributed both north and
south of the Thames except for a concentration in the Upper Thames area. In
this area are found nearly all the brooches with spirals in a row. These finds
indicate a Germanic settlement at the Upper Thames in the first half of the
400s. The settlers followed the River. (Evison 1978)
The last type of decoration we will regard is the mask, figure 36b. Here we
probably see the Dawn, (Eostur). Compare the monster on the sceattas figure
25 and the mask figure 36b.
Most of the Germanic people that migrated to England were small ethnic
communities. In some cases the whole community left their old country with
their leaders. These ethnic groups did not all belong to an Anglian tribe. But In
England they were called Angles because they believed in the same god Ing.
The name Angle is cultural rather than ethnic. The Saxon invaders were more
advanced. They had a leading class of nobles and warriors. The warrior groups
did not represent an ethnic community and they set out to England with what
dare-devils, they could find. The Saxons were able to organize a hierarchy and
after a while they established small kingdoms in the areas south of the
Thames Valley. East Anglian and Middle English dialects seem to have some
vocabulary in common with old Scandinavian language not shared with West
Saxon or Kentish.
The Anglian settlements north of the Thames and all the lands around the Fens
have great cremation cemeteries. In Kent and all the regions south of the
Thames the situation in the second half of the 400s seems to have taken a
radically different form. Common to all this southern parts is a total absence of
large cremation cemeteries, and where cremation occurs it forms a
comparatively minor component in cemeteries that consists predominantly of

74 
inhumation burials (Myres 1986). The inhumation burials probably belong
mostly to the British population and in some extent to the invading Saxon
warrior elite.

37. Disc brooch from Kingston, Kent, about 600.

The saucer brooches became popular in England in the 500s and beginning of
the 600s. They are also called disc brooches and small ones are called button
brooches (2 cm). The pre-Christian Germanic's in Kent produced elaborate disc
brooches with a circle cross. In a woman’s grave from the 500s was found a
gold brooch with inlaid jewels figure 37. Underneath a large burial mound was a
huge grave containing a sturdy coffin with the skeleton of a small woman
wearing the brooch. It is made of gold with settings of jewels, blue glass and
shell. The brooch is produced in Kent probably about 600, but the use of inlaid
jewels points to the Sarmatian tradition of jewellery. This style was taken over
by some of the Germanic warrior elite for instance by Frankish rulers. It is
probable that some Saxons from Gaul have settled in Kent including
goldsmiths. Some of the ornaments on the brooch look like distorted animals as
on the strap ends figure 33.
According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Cerdic and his son Cynric came to
England 475(corrected) with five ships and fought the Welsh. Cerdic is a Celtic
name and some authors doubt that he was Saxon (Myres 1986). More likely
Cerdic was the head of a British noble family with extensive territorial interests
in Hampshire. There is few material evidence for a Germanic presence in
Hampshire in the 500s. The cemeteries have almost no cremations and the
place names are predominantly Celtic.
588(corrected): Cerdic and Cynric slew a British king, named Natanleod, and
five thousand men with him.
599(corrected): Cerdic and Cynric received the West-Saxon kingdom, and the
same year they fought with the Britons, in the place now called Cerdicesford;
the royal line of Wessex ruled from that day.
About 502(corrected): Cerdic had a battle at Mons Badonicus with the Britons
from the upper Thames Valley and his defeat stopped his advance to the north.
The battle of Mount Badon stopped the Saxon conquerors for about 50 years.
One of the proposals for the place of Badon is the Badbury Rings, a fortification
in Dorset near the Poole.

75 
Archaeological finds in the Upper Thames Valley have shown that Angles and
Britons lived peacefully here from the beginning of the 400s. The Britons
mostly lived in towns and the Angles lived in the countryside. Mixed cemeteries
are normal here with inhumation burials of the Britons and cremation burials
from the Germanic settlers All the settlers at the upper Thames arrived by
boat up the Thames River.
The global climatic catastrophe in 540 and the plaque that reached the British
Isles 547 gave rise to fights about resources and new warlords took power.
Ceawlin and his people imposed their rule on the Britons and Angles in the
Upper Thames Valley. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle we read about his fights
with the neighbouring British warlords.
560: Ceawlin received the West-Saxon kingdom.
571: Battle of Bedcanford: Here Cuthwulf fought against Britons at Bedcanford
and took 4 settlements: Limbury, Aylesbury, Benson & Eynsham. And in the
same year he died.
577: Battle of Dyrham: Here Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against Britons and
they slew 3 kings: Coinmail & Condidan & Farinmail, in the place which is called
Dyrham, and took 3 towns: Gloucester & Cirencester & Bath.
592: There was a great slaughter at Wodens Barrow. Ceawlin, who was called
Saxon, lost to the Angles and Britons conspiring together.
These entries seem to show that the Britons' defences in the English Midlands
collapsed. The Angles and Saxons united their areas and overran much of the
plain of the Midlands. The loss of Bath to the Saxons separated the Welsh from
the Britons of the south-west. After this, the border between Saxons and the
south-west Celts was probably at the Wansdyke near Bath.
Ceawlin and his company called themselves Gewisse. The word means
“reliable”. They might be a clan since their names begin with the letter C, but
they probably just were an alliance of warlords. They were not Saxons, but they
established a kingdom that later was called West-Saxon. According to Kenneth
Sisam's theory from 1953 the pedigree of West Saxon Monarchy was
constructed in the 600s. At that time the West Saxon kingdom was allied with
the Bernician kingdom. The Bernician genealogy had the sequense Woden—
Baeldaeg—Brand and this was copied by the West Saxons. Then instead of the
Bernician ancestor Benoc the West Saxons introduced the Gewisse ancestor
Gewis. They also included Cerdic and Cynric from the first invasion. Later
versions of the pedigree of the Royal House of Wessex included the names
Freawine and Wig. Frowin and his son Wig were heroes in the old country. They
appear in the legends related to Istathe Syssel.
In the 600s and 700s the Anglo-Saxon kings spent most of their their time on
warfare and tried to extend their power. The political situation changed very
often and I will not go into these matters in this book. But at this point I would
like to ad a short description of Mercia, the last kingdom that accepted
Christianity. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms all tried to increase their population
and land. The king needed a successful warfare to legitimate his position as a
king in relation to his subordinates as well as to other nobles. A victory would
hopefully result in rich looting and extension of the kingdom. The warriors who
proved their skill and brutality would be feared and receive precious gifts.
Many small kingdoms absorbed each other already in the 500s. Norfolk and
Suffolk was united in 560. The old kingdom Kent was squeezed and could not

76 
expand. The kingdoms in Middle England could expand to the west on the
expense of the Britons and became powerful, Northumbria in the 600s, Mercia
in the 700s and Wessex in the 800s. Small kings who happened to live near
them had to subordinate.
Penda was a pagan warlord and later king In Mercia. He had battles with other
kings in Wessex and East Anglia but especially with the strong king Oswold of
Northumbrian. Penda was allied to a British (Welch) king Cynddylan. When
Oswold visited the British area Penda killed him and put his dead body on
stakes. This place is now the town Oswestry (“Oswolds tree”). Soon after Penda
was attacked by the Northumbrian army lead by a bishop. A poem says that
Cynddylan promised Penda "seven hundred men" to the battle, but that
probably is the number of inhabitants in Cynddylans kingdom. The battle was
at Lichfield (“corpse field”) and many were killed including the Bishop and
Cynddylan.

38. Sword pommel from the Staffordshire Hoard near Lichfield in Mercia.
The Staffordshire Hoard was discovered in a field near the village of Lichfield in
2009. Lichfield is placed a few miles north of modern day Birmingham. The
hoard consists of approximately 3,500 pieces, comprising up to 5 kg of gold
and 1.3 kg of silver, and is the largest treasure of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver
objects discovered to date. The contents include many finely worked silver and
gold sword decorations removed from weaponry, including 86 sword pommels.
The only items in the hoard that are obviously non-martial are two crosses.
The martial character indicates that the hoard was not a deposit. The crosses
were folded as a sign that the burial deposit was made by pagans. The hoard
was deposited in a remote area, just south of a Roman road. There was no
grave near by so it could not be a grave gift. It must be a sacrifice made by a
pagan king probably Penda.
We do not know which gods Penda adored, but since sacrifices to Wodan was
not given to the earth it is most likely that the sacrifice was given to the Divine
Twins. The decoration on the sword pommel figure 38 probably shows the
Divine Twins and reminds of the buckle from Kent figure 34 and the belt purse
from Sutton Hoe figure 27. Penda had got the swords from slain enemies. The
blades of the swords could be used again but the Germanic's believed that
gold belonged to the gods. The sacrifice of the Staffordshire Hoard could be
compared to the sacrifice of the Golden Horns in Gallehus. In both cases the
sacrifice was made before a great decision that involved many people. I such
cases help from the gods was needed.
In 655 Penda invaded Bernicia (North Northumbria) with a large army.
Together with Penda was the king of East Anglia, a British (Welsh) king and the
king of Deira (South Northumbria). Oswiu was king of Bernicia and tried to by

77 
the invaders off. The British king accepted the pay and went home. Then the
rest of the army withdraw. On the way back Penda was attacked and there was
a great battle. Pendas allies awaited the outcome from a place of safety there.
Penda lost the battle and his life at the place called Pendas Field near modern
day Leeds.
Oswiu then had direct control of Mercia, but in 658 the nobles in Mercia
revolted and threw off Northumbrian domination. Then Penda's son Wulfhere
became king of Mercia. At that time Mercia was surrounded by Christian
kingdoms. We have not heard that Wulfhere was baptised, but he gave tracts of
land to a few churches and allowed the visit of a bishop for the consecration.
He also accepted a monastery in Peterborough, initially endowed by his
Christian brother. Wulfhere became the most powerful king in southern Britain.
In the 700s Mercia had an even more powerful king Offa. In his time the
kingdoms in Kent, East Anglia and Sussex disappeared. He had many raids in
Wales and in order to secure the border he let built “Offa's Dyke, England's
biggest memorial from the past.

78 
The Jutes
According to Bede Jutes settled in Kent and Isle of Wight. The urns found in
Kent resemble urns from Jutland (Myres 1986). This information confirms that
some of the settlers in Kent were Jutes. According to “The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle” Hengist and his brother Horsa came to Kent 449. The years in the
Chonicle are calculations and they are 20 years too late (Ahrens 1978). Hengist
arrived 430 with Jutish warriors in order to help the British commander
Vortigern with fighting the Picts. About 540 The British monk Gildas wrote the
paper: “On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain” and this is the only written source
from the time of the conquest. According to Gildas, apparently, a small group
came at first and was settled. He states that they came in three cyulis (or
"keels"), "as they call ships of war”. This small group invited more of their
countrymen to join them, and the colony grew. Eventually the Saxons
demanded that "their monthly allotments" be increased and, when their
demands were eventually refused, broke their treaty and plundered the lands
of the Romano-British”. Gildas describes how their raids took them "sea to
sea, heaped up by the eastern band of impious men; and as it devastated all
the neighbouring cities and lands, did not cease after it had been kindled, until
it burnt nearly the whole surface of the island, and licked the western ocean
with its red and savage tongue. The Britons endured the horrors of pitiless
raids and left behind them tracks of unburied corpses and ruined towers”.
The revolt was about 442. Vortigern then had to give the Jutes land in eastern
Kent including the town Canterbury. In Canterbury has been found a cemetery
with cremations probably from the Jutish invaders. Canterbury was the
administration centre of the Roman district Kent and elements of this
administration was probably still alive when Hengist and his men took over.
They continued some of the administration system and used Canterbury as
residence for the King and his warriors. However Germanic's and Romans had
different ways of administration. The Romans collected taxes from the farmers,
mostly in grain. The taxes was used for the civil administration and the army.
The Germanic kings let the farmers grow what they liked and animal
husbandry was common. Instead the king demanded active service from the
farmer. Even the kings housecarls could have their own estates. A great
landowner could have more warriors to feed and he was called “lord”, original
“hlaford” (“bread keeper”).
Hengist and his men were professional warriors with international political
experience. They probably came from Haduloha, where there was a mixture of
more Germanic ethnic groups. Hengist and his son Aesc could very fast
established the first Germanic kingdom in Britain. More Germanic warriors were
welcomed and conquered land themselves. Vortigern and other British
commanders had to give up Kent, Sussex, South Wessex and Isle of Wight. The
Britain's were confused and no trained army. In the 25 years after the revolt the
number of Germanic immigrants coming up the Thames was considerable.
Some of them were Saxon Warriors from Haduloha or Gaul. The Huns were
defeated in a great battle in 451 and many Germanic warriors had to find a
new battleground. But most of the immigrants were populations from the
coastal areas of the North Sea. The Kentish king also controlled Essex and thus
had the control of the traffic of immigrants on the Thames.

79 
A figure named Hengest, who might be identifiable with the Hengist of the
Chronicle and Hengest in the genealogy from the Royal House of Kent, appears
in the Beowulf poem. A song was recited in king Hrothgars hall. The song
mentions king Hnæf son of king Hoc. Hnæf was allied to Hrothgar and they
were both called West Danes. But they were also Jutes. Hnæfs family the
Hockings were probably neighbours to Barwith Syssel by the North Sea. Her we
have the place names Oksbøl, Ho Bay and Nebel. Hnæfs sister Hildeburg was
married to the Frisian king Finn Folkwalda. Folkwalda means that he was the
ruler of several warrior groups who lived in Friesland.
Hnæf and Finn met in a sea battle, where Hnæfs sons were killed. Then Hnæf
traveled with some allies to Finns castle in order to get some compensation.
Among the allies were some “eutenum” like Hunlaf, Oslaf and Guthlaf In the
Skjoldnunga Saga, cap. IV, mention is made of a king of Denmark named Leifus
who had six sons, three of whom are named Hunleifus, Oddleifus and
Gunnleifus--corresponding exactly to these three allies. Some authors believe
that eutenum means “giants” whereas others, including myself, believe it
means “Jutes”. They were welcomed and Hnæf and the other guests received
valuable presents and peace agreements. The famous sword fighter Hengest
was also among Hnæfś allies. Hengist got one of Finns two castles in Friesland.
The guests stayed over night. In the night they were ruthlessly attacked by
Finns warriors. The fighting went on for five days and many were killed on both
sides, among them Hnæf. Finn had to give up the fight. When the battle was
over the dead were cremated in a big fire. Some of the surviving guests chose
to stay through the winter and Finn took care of them. In the spring Hengist
and the other guests slayed Finn and his warriors and confiscated all the
values in the castle.
The drama in Finns castle tells us that Hengist became a powerful warlord in
Friesland and that he was allied with Jutish chieftains and that some of his
warriors were Jutes. This explains why he is told to be leader of a Jutish
invasion in Kent. According to the genealogy from the House of Kent Hengist
had a follower Octa as a king of Kent. His name Octa indicates that he
belonged to the Jutish chieftain family the Hockings.
Several Saxon expeditions came from Haduloha and Jutes seem to have a been
of some of them. In 534 the Frankish king Teutebert send a letter to Emperor
Justinian saying that the kingdom of Thüringians had disappeared and now the
“Saxon Jutes” was subjugated to the Frankish kingdome.
Finns castles were in Friesland in the first half of the 400s. In this period there
were many warrior graves in Haduloha and production of precious metal
objects figure 32. I guess that the warlord Hengist had his headquarter in
Haduloha. I have told that Hengist probably came from a chieftain family the
Swefs located near Schwerin. They could reach Haduloha by boat. More over it
is reasonable that the Jutes picked up Hengist from Haduloha on their way to
Friesland. The drama ended with Hengist taking the whole power.
One more reason for the location of Hengist into Haduloha Is the presence in
this area of the myth of Hengist and Horsa. In what is now Lower Saxony and
Holstein, horse head gables, or gable signs adorned with two rampant horse
figures, were referred to as "Hengst and Hors" up until the late 1800s (figure
39). Obviously we here have a tradition, that goes back to the Germanic
worship of the Divine Twins.
This information tells us that the Divine Twins were worshipped and depicted as

80 
two horses by the Saxons before their invasion in England. The tradition of
adornment has survived in the Saxon Homelands but the deeper meaning of it
is now lost.

39. Gable decorations in Lower Saxony and Holstein called “Hengst and Hors”.
1800s.
In a Frisian myth it is told that a young girl named Swana, a great-grand-child
of Woden, had two brothers Hengist and Horsa, who were killed. Later she was
married to the duke of Friesland, Udolphus (same name as Hrothulf) and had
two sons whom she called Hengist and Horsa as a memory of her brothers.
These sons became the famous brothers who directed the invasion in Britain.
This myth is an adaptation of the widely distributed myth of the Divine Twins.
For instance the Roman twins Castor and Pollux were born from an egg from
the swan Leda. Being a god Leda could be both mother and sister to the Divine
Twins and Frisian Swana has a similar capacity.
The ancestors of many Germanic tribes were a pair of brothers. I will elaborate
more on this theme in the chapter “The two Warriors”. I believe that the myth
of the Divine Twins Hengist and Horsa as leaders of the invasion in Kent is
probably a later construction. Hengist was the brave and strong twin and
naturally revered by the warrior class. Likewise Castor was the most venerated
twin by the Romans. On the other hand the Saxon warlord in the chronicles was
called Hengist. He was considered a mortal incarnation of the Divine Twin.
Hengist also worshipped his ancestor god Woden and his Jutish Warriors
probably adopted that worship.
29 bracteates has been found in Kent and they show a connection to Jutland.
They are all of the type D like the typical example figure 40b. These
bracteates were at first produced about 550 in considerable numbers in an
area in Middle Jutland and another area in South Jutland. Later the type D is
produced in Kent, in Haduloha and in South East Norway clearly as a
consequence of migration. The emigration of Jutes after 550 is one of the last
migrations into England. These Jutes chose Kent because they had relationship
with Jutes who had lived in Kent since Hengist´s time. Some Jutes migrated to
Haduloha, where Jutes had strong positions.

81 
40. D-bracteates. a) from Grathe Hede, Jutland (Hauck cat.434b,1) and
b) from Finglesham, Kent (Hauck cat.426,2b).

The figure on the bracteates figure 40 has the head of a bird of prey. Follow the
body. the shoulder is a bow and from it comes one leg. The next bow is the hip
and there is the other leg. The mythical creature is entangled in itself and looks
under control. The creature on the D-bracteates is often accompanied by two
small symbols a pretzel and a leg. The pretzel symbol is known from the
bronze-age and means the human life from conception to death. I do not know
the meaning of the leg, perhaps it means feasibility.
The brooches found in Kent show a connection to Jutland. Sonia Chadwick in a
study of the Anglo-Saxon cemetary at Finglesham, Kent stated that “the Jutish
Style B brooches in Kent are best explained by the presence in Kent of a
craftsman from Jutland”.
The serpent like creature is probably the creature known in Scandinavia as a
Lindorm (meaning “plyable worm”). In England the same creature is called a
Wyvern. Other Germanic people have the similar Dragon although the dragon
mainly has two more legs (four). In Scandinavia there are many local folklore
stories about a Lindorm. The Lindorm can protect people but it can also
terrorise people and demand human lives. It can spit venom, what we
nowadays would call infection. Most stories are about a Lindorm who tries to
prevent the building of a church. The Lindorm is invisible and can fly, but lives
mostly in water or in the earth. The serpent like creature in the underworld is
an old idea by Germanic people, as we will see later.
The Lindorm, Wyvern and Dragon are all connected with envy, famine, war and
epidemics. All these plagues emerged a few years after the climate
catastrophe in 540. In South Scandinavia the famine was followed by fightings,
plunderings and probably epidemics. In England there a severe plague was
reported about 549.
Amulets may not have influence on the behavior of the gods, but they have
influence on the faithful persons who wear them. In times of need, trouble,
insecurity or danger people get more religious. The faith gives confidence,
patience and courage in particular when the faith and rituals are shared in a
group. The faithful did not panic easily as a result of the famine.
In the times of famine many people fought for the resourses. Robbing and

82 
killing became normal. The old systems of power were replaced with new ones.
In Scandinavia many settlements were attacked and burned down. This also
happened to the last Danish Scylding king Hrothulf (the Danish Rolf Krake)
about 550 in Lejre on Seeland. Snorre who has written about the Scandinavian
kings says:
Östen Adils son, then ruled over the Sveer. I his days fell Rolf Krake in Leire. At
this time warlords wasted much in Sweden, Danes as well as Norwegians.
Many were seakings, who had a great army but did not own any land. Only the
one could be a truly seaking who never slept under sooted purlin and never
drinked beside the fireplace.
The Danish central power disappeared and the production of goldbracteates
took an end except for the D-type that took over in the last period of the
goldbracteates. The D-bracteates may be seen as protection against the
damage from the monster. The amulet shows respect for the monster but since
the legs are entangled the monster is quiet. In this way the person who were
the amulet felt safe.
The Beowulf Poem gives us an example of how infection diceases and
epidemics were explained in the 500s. It is told that one of Beowulfs warriors
stole a valuable drinking cup from a burial mound, that was guarded by the
dragon. The dragon got angry and in line 2313:
Then the demon began to spew flames,
to burn bright houses; the gleam of fire rose
to the horror of the men; nor there anything alive
the hateful air-flier wished to leave
the war-strength of that wyrm was widely seen,
the malice of the darkly cunning one near and far,
Beowulf is hurt by the dragon, but he is able to take part in a mysterious killing
of a stranger. But then Beowulfs illness breaks out in line 2711:
Then the wound began,
which him the earth-dragon had caused earlier,
to swelter and to swell; he soon discovered that
it him in the breast welled with deadly evil,
poison inside.
Beowulf then says his last will.

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The Aesir gods
In a description from 600 of the life of Saint Kentigern, patron saint of Glasgow,
it is said that the Angles believed that Woden was their ancestor and adored
him, but that Woden was a mortal human being and a king by the Saxons.
Some Anglo-Saxon royal houses considered Woden to be an important
ancestor. However there is little indication of worship of Woden among the
Anglo Saxon population in England. Only in Kent we have an archaeological find
from the 500s that proves worship of Woden. The name of the place,
Woodnesborough means Woden´s Hill. Here was found a grave with sacrificed
horses and a one-eyed weapon-dancer, both characteristic for the Woden cult.
Furthermore in Ash nearby, another grave contained an amulet formed as
Thunor´s hammer and some gold-bracteates. Woodnesborough and Ash are
close to Sandvich, where Hengist probably landed. In Kent we also have the
place name Wye meaning “sanctuary”. In a woman’s grave in Kingston, Kent
from the 500s was found a gold brooch with inlaid jewels. The technique bears
remnance of Sarmatian jewelry. The form is a circular cross that normally
symbolizes heaven. In Kent we also have Thunores hlaew ("Thor's Mound")
Some Saxon warriors brought a new family of gods to England, the Aesir family.
The most prominent members were Woden and Thunor. The word aesir means
“lord”. It comes from the Indo-European asura, and is found in other Indo-
European languages as sire, sir, zar and shah all meaning “lord”. The original
meaning of the old word asura probably was “high, raised”. In fact the
strongest characteristic of the Aesir is that they live above, in heaven. They are
invisible and live in the spiritual world. The traditional Germanic gods, the Vanir
on the other hand lived everywhere above, on and under the Earth and even in
living beings, The most prominent of the Vanir (“fair, beautiful”) was Mother
Earth and the Divine Twins.
Hengist was probably related to the Swef's. Theis tribe regarded Wodin as their
ancestor. Hengist and his Jutish followers, who became the leading class in
Kent, had faith in Woden because he could help them. Ancestor worshippers
believe that the souls of the ancestors live in another world that fills the same
space as the world of the living beings, but normally are invisible to us. The
spirits from the spiritual world had power to influence the souls and minds of
living beings, other dead spirits and even gods. Woden was the most powerful
in the spiritual world and could be a great help for his descendants. In a war he
could give his supporters courage and spread confusion among the enemies.
Woden was a war god. He urged his supporters to start wars in order to slay
other rulers. The dead souls of these slain rulers would be obedient to Woden
and strengthen his power in the spiritual world. Furthermore the worshippers of
Woden were promised a splendid life after their dead in company with Woden
and his supporters.

84 
41. Bronze amulet in the form of a hammer from a 500s grave in the Saxon
cemetery at Ash, Kent.
The Saxon thunder god Thunor can probably be traced back to the Sarmatic
thunder god Targitai. His name is put together from “tar” = “protection” and
“gitai” = “giver”. Targitai had two he-goats like Thunor had. The name Thunor
is Germanic and refers to thunder. The Saxons presumably had a thunder god
and Thunor just took over some of the properties of the Sarmatian thunder god.
Thunor had the power over storm and lightning. He could fight the vicious
elements by throwing his hammer again and again because the hammer
always returned to him. The amulet from Kent (figure 41) presumably
represents the hammer of the thunder god. However it seams to me, that the
head of the hammer resembles a bird or the head of a goat. The hammer is
decorated with circles with a marked center. This symbol is old. The circle is a
symbol for the sky. The meaning of the symbol might be the shining sky with
the sun. This would be meaningful because the thunder god resides in the sky.

85 
42. The belt buckle from Finglesham, Kent about 600.

In a grave in Finglesham near Sandwich in Kent a belt buckle of gilded bronze

was found (figure 42). The three knobs could belong to a local tradition in Kent.
The meaning could be the three forces of life corresponding to the three knobs
on the brooches (figure 23). On the other hand the human figure on the
Finglesham buckle has only been found in the Baltic Sea area. Almost the same
human figure was found in Thorslunda at Öland about 600 as a stencil for
stamping bronze plates for helmets. The human figure at Öland represents
Odin which is the Scandinavian name for Woden. This kind of representation of
Woden probably has been brought from Öland to Kent. Öland's archaeology
deviates from the rest of Scandinavia because it has several stone castles from
the Migration Age. Some of the castles had living houses inside. The stone
castles seem to belong to competing chieftain clans. It is clear from the find of
many Roman coins that these clans took part in the wars with or against the
Romans may be together with Attila's Huns or Saxon's, who worshipped Woden.
When a Swedish chieftain came home to Öland he could bring the worship of
Odin. It would be natural for these Swedish chieftains to have contact with the
Saxons in Kent, because they had a similar religion.
Woden on figure 42 is characterized by two snakes fastened to his helmet. On
the corresponding representations of Odin in Scandinavia, the two snakes are
bird-headed. The dancing warriors on the helmet from Sutton Hoo (figure 4)
likewise have two bird-headed snakes fastened to their helmets. Most probable
the two bird-headed snakes are symbols of the Divine Twins, creators of life. In
a creation myth it is told that the first human being is created by Odin and his
two brothers Vili (“will”) and Ve (“yielding”). The two snakes could be Vili and
Ve. Woden dances on the Finglesham buckle (figure 42) holding two spears, just
like he does on the Scandinavian representations of Odin. The spears and the
dance refer to Odin as a war-monger.
Around 600 worship of Odin spread in Scandinavia, but at that time the worship

86 
of Woden came to an end in England. The reason for that was the introduction
of Christianity in Kent. The pagan king Ethelbert of Kent had married a
Christian princess named Bertha, daughter of one of the Merovingian kings of
the Franks. As one of the conditions of her marriage she had brought a bishop,
with her to Kent. In Ethelberts capital of Canterbury, the bishop restored a
church that dated to Roman times, the current St Martin's Church. Bertha took
the initiative to ask Pope Gregory the Great to send missionaries. Pope
Gregory, the first monk, who became Pope, chose another monk in Rome,
Augustine to lead a mission to Britain in order to convert the pagan King
Ethelbert of the Kingdom of Kent to Christianity. Augustine arrived with 40
companions in 595.
The Aesir were worshipped in Britain by part of the chieftain class
predominantly in Kent. In general the Angles seem to hold on to the traditional
religion as we can see at the Sutton Hoo find (figures 4, 26, 27 and 59) and
Franks Casket (figure 51). The first Christian missionary bishops who came to
successfully converted first the Kentish royalty. Before the Saxon warrior groups
arrived in England they had lived for generations separated from their ethnic
origin, sometimes as mercenaries, more often as pirates and raiders. The
Saxons were therefore readier than the Angles to give up the old Germanic
ways and adopt Christianity.
We also have to consider the difference between a cyclic religion and a saviour
religion. In the old Germanic cyclic religion there was oral rituals in the ethnic
group and the individual expected reincarnation in the community. Christianity
and the Aesir religion are both saviour religions, where the faithful individual
get access to a community in heaven. This could have made it easier to
convert the Aesir believers from the Kentish royalty. Jesus Christ was able to
take Odin’s place in Heaven. One more reason for the successful conversion in
some parts of England could be that the Royalties there were partly of British
heritage and had preserved some of the Christian Roman culture.
In the chapter about the Angles in England I described the process of strides
between the tiny Germanic chiefdoms leading to forming of slightly larger
units. This process was combined with increased inequality as the power was
more centralized at the royal families. The Saxon kingdom Kent was advanced
and centralized. The first time we hear the title Bretwalda, (”ruler of Britain”) it
belongs to Ethelbert of Kent (ruled 560-616).
The mission in Kent was successful. Pope Gregory's missionaries described
Jesus Christ as a mighty warrior, who could liberate the deceased from the
world of death. The crucified Jesus was not depicted as suffering. Pope Gregory
wrote to king Ethelbert that “Almighty God places good men in authority that
He may impart through them the gifts of His mercy to their subjects”. Thus
Ethelbert was promised Gods blessing. After death the blessed would be
admitted into Gods heaven. These ideas were not very different from the ideas
of the Aesir religion. Ethelbert converted to Christianity and many with him,
because he was Bretwalda, the leading king of Britain. Augustin founded a
monastery on land donated by the king. Augustin became the first Archbishop
of Canterbury.
Augustin and Ethelbert also founded a school for Anglo-Saxons in Canterbury.
Here the teaching of Christianity was in Latin as well as in old English. This was
the first school in Germanic language in any Germanic country. Pope Gregory’s
missionaries used the language of the natives. It is interesting to see how they

87 
translated the Latin names of the weekdays.

Latin English Saxon gods Danish

dies lunae Monday Mandag
dies Martis Tuesday Tiw Tirsdag
dies Mercurii Wednesday Woden Onsdag
dies Iovis Thursday Thunar Torsdag
dies Veneris Friday Frija Fredag
dies Saturni Saturday Lørdag
dies solis Sunday Søndag

The Catholic Church on the Continent had used the Latin names of the
weekdays taken from Roman gods. Apparently four gods in the Aesir family
correspond to the Roman gods. Obviously it was not possible to find a Saxon
god corresponding to the Roman god Saturn. When other Germanic speaking
people like Old Saxons and Frisians on the Continent were Christianized they
got similar names for the weekdays. The first Christianization of Scandinavia
took place about 1000 with the help of delegates from the Anglo-Saxon church.
In Scandinavia it was possible to find a word that resembled Saturnus namely
Laukar. This word means “healing” or “purification”. Saturday was called
Laugar-dagr later Lørdag.
There are indications that the Saxons had these four gods before some of them
immigrated to Britain. We already discussed Thunor in connection with hammer
amulet (figure 41). Now we will discuss Woden and Frija. The two gods are
mentioned in one text written in Old High German. The Merseburg Incantations
are two magic spells. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan
belief preserved in this language. They were found in a theological manuscript
written in the 9th or 10th century, although the charms themselves may be
much older. Translated into English by D.L. Ashliman one of them says.

Phol and Wodan rode into the woods,

There Balder's foal sprained its foot.
It was charmed by Sinthgunt, her sister Sunna;
It was charmed by Frija, her sister Volla;
It was charmed by Wodan, as he well knew how:
Bone-sprain, like blood-sprain,
Like limb-sprain:
Bone to bone; blood to blood;
Limb to limb -- like they were glued.

The gods Wodan and Frija are mentioned and consequently they must have
been known by the pre-Christian Saxons on the Continent. The Sanskrit word
“priya” means “dear, beloved, mistress, lady”. The Germanic words are Freya,
Frija, Frigga or Frea.
When the Saxon nobility converted to Christianity the Aesir family of gods died
out in England. However many pagan traditions survived for centuries among
common people, in particular the ideas of old Vanir gods. When the Vikings
raided England they again brought with them their Aesir religion. In the period

88 
700- 950 the great Scandinavian Viking kings believed in Odin and the Aesir.
This was a religion of the rulers and a condition for their power. In this period a
lot of myths were created about the Aesir gods. Some were written down about
1200 and from these texts we know the Nordic Mythology quite well. One of
them, Völuspa tells how the Aesir defeated the Vanir and forced them to live in
Heaven. In this book we will not deal with Odin and the Aesir any more. The
main subject is the old Germanic religion before Christianity and before Aesir
religion.

89 
The long horn
The object of this book is to investigate the Germanic understanding of human
life. The Angles in England preserved the Germanic religion until they were
Christianized about 600 and many heathen ideas survived for centuries after.
In order to study the religion of the Angles, the Gold Horns are a unique source.
The horns belong to the same Anglian culture and they give a careful
description of the human life. First we will examine the long horn that is
preserved in its whole length.
The long horn had a plain horn inside, made of gold alloy. The outside covering
was decorated rings made of pure gold. The upper seven rings had pictures.
Some of them were punched, and others were soldered figures. But there was
no stamps with pattern like on the short horn. The use of stamps with pattern is
only used after 400 and gives the first possible time of the short horn. These
techniques indicate that the long horn is the oldest. Figure 43 shows the
decoration of the upper seven rings, based on Ole Worm’s original drawing. The
rings are unfolded and the part on the concave side of the horn is pictured to
the left.
We will start with the upper ring, because this ring has a cryptic inscription that
will give us the general meaning of the illustrations of the horn. There are two
lines of figures, twelve figures in each line. Some of the figures are fairly similar
to each other and they are repeated unsystematic. This indicates that the
figures are cryptic letters. We can assume that the text starts from the left in
both lines that is from the convex side of the horn. The beginning of the text is
also marked with a ball in the upper line and a stick in the lower line. We see
that the two lines start with the same word with two letters.
The language is old Germanic, and the only old Germanic we know is Gothic.
Gothic is known from Wulfila's translation of the Bible into Gothic 340. The
deciphering of the text was accomplished by the linguist Jens Juhl Jensen and
by me (Rasmussen 1990). The result was:
EK IM UNMURDSA
EK ThIK GUIDA.
The translation into English will be: I am the immortal, I guide you.
Before we discuss the meaning of the text, we will take a look at the figures. If
we compare the figures in the two lines, which represent the same letter, we
will see a remarkable difference. The lower figures are unlucky. Some of them
are prisoners in chains. One has lost his hand. The meaning of this could be,
that the double snake between the lines is able to distinguish between good
and bad and can guide man the right way.
It is rather clear that the long horn is an allegory of the individual human life.
Even Ole Worm proposed this idea. The first six rings from the bottom shows
different stages in life from conception to death. My designation of the stages
is indicated on figure 43.
All the six rings had a paragraph symbol that describes the stage. This symbol
was placed on the concave side of the horn and is placed to the left at figure
43.

90 
The conception is symbolized with two human bones, probably meaning the
bones of some ancestor, who is going to be reborn.
The fetus is symbolized as a plant with a bud. At the birth the flower will be
seen.
The child is symbolized with two parents who play a board game. The little
"devil" sits underneath the board and learns.
The worker is symbolized with a person who carries an axe and a digging stick,
which are the most common tools for men and women.
The ruler is symbolized with a human wheel, meaning that that the ruler will
fall and another ruler with his ruling sword will take over power.
The dead spirit is symbolized with the dead soul riding on a horse and meeting
a goddess in the land of the deceased who offers him the life elixir. I call this
symbol the welcome symbol.
The friezes on the six rings are constructed in the same way. To the right of the
paragraph symbol we find three symbols. In the middle we have a symbol of
the force of life, that is the will to live. On both sides of the force of life we have
symbols of the two guiding forces. The giving to the left and the receiving to
the right. For instance the stage of the child has a fish a symbol for the striving
towards life. The fish is striving upwards for the next stage of life. The guiding
forces are two snakes with different attitude. We will not examine all the
symbols in this book, but concentrate on some of the stages. The stage of the
child will not be further examined.
The inscription of the two lines says: I am the immortal, I guide you. This
message comes from the two snakes entwining each other between the two
lines. The message is essential for understanding the decoration of the long
horn. When we study the symbols on the horn, we will see how the invisible
punctured double snake guides man in different stages of life.

91 
Inscription with
an
explanation of
the long horn.

The dead soul

The ruler

The worker

The child

The fetus

The conception

43. The decoration of the upper seven rings of the long horn, based on Ole
Worms drawing.

92 
The double snake
The double snake represents an immortal, invisible spirit. It is punctured in
order to show its invisibility. The double snake appears in the punctured way in
many places on the long horn, because it is watching man in different
situations and guiding him trough life. The snake is a common symbol in many
cultures. Primarily the snake symbolizes an underground force, but in general
snakes can symbolize all kinds of invisible forces: spirits, natural forces or
forces inside the human body, for instance mental or physical deceases.

44. Gold arm ring from a rich grave in Nordrup, Seeland; about 250.
The double snake symbol was very popular with most of the Germanic tribes.
Many so called snake-head-rings (like figure 44) have been found in Germanic
graves from Roman Times 1-400. Arm rings or finger rings of that type in gold
or silver was used by members of the leading families in the tribe.

45. Part of a sword sheath. Nydam Moor; 350 .

Double snakes were also used as decoration on sword sheaths and Shields.
Figure 45 shows a piece of a sheath from 350 found in Nydam moor in Ellem

93 
Syssel. For the Germanic tribes moors were places for sacrifices for the gods,
and in the period 200-450 large quantities of weapons were dumped in moors.
Most of these moors with sacrifices are found in South Jutland.
The Germanic tribes no doubt had names for the double snake. We only have
picture symbols of the Germanic gods and no written documentation from the
Germanics, so the names of the gods are uncertain. However the Roman
Tacitus in his work Germania from 100 AD includes something about the
religion of the Germanics: "In their ancient songs, their only way of
remembering or recording the past, they celebrate an earth-born god Tuisto,
and his son Mannus, as the origin of their race, as their founders." Tuisto means
"twisted" and the word comes from two, because the twist is normally made of
two threads. Probably one of the names of the double snake was Tuisto. Tuisto
came from the earth and could naturally appear in the form of snakes. It is
notable that Tuisto existed before Mannus, the creator of human beings. Tuisto
represents two universal qualities of life in general: giving and receiving. The
Latin form Mannus could be Mannu in the Germanic language. In the old Indian
Sanskrit literature the creator of living creatures was Manu.

46. Cadeceus. The staff of Hermes.

The double snake is not only a Germanic symbol. In the Antique Middle East
bracelets and finger rings with two serpents or a serpent with a head in each
end were popular. They are found many places in the Mediterranean area. In
order to explain the meaning of the symbol, I will draw the attention to the
Caduceus staff. The two serpents, that entwine the staff, represent the giving
force and the receiving force. The staff represents the balance between these
opposite forces. The staff belongs to the God Hermes, who is able to lead and
find the right way. The wings of the staff at figure 46 belong to Hermes, and
shows that he can fly. Sometimes the wings are put on his hat. The Cadeceus
also belongs to Physicians and Pharmacists who try to find the right way of
healing.

94 
47. Yin Yang symbol.
Another well known example of the double snake is Yin Yang symbol from
Chinese Taoism (figure 47). Although the symbol is now very schematic its
early form in China was two serpents or two dragons. Yin is the receiving or
ingoing force and Yang is the giving or outgoing force, contraction and
expansion, enjoying and rendering, passive and active.

48. Stone ring used for religious ball playing by Maya’s at Chicken-Itza , 900.
The idea of a pair of snake-gods was also widespread among the pre-
Columbian Americans. Two rings like figure 48 were found in the Maya town
Chicken-Itza in Mexico. They were placed at the two ends of a playing ground.
The losing team was the one that had the ball passing through their ring. Some
of the loser’s were sacrificed. The ring probably is a symbol for the birth to a
new life and the ball a symbol for the soul. The two snakes are guiding the
process of rebirth. The Aztec’s, who took the power over most of the Maya

95 
people, also worshipped two snake gods, who were both born from the bosom
of Mother Earth. One of them, Quetzalcoatl (“the feathered twin”) was God of
the sky at daytime. The other one, Tezcatlipoca was god of the sky at night.
We are looking at a widespread idea of two forces that control life in general.
These forces could be conceived as gods, but not ordinary gods. They go
together. They can take any form in the outside world. They are also found
inside man. This pair of gods has had many names and forms and sometimes
they are called the Divine Twins. This religion is natural in the sense that it
describes the nature of the outside and inside world. The sun goes up and
down. The moon increases and decreases. The earth gives life to plants and
animals and also takes care of the dead. So they all produce and consume. This
is the way nature works with the help of the two forces. When we exploit the
earth we have to give something back. The relation to other people must be to
render and enjoy. These ideas are not propagated in the modern society, but
perhaps they turn up again with organic and sustainable production.
The two forces control the exterior world as well as the interior world. They are
present in the human body and mind. One state of mind is activity, resolution,
talking corresponding to the giving force (Yang). Another state of mind is
attention, perceiving, listening corresponding to the receiving force (Yin).
Modern brain research has shown that normally the giving state involves
activity in the left hemisphere of the brain, and the receiving state involves
activity in the right hemisphere. This fundamental characteristic of the human
mind may be one reason that the idea of the Divine Twins has been so popular
everywhere in Antiquity. Both forces are essential for life. In the modern society
the receiving force in the mind have been underestimated. Observing and
attention have little prestige. However the popularity of Mindfulness shows
some interest in these matters. Perhaps we could learn something from the old
wisdom.

96 
The Worker
We start with the stage of the worker in the fourth ring from the bottom on
figure 43. To the left, the concave side of the horn we have the general symbol
for the stage, a person who carries an axe and a digging stick, which are the
most common tools for men and women. To the right we have In every stage
three soldered figures explaining how the three fundamental forces in life
influence the actions of man. In the middle we have the courage or will to live
surrounded by the two steering forces: the giving to the left and the receiving
to the right. At the stage of the worker the courage is symbolized by an
advancing and roaring calf. This animal grows fast and is a symbol for meat
production. The sheep-dog to the left is a symbol of indefatigable work. The
active dog is jumping high with open eyes and ears. The lazy dog to the right is
lying down sleeping with closed eyes and ears. It represents careless
enjoyment.
Now we will try to explain the meaning of the punctured snake figures at the
stage of the worker. Both puncture and snake represent invisible forces. That is
spiritual forces in the mind. The twisted double snake is placed under the
active dog in order to emphasize the importance of active work. The giving
snake has a bird’s tail. It starts to fly up to the active dog, but comes to its
senses and unites in a twist with the receiving snake. The receiving snake has a
forked fishtail. After a twist it closes its eyes and falls asleep. The calf has a
simple mind suggested with two punctuated lines through his body. But the calf
seems to be aware of the punctuated flower cross. This symbol appears six
times in the uppermost ring and could be a symbol of heavenly beauty and
wisdom. The cross was a traditional symbol of the spiritual world long before
Christianity. The punctuated snake behind the active dog illustrates a mind
turning round and round and probably "going around the bend". Sheep-dogs
work themselves to death. Finally we see the lazy dogs mind as a fat
punctuated snake with fish tale lying on its back with closed eyes. But this
dreaming or contemplating act makes it possible for the soul to fly as
illustrated with the punctuated snake above the lazy dog.
The artist has given a description of the workers life without a single word.
The choice of picture symbols is unique and we shouldn't expect to find similar
examples from other artists. Therefore the interpretation will be a matter of
judgement. The meaning seems to be that the worker should be aware of the
beauty and wisdom in the spiritual world. If he has confidence in his kinsmen
and in the spiritual powers, he will be happy. He should be active and work hard
most of the time, but he shouldn't lose his head and work like mad. He should
rest and clear his mind in order to find the purpose of his activity. The moral is
typical for the Germanic religion. There is nothing absolutely good or bad. It
depends on the circumstances.
The long horn describes the stages of the human life where farming and cattle
breeding was essential. The advice for the individual is to work hard but to
keep in mind the spiritual world with its heavenly wisdom. There are no laws in
Germanic religion and nothing absolute good or bad. This religion belongs to
the tribe society. Here you have to work for the common good and you will be
protected by your mates.

97 
The Ruler

49. Decoration plate of bronze from Niederursel near Wiesbaden, 600s.

Next we look at the stage of the ruler at the next ring at figure 43. The general
symbol of the ruler is wheel made of two naked persons grown together. They
must be deities and they probably represent the Divine Twins, who according
to some myths always stick together. The wheel represents the daily turn of
Heaven as well as the Circle of Life and both are driven by the Divine Twins. A
number of decoration plates like figure 49 have been found near Wiesbaden.
Although they are from the 600s the symbolism is obviously the same as the
symbol at the stage of the ruler.
The ruler in the human community could be the older leading person in the
family or the leader of the tribe. As usual we see three soldered figures that
show how the three forces of life influence the action of man. The three figures
represent three different attitudes that leader can choose. They symbolize
three kinds of power. The lion man to the left represents the physical power
and strength. He could be a hero. The lion-man holds his arms the same way as
shamans or worriers when they dance in trance, so the lion-man also
represents agitation and boldness. He is the giving force. The man to the right
represents the economical power, the right, and the law. The axe is the symbol
of the farmer the landowner. His bird mask tells us that he can speak of his
rights, but he has no ears and does not listen. The landowner receives the
surplus of the workers production. He is the receiving force. In the middle we
have the spiritual power. This man has a sword, a symbol of a leader and a
decision maker. He has a wolf’s mask with ears, which means that he listens.
The two figures with masks open their mouth and talks to each other. The
leader has a dispute with the landowner. The leader has the will to find a way,
the will to go on.
Again I will try to explain the meaning of the punctured snakes on this ring. The
twisted double snake is placed under the landowner and emphasizes that
consideration of economy and rights of property are essential for ruling. The
lion man’s body is filled with a punctuated snake meaning that his body and
soul is the same thing. He is pointing up towards a snake that could be his
agitated soul leaving his body. He is willing to give his life for the community.
The landowner has a punctuated snake that twists first to the right and after
that to the left. It seems that on this horn the twist to the left means moving
forward and twist to the right means moving backward. So the mind of the

98 
landowner is moving back and forth, meaning that he is hesitating, unable to
make a decision. The snakes at the spiritual leader always twist to the left.
They encircle him and he is turning himself. He must be aware of the physical
power of the lion man, but has no dialogue with him. He is more aware of the
economic power of the axe man and his snake teaches him with his index
finger.
The meaning of the decoration at this ring seems to be this: The ruler should
considerate both the giving force and the receiving force. The enthusiastic or
agitated attitude of the lion man must be used from time to time. However the
most important for the ruler is to be clear thinking and listen to the landowner,
who represents the material reality. In this way the ruler can get a realistic
opinion of the situation. Then he will be able to cut through and take a decision
that will benefit the family or the tribe. The ruler is in another situation than the
worker. Normally the ruler is old and the worker is young. The double snake
emphasizes the rulers receiving force and the workers giving force. In Germanic
thinking there is no good or bad behaviour. What is best depends on the
situation. There is no moral sin or virtue in our sense.
The discussion we see in the stage of the ruler is very relevant in the Germanic
tribe society. Here all tribe members were farmers as well as warriors. There
was no king and his army to protect the tribe. In case of war all men had to
fight.

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The Welcome Symbol
Now we will study the ring of the dead soul at figure 43. The general symbol of
this ring shows the dead soul riding on a flying horse to the kingdom of the
deceased, where it is offered a welcome drink from a goddess. The purpose of
the drink was to secure the continuation of the life of the dead spirit. This
scenery, which I will call the welcome symbol, was used by Germanic tribes,
but it first appeared in Scandinavia after the end of the Migration Age 575.
That confirms that the long horn was produced in Roman times some place
south of Scandinavia. The welcome symbol is found much earlier among the
Sarmatian tribes in Ukraine. See figure 28. The welcome symbol was first used
by some southern Germanic tribes (Goths and Saxons) that were under
influence of the Sarmatian riding culture.
About 700 the welcome symbol turned up at many gravestones on Gotland
and from the same time it is also seen on a few amulets found in Denmark.
Another version of the welcome symbol is seen on the small gold foils called
“guldgubber”. Thousands of them are found in Scandinavia from 575-700
They are the size of a fingernail and so thin that they could only be fastened
with glue. They are mostly found by one of the posts in the domestic houses of
that time. The designated post was probably a representation of the goddess
called Freya, who was worshipped by fastening guldgubber to the post.

50. Guldgubbe from Helgö, Sweden and from Lundeborg, Funen.

Figure 50 shows two examples. On guldgubber the deceased is not riding a

horse, but often has a working stick instead and the principle is still the
welcome symbol. One guldgubbe figure 50b shows the drinking horn. On the
other one the Goddess has a enormous square-headed brooch on her neck. In
the Norse mythology the goddesses who welcomed the deceased was Freya
or one of her helpers, the Valkyries. They could fly like birds and fetch the spirit
of the dead. Freya had a feather costume and we see the feathers on figure

100 
50a. Freya also had a marvellous piece of jewellery called “Brisingamen”
(“brilliant piece of jewellery”). In the Beowulf Poem we read in line 1197 that
the “Brosinga Men” belonged to a South Germanic King. Worm’s drawing
(figure 43) has a bearded long haired man with the drinking horn instead of
the goddess who is seen on all other welcome symbols. Ole Worm probably
mistook the brooch for a beard.
The original name of the goddess Austra, Eostur was probably the only one
used in South Scandinavia until the emigration of the Angles, because they
brought only this name to England. Traditional Scandinavian girl's names like
Estrid and Astrid bear witness to the goddess' name Eostur. On the other hand
we hear in the chapter “The two Warriors” that Vinniler worshipped Frea when
they in the 100s arrived in what is now North Germany. The legend was written
down in the 600s. May be a name like Frea was first used in North Germany.
Another evidence for that is that the Saxons used the word Frija and brought it
to England, where it gave name to Friday in the 600s. The goddess names
Freya, Frija, Frea and Frig by different Germanic people are all related to Indo-
European “priya” meaning “dear, beloved, mistress”. Freya was told to have
received dead warrior souls.

51. Franks Casket, the right side.

Another example of the welcome symbol worth studying is Franks Casket. It is a

casket of whale bone carved on four sides and the top with illustrations and
explanations in runes. The casket is probably made in Northumbria in the
680s. Most of the illustrations tell the Divine Twins influence on the life of a
warrior. Figure 51 shows the right side of the casket with a description of the
warriors death. The explanation for the illustration is a poem written with the
old Germanic runes. My translation was (Rasmussen 2005).

101 
The High Goddess sits on the harm full hill
The swift one (the horse) draws so as her Earth Mother did prescribe
Wounding, the caretaker and the savior will remove.

The illustration figure 51 is like a cartoon. The first line of the text describes the
scene to the left. The warrior meets his death at the hill. Here sits a goddess
with feathers. She must be the goddess that brings life and takes life. The
goddess Eostur by the Angles had approximately the same function as the
goddess Freya in Norse mythology. We know that Eostur was worshipped in the
Easter month. It is remarkable that she has the head of a hare. The hare was a
symbol of reproduction because of its procreative powers. The goddess Eostur
was connected to the hare. Eostur was worshipped in the Easter month April
and her symbol hare plaid a role. In South eastern England there is evidence of
a custom of hunting a hare on Good Friday. Nowadays the heathen Easter
Bunny/Hare/Rabbit is popular worldwide. Next we see the flying horse and
above it is written RISKI meaning “quick”. We see Earth Mother receiving the
warrior, whose body is already in the grave below. In front of the Earth Mother
is a drinking cup and there is written BITE meaning “drink”. Lastly we see the
Divine Twins called “the caretaker” and “the savior” supporting the dead soul
on his journey through the world of death.
At this point I will come back to the interpretation of one of the symbols on the
purse from Sutton Hoo (figure 27). We see a man with a death mask and with
his arms locked supported by two wolfs. The situation is similar to the last
symbol of Franks Casket (figure 51) and the two symbols belong to the same
time and the same Anglian culture. The symbol shows the dead soul guided
through the kingdom of death by the Divine Twins. It is no surprise that the
Divine Twins take the shape of wolfs. The two dogs of the underworld was an
old Germanic idea, as we will see on the Gold Horn (figure 57) and on a grave
gift (figure 61). The dog in the underworld is also known in the Greek
Mythology.

102 
The dead Soul
Now we will come back to the long horn and study the ring of the dead soul.
This ring is peculiar because the welcome symbol is not just a paragraph but
also an essential part of the life of the dead soul. The welcome drink from the
goddess ensures that the dead soul will live. Therefore all the soldered figures
on this ring, including the welcome symbol, are accompanied by a punctured
figure ( symbol of the inner life of the person).
As always, on this horn, we have three soldered figures representing the three
forces of life. The giving force to the left is represented with a walking man
pointing at his legs. He is lifted because he is a ghost walking in the air. He
keeps on walking and probably has tired legs and the arrows pointing at the
legs could mean pain. He is clinging to his past life with the living people.
Ghosts that can not find rest are not popular among living people. The active
giving force is not recommended in this stage of life.
The deer hunt is a very old and widespread symbol for the travelling of the
dead soul. It is found on rock carvings, seal stones and pottery. An example of
this is seen in figure 61. The deer is a symbol for the new life. It is also a
symbol for the sun moving below the Earth. The sun has a new life every
morning. The meaning of the archer with the pointing arrow is that the soul is
attentive and follows the deer/ the sun. He is not killing the deer but when the
deer is reborn he might also be. The archer in this ring represents the will to life
He has his concentration to the right side, where we find the receiving force
represented by the deer which runs away. When the soul wants to be reborn it
must give up and forget everything from the past life and be like an animal
without memory, as demonstrated by the deer.
In this book I will not analyse the punctuated snakes on the ring of the dead
soul. I will just draw attention to the double snake beside the deer. Here we see
the two snakes with human upper part and the human beings look like babies.
They clap their hands happy to meet each other and happy to attend the
conception of a new human life. In fact they assist themselves by taking place
inside the coming parents. They guide the parents into the sexual intercourse
and share the delight. They also make some special loops with their tails. These
loops may be symbols of the mating of the two sexes as we see similar loops at
the ring of the conception performed by a pair of dolphins.
From the long horn we know that the two guiding forces of the double snake
can help man in all stages of life. They also assist at the conception and birth of
a new human being. This can be seen by several examples of Germanic art. At
the gravestone from Gotland (figure 52) we see Mother Earth sitting in a birth
giving position. She is assisted by two snakes. It is worth noticing that one
snake, the giving force, has the beak of a bird of prey whereas the other one
has the beak of a web-footed bird. The decoration at the gravestone clearly
expresses the hope for rebirth of the buried person.

103 
52. Carving at a gravestone from Gotland about 500.

For the Angles and most heathen Germanic’s the soul existed before
conception. The invisible soul could have a long prehistory taking abode in
different creatures. The soul could come from a deceased human. For example
the Danish hero Halga is said to be reborn. Different ethnic groups could have
different ideas of the travel of the dead soul and we find different delineations
of the life of the soul.

53. The “Spongman”. Lid of an urn found at the Spong Hill cemetery.
One of the many urns at the Spong Hill cemetery in North-Elmham had an
unusual figure on the lid. Archaeologists have not agreed on the meaning of
the so called “Spongman” (figure 53). It is difficult to say if it is a man or a
woman. However a skirt and a missing beard speak for a woman. The position
sitting with elbows on the knees is not godlike but rather indicates a resting
and waiting dead soul. The arms are made unnaturally long so that the hands
could be held behind the ears. The eyes are wide open. The figure is listening
and watching. And what could a dead soul be aware of if not the goddess of
regeneration? The goddess of regeneration by the Angles was Eostur. But since
the figure is so exceptional the god of resurrection could be even the Christian
God.

104 
The Origin of the Long Horn
We will now return to the encrypted text on the uppermost ring. The human
figures have very strange postures. It is probable that they are trying to
demonstrate letters. The details of the deciphering in my book (Rasmussen
1990) will not be referred here. The result was
EK IM UNMURDSA
EK ThIK GUIDA.
The reader may verify from the encrypted inscription on the long horn (figure
43) and the alphabets (figure 54), that the encrypted letters resemble the
Venetic letter symbols and not the runic letter symbols.

54. The runic alphabet. Under this the pronunciation of the letters. Under this
the corresponding Venetic letters.

Of several alphabets found in the Alpine areas, the Venetic is one of the best
known. These north Alpine alphabets were related to Etruscan. They
disappeared about 50 AD, when Latin letters became universal.

55. Fibula from Meldorf, West Holstein, AD 40.

In Meldorf in West Holstein was found a cross bow style fibula in a woman’s
grave from 40 AD, figure 55. I have explained that the inscription is in North
Alpine letters (Rasmussen 2004). In these old inscriptions there was no
standard direction and this one has to be read from right to left. The inscription
is transcribed IRILI, which means "made by the eril". Many runic inscriptions
with old Germanic runes are made by an eril. The eril was the chieftain and
religious leader of the tribe. The original meaning of the word eril is
"spokesman"(from “oral”). The eril can apply to the foreigners and to the gods.
Many germanic tribes called their leader eril, and so the Romans called these
tribes Heruli. Later the word eril transformed into jarl in Scandinavia and into
earl in Britain.
If the figures on the long horn correspond to north alpine letters, this is an

105 
indication that the long horn is much older than the short horn, probably
produced before 50 AD. Furthermore some of the symbols on the long horn
were not used in Scandinavia in the 400s. For example the wheel of two gods
from the ring of the leader (figure 43) was not used in Scandinavia, but
according to the bronze plate figure 49 it was well known on the right side of
the Rhine near Wiesbaden.

56. Gravestone from Wiesbaden.

Another foreign symbol on the horn is the two playing dolphins on the ring of
the conception (figure 43). This is a symbol of mating dance and conception.
The playing dolphins have a more profound meaning. They represent the
Divine Twins, who take care of the creation of a new life. The Dolphin symbol
has a Mediterranean origin. The symbol has been found on gravestones several
places in the Roman Empire. Figure 56 shows a gravestone in Wiesbaden for a
Roman officer, and from the inscription we know that he came from the
contemporary Italian town Brescia.
On the west bank of the Rhine, near Cologne and Wiesbaden, Rome had their
strongest army with eight Roman legions stationed. This area became rich and
here jewellery and precious weapons was produced. Allied Germanic ethnic
groups called auxilia, who fought under their own command, were also
stationed here The Germanics acquired gold by warfare so the gold for the
long horn may have been earned from serving the Romans.
In 9AD three Roman legions were eliminated in an ambush at Teuteburg east of
the Rhine by an alliance of Germanic tribes including some Chaucis. The
Germanics were lead by Hermann,( Latin: Armenius). In 15 AD a Roman army
of 60.000 men lead by Germanicus took a revenge and initiated destructive
campaigns east of the Rhine. The Roman army burned villages, killed and took
slaves. The Germanics fled into the woods. When Germanicus and some of the
army retired by boats from the Weser River, they got into a storm in the North
Sea and was shipwrecked. Germanicus survived and was saved by the Chauci
in their land. Then the Chauci became allied with Germanicus. The next year it
came to a great battle at the Weser River between the Germanics and the
Romans. Many Germanics fell and Hermann was wounded. He smeared his face
with his own blood to disguise his identity urged his horse forward towards the
Roman left wing which was occupied by the Cauci. Some have said that he was
recognized by Chauci serving among the Roman auxiliaries, who let him go.
The Romans won more battles with Hermann but the war was too expensive, so
subsequently they gave up warfare east of the Rhine.

106 
When an ethnic group of Germanics took part in war they brought with them a
chieftain, an eril. It is very likely that the eril of the Chauci who joined
Germanicus was rewarded with gold and had the long horn made. The long
horn describes the individual human and his inner life, and does not relate to
the gods of any tribe. I imagine it was produced for an eril of the Chauci by a
goldsmith in the area near Wiesbaden. Soldiers from all parts of the Empire
met here and and many of them obtained gold from plundering or from salary.
This place was probably the best place for a goldsmith to stay.
If the long horn was produced near Wiesbaden, another question would be
answered. The welcome symbol on the ring of the dead soul, figure 43, has not
been found in Scandinavia until the 600s. Therefore the long horn was
produced by a goldsmith who had contact with Sarmatian culture. This would
be possible in the area near Wiesbaden because some of the auxilia were
Iazygian (Sarmatian).
Following this theory we have to ask the following questions. How was the long
horn transported to South Jutland? And how could the horn be preserved for
400 years? The answers will have to be speculations. The transportation was
done by the eril, when he returned from war service. There are several
examples of Germanic warriors who returned from military service with
precious Roman artifacts. In the period 1-200 the so called Over-Jersdal culture
was common to South Jutland, Holstein and Haduloha. The name Chauci (“ the
Hatchers”) was used by the Romans and the Chauci might have been an
association of ethnic groups. One of these groups could have been based in
South Jutland. The inscription on the Meldorf fibula was made by another eril
in Holstein possibly Chauci.
In the 000s we have the first ring walls in Scandinavia. Trælbanke in Ellem
Syssel near Gallehus (se figure 7) has a ring wall with hight 1,5 m and diameter
90 m. Outside the wall is a moat 1 m deap. ¹⁴C datings and the potsherds both
indicate that the fortification was used in the 000s. By Kærgård 500 m from
Trælbanke was found a village from the same period. At least 3 houses was
found. They were long houses with three parts: habitation, barn and stable.
This type was found in North Germany and Istathe Syssel. On the island Sylt
near Gallehus can be seen two ring walls from the same period. Achsumburg
with diameter 70 m and Tinnumburg with diameter 120 m and hight 7 m. Once
there was a third ring wall on Sylt, Rantumburg but it is now covered by dunes.
Theese fortifications was probably made by people who had taken part in wars
and now tried to establish a safe military position. We do not know the name of
the group but possibly they were part of the Cauci association. On the map of
Ptolomy the islands at the West coast of Jutland are called Alokiai Nesoi. At the
area of Ellem Syssel we find a tribe called Chali. These names could refer to the
Alikones, (“the prosperous tribe”).
The preservation of the long horn for hundreds of years indicates that the
Chauci tribes were self-confident in their culture and maintained their
traditions for a very long time. We have an argument for that. Tacitus, writing in
AD 98, described the inland, non-coastal Chauci homeland as immense,
densely populated, and well-stocked with horses. He was effusive in his praise
of their character as a people, saying that they were the noblest of the
Germans, preferring justice to violence, being neither aggressive nor predatory,
but militarily capable and always prepared for war if the need arose.

107 
The short Horn
Unfortunately the short horn was missing the bottom end and only the five
uppermost rings were preserved. We have three independent drawings of the
short horn. The best one, made by Paulli is shown at figure 57. If we compare
the two horns we will see that the four rings of the long horn which we called
the dead soul
the ruler
the worker
the child
resembles the same stages of life as the corresponding four rings of the short
horn. For example it is obvious that the human wheel and the lion man
represent the rulers ring at both horns. As the horns were found the same place
the creator of the short horn must have known the long horn and probably his
layout was inspired by the much older long horn. But the attitude is quite
different in the two horns. We have seen that the long horn has its focus on the
behaviour of the individual and the inner life. When the long horn describes a
stage of the human life we see three symbols that we can call the giving force,
the force of dedication and the receiving force. The double snake gives the
individual some advice of how to handle these forces.
The short horn does not tell about these inner forces. We will see that the short
horn describes the outside world as it is perceived by members of the tribe
society. The forces in the outside world include natural forces and spiritual
forces like deities and ancestor spirits. The short horn gives us a Germanic
picture of the universe including the divine powers. The predominant three
powers are the same that we saw on the long horn: the will to live and the two
guides which are the giving force and the receiving force. They will take other
forms on the short horn.
In this book we have not gone through all the figures and symbols of the long
horn. I have had to concentrate on the study of the upper four out of the seven
picture rings. For the short horn I will only go through three of the five rings.

108 
57. The five rings from the short horn. Drawing made by Paulli.

109 
Tiw
We will start with the uppermost ring of the short horn, (figure 2), representing
Heaven. The most prominent figure here is the animal with horns. This stag or
bull represents the Germanic heavenly god Tiw. His name means bull or steer.
The bull Tiw was worshipped way back in time of many Germanic tribes and in
some tribes even in the Migration Age. Several idols of bulls have been found
by Germanic tribes. Figure 58 shows a bronze bull found together with other
cultic figures in the religious centre Gudme on Funen.

58. Bull of bronze with horns and eyes of silver from Gudme Funen 300s.

Later in this book we will see that the Germanic god Tiw in some myths was
known as the creator of the world.
Tiw resided in heaven like the Greek god Zeus, who likewise was a bull. The
names Tiw, Zeus and the Latin name for god, Deus all have the same Indo-
European origin. The Old High German name was Tiwaz. One of the Germanic
runes has the name Tir meaning “bull” (figure 75). In Nordic Mythology the
name of the god was Tyr =“bull”.
In some tribes the bull Tiw/Tyr was a stag. The stag was one of the animals
represented in the Scandinavian rock carvings from the Bronze Age. The Gold
Horns belonged to a tribe in South Jutland that adored the heavenly stag. This
appears from the frieze from the short horn (figure 2). Celtic and Slavic tribes
likewise adored the divine stag, but used other names for it.
Evidence for the worship of stag can be found in the Beowulf poem.
Unfortunately there are no names of the heathen god names. Here I will only
cite a few lines:
of halls the noblest: Heorot he named it
whose message had might in many a land.
Not reckless of promise, the rings he dealt, 80
treasure at banquet: there towered the hall,
high, gabled wide, the hot surge waiting

The name of the hall ”Heorot” in line 78 means ”Hart”. We see in line 82 that

110 
the hall was adorned with horns.
The divine bulls and stags or any other animal gods were not of biological kind.
They were invincible forces with qualities similar to the animals in question.
The bull has always been the emblem of pro-creative power. The biological bull
takes care of the herd. It keeps the herd together, it reproduces and it defends
against foreigners. The bull can be used as a symbol of solidarity within a
community. The bull is a totem for the group. We see symbols of solidarity in
clans, tribes, nations, lodges, football supporters and so on, quite often as
animal symbols. Like a bull Tiw protected the tribe and the “thing”, where all
free men from the tribe would meet and decide. The decision could be to go to
war, and consequently Tiw became a god of war.

59. Top of the whetstone scepter from the Sutton Hoo ship grave.

111 
Tiw was a Saxon god before the Saxons heard of Wotan. Tyr was a Scandinavian
god before Odin arrived. Tiw was accepted among the Aesir (“high”), because
he resided in heaven. However the Aesir were worshipped by the ruling class,
who trusted Odin to give them victory. The rulers did not have close relations to
the people and only common people gave battle sacrifices to Tyr. In fact in the
Nordic Mythology there is only one myth of Tyr. The wolf Fenrir, who
represented violent death to human beings, was growing up among the Aesir.
Fenrir became so huge and fierce, that only Tyr was willing to feed him. In order
to lay the wolf in chain it was necessary that one of the gods would put his
hand between his jaws. Only Tyr was willing to do this, and lost his hand. Tyr
was ready to sacrifice himself for the community and thus represents courage
and solidarity.
Angles from South Jutland worshipped the divine stag and presumably brought
this tradition to England. This can be seen from ceramics decorated with a deer
in South Jutland and in England. The stag at the Gold Horn (figure 2) is another
indication. An outstanding example is a stone scepter from the Sutton Hoe boat
grave. The scepter is a royal treasure of king Redwald of East Anglia figure 59.
The scepter consists of a long whetstone and figure 59 only shows the upper
end of it. The whetstone had a symbolic meaning because the king was
supposed to approve the application of weapons and sharpen them. The young
stag is symbol of the Anglian king’s solidarity with the people of East Anglia.
This kind of solidarity would probably not be found by Saxon kings. They
belonged to another ethnic group than the people they ruled over and had
more solidarity with their own family.
The stag on the scepter is placed on top of a ring, which was a common symbol
for heaven. For that reason we here see the heavenly stag. In the whetstone is
carved eight faces in oval frames, four above and four below. All faces have
individual features. Three of them have beards. Faces like that from this time
have been found in Scandinavia. We can assume that the faces represent
deceased ancestors.

60. Outline of the Red Horse of Tysoe. 76 x 61m.

112 
It is possible that the Red Horse of Tysoe near Warwick in Mercia had something
to do with Tiw (figure 60). It is reconstructed from a series of photographs by
Graham Miller and Kenneth Carrdus. The name of Tysoe has been suggested as
meaning “Tiw's hoh” which means a spur of land dedicated to the God Tiw. In
my opinion the Red Horse of Tysoe resembles more a bull than a horse. We do
not know when the contour was cut in the red clay ground the first time.
Anglian tribes were fighting for land in Mercia in the 500s, so it is possible that
they worshipped the tribe god Tiw by cutting his picture on the ground in Tysoe.
Placenames related to Tiw can be found several places in England. Iin
Oxfordshire for instance we have Great Tew and Dus Tew.
The idea of the heavenly bull as a symbol for the people was preserved in
South Jutland much longer than in England. This can be seen from the sceattas
minted in Ribe about 710. At that time the Christian monk Willibrord visited the
heathen king Angentheow in South Jutland. The king’s name (perhaps meaning
“roaming bull”) refers to the heavenly bull. If we look at the so called “Monster”
at the back side of the sceattas (figure 25) we see the heavenly bull flying in
heaven. The bull turns around and comes back like the heavenly daylight
comes back. The sun symbol indicates that it is daytime. The pattern on the
body and the horns shows the procreative power of the bull. The three dots
and the bow with three loops are symbols of the three forces of life.

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Deer and Dogs
Now we will look at the second ring from the top of the short horn (figure 57).
This ring represents the dead soul and the underworld. At the concave side,
(that is to the left at figure 57) we find the deer hunt symbol. We have seen on
the long horn, that this is a symbol for the travel of the dead soul. The dear
represents the sun and when the dead soul follows the sun under the earth he
might be reborn like the sun. There are a few differences. The archer now
wears a peasant’s coat. On this horn humans wear clothes. Gods are naked
because they don't need clothes. The arrow at the bow is very heavy like a
pointer signifying that the dead soul follows the arrow into the deer and then
follows the deer into a new life.
The deer has a double contour probably indicating that it was only a contour
soldered onto the horn. The same technique is used for the deer at the
uppermost ring. The meaning could be that the deer is a vision. The deer is not
material. The two deer’s are symbols for the the sun. The deer with horns at
the uppermost ring represents the sun above the earth surface, the upper
world. The strange horns probably carry the sun across heaven. The symbol of
a heavenly stag dragging the sun is a well known symbol even from the Bronze
Age. The deer in the underworld represents the force that moves the sun in
the night below the earth surface. It has big ears that can be used for listening
in the dark night. The deer and the sun pass the underworld in one night, but
the archer is not expected to go so fast as long as he keeps the track.

61. Deer hunt. Stone carving from Bjergagergård, South Jutland. 600 B.C.
The animal under the deer at the underworld ring of the short horn has been
taken as a sucking fawn but the two other drawings of the short horn show that
it must be a dog hunting the deer. There is another dog at this ring placed

114 
across a moon sickle. This means that the dog represents the moons force.
The two dogs probably represent the waxing moon and the waning moon. At
the uppermost ring we see two wolves or dogs at either side of the deer. They
also represent the moon phases. At the real sky the waxing moon is seen to the
left of the sun. In consequence the left dog in the upper world should represent
the waxing moon. The tail of the dog imitates the form of the waxing moon.
Beside the left dog of the waxing moon at the ring of heaven figure 57 is found
two special stamps looking like arrows. The two stamps are also found in the
ring of the dead souls beside the moon dog, and they are also found together
with the dog of the waxing moon at the ring of the worker. The special stamps
could be date marks. The Germanic people and all non writing people kept
track of the dates with the help of the full moon and the new moon. If we look
carefully at the ring in two stamps beside the dog of the waxing moon we find
that lower one is empty but the upper one is filled with two minor rings. That
probably means that they are symbols of the new moon and the full moon
respectively. The real waxing moon is seen between the new moon and the full
moon.
The moon and the moon dogs are appearances of the giving and receiving
forces. The giving force, here the waxing moon, is seen to the left and the
receiving force to the right like we saw at the long horn.
Figure 61 is an example of the deer hunt symbol, which is found in graves of
many societies. This one from 600 B.C. was found in South Jutland in a bog
with sacrifices. The hunter has a spear. We see two dogs and a stag with
antlers. The hunter represents the dead soul. Again the deer represents the sun
and the dogs represent the moon phases. The dead soul must follow these
celestial bodies in the underworld in order to be reborn.
It is difficult for modern man to understand the use of animal symbols. In this
connection we should not think of biological animals. They are fabulous
monsters representing cosmic powers, and the particular animal is chosen,
because of its characteristic powers. The sun and the daylight just have the
qualities of the deer. The deer is stately, very alive in the daytime, invisible but
alert in the night, fast moving, harmless and productive. The real moon moves
to and fro the sun like dogs hunting a deer. Therefore the hunting dogs have
the same qualities as the moon. Religious ideas are myths, which are
imaginations that are told. Like any other story or explanation they belong to
the spiritual world and not to the material world. Pictures and figures are also
stories and belong to the spiritual life. Pictures quite often show ideas and
myths that are invisible in the physical world. Antique artists were conscious of
expressing ideas and myths that were essential in life. For that purpose it was
not adequate to make naturalistic pictures.

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Serpent
In the lower world of the short horn we also see a long serpent. In the mouth it
has a little ball that it brings up towards the upper world. The snake lives in the
earth and is appropriate for bringing something through the underworld. This
serpent is obviously an invisible spiritual force. There are two small serpents in
addition. They are marked with dots signifying their spiritual nature. They
probably represent the giving force and the receiving force. The two universal
forces here, the divine twins are guiding the big serpent through the lower
world.
A serpent is seen at other finds connected to the dead. There is one at the
Bronze Age carving figure 61. Another example from the Bronze Age is the
bronze idols in figure 62. They were found in a sacrifice pit. They were 10 cm
high and have probably been fastened to a ship model. Here the long serpent
again has a ball in the mouth. The seed seems to be brought to a goddess. She
has large gilded eyes, signifying her awareness. At some later finds the snake
is seen transporting a whole human body in his mouth.

62. Bronze idols from Fårdal, Jutland 600 B.C.

What is the seed in the mouth of the serpent? Could it be the sun or could it be
a dead soul? It is probable that some serpents in the Bronze Age transported
the sun through the underworld. But the serpents here are probably carrying a
seed representing the dead soul. The serpent brings the soul to a new life. The
sun in the lower world of the short horn has a deer and does not need a
serpent. Furthermore we will see that the sun has another symbol at the short
horn.

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Mother of Life
In the lower world of the short horn we see a creature with three heads and
obvious female sex organs. Here we see the Mother of Life or Mother Earth in
one of her many appearances. She is the oldest and most widespread deity in
the world. Already the first farmers in Anatolia worshipped Mother of Earth
about 6500 BC. When farming gradually spread over Europe the Goddess took
part. Farmers have to be settled, the soil is their source of life and they are
attached to their homeland. Trusting in Mother Earth was a help in their life.
The Goddess was the creator of life and death. She represents the fundamental
vitality, the will of life. The faith in Mother Earth of the whole community gave
security, determination, joy and energy to the members.
In time and in different cultures the Goddess achieved different myths and
qualities. Different cultures and individuals made different pictures of the
Goddess. One example is the Scythian drinking horn (figure 28). Another is the
bronze idol from Jutland (figure 62). The Goddess had many names and a
common name was Mother Earth. Tacitus mentions that many of the Germanic
tribes horsewhipped her.
“By these tribes – taken separately – there is nothing remarkable, except that
they in common worship Nerthus, that is to say Mother Earth, and believe that
she interferes in men’s matters.”
The Latin name Nerthus was probably an imitation of a Germanic name Njord-
dis, which means “nourishing-goddess”. In the Norse mythology we find a male
god Njord (“nourish”). Tacitus describes how the goddess is driven about in a
procession that we would now call a carnival festival. He also tells that
sacrifices for Mother Earth were placed in a lake. This information confirms the
many finds of sacrifices in moors.
At an early date the Mother of Life got three aspects, which represents the
three fundamental forces of life. By the time of the early farmers in Europe
about 5500 BC the idea of her tripartite quality was developed. The three lines
was a common symbol in this early Balkan culture (Gimbutas 2001). This
tripartite idea became part of many European cultures. In Greek mythology we
find the three goddesses of fate called Moirai. The first one was Clotho (“the
spinner”) who was making the thread of life. The second was Lachesis (“the
measurer”) who was giving length to the thread and consequently to the life.
The third was Atropos “the cutter” who was cutting the thread and finishing the
life. In the Norse mythology there are three Norn’s similar to the Greek
goddesses of fate. They live in the lower world and make threads. Their names
are Urd (“origin”), Werdandi (“becoming”) and Skuld (“necessity”). The three
goddesses were depicted as “three mothers” many places in the Germanic and
Celtic areas. In Denmark they are depicted as a three headed goddess as we
can see at the short horn (figure 57). It may seem strange for the modern man
that the goddesses of faith could determine the whole life at the time of birth.
But we have to consider that it is not long time ago we have learned that DNA
and genes determine the fate.

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63. Lance shaft with runic inscription from Kragehul Moor at Funen, 400s.
The many sacrifices of war booty in Jutland and Funen 200-500 are most
probably for Mother of Life. The lance shaft figure 63 is an example of this.
Here we have a photo of the lance shaft, then a drawing of the runes, then a
transcription into latin letters and last a translation to modern English. The
inscription is made by an eril, a chieftain. The attackers at South Funen were
Saxons from the Southcost of the Baltic, and the Saxon chieftains in the 400s
believed they were descendants of the Asir Wotan. GA GA GA is an invocation
of the Earth Goddess whose name began with GA like the Greek goddess
Gaya. Then follows three aspects of Mother of Earth. Finally is a dedication to
G... but unfortunately the rest of the inscription is missing. Probably the name
beginning with G is the earth goddess.
The three headed goddess on the horn has some attributes. I will call the three
heads Norn’s even if we do not know what they were called at the time of the
horn. They all have precious necklaces. The Norn in the middle with breasts
and vagina must be Urd, the producer of the tread of life. The arm to the right
holds a thread and that tread ends at the dog of the moon. The moon
measures the time. The head to the right must be Werdandi, who is giving
length to the thread. She also keeps track of the time. The arm that holds an
axe belongs to Skuld who cuts the thread at the time of death.
The three universal forces are represented by the three aspects of Mother of
Life. They are called Moirai by the Greeks and Norn’s by the Vikings. Similar
deities are also known as Akka’s by the Samic People and as Astaka in India. An
ancient symbol for the three forces is three lines seen as decoration at Ceramic
grave gifts. The tradition has survived in Europe since 3000 BC. The three lines
were used by the Angles and many other people. Figure 65 shows some
examples from about 200, when Funen was under control by the Angles. The
same type of pots and decoration was used later by the English Angles (figure
22).

118 
64. Stone heads with three faces from Glejbjerg and Bramminge, South Jutland.
The number “17” at the head from Bramminge is due to a later carving.
Figure 64 shows two stone heads with three faces from the time before the
emigration of the Angles. Only two of these heads has been found in Denmark,
both of them in South Jutland. One of the faces has a triangle in the forehead,
probably meaning the female triangle. She is the birth giving part of the Trinity
goddess.

65. Urns from Funen about 200. a: Fraude. b: Alenbækhuse. (Albrechtsen

1968)

On the short horn the tree of life is placed beside the Norn’s, goddesses of life
and death. The tree of life is a worldwide symbol of the power of life, the will of
life. The tree of life has more or less the same meaning as Mother of Life and
sometimes replaces her. In some cultures the drink of immortality was
produced from the three of life. Ambrosia (“immortality”), the food or drink of
the Greek gods was made from a sacred tree. The Scytian drinking horn (figure

119 
28) shows the goddess sitting with her drink of immortality beside the tree of
life. In the Old Norse mythology the tree of life is called Ych-drasil (“juice-
carrier”) and it had its roots beside the Norn’s.
The Mother of Life has no demands to her ado-rants like the Christian God or
the Muslim God. Like the other Germanic gods she do not have rules and
principles. She just supports the life of the believer and does not guide her
believers through life. The Divine Twins on the other hand do guide their
believers. The migrating tribes needed a divine guide, Therefore the Divine
Twins became most popular in the period of great migrations. Nevertheless the
Goddess of bringing new life was still worshipped in the name of Eostur.
The mythology of Mother of Life developed further after the time of the Gold
Horns. The old sacrifices in moors for the whole tribe took an end about 450.
Instead the worship of the goddess became a familiar and an indoor issue. In
the Migration Age the goddesses called Hreth and Eostur in England seem to
have taken over the roles of Mother of Life. Hreth fetches the dead soul and
Eostur brings it back to life. Then after the Migration Age the goddess of life
and death, probably called Freya is seen on “guldgubber” and gravestones.

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The Twin Gods
Now we will return to the short horn and look at the twins in the upper world at
the uppermost ring (figures 2 and 57). They are naked because gods don’t
need clothes. They have no sex organs because gods can put on any sex. They
wear horns and thereby demonstrate their power. The purpose of horns is not
to act as weapons, neither for animals nor for god’s. They signalize power of
creation. Indeed the power of the Germanic Divine Twins was symbolized at
their horns. They were often worshipped with drinking horns.
The twin to the left has a spear, a symbol of his strength, procreativity and
courage. He has a wand and a ring in the other hand. This combination is also
used in ancient Middle East cultures. The wand is a cutting that will grow and
bring life again. The ring is a symbol of the life circle, regeneration. This twin is
dying every evening and regenerating every morning. He is young and strong.
He grows fast and he is the God of Growth. He is a personification of the
universal giving force.
This twin was known as Ing by the Angles and other Germanics. The name Ing
is related to “engender” meaning “beget, procreate” or “engine” meaning
“construct”.
Above his head are found three special stamps. In the middle of the stamp we
have the three concentric rings, a symbol of the sun. On the outside we have a
three pointed star, which is a parallel to a three-pronged fork. We know this
symbol from ægishjalmr but it is widely used. For instance the three-pronged
fork is a symbol of power and life energy in the old Indian Shivaism. The God of
Growth on the horn gives the sun the energy to move upwards in the morning.
He is probably also responsible for the sun getting higher and higher in the
spring. He is a God of Spring.
The twin to the right has a sickle, which is a symbol of harvest and destruction
of living organisms. He is the God of Harvest and a God of Autumn. But he is
also a God of Death, known by some people as the Man with the Scythe. In the
other hand he has a pointer. That is to show us, that he is the leader and knows
the way in particular the way through the world of the dead. He is also taking
care of the Sun, when it moves down in the afternoon and in the night. He is a
personification of the receiving universal force.
On top of his head we find his special stamp. We find the same stamp three
times together with the same god on the ring of the worker figure 57. The
stamp is a sun with a four pointed star. This eludes a cross, which is a
traditional symbol of the earth or the land, with the four world directions. The
God of Harvest is also God of wealth. He is lord of the earth.
Now we might as well examine the ring of the worker on the short horn figure
57. The place of this ring is the same as the workers ring on the long horn, but
in fact there is no worker here. The God of Harvest holds a line, which ends at
the muzzle of a horse. But the line is not fastened at the horse and just
signifies that the god controls the horse. The horse has a saddle and a very
short horn. The horn as usual may be a symbol of fertility. The horse is a
symbol of the sky. Horse that draw the celestial sphere is well known from the
ancient Indian Sanskrit literature. It is also mentioned several times in the Old
Norse literature. For instance in the poem Vaftrudnesmal we have the verses

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Skinfaxe is he
Sky high he raises
Day at Dawn
the best Horse
for the Heroes
shining is the Mane of the Mare

Hrimfaxe is he
High he raises
Night for Nourishing gods
Foam in the morning
Falls from the muzzle
as Dew falls Down

The Norse metre is called “ljodahattr” and I have here marked the alliteration
on the accented syllables. Other Norse poems make it clear that the two horses
were steered by two different gods . The metal beaker from the 500s, figure 87
shows that the twin gods had a horse each. The horse that we see together
with the harvest god must be the one that later is called Hrimfaxe.

Below and above the horse we find two stamps. They look like the sun symbol
we have seen in the upper rings. The eight pointed star is still symbolizing the
sky, but the small balls at the end of the eight points are missing here. Now we
have the sky, but we are not focusing on the movement of the sun in eight
eikt's. This star probably is a symbol for the night sky in accordance with the
horse Hrimfaxe, who raised the night sky. The moon dogs and the symbols of
full moon and new moon contribute to this assumption. The sky-horse is the
wind, which brings all kinds of weather and climate: cold, hot, rain, snow,
storm, hoar-frost etc. This ring is named the worker like the corresponding ring
of the long horn. But here the subject is the forces from outside that have
influence on the farmer’s life. We have to keep in mind, that the main force, the
God of Harvest hopefully took abode in the worker.
Below the sickle at the second ring we find an ornament called running spiral,
which have a worldwide use. It is the most common ornament in Nordic Bronze
Age. The Greek meander is a running spiral to. It probably is a symbol of time.
Time is a repeating movement of life. Whether it is the repetition of days,
months or years it may be illustrated with repeating spirals. The God of Harvest
also keeps track of the time and he has the moon dogs to help him. The
running spiral is seen several times on the short horn. It runs upwards in the
direction of the life of the individual.
In the ring of the worker we again see the moon dogs. Above is the sign of the
earth because the moon is connected to the cultivation of the eartht. We
recognise the dog of the waxing moon to the left. Just like in the ring of heaven
his tail imitates the shape of the waxing moon and he is placed between the
signs of the new moon and the full moon. This dog represents the giving force
in life and it jumps higher than the other dog, who represents the receiving
force. The moon phases were essential for farming activities and other
activities by the Germanic's. The farmers kept track of the waxing moon and
the waning moon.
There are many punctured animals on the short horn, but we are not going to

122 
discuss them all in this book. The short horn describes the human life and
animals play an important role in human life as a food source. The animals are
generated by hidden natural forces of divine character. The Divine Twins were
believed to be most important for the growth and exploitation of animals. But
the consumption of animal food could be seen as a sacrifice for the gods. The
Germanic's sacrificed animals like all other ancient people. The flesh of the
victim was normally consumed by the participators in the ritual. The meal was
a community with the deity. If the Divine Twins were invoked they could take
abode inside the participants. From that point of view the punctured animals
could be seen as sacrificed animals.
Half of the punctured animals are fishes. They all look the same and are
probably stamped. The fishes move upwards on the horn and in this way they
show the direction of the human life. Fish seem to have been a substantial part
of the menu for the people in the area, where the short horn was made. This
area, the west coast of South Jutland and Holstein, had good fishing. The ring
of the dead soul have no fishes, because the dead soul can not ascent to the
next ring of heaven.
The rest of the animals are mammals or birds. It is notable that human beings
are only found on the ring of the leader and on the ring of the child and on
these rings there are no mammals or birds. Perhaps we can learn that only
mammals and birds were sacrificed to the gods.
The four mythic figures on the ring of the worker were all essential for the
farming. Most of the figures on the short horn belong to the spiritual world. I
think that the spiritual world is the spiritual life inside man. Deities and myths
of the society belong to the collective spiritual world.

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The two Warriors
In the ring of heaven on the short horn (figures 2 and 57) we find two almost
identical warriors. They were placed beside each other on the concave side of
the horn above the archer and the deer. The loins of the warriors protruded up
from the surface of the horn. Here two gold chains must have been fastened. A
third chain was probably fastened to the narrow end of the horn and the three
chains met each other in a ring. This arrangement made it possible to hang up
the horn even when it was filled up and the construction is known from other
archaeological finds.
The sword was an expensive weapon and it was reserved for chieftains. The
warriors have neck rings of gold. We know from grave finds, that the precious
neck rings were used by the elite as a symbol of high rank. The similarity of the
warriors tells us that they are appearances of the Divine Twins. However they
have a few differences. The decorations of the shields differ in the shape and
number of star points. One has 17 points and the other has 10 points. Paulli's
drawing is very careful in many ways but we can't rely on his number of points.
I believe that the numbers could have been 15 and 9 corresponding to the
number of runes in the upper and lower world.
Another small difference can be found in the two stamps beside the warriors.
The stamps consist of a ring surrounded by eight pairs of tentacles. One of the
rings is filled with two smaller rings probably indicating light. The other ring is
empty indicating darkness. The symbol with pairs of tentacles probably stands
for attention, threatening and defence. It resembles the ægishjalmr symbol
figure 68, which we will see has a similar meaning. We will find similar symbols
other places on the horn and I will call it the “defence symbol”.
The decoration at their shields and the defence symbols beside the warriors tell
us that one of them is guiding and protecting in the daytime and the visible
life. The other warrior is guiding and protecting in the night-time and in the
spiritual world. However they go with each other like the Divine Twins and they
are personifications of the Divine Twins. They certainly were considered to
have a vital function for the tribe.
The two warriors have weapons and therefore they could not be gods, as gods
do not need weapons. On the other hand they do not wear clothes, and could
not be normal living humans. The two warriors are protecting spirits. They are
most probably heroic ancestors of the tribe and they live in the spiritual world. I
doubt that these warriors ever lived but the heroic tradition lived. Most
societies claim to descent from heroic ancestors. A common ancestor defines
an ethnic group. When the group gives attention to its ancestors and honour
them with rituals it will strengthen the solidarity and the self confidence in the
group. If the ancestors are heroes it will give the descendants prestige and self-
esteem. Kings very often descend from gods. The original Germanic society
was a tribal society and all the tribes had their own ancestors.
Stamps with defence symbols are found in some other rings of the horn and
we might as well examine them now. In the ring of the leader we find a defence
symbol with four pairs of tentacles above the armed twin in the human wheel.
The stamp forms a cross and the cross probably means the land of the tribe.
The stamp is placed near the vigorous Divine Twin “Ing” indicating that his
force helps defending the tribe.
Two other defence symbols of the same kind are placed in the ring of the

124 
leader. The double animal with head in both ends was a common symbol in
North Europe since the bronze age. It is clearly a representation of the Divine
Twins. The animals here could be watch dogs. The meaning is that the leaders
attention goes in all directions and that he is ready to take care of all
challenges. The stamp at the middle of the double animal is a cross meaning
the land, the residence of the tribe. The two defence symbols near the heads
mean defending the land.
In the ring of the child we again find the defence symbols. Here we see a young
archer. Like the other archers on the horns the archer do not try to hit
something. The symbol means that the young man is attentive. It is difficult to
explain the symbol that draws his attention. To me it looks like a dead body of
a bear or a bear skin spread out and sacrificed. On the top we see the head of
a mysterious female head, presumably to whom the sacrifice is directed.
Many cross stamps nearby indicate that the topic here is the attention to and
defence of the tribe and the land. The young man is ready to sacrifice his
energy and life to the tribe symbolized by the female head. For the Germanic
tribes the lineage was bound to the mother. The Danish word “kone” (wife) has
the same root as the old Nordic “kyn” (kin). The female head does not need to
be his mother or some female ancestor. It is just a general symbol of the ethnic
group. It is evident from the use of defence symbols that the long horn is a
description of the outlook on life in the tribal society.
Many ancient people worshipped the Divine Twins and they believed that their
ancestors were twins. The Romans descended from the twins Romus (Romulus
is a secondary form) and Remus. Some authors thinks that a biologic pair of
twins was considered divine and then became heroic ancestors. This theory
does not give much sense as biologic twins are born often and they cannot all
be ancestors.
All the ancestors we know of in Germanic tribes are twins. Donald Ward gives
many examples of these pairs of ancestors and each pair have evolved from
the mythological Divine Twins (Ward 1968).
One typical example of a Germanic tribe with ancestor twins is the Longobards
("long axes"). The origin of the Langobards is told by several ancient writers.
The Vinnilers in Scandinavia suffered from a famine and some of them
emigrated to Scoringa. The leaders of the immigrants were a pair of brothers
Ebor ("wild boar") and Agio ("tusk of a boar”) and their mother Gambara
(“mother of bearing”, cf english “gammer” means “old mother”). The brothers
were superior in strength and their mother had prophetic powers. When they
came to Scoringa they met the Vandals ("migrates") and had to fight them. At
this point Gambara turned to Frea, mistress of Godan, for help. After their
victory the Vinniler called themselves Langobards.
It is fairly clear that the Vinnilers worshipped Mother of Life and the Divine
Twins. These were the three most important Germanic gods. In the Old Norse
literature they were called Vanir ("beautiful", "fair"), and possibly the name
Vinniler came from the name Vanir. I can think of three alternative explanations
of the legend. It is possible that when the Vinniler left Scandinavia they
attributed the qualities of their gods to some persons in the tribe. These
persons were considered the mortal incarnations of the gods. Another
possibility is that the whole legend was constructed many years later by the
Langobards, who needed godlike ancestors.
A third possibility is that the Vinniler represented the Divine Twins by boar

125 
tusks. A large number of brooches formed as boars have been found by the
Elbe River, where the Langobards lived. In the original legend the leaders of the
Vinnilers probably were the Divine Twins with boar names together with Mother
of Life. Many years later the oral legend changed, because the boar names
were understood as names of historic persons. I believe in the third possibility.
There are several finds of boar crested helmets in Sweden and England, and
the helmets are described in old literature. In fact the two warriors stand on a
boar tusks at the helmet from Sutton Hoo (figure 4).

66. Boar-crested helmet from Benty Grange in Derbyshire (Mercia) 600s.

The boar figure 66 is placed on top of a corroded helmet found in a grave at the
Benty Grange Farm. The decoration of the boar is made of gilded silver and
copper. The use of helmets with boar symbols in England is probably owed to
influence from Sweden, where the boar was a symbol of the young warrior god
Frey/Ing. The boar is strong and powerful and protects his family and a good
symbol for the god Ing. In the connection with The Sutton Hoo helmet I
mentioned that Helmets with similar decorations have been found in the burial
grounds from about 600 in the Swedish district Vendel.
The Yule Boar is an old heathen tradition in England connected to Ing. The
custom can still be seen today at Queen's College Oxford. Here the head of a
boar is paraded every 17th of December on a silver platter during a customary
dinner. An orange is placed within the mouth of the boar, probable with the
same meaning as the serpent with the seed at the short horn (figure 57). The
orange and the seed are symbols of the Sun that has to be brought up from
the underworld. From the Old Norse literature we know that Frey’s sacred
animal was the boar, and it was sacrificed at his festival Yule.
Following the Viking Age tradition Swein Forkbeard son of the deceased Danish
king in 980 invited all the chieftains for a Yule party. He could not take up the
royal throne before drinking the heritage beer after his father. At the party
was a slaughtered yule boar and the participants made some promises laying
their hand on the boar. The Christian Swein Forkbeard promised that within
three years he would come with his army to England and kill king Ethelred
(known as “Ethelred the Unready”)or drive him away. Everybody had to drink a
toast for that. In fact it happened and the Danish king Swein Forkbeard
became king of England to but not until 1013.

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In the legend the Langobards had to fight another migrating tribe, the Vandals.
The leaders of the Vandals were two young brothers, Ambri ("beam") and Assi
("pillar"). One Vandal tribe was even called Ambrones and another one was
called Assipitti. Other Vandals are told to be lead by a pair of youth, Raos
("pole") and Raptos ("post"). These names show us that the Vandals
worshipped the Divine Twins as two poles. The Divine Twins were the real
leaders of the tribe. The legend of the young men is a secondary construction.
The legend of Hengist and Horsa was told in the chapter “the Jutes”. The two
brothers were leading the first invasion and were ancestors of the Royal House
of Kent. From Snorre: Ynglingesaga we learn that the Swedish royal family the
Ynglingar considered themselves to be descendants of the pair Frey and Njord.
I can give another example of how a religious myth is reconstructed as heroic
legend. In the Old Indian tradition the Sun Maiden is liberated every morning
from darkness by the Divine Twins. In the Greek tradition the king of Athens
abducted Helena from Sparta, but Castor and Polydeukes brought her back.
The beautiful Helena was abducted several times. One time was the cause of
the famous Trojan War. It has been proposed that it was an idol of the goddess
Helena that was really abducted. It makes sense because such an idol was
precious and the possession of it gave power.
When the tribal communities migrated, they created a leading warrior class.
The warriors needed heroic legends instead of religious myths. The oral
legends were passed on for generations and that’s what we have left to day.
The Greek Heroic Age covers the period from the Trojan War about 1200 B.C.
until the legends were written down in the Iliad about 700 B.C. In the Heroic
Age the society is dominated by small warlords and pirates. The hero legends
and the mythology with many gods fighting each other are characteristic for
this society. A similar development took place in the Germanic Age and at the
beginning of the Viking Age the tribe society crumbled and we have a society
of small warlords and pirates. The Viking Age has much in common with the
Greek heroic age. The Old Norse mythology has many gods fighting each other.

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Stamps
The short horn has many complex symbols made with stamp technique. We
have examined most of them. The long horn has only simple punctured figures.
The stamp technique appeared about 400 and the short horn must have been
made at that time. The most remarkable stamp that occurs many times at the
short horn is an eight pointed star encircling three concentric rings. At the ends
of the points are small balls. The symbol of three rings is a symbol for the sun.
The eight pointed star is a worldwide symbol for heaven. I will call this stamp
the “sun symbol”.

67. The two uppermost rings of the short horn with the 24 sun symbols
marked..
The sun symbols do not have the same number of points in Paulli's drawing
(figures 57 and 67) and some of them miss the small balls, but in another
drawing made by Frost they all look the same and have eight points. There are
nine sun symbols in the part of the horn that represents underworld. In the
upper world there are fifteen sun symbols. Altogether that makes 24 sun
symbols, the same as the number of runes in the older runic alphabet (figure
6). Germanic and other people divided heaven, and the suns movement in
eight parts. Consequently day and night was divided in eight parts. These parts
were called eikt’s in Iceland.
I believe that the 24 runes in the runic alphabet represented the life of the sun
for a night and a day. The sequence of runes was divided in eight parts with
three runes in each eikt. In the Antique the night preceded the day and
consequently the alphabet started at sundown in Northwest (figure 6). The first
three eikt's with nine runes belonged to the night, when the sun was in the
lower world. The nine runes divided in three eikt's appear as sun symbols in the
lower world figure 67. I have marked them with blue colour. The next five eikt's
with fifteen runes belonged to the day, when the sun was in the upper world.

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The 15 day runes appears as sun symbols in the upper world figure 67. They
are marked yellow.
We have seen that the long horn was made about 20 AD and at that time the
runes were not invented. Never the less, if we look at the long horn (figure 43)
we will see that the horn is punctured 24 times, nine times at the first ring and
fifteen times at the second ring. These triangular punctures are totally different
from the style of the horn and must be a later addition. The performer of the
punctures probably interpreted the first ring of the long horn as the lower world
and the second ring as the upper world.

68. Ægishjalmr.
The Icelandic Galdrabok (“Book of Magic”) from 1550 has preserved some of
the old Germanic magical practice (Flowers 1989). Her we find magical symbols
with runes. Many of the symbols are variations on the so called “ægishjalmr”
(figure 68). The first part ægis has an Indo-European origin aig ("to move
suddenly"). Greek aigis ("frightening", "awe") was the name of Pallas Athene’s
shield. The goddess didn't need a shield for protection but only for scaring. The
Aegean Sea is the scary sea. The Old Norse sea god Ægir was "the frightening
one". Old Norse ægr = ygr means "terrible". The last part hjalmr means
"cover". The same root is found in the English word “helmet”. So ægishjalmr
means "scaring cover". In fact the Germanic magical practice tells us that if
you carry the symbol ægishjalmr, your enemies will fear you, your courage will
be strengthened and you are protected against all evil.
The runic magic symbols use many three-pronged forks, indicating that the fork
symbolizes an eikt with three runes. Sometimes the magic symbol includes
only part of the eikt's in the ægishjalmr (figure 68). The different eikt's
corresponds to different parts of the life cycle. Primarily this cycle represents
the life of the sun during a night and a day. However I believe that very
interestingly, that the eikt's become an allegory of the human life cycle. In
figure 69 I have proposed a correlation between the eight eikt's and eight
phases of the human life cycle. Some of the phases correspond to the rings of
the Gold Horns. The birth naturally belongs to the East, where the sun is born.
The death belongs to the West, where the sun dies.

129 
69. The human life cycle.

130 
The runic Alphabet
The 24 runes in the Germanic runic alphabet always occur in the same
sequence and the single rune symbol always takes approximately the same
form (figure 6). This fact tells us that the alphabet was invented by a definite
person at a definite time and place, probably about 150 AD. The invention was
not an arbitrary idea from a single originator. It was certainly based on the
Germanic outlook on life. Runes were designed for inscribing in wood. The word
“write” comes from the old English word writan (“to inscribe”).
Many of the preserved inscriptions were made by “eril’s”. Most probable the
runic alphabet was invented by an eril who was chieftain of the tribe that
preserved the long horn. The distribution of all runic inscriptions suggests that
the runic alphabet was invented in Slesvig-Holstein. I my opinion the North
Frisian islands and the continental coast in front of them is most probable. For
convenience I will call this area Ambronia, because of the Ambrones, who in
114 BC together with the Kimbrians and others marched south and fought the
Romans. The Old English poem Widsith notes a tribe Ymbri. One of the North
Frisian island is called Amrum. The Greek “brotos” means “mortal” and the
Greek “ambrotos” means “immortal”. The meaning of the tribe name
Ambrones could very well be “The Immortals”.
In Ambronia we have the places Meldorf and Gallehus, where North Alpine
letters were found, and I support the common theory that the the runes were
inspired by the North Alpine letters. After all a chieftain in Ambronia,
HLEWAGASTICh, who knew runes made a long inscription on the short horn.
The stamps on the horns show that the owners new the deeper meaning of the
runes very well. The rune stone inscriptions in pre Christian England are mostly
found in the Anglian areas north of the Thames. I will take that as an indication
of that the emigrants from South Jutland had acquaintance with runes.
In the Roman times Ambronia was well populated. The habitable land was
larger than today because the sea level was 2m lover and considerable areas
are now covered by drift-sand. The people there had many advantages. They
had marsh and meadows for animals. Fishing and waterfowls. They controlled
the north south traffic that always went between the islands and the continent.
Travellers would stay for a night in harbours like Wyk on the island Föhr and
they had to pay.
The power of these people of can be traced by fortification rings from the
000s found near Gallehus. I mentioned them in the chapter about the origin of
the long horn. Some archaeologists believe that the three ring walls in
Ambronia is owing to the Angles who built the Olger dike in the 000s (figure 7).
The Angles came from North Germany in the 000s and invaded the East part of
Istathe Syssel, but I dont think that another ethnic group established
themselves on the West Cost. All the Germanic ethnic groups near the North
Sea had similar material culture and a popular god Ing, and in some sense
could be called Angles. When they arrived in England in the 400s they were all
called Angles.
The people in Ambronia could build boats and could raid other tribes. In that
connection I will mention that one of the rune symbols shows a ship with high
stem and stern and the name of the rune is Path, figure 74. I presume that
some Chauci chieftain at some time moved to this area with the long horn.

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After 200 we do not hear of the Chaucis. Some of them were called Saxons. The
tribe in Ambronia may have had another name.
May be we can get an idea about the name of the tribe from Ptolemy. In 130 he
has placed some islands called “alokiai nesoi”at the place of the North Frisian
islands. The main town on the island Föhr has the name Alkersum (“Home of
the sacred place”), which reminds me of the rune name Alchi (“guiding gods”),
figure 74. I will leave it to the reader to guess the name of the tribe.
The runes were given names at the time they were invented. The names have
been written down at a few places much later and they vary a little. The best
version is the Anglo-Saxon rune poem, first written down in the ninth century.
Only copies are preserved today. In this book I will primarily use that source.
The Gothic letters that were used in the fourth century by Wulfila had names,
which remind us of rune-names. They confirm some of the rune-names. The
Old Norse literature also has rune-names, but they belong to the runic alphabet
used in the Viking Age. This alphabet had only 16 runes and was based on
another outlook on life. I will not examine the Viking runes in this book.
The form of the runes, their names and sequence in the alphabet has until now
been a mystery. However I have a theory of how to solve this mystery. The
runic alphabet (figure 6) has to be placed in the human life-cycle made up by
the eight eikt’s (figure 69). The eikt’s belong to the eight parts of the night and
day circle of the sun. For the Germanic people the day started at sundown.
Night was before day. Other people had the same system, and the Jews still
have it today. Consequently the first runes in the alphabet, beginning with the
f-rune, must be placed in the eikt in the northwest. The rest of the runes will
automatically take their places as we see in figure 6.
I will try to explain the rune symbols and the rune names in relation to their
position in the circle. We start with the runes in the east. According to figure 69
this phase of the human life-circle is the birth. Figure 70 shows the three runes
in the east. The phonetic value of the rune is noted underneath the rune-
symbol. Under this is the rune-name from the Anglo-Saxon rune-poem and
finally comes my suggestion for the meaning of the original rune-name.

70. Runes in the east connected to the birth of man.

We are able to understand the rune-symbols at figure 70 because we have
already learned from the short horn how the three Norn’s were connected to
the birth. According to this theory this is how I interpret the three runes: The
Norn in the middle, who produces the thread, corresponds to the i-rune. The
rune-symbol is a tread. The Norn to the right is measuring the tread. The
corresponding j-rune may be two hands or two dividers measuring the thread.
The Norn to the left cuts the thread, and the n-rune perfectly illustrates that

132 
action.
The bottom line at figure 70 contains my suggestion for the meanings of the
original rune-names. I do not expect that a single English word could have the
same meaning as the ancient Germanic rune name. We must bear in mind that
these names were made 700 years before the rune names we know from the
Anglo-Saxon rune poem. The language had changed and some of the rune
names must have changed too. For some of the rune names there will be
similar words in other Germanic languages but not in English.
The sources have different rune names of the i-rune: “is”, “iiz”, “iss”. An Indo-
European root “is” means “out”. We have Latin “ex” (“out”), Greek “is-thmo” =
(“out-movement”), French “issir” (“to go out”), English “issue” (“offspring”).
The rune-name is related to the birth-giving goddess. The Egyptian Mother of
Life; Ast was called Isis (“emitter”) by the Greeks. The meaning of the i-rune-
name was probably “product” or “issue”. The name of the j-rune is “year”.
Years come from the universal giving force at the birth. Years are measured by
the Norn to the right. The English word “need” probably has the same root as
the original n-rune-name. We have words with the same root in other Germanic
languages. Their meanings are “necessity” or “trouble”. The Norn to the left
represents need. She is holding back. She is the universal receiving force in
connection to the birth. The believe that the norns can fore say a human life at
the time of birth may seem strange to the modern man. But I think it is
equivalent to our believe that heredity or DNA can fore say the life.
In the next chapter we will examine the whole runic alphabet and I believe this
will tell us something about the Germanic look at the human life. The basic idea
in Germanic lifestyle was freedom. Unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam there
were no moral rules. Nothing was absolutely good or bad. There were no
principles that could not be broken, not even your own ones. The runes explain
that there are three forces in life. Which of the three choices is best depends
on the situation. You have to use the available information to find the right way.
This includes taking other peoples intentions in consideration. You might say
the Germanic individual was pragmatic but he was not spineless or
inconsiderate. He was loyal to his family and his group as the ethnic group was
his only security.

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The human Life Circle
We have seen that the rune-symbols and the rune-names seem to be
connected to the Germanic outlook on life. Now I will go through the rest of the
runic alphabet to see what we can learn about the human life cycle, as seen by
the Germanic's. The runic alphabet tells the story of human life in another way
than the Gold Horns, but the fundamental ideas are the same. Here I will not go
through all the arguments for the suggested meaning of the rune, but simply
explain my own theories.

71. Runes in the north west connected to the earth.

The first eikt in Northwest represents the earth, and here it means the minerals
as well as biological material. The earth is where we end our life and from
where all life comes. Ur in Norwegian means the original rock and gravel
without soil or plants. The u-rune shows a rock. The f-rune represents the giving
force of the earth. Feoh can be interpreted into “cattle”, but I think that “yield”
is a more representative for the giving force of the earth. The two secondary
strokes of the f-rune probably mean vegetation. The th-rune shows a thorn,
which represents the receiving force of the earth. Whether the thorn sits on a
plant or a stone it is able to cut and take your blood.

72. Runes in the north connected to the dead spirit.

The r-rune symbol probably represents the human head. Here we find the
thoughts and ideas that constitute the inner spiritual life. Rad could mean
interpret, advice or understand. I choose the third possibility. The old English
word rædan means “to interpret”. The k-rune symbol could be a speaking
mouth. This is the giving force of the spirit. In Old Norse cen means know. The
a-rune symbol seems to be a hollow phenomena coming from above, and I
propose that it represents an invisible spirit. Os has the same root as asir
(“elevated, raised”), the name of the gods in the Old Norse mythology. Os

134 
could also mean spirit. The receiving force of the spirit is invisible, listening and
observing.

73. Runes in the north east connected to the conception.

The w-rune symbol most of all looks like a flag indicating a party. Wyn is
preserved in German wonne (“delight”). The h-rune symbol probably illustrates
sexual intercourse. The Norse name of this rune, “hagal” probably means “to
hock”. Words like hægl meaning “grasp” are preserved in some Germanic
languages. This rune is the giving force of the conception, the male force. The
g-rune symbol I find more difficult to explain. It might be a woman, who spread
her legs and raises her arms as a sign of giving in. Give has to be understood
as give in. It is the receiving female force of the conception.

74. Runes in the south east connected to the child.

I have already commented on the east runes (figure 70) and now we go on with
the south east runes (figure 74). The development and education of the child is
compared to a journey or a path. The p-rune probably illustrates a ship with
high sterns. Alchi is the name of the Divine Twins as we will see later in this
book. The sound ch in alchi is preserved in German dich. The ch-rune name
doesn’t begin with ch, because there was no Germanic word beginning with the
ch-sound. It is possible that the ch-rune symbol is a fast growing tree, but I
believe it is a symbol of the three universal forces: the will to live and the
Divine Twins. The same symbol is seen as the three-pronged forks at the
ægishjalmr (figure 68). Yew is a slow growing three. The ei-rune symbol shows
a three with roots and neither the branches nor the roots grow. This rune is the
receiving force of the child. The child grows slowly and sticks to its roots.

135 
75. Runes in the south connected to the worker.
Tir means bull and the bull has always been the emblem of procreative power.
The rune symbol most probable depicts an erect penis, a symbol of creative
power. The s-rune represents the giving force of the worker. The zigzag
movement demonstrates energy and activity. The b-rune represents the
receiving force of the worker. The name beorc is similar to words in modern
Germanic languages with the meaning save or gather. The b-rune symbol
probably shows two piles of gathered harvest. When we look at figure 67 we
find the three sun symbols representing these three runes exactly on top of
the bull.

76. Runes in the south west connected to the ruler.

The original meaning of the word man was “talk”. In some modern Germanic
languages man means “urge”. In Sanskrit legends Manu was ancestor of men.
The m-rune symbol looks like a folding chair. Chairs like that were used as
thrones for the kings by Germanic's and other ancient people. The e-rune
symbol could be accepted as picture of a horse. The horse is a symbol of the
giving force of the ruler. Chieftains had to travel on horseback to lead warriors
or control subjects in different areas. Law represents the receiving force of the
ruler. When the king exercised his power as a judge he sat and received people.
He would hold a staff in order to emphasize his power. The l-rune symbol may
be such a staff.
Death is the time when the soul leaves the body. The butterfly leaving the
cocoon is a common symbol for this process, and the d-rune is indeed a
butterfly. On the left side we find the giving force of death Ing. Ing is the giving
twin of the two Divine Twins and we will come back to him later. Here we need
to know that Ing dies every sundown and is born every sunset. He is a symbol
of the reincarnation that the deceased can expect probably in his own family.
The ng-rune symbol probably shows a star. Othel means inheritance or nobility.
Here on the right side there is no reincarnation. The heirs in the family will
profit from the deceased. The symbol is here a star that sets in the horizon. It
is interesting that the last letter symbol in the rune alphabet seems to be the

136 
same as the last letter symbol, omega in the Greek alphabet.

77. Runes in the west connected to the death.

The 24 letters of the runic alphabet describes the whole life circle of the
individual. The letters of the alphabet also makes it possible to express
everything in life. This is by no means exceptional for the runic alphabet. The
expression Alpha-omega means everything in life because it represents the
whole of the Greek alphabet. The first alphabet in the world was from Ugarit,
and I have stated that it is a description of the Ugaritic picture of life
(Rasmussen 1997).
The runes were meant for inscriptions. The object with the inscription would
have the spiritual qualities of the inscription. The rune symbol alone would do
as it is an abbreviation of the rune name. In this way the rune symbols could be
used for magic. There are several examples of rune magic from archaeology as
well as from Norse literature. In the edda poem Sigrdrifumal a valkyrie teach
Sigurd some rune magic. For example she tells him that at the delivery the
midwife should draw b-runes (meaning “save”) on her palms.

78. Sceatta found near Ipswich, East Anglia ca.700. (Rickfors)

Runes are used as abbreviations on some sceattas that show a person raising a
spear. They are found in England and probably minted in some trade center like
Ipswich in the 600s. As far as I know there has not been a careful study of
these sceattas. The person on the sceatta (figure 78) is probably the god Ing.
Like the god with a spear and a ring on the Gold Horn (figure 2) he is naked and
without sexual marks. He is stabbed to death because his fate is to die every

137 
night. A similar happening is seen at some gold bracteates.
The rune b at the top means “save” or “acquire”. The symbol shows two piles
of merchandise and is a reasonable description of a trade and craft center. The
three dots refers to the three forces of life and is an introduction to the
following three runes. The b-rune is common for all this kind of sceattas, but
the following three runes are not always the ones that appear on the sceattas
additionally. When runes were uses for foretelling three runesticks were picked
up. The e-rune means “horse” or in a broad sense “power of the ruler”. The p-
rune means “path” or in a broad sense “travelling”. The last rune is the Anglo
Saxon os-rune that corresponds to the old a-rune and means “spirit” or in a
broad sense “to be enlightened”. The three runes seem to be a good
recommendation for a center of trade.
An alphabet which was a picture of life would have had good reputation and
esteem among the Germanic tribes. That is the reason that the runic alphabet
could be spread and continue to work almost unchanged for centuries. Another
advantage of having an alphabet with a meaningful sequence of letters is that
it makes it easier to learn and remember. Some of the runes were not really
necessary for writing. Only the new perception of life in the Viking Age caused
the introduction of another runic alphabet.

138 
The Germanic Calendar
A large number of marks were found on the long horn. They were acute angles
scratched into the surface. They are not seen on the drawing figure 43. They
can be seen at Ole Worm’s original drawing, but he said that he did not draw
the exact number of marks. However Jørgen Sorterup had the horn in his hands
1722 A.D. and examined the marks carefully. From his essay on them we know
how the marks were placed (Oxenstierna 1956). The angle marks were placed
in groups between the figures and the number of marks in the groups seems to
be determined by the free space between the figures. The total number of
marks in a ring is more interesting. It is remarkable that the numbers of angle
marks in a ring are multiples of 24.

Ring 1 above and Ring 2 below together: 4 multiply 24 angle marks.

Ring 2 above: One group of 24 angle marks. One group of 2 multiply 24 angle
marks.
Ring 3 below: 18 angle marks, the last one was horizontal as a stop mark.
Ring 3 above: 2 multiply 24 angle marks. 18 sun marks.
Ring 4: 5 multiply 24 angle marks.
Ring 5: 54 angle marks. 4 sun marks.
Ring 6: No marks
Ring 7: 7 multiply 24 angle marks.

Ring 3 below and ring 5 are peculiar. But if we add them together they have 72
marks equal to 3 multiply 24 marks. The total number of angle marks at the
horn was 24 multiply 24 marks.
The number 24 may have something to do with the calendar. The Germanic
tribes like most ancient people had a moon calendar. The Germanic’s believed
that the movement of the sun was controlled by the moon. This idea is
illustrated on figures 2 and 61, where the sun deer is hunted by two moon
dogs. In the summer the sun is high up in the sky and in the winter it is low,
and the moon follows the sun in this movement. The first date of the year is
rather easy to determine. At midsummer the place of the sunset stops moving
north. After midsummer you have to wait for the first new moon to show up
after sunset. The first date of the year starts at this sunset. Every date starts
with the sunset. A new month starts when a new moon arrives.
For the Germanics the night of the new moon and the night of the full moon
were important milestones that divided life into stages. They were celebrated
as festivals. The night of the full moon was used for outdoor gatherings of the
community with bonfires. The night of the new moon was used for sacrifices
for ancestors and deities. The phases between the festivals i. e. the waxing
moon and the waning moon had different characters. They were connected to
the giving force and the receiving force respectively. Several cultures have
rules for farming activities and sexual activities in the two phases of the moon.
Caesar tells that Germanic tribes decided warfare depending on the moon
phase.

139 
The Venerable Bede, a Northumbrian monk in his The Reckoning of Time about
720 has described the heathen English calendar. Since there is very little other
information about the Germanic calendar I will refer his remarks; here
translated from Latin by (Wallis 1999).
The first month, which in Latin is called January, is Giuli; February is called
Solmonath; March Hrethmonath; April Eosturmonath: May Thrimilchi; June
Litha; July also Litha; August Weodmonath; September Halegmonath; October
Winterfilleth; November Blodmonath; December Giuli, the same name by which
January is called. They began the year on the 8 th kalends of January (25
December), when we celebrate the birth of the Lord. That very night, which we
hold so sacred, they used to call by the heathen word Modranecht, that is
“mother’s night”, because of the ceremonies they enacted all that night.
Whenever it was a common year, they gave three lunar months to each
season. When an embolismic year occurred (that is, one of 13 lunar months)
they assigned the extra month to summer, so that three months together bore
the name “Litha”; hence they called the year “Thrilithi”. It had four summer
months, with the usual three for the other seasons. But originally, they divided
the year as a whole into two seasons, summer and winter, assigning the six
months in which the days are longer than the nights to summer, and the other
six to winter. Hence they called the month in which the winter season began
“Winter filleth”, a name made up from “winter” and “full Moon”, because the
winter began on the full Moon of that month.
Nor is it irrelevant if we take the trouble to translate the names of the other
months. The months of Giuli derive their name from the day when the sun
turns back to increase because one of these months precedes this day and the
other follows. Solmonath can be called “month of cakes”, which they offered to
their gods in that month. Hrethmonath is named for their goddess Hretha, to
whom they sacrificed at this time. Eosturmonath has a name which is now
translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of
theirs named Eostur, in whose honor feasts were celebrated in that month.
Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the
new rite by the time-honored name of the old observance. Thrimilchi was so
called because in that month the cattle were milked three times a day; such at
one time, was the fertility of Britain or Germany, from whence the English
nation came to Britain. Litha means “gentle” or “navigable”, because in both
these months the calm breezes are gentle, and they were wont to sail upon the
smooth sea. Weodmonath means “month of tares”, for they are very plentiful
then. Halegmonath means “month of sacred rites”. Winterfilleth can be called
by the invented composite name “winter-full”. Blodmonath is “month of
immolations”, for then the cattle which were to be slaughtered were
consecrated for their gods. Good Jesu, thanks to be thee, who hast turned us
away from these vanities and given us grace to offer to thee the sacrifice of
praise.
I would like to comment Bede´s text. It is doubtful that Litha means gentle and
has to do with the sea. The Danish word “lide” can mean “suffer”,
“deteriorate”, “being trustworthy”, “moving” or “relent”. Litha is the time of
midsummer, when the sun stops moving north and retires. The sunset was
observed and at Midsummer Day the sunset was farthest to the north. At this
moment the sun began to retire. Litha probably means something like
retirement. The month after Litha would be called "Aefterlitha". In years with
three Litha months the first would be called "Aerlitha" (before Litha).

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At midwinter there was two Giuli months. Giuli has the same root as Yule and
wheel. December would be called "Aergiuli" and January would be "Aeftergiuli".
In the moon calendar Modranecht, the night before December 25 was the first
night without a visible Moon in the darkest month. This night was the mother of
all coming nights with growing light. Ing/Frey, the God of Growing, was reborn
and worshipped at the midwinter festival. The boar was a symbol of Ing.
Several accounts tell that a hog or a boar was sacrificed at the heathen Yule-
time. Eating pork is a common Christmas tradition even today.
Now we go back to the marks on the long horn. Most years have twelve new
moons and consequently 24 moon phases. Every third year there is an extra
month. It appears that if there was an extra thirteenth month it would have the
same name as the twelfth month. I will interpret the angle marks in multiples of
24 as marks of the moon phases. Most years would have 24 phases but even
the years with thirteen months could have 24 marks.
The real purpose of the marks is unknown, but I suggest that the mark was a
ritual related to the festival of the moon. If we accept that 24 marks indicate a
whole year, then the 18 marks at ring 3 below indicate part of a year. April 16.
413 A.D. there was a total solar eclipse in South Jutland. This happened in the
end of the 18th moon phase of the year. The last 18 th horizontal angle could
mark the eclipse. The rest of the phase marks in this year seem to be placed at
ring 5.
For the Germanic’s the moon determined the time of the year. The sun
determined the time of the day. The orbit of the sun during night and day was
divided in eight eikt’s. The first three of them beginning in north west was the
night and the last five was the day. Each eikt is symbolized with three universal
forces as in the Ægishjalmr (figure 68).

79. Drawing of 18 sun marks at the long horn ring 3.

Figure 79 is Sorterup’s drawing of the 18 marks at ring 3 above. The marks
may be called sun marks since they have two concentric rings and eight points
like the sun marks at the short horn. Furthermore they are in six groups of
three, probably indicating six eikt’s. What happened after the six eikt’s had
passed? The total solar eclipse in South Jutland happened at 14.16 local time
and the total darkness lasted less than seven minutes. This time was the
seventh eikt: 13.30 – 16.30. The registration of the sun stopped at ring 3 and
went on at ring 5 like the phase marks did. At ring 5 there are four sun marks
placed in a straight line. They are made of three concentric rings, a stamp that
calendar printers use to symbolize the sun. Perhaps the four sun marks could
be interpreted as the last two eikt’s of the day of the eclipse. The two eikt’s
should have three sun marks each but they are both missing one, maybe
because the sun is weakened.

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The Myth of the Divine Twins

80. Idol of burned clay from Catalhöyük in Turkey.

The idea of the Divine Twins is widespread and can be documented by very old
archaeological finds. The most ancient delineations were two opposite placed
animals of the same species. I have not found pictures or idols of the Divine
Twins by the original societies of hunters and gatherers but they are seen
already by the first neolithic societies . An example of that is Catalhöyük in
modern Turkey. Here was a neolithic city 7500-5700 BC subsisted by
agriculture, pottery, domestication of sheep and cattle, hunting and gathering.
The excavations indicate that there was no social classes and men and women
had the same social status. Many mythic paintings and idols were found. On
figure 80 we see the Goddess of Delivery on a throne. Between her legs is a
head of a baby who is being born. Instead of the head was a hole, so we can
not be sure that she had a head. The Goddess holds her hands on the heads of
two leopards. The two mythic animals here are guides and may be
representations of the Divine Twins.
The scenery may be compared to the delivery goddess at the Gotland stone
(figure 52). Probably the most common of all prehistoric picture symbols is a
delineation of the Divine Twins. Unfortunately there has not been a systematic
study of the meaning of these symbols. One of the most thorough
investigations of the myth is made by Donald Ward (Ward 1968). He is focusing
on the Germanic tradition, but he does not include the picture symbols.
Like other deities the Divine Twins are normally invisible. They can take abode
in any form they choose and they can be several places at the same time. The
representation of the Divine Twins varies very much depending on the time, the
local cultural tradition and the single artist. The Twins may be opposite lions,
dogs, bears, snakes, dragons, monsters, swans, horses, dolphins, fish, humans,
pillars, vases, torches, stars etc. These representations may correspond to local
myths and names that we do not know of. In principle they all represent the
two universal forces that guide man, the giving force and the receiving force.

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The third universal force is very often seen between the other two. It can be a
delivery goddess, a swan, a human, a face, a tree of life, a sun disk, a ship etc.
In principle this force is the will or dedication to live.
Many myths of the Divine Twins are known in America, Africa, East Asia,
Australia and the Middle East. For example we have a myth of creation in a
liturgical text from Ugarit in Syria 1300 B.C. At a time when there was no earth,
the father in heaven and the mother in the waters had two sons called Shachar
(“activity”) and Shalim (“peace”). They created the earth and all the plants and
living creatures and they continued to create any new living creature. Even
though the myths and the names of the twins depend on the cultural tradition
there are common elements. Thus many creation myths of the Native
Americans have been studied and almost all of them have Divine Twins as
creators. The Fuegian tribe Yaghan had a tradition of two divine brothers, who
told people how to live. The older brother was lazy and wanted life to be easy
for men, and people to be immortal. The active and short-sighted younger
brother felt that man must exert himself in order to appreciate what he has.
The brothers had an older sister to help them. In some versions of the myth
she was also their mother and wife.
In view of the very few written sources of the Germanic Divine Twins we should
use the available information from three other Indo-European traditions: the old
Indian Sanskrit literature, the Classic Greek literature and the old Latvian folk-
songs. According to Ward (Ward 1968) the three traditions have much in
common.
The Indian Veda's tell us that the Sky-God had two sons called Asvin's
(“horses”). The Asvin's draw a carriage around the earth in one day. In the
carriage was their sister, who was called Sureia (“Sun”) and Usas (“morning
light”). The Sanskrit goddess Usas correspond tho the Latvian goddess Austra
(“light rising up”) and the Germanic goddess Eostur. In a Latvian poem we hear
that two lights burn on the Sea. They are lighted by Gods sons, who are waiting
for the Sun-Maiden. In the Greek tradition the Dios Kouroi (“gods sons”) are
called Castor (“brilliant”) and Polydeukes (“many helps”). The daughter was
Helena (“from the sun”). They were born out of an egg and their mother Leda
and their father Zeus were swans. Castor and Polydeukes rescued their sister
Helena. The Twins were her brothers but also her husbands, because there
were no other gods to mate. Castor died every evening and was born again
every morning. The Twins never parted and Polydeukes who was immortal
followed his brother through the world of the dead.
In all three traditions the Divine Twins helped and guided the rising Sun. A
similar Germanic myth is probably what we see at some Germanic finds like the
strap ends figure 33. She was the life source of living creatures. The Twins had
many different forms and roles: horses, horse riders, swans, saviours at sea,
astral bodies, magic healers, sometimes protectors in battle, sometimes giving
fertility to men and women, dancers, protectors of oath etc.

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Germanic Gods
When we look at Germanic religion we must cite Tacitus again:
"In their ancient songs, their only way of remembering or recording the past
they celebrate an earth-born god Tuisto, and his son Mannus, as the origin of
their race, as their founders. To Mannus they assign three sons, from whose
names, they say, the coast tribes are called Ingaevones; those of the interior,
Herminones; all the rest, Istaevones. Some, with the freedom of conjecture
permitted by antiquity, assert that the god had several descendants, and the
nation several appellations."
Tuisto means “twisted of two” and comes from the earth. Tuisto probably is the
double snake described in the chapter on the message of the long horn.
Mannus means “the creator”. We don’t here if the Divine Twins had a father.
However this passage is mentioned in an old Icelandic oath:
So help me Frey and Njord and the Omnipotent God.
This heathen omnipotent god is most likely the father and creator called
Mannus in Latin. The Germanic's probably had other names for the Creator and
most likely his name was Tiw. We have seen that Tiw was represented as a bull
for instance on top of the sceptre from the Sutton Hoo ship grave (figure 59).
The three sons are the Germanic main gods and their names are obvious. They
were worshipped by all Germanic tribes and some tribes took their name from
one of these gods. of meaning if the three sons were gods worshipped by all
the tribes. Ingaevones points to the god Ing (“growing”). He was the
onrushing Divine Twin and very popular in South Scandinavia and in the pre-
Christian England. Later he also got the name Frey (“the Lord”). Ing appears in
the set of verses in the Anglo-Saxon Rune poem composed the ninth century.
Ing wæs ærest mid Est-Denum Ing was first with the East-Danes.
Gesewen secgum, oth he siddan est Seen they say here later.
Ofer wæg gewat; wæn æfter ran; Raised above the see, followed the beauty.
Thus heardingas thone hæle nemdun Thus the heathens named this hero.

In the poem the East-Danes means the Angles, who brought the worship of Ing
to England. Ing rose from the sea at sunrise and followed the beautiful sun.
Hermiones points to the god Hermund (“high protector”) in the Norse
Mythology. He has given name to the tribe of Hermundures who lived in
Thüringia 100 AD. Hermund is the helping and recieving Divine Twin. Later he
also got the name Njord (“supporter”)
The Germanic myth of creation that Tacitus mentions about 100 is precisely
illustrated on a few goldbracteates from about 500. On the bracteate figure 81
we see the earth like a hill and around the earth lies a serpent with a birds
head in both ends. This must be Tuisto. From the birds beaks raises a neck with
a human head, who must be Mannus. Out of Mannus´mouth appears the leg of
one of the two boars. The boars can be identified by brushes on their back and
in some cases by their long tooth. In South Sweden it is normal to represent the
Divine Twins with boars both on goldbracteatates and on helmets. On the
bracteate we see the two Divine Twins the daily circling around the earth.

144 
81. Goldbracteate from Holmetorp, Öland, about 500 (Hauck cat.279).

Tacitus´information on the third sun of Mannus is not completely correct, for

this son must be a daughter. Istaevones points to the goddess Eostur, also
called Ostara, Austria etc. She is sister to the Divine Twins . She brings forth the
sun and all living creatures. In the Latvian songs the goddess associated with
the Divine Twins was called Austra (“light rising up”).
According to Bede the heathen Angles in England had a month Eostur (April),
that was named after their goddess Eostur. In this month they made sacrifices
for her. The Christian Easter was named after the heathen festival. A goddess
with a similar name was worshipped in practically all Indo-European cultures.
Estonians and Austrians were named after this goddess. In ancient Egypt her
name was Aset, but the Greeks called her Isis. At figure 33 we see Austra
raising from the horizon guided by the Divine Twins here depicted as see lions.
The symbol illustrates the words about Ing in the rune poem: Raised above the
see, followed the beauty.
Tacitus gives more information of the Germanic Divine Twins: Amongst the
Naharvalians is shown a grove, sacred to devotion extremely ancient. Over it a
Priest presides appareled like a woman; but according to the explication of the
Romans, it is Castor and Pollux who are here worshiped. This Divinity is named
Alcis. There are indeed no images here, no traces of an extraneous
superstition: yet their devotion is addressed to young men and to brothers.
The Latin word Alcis is the name of the pair of gods, most probably the Divine
Twins. The Germanic word could be Alchi and has the same root as the Gothic
words alh (“protector”) and alhs (“temple or protection”). The Indo-European
alek means “protection, help”. The Germanic name of the pair of twins

145 
emerges in the rune name alchi (figure 74). The name Alchi also turned up in a
remarkable Germanic inscription clearly related to the worship of the Divine
Twins. The inscription is found on the cups figure 82.

82. Silver cups from Himlingøje, Zeeland, about 275.

The two cups belong to a rich grave in a burial mound from 275 AD in
Himlingøje in Zeeland. The cups are made of silver. Each cup has a gilded frieze
along the edge. The figures at the friezes are stamped, and some of them are
identical. Their irregular sequence points at cryptic inscription like the
inscription at the long horn. I have made a deciphering and translation with the
result (Rasmussen 2004):
Frieze 1: Alchi reichi alricher meaning: "Alchi powers reach everywhere"
Frieze 2: Alchi reia Alchi reia meaning: "Alchi be praised, Alchi be praised"
The text is obviously part of the ritual worship of the Divine Twins. Drinking of
the cups probably was similar to drinking of a pair of horns. The silver cups and
the Gold Horns are ritual objects. Their cryptic inscriptions are exceptional,
because they are the only old Germanic inscriptions of some length and
because they give us valuable information about the Germanic religion.

83. Figures from the Himlingøje Cups.

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One of the figures at the friezes shows two heads on top of each other (figure
83). The lower head is upside down. This is a common symbol for the Divine
Twins. It is found at Germanic drinking horn mountings. Another similar symbol
of the Divine Twins is two men above each other head to head. This head to
head symbol is found in Nordic Bronze Age carvings. The head to head symbol
is also found as a cut out pole from the Germanic time. Very few wooden idols
have been found. They are mostly found in moors. Figure 84 shows an idol from
Oss-Ussen in Holland 200 B.C. We see two human figures feet to feet. Arms
and legs are marked and the upper one seems to have horns. Here we probably
have the Divine Twins.

84. Wooden idol found in a well at Oss-Ussen height 75 cm (Silkeborg 2001).

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Germanic gods of prosperity
The short horn (figures 2 and 57) suggests that the Divine Twins were gods of
prosperity. This is seen from their attributes on the uppermost ring of heaven
and the second ring of the worker. Here we find farming symbols and moon
symbols. Other finds that certify that the twins were gods of prosperity are the
gold bracteates. Funen was a Germanic religious center for a long period. The
procession of Mother Earth that Tacitus described went on at an island in the
ocean. This island is probably Funen. At Funen equipment for heathen
processions has been found as late as the tenth century. The period of the
great migrations 375-575 is also a period of great gold finds in Denmark. The
area around the village Gudme ("god’s home") at Funen was residence for a
leading Danish king. Here are exceptional rich gold finds. Here we find some of
the most elaborated gold bracteates with rune inscriptions.

85. Gold bracteate from Gudme, Funen, about 500. (Hauck cat. 51,3).

The bracteate figure 85 has an extra frame in photographic reproduction. We

will discuss the inner part, which is reproduced by drawing. The scenery can be
explained by the myth of the Divine Twins in the Greek version. In the middle
we see Castor always followed by his twin brother Polydeukes. They pass
through the Realm of Death and meet their sister Helena, who gives new life to
Castor. We will see in this book that the the deities on the bracteate probably
had the Germanic names Ing, Njord and Eostur.

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Ing has to die every night, but he is brave and dancing. In one hand he has a
key to the new life. In the other hand he has a gold coin or a gold bracteate. A
line from his head points to his immortal brother Njord, probably to show that
the brother is leading. Njord has a pointer, to show the way, and a gold coin.
The lizard below indicates that the scenery is the Underworld.
The twins meet the giver of birth and morning light, Eostur, who help them to
pass a fence to the new life. She touches Ing a with a ring, the symbol of
regeneration. The ring has a three pointed star, the symbol of growing life. On
her neck is a tree of life. She has wings an a skirt. She brings forth all living
beings even celestial bodies. On the bracteates she often stand on celestial
bodies.
On top of the Divine Twins we see an eagle following their journey. The mythical
eagle is the heavenly goddess, who brings the soul of the deceased to the
realm of death. The eagle symbol was explained in the chapter about the
Sutton Hoo find. The goddess' name Hreth means “The Horrible”, and I may
call her “the old Hag”.The eagle symbol was connected to the warrior elite.
Some Gothic and Saxon chieftains took over the eagle symbol from the
Sarmatians about 300. The powerful Danish kings in Funen in the 400s seem
to have adopted the idea in their own version. Ing was a god, but he died and
needed his heavenly mother to take care of his immortal soul. The eagle
brings the soul to the place where the regeneration takes place.
The old and the young bird are symbols we have seen before. I have
interpreted the symbol at the Sotton Hoo belt purse (figure 27). The symbol
shows a mythical eagle bend over a young web-footed bird. It could be the
mother protecting the young. The old bird represents the Mistress of the dead
probably. Her daughter brings the morning light and the new life. On figure 51
on Franks Casket we see the young goddess and the old mother goddess, and
they probably represent the same characters as on the bracteates.
The runic inscription says UNDR. In Danish we have almost the same word
“under” and in English we have “wonder”. This word gives good meaning. The
rebirth that we see at the amulet certainly is a wonder. The person who carried
the amulet would believe in the rebirth of Ing, and she would also believe in the
rebirth of herself. A religion like this, that allows rebirth is typical for antique
agricultural societies.
Among the gold bracteates the most common type (type C) shows a male
head on top of a mythic horse. We will now study a beautiful bracteate of type
C (figure 86).

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86. Gold bracteate from Funen 480s. (Hauck cat. 58)
Another gold bracteate (Hauck kat 147) in the same style as figure 86 was
found together with coins in a hoard and the hoard could be dated to about
480. The two bracteates must have been produced by the same smith.
Bracteates with plait hair-do as on figure 86 are only found few places. Five on
East Funen, three on East Seeland, two near Kiel and three scattered I Sweden
and Norway (Axboe 2007). I take this distribution as a description of the area
where the Danes on Funen had power.
The bracteate figure 86 has three runic inscriptions:

HOUAR meaning the Raiser

ALU meaning I bring growth
LAThU AADUAALLIIA meaning I invoke the Growing

HOUAR ends in R and must be a substantive. It is related to “high”. “the

Raiser” must be the name of the horse. On the C bracteate the horse runs
beside the god Ing/Frey. In the Norse Mythology written down about 1200 we
have reminiscences of old Germanic religious ideas. Here we read:

Skinfaxe with the sparkling mane that shines over air and earth is Day’s horse.

Day must be another name for Ing. Skinfaxe must be another name for Houar.
The mythic horse that whirls around is in fact representing the daily movement
of the sky. It turns the firmament in the daytime and raises the daylight. The
legs have fins because the horse runs in the sky. The horns of the horse are a
symbol of the procreational power. The scenery of the bracteate is heaven that
turns around every day.

ALU is the most common inscription on gold bracteates. The word is related to
latin “alere” (“nourish”) and Germanic “al” (“grow”). The suffix -U is used in the

150 
present 1. person singular. The expression “I bring growth” comes from the god
Ing. He runs beside the horse and take part in turning of the firmament. Ing is
young and strong, and that can be seen through his magnificent big shining
hair. He is the giving, active and brave twin, which we find on the left side on
the uppermost ring of the short horn figure 57. He follows the sun upwards in
the morning and dies at the sunset. The bracteate itself also expresses “I bring
growth”.
The runic inscription ALU is also found on an urn from the cemetery Spong Hill
in Norfolk. In that case the meaning could be the imperative: “Grow!”

LAThU AADUAALLIIA. LAThU with an –U suffix is the 1. person singular and

means “I invite!” In this inscription the runes are doubled, which is not seen
anywhere else. If we ignore the doubled runes we have the word ADUALIA. This
word is related to Latin “adolescere” (“to grow up”,” to become adult”) or
English “adult”. The inscription could then mean “I invoke the Growing”. The
Growing is Ing, who is growing very fast every day. The double runes may have
been used for artistic reasons. The meaning of the runes are “growing”, and
the individual rune characters may grow themselves.
In front of Ing we see a mythic eagle with a motherly attitude. We already saw
the eagle at the gold bracteate figure 86 and suggested that it represents the
the mistress of the other world. We called her”the old Hag”.
The worship of the Germanic Divine Twins is demonstrated by a precious find in
the year 2oo1 in Uppåkra in Scania. Uppåkra was a central religious center in
the Germanic age and the Viking age. The metal beaker on figure 87 was
found in the temple of Uppåkra. A unique glass bowl was found together with
the metal beaker. The beaker and the bowl had been deposited under the clay
floor of the temple in the 500s. The beaker is 17 cm high and divided in seven
rings like the Gold Horns (Larsson 2002). The gold foil ornaments are impressed
with the same form. There are only two different ornaments on the gold bands
and one of them is seen on figure 87.

86b. Remains of the temple in Uppåkra.

The temple in Uppåkra was a building placed in front of the great hall. The
holes from the four pillars are four meters deep, figure 86b. These pillars could
not have carried an ordinary roof, and they more likely carried a very tall open
shed. The wooden walls probably was the closure of the temple. The fireplace
probably was used for sacrifice of animals. A similar temple placed in front of

151 
the great hall way was found in Lejre on Seeland. These buildings in Lejre are
from the 500s and probably residence for Hrotulf/Rolf Krake. In Gudme on
Funen was found a similar pair of buildings from the 400s. These buildings may
have belonged to the Danish King Scyld or his successors. In the Beowulf Poem
line 175-179 we read
Sometimes they pledged at holy temples
sacred honouring, in words bid
that them the demon-slayer would offer help
from the pain of the people such was their habits
the hope of heathens.

87. Metal beaker with seven gold bands from the 500s found in Uppåkra.

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88. Decoration on the gold bands of the metal beaker figure 87.
The ornament figure 88 consists of two entwined humans and horses. The close
connection and the antipode position of the two humans tell us that here we
see the Divine Twins. Their magnificent hairstyle indicates their heavenly
status. The humans seem to hold on to a horse leg with three fingers. The three
fingers may signify a bird claw. The human and the horse represent invisible
spiritual powers. Only characteristic parts of their bodies need to be shown.
One pair we have called Frey and Skinfaxe. Frey take abode in Skinfaxe and
leads him and they are two aspects of the same creature.
Now we will study another gold bracteate with only one human creature.

89. Bracteate from Seeland (Hauck cat. 105)

The runic inscription is
SALUS ALU meaning I let prosperity prevail
The word SALUS was inscribed on several Roman medals. It means ”health”
and ”prosperity”. ALU means ”I bring growth”. The depicted god is one of the
Divine Twins who are the gods of prosperity. May be both the Divine Twins are
depicted, one of the them as a wolf. The fore part of the animals body is
strongly built and makes it unlikely to be a dog. Several bracteates have been
found with a heavenly wolf instead of a heavenly horse. The wolf bracteates
are found in the area of the East Danes. Hrothulf/Rolf Krake succeeded and
probably killed Hrothgar as superior Danish king about 525. The bracteate was

153 
found in Seeland where Hrothulf had his headquarter in Lejre and he was a
Wulfing. Another difference between the bracteate types figure 85 and 89 is
that the bird on figure 89 is not an eagle but more likely a raven. The bird is
probably still the Mistress of the other world, “the old Hag”, and as usual she
whispers to Ing/Frey. Hrothulf´s surname was Krake which meant ”raven” and
he probably had a raven standard. The raven standard was used by Danish
kings for the next 500 years. The Swastica is a symbol for Heaven, indicating
that the creatures on the bracteate are invisible and spiritual. The eight balls
may represent the eight directions of heaven.
Most of the gold bracteates have wishes for good harvest and prosperity.

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Frey and Njord
About 1220 the Christian Icelandic writer Snorre gave a thorough description
of the Norse Mythology as a delusion. Here he says:
Njord dwells in Noatun, which is in heaven. He rules the course of the wind and
checks the fury of the sea and of fire. He is invoked by seafarers and by
fishermen. He is so rich and wealthy that he can give broad lands and
abundance to those who call on him for them. He was fostered in Vanaheim,
but the Vanir gave him as a hostage to the gods. Njord has at his disposal
countless of alters and temples.
Njord begot two children: a son, by name Frey, and a daughter, by name Freya.
They were fair of face, and mighty. Frey is the most famous of the Aesir. He
rules over rain and sunshine, and over the fruits of the earth.
This description of functions of Njord and Frey fits very well with the functions
we have observed of the Germanic Divine Twins. Many legends in the Norse
Mythology confirms that Njord and Frey have developed from the Divine Twins.
Snorre himself says that Frey is another name for Ing.
Frey, Freya and Njord were ancient gods and in the original myth they were
born at the same time. Snorre is Christian and the idea of the daily
regeneration of Frey is difficult to understand. May be that is why the Myth has
changed and Njord probable took the father role because he was the immortal
twin. We should not worry about Njord being a father because a god can be
both father and brother. Freya was daughter, but as a goddess she is able to
be daughter, sister, mistress and mother to the twins.
About 100 AD Tacitus mentioned the gods Ing and Hermund and thousand
years later these gods were still a living tradition although they had more
names . The Germanics had no writing of their religious myths and depended
on the oral tradition. Further the Germanic ethnic groups were rather
independent of each other. Under these circumstances it is remarkable that the
idea of the Divine Twins is so widespread and only changed little and slowly.
We will try to see where and when the name Frey came into use. The name
Frey is related to Indo-European “pro-” meaning “forward, forth”. The Danish
word “fro” means “advancing”. Old Norse “frjo” means “seed, offspring”. Frey
was the growing, advancing twin. Some scholars believe that Frey means
“Lord”. But it is possible that the meaning Lord emerged because there already
was a god with the name Frey.
A few gold bracteates have runic inscription. The gold bracteate from Darum
(figure 90) seems to have the name of the depicted god. The runic inscription
is
FRØHILA LAThU My translation is Holy Frey I invoke
FRØ means “seed” and that was a common name for the growing god Frey.
The first three runes could also be transcribed as FRO. The Danish word “fro”
means “advancing” and it is a good name for Frey. Hila means “holy”. LAThU
with an –U suffix is the 1. person singular and means “I invite!”. The amulet
invokes Frey to help the carrierof the bracteate. Danish kings divided their
territory in nearly hundred districts called “herred´s” in order to control the
mobilization of the armed men. This started about 700 and the names of the
herred´s are very old. Some of the herred´s are named after pagan deities, but

155 
only Frø´s Herred is named after Frey. Frø´s Herred is the district where Ribe is
placed. This indicates that once there was a great sanctuary for Frey close to
Darum near Ribe where the amulet was found. A vast number of place names
derived from the name Frey indicate that he was the most popular god in
Scandinavia before the Viking Age. In England there are some place names
Friston, which may be related to Frey.

                                             

90. Gold bracteate from Darum near Ribe in Southwest Jutland about 500.
(Hauck cat. 42)
From this bracteate we learn that the god Ing also was called Fro/Frey about
500. We have another evidence of that from the Beowulf Poem. Here we are
told that the powerful Danish king Scyld was buried by sending him away alone
on a ship. Line 27-29.
Then Scyld departed at the destined time,
still in his full-strength, to fare in the protection of the Lord Frea
he they carried to the sea's surf.
In the chapter Barwith Syssel we heard of the Heatobeardan king Froda also
called Frothi. He’s name is related to the god Fro/ Frey. Freawaru was going to
mary Ingeld, son of Froda. Her name is related to Frea/Frey and Ingeld is related
to Ing. All these examples indicate that both names Ing and Frea/Frey were
used in South Scandinavia about 500.
The name Njord is related to Old Norse “njota” and Old English “neotan” both
meaning “recieve, take, enjoy”. These words go back to the Indo-European
“neud” meaning "acquire, utilise, go fishing". Nodens is a similar Celtic deity
associated with healing, the sea and hunting.
Tacitus' name of the supporting Divine Twin was Hermund (“High protector”).
In the Norse Mythology we have the god Hermod, who can guide the dead
souls through the Underworld. He may be a heritage from Hermund or from
the Greek god Hermes. The personal name Herman was used by the South
Germanics and the name could be related to Hermund. I am not sure that

156 
Hermund is related to place names. On the other hand there are plenty of place
names in Scandinavia related to Njord.
The place names of Njord are predominantly waters like rivers and inlets. In
Denmark we have Nors Sø, Norå, Nærå, Nærum. In Sweden we have
Njärdhavi, Närtuna. In Iceland Njardvik. West Norway have many fiords and
sounds and many of the waterways were named after Njord. For instance
Nærøy and Nidaros (now Trondheim) and four fiords called Njardvik. Near
Ålesund we find the farm Njardarland with an area called Noatun (“Njord's
court”) and a moor with three ships graves.
In this connection I would like to comment on the common ship graves in
Scandinavia, including the ship stone settings. The purpose of the ship grave
was that the invisible dead soul could sail with the invisible ship around the
earth. The rock engravings from the Bronze Age show that the Divine Twins
took part in that journey. I believe that the ship grave tradition was bound to
the ship of the Divine Twins, that is the ship of Njord, the saving god.
Njord, the god of ships and fishing was very popular in West Norway from
Roman times until Christian times. About 1800 an old married couple from the
Hardanger area went fishing in a boat. In one nigh they cached fish for a whole
weeks consumption and the woman said: “Thank you he shall have, Njor, for
this time.”
What is the origin of the name Norway? The first written version is “Nortuagia”
from 840 in the monastery of Durham, North England. Then about 890, when
Ottar sailed from Hålogaland in the Northern part of present Norway to
England, his report was written down at the English court. He went South and
on his left hand he passed “Nordweg”. Many scholars think that this name
means “the way to North”, but Ottar, who was going South, would not use this
expression. I don't think any country could be named after the direction to
somewhere else. It is more probable that the meaning of the name was
“Njord's ways” that is the fiords and sounds in present West Norway. Ottar also
used the name “Nordmanna land”. This is normally explained as “Men from the
North”. I believe that the Normans originally meant people who had Njord as
an important god.
The traditional gods in Scandinavia before the Aesir were called Vanir (“fair”).
We know them as Njord, Frey and Freya. The introduction of the new Aesir
religion met some difficulties. The Viking Period in Scandinavia was a long
religious fight between the Goddess Freya and the new god Odin. Freya original
was the Mistress of the Other World but Odin gradually took the command. He
used Freya’s throne, her eagle slough, her Brisingamen, the drink of
immortality and the runes. The progress is described in the Old Norse poem
Völuspa. The war between Aesir and Vanir started when the Aesir stole a gold
decorated idol of Freya and burned it in Odin’s hall. This was repeated three
times. But the women were discontented when they couldn’t worship Freya.
Vanir were not allowed in the halls of the Aesir. But then the Women started to
worship Odin’s wife as if it was Freya. Then the Aesir accepted that the Vanir
could live in Asgard and be worshipped together with Odin.
It is quite clear from this account that the Aesir religion was introduced by
military force. In fact it was not spread among all chieftains and not used by
the lower classes. The Viking society with its central power was in many ways
different from the tribe society. The production and use of the valuable Viking
ships caused a new division of the country in adequate districts. Built-up areas

157 
appeared by the coast because the king guaranteed the security. A new runic
alphabet with only 16 runes independent of the old religion was introduced
about 700. In Scandinavia the first powerful worshipper of Odin was the king of
Scania, Ivar Vidfadme. He died about 705.
Odin the heavenly master was original a forefather spirit (Rasmussen 2006).
According to Norse mythology he stole the drink of immortality from the earth
goddess. With this drink he secured eternal life in Heaven for his dead
worshippers. At Uppåkra in Scania was a major centre for worship of Odin. The
king and the warriors dedicated their life to Odin as well as the life of the men
they killed. In return they had Odin’s protection in battle and immortal life
together with Odin in Heaven. In the 900s the Danish king for the first time
controlled the country and his power and economy had increased considerably.
In this period of the last heathen king I Denmark the Aesir religion flourished.
There were sacrifices of animals and humans. From this century are most of the
amulets formed as Thor’s hammer.
From the Old Norse literature it is clear that Frey and Njord was still worshipped
by some local chieftains in the Viking Age. We find an example in Egil
Skallagrimssons Saga. Egil Skallagrimsson was a great Viking warrior and
Scald. His father Skallagrim was a rich independent farmer in Norway. About
900 the Norwegian king Harold Fair-hair brutally suppressed the independent
farmers and many of them emigrated to Iceland in order to keep their freedom.
This emigration can be compared to the immigration of the Angles from
Jutland. In both cases the purpose was to have freedom and to have land that
was not occupied.
In 930 when Harold was 80 years old he leaved the kingship to his son Eric
Blood-axe. He was even more brutal. Egil Skallagrimsson travelled from Iceland
to Norway in order to get his inheritance at the thing, but he was attacked by
Erik Blood-axe´s men and outlawed. In a poem Egil said

Protective deity of the land,

Make the tyrant flee;
May Freyr and Njordr hate the
Oppressor of his people, he who has
Violated the sanctuary.

In Iceland a similar oath was common.

So help me Frey and Njord and the Omnipotent God.
Speculations have been made to identify the Omnipotent God. Odin can be
eliminated, because Odin was not worshipped in Iceland that had no king. I
already mentioned that the Omnipotent God probably was Mannus, the creator
of the world, father of the twins Frey and Njord. The Germanic creator-god also
had the names Tiw, Tyr and Ti. He was represented as a bull or a stag (figures
57,58,59 and 60).

158 
The Origin of Religion
The Goddess of Birth and the Divine Twins were central religious ideas for all
Germanic tribes. Where do these ideas come from? Pictures and idols tell us
that the ideas were present at a very early stage of mankind (at least 7500
B.C.) and spread all over the world. The myth, the picture symbols and the
names of the deities depend on local traditions but the general idea is
preserved through the ages. This preservation could only be possible if the
ideas correspond with the experiences of men. Lasting religious ideas must be
based on the most fundamental experiences in human life.
Religious ideas are man's attitude to life. Other ideas may give the individual
an advice on how to act in various situations, but the religious ideas give an
advice in all situations in life. Most important in life are the phenomena inside
the individual and the interactions with other people. Religion has answers in
these matters. The Latin religio is composed of re- (“again, repeat”) and ligare
(“to bind, fasten”).
The basic experiences are made in the first three years of life. In these years
the human soul is formed inside by stimulations from the outside and
interactions with the outside. We don’t remember how our psyche was formed.
The experiences of the early childhood are preserved in the unconscious mind.
The stimulations of the early childhood are very much the same for all children
and they have not changed much since antiquity. We start as a helpless
creature, which has to be taken up and carried by a gracious mother.
Blood samples show that the baby and the mother produce a hormone
(oxytocin) when they have body contact and even when they only have eye
contact. Experiments with adults inhaling this hormone prove that it reduces
anxiety and distrust to others. Babies will die if they don’t have human contact
even if they have their physical needs fulfilled. The baby has needs of
unfolding, contact and experiencing. The little child learns body language and
spoken language because it tries to have human contact and consequently
needs to communicate. When the interaction satisfies these needs the baby
has a happy feeling of being together and to co-operate. Normally the baby has
a friendly and stimulating contact and develops a basic trust in life and in other
persons.
The first happy experiences of interaction we had as a baby is preserved
unconscious as a happy state of mind that could be called basic trust. In the
course of life this happy feeling will be reinforced countless of times probably
evoked by hormones. In fact we will have a need for interaction the rest of our
life and we try to fulfil the need in many ways. If we are leaved to our self with
the problems we are worried for our private conditions. But in a friendly
community we feel safe and don’t worry so much. Most human activities are
social. Anything we do will have relation to other people.
The oldest and most common religious idea we know of is Mother of Life, the
Goddess of Birth and Death. The idea of a deity that accepts and supports
anybody is based on the first experiences in human life. The baby does not
know how helpless it is. It probably has the experience that everything is
coming by itself. It has a feeling of vitality, omnipotence and unity. An older
child or an adult person who has a similar experience of vitality may describe it
as joy, strength, will-power, wisdom, peace, love or compassion. We normally
don’t control these feelings, since they are mainly caused by unconscious

159 
processes. Religious rituals may produce that kind of feelings.
Rituals with participation of several persons from the society have a strong
effect on the individual’s state of mind. Religious rituals in the community have
a deep effect on the mind because of the unconscious body language.
Participators in a ritual with eating, drinking, singing, dancing or sacrifices is
able to feel power or truth inside. The unconscious influence comes from the
body language, consumption or voices in the company. The effect on the mind
is similar as the baby’s experience of a care taking mother and unconsciously
bring the feeling of vitality from early childhood. The individual will feel a
capacity of life inside, and forget his own problems. He will feel he was helped
by some invisible force described as the spirit of the deity. During the ritual of
the company the deity will be present inside the performers. The deity will be a
collective spiritual experience. Faithful individuals can maintain the feeling of
strength and courage for a longer time after the ritual. But it helps to repeat
the ritual regularly. The experience of faith in God may be described as being
as child again, as putting ones destiny into Gods hands, as delight of the
beauty of life or as gratitude to the Creator of Life.
The myths about Mother of Life developed as a social creation when the
members of the community talked about their experiences of life. Idols or
paintings of the deity are also a kind of myth. Although they are created by an
individual they express common experience. Mother of Life was not the
biological mother of any specific individual. She was a myth told in the society.
She gives life and death to all individuals and even to all animals and plants.
She accepts any kind of life and any kind of behaviour or destiny of the living
creatures. The myth of Mother of Life makes the believers understand how all
life comes forth and disappears. She makes dead organisms disappear in the
earth and living ones come out of the earth. She is also the one that can give
deceased human beings a new life.
The Goddess can be seen in imaginations but she is normally invisible. The
popular Goddess had many names and many myths. In farming societies a
common name was Mother Earth. The idols had many forms: a she goat, a
frog, a living tree, a pole, a female. The Goddess was sometimes represented
by the face as at figure 36b or just the eyes as at figure 24. The observer might
have the feeling of the baby, who is watching the mothers face.
From interaction with members of the community the child develops physical
and psychic abilities. One side of interaction is observation, understanding,
nourishing and compassion. This ability can be called receiving force and it
develops from birth. Another side of interaction is the moving and speaking of
the child itself and this begins after about one year. Already after six months
the human child develops a feeling of having its own will and it recognizes that
it is interacting with another person. The ability to act can be called the giving
force. The two forces became part of our mind when we were babies and drive
our mind unconsciously the whole life through. Human life is guided by the
giving force and the receiving force and these universal forces are represented
by the different characters of the Divine Twins. The presence of two forces of
the mind might be one reason for the wide spread believe in the Divine Twins.
There are different myths about twins or brothers from many tribes. They are
called deities or heroes but the brothers always seem to have different
characters. I expect that people could identify themselves with one of the
Divine Twins depending on the the role or the project of the people. The

160 
believers may have felt that one or both of the Divine Twins helped them. The
intent to be creative and active may have been understood as the presence of
the giving Twin. The intent to accept and enjoy may have been understood as
the presence of the receiving Twin.
We have knowledge of some rituals for the Divine Twins: dancing, singing,
libation and first of all the drinking ritual by the Germanic tribes. Like all rituals
the effect would be that the participants felt the presence of the spiritual force.
The imagination of the Divine Twins at the rituals probably revived the two
forces from the childhood.
According to most of the myths and the delineations the Divine Twins have the
same species, sex and age and they always stay together. I recognize The
Divine Twins as a very strong symbol of being together, solidarity and co-
operation. Even to day we light two candles in order to bring an atmosphere of
being together. In Chinese Taoism people who want a companion are advised to
put two of a kind many places in their home. According to the myths and the
delineations the function of the Divine Twins was to guide the Sun and human
beings in life and afterlife.
The Divine Twins are symbols of the friendly human community. They are
models for the tribal society. They help each other and they are helpful to the
believers. They are equal partners, they accept each other even if they have
very different characters and roles. The idea of the Divine Twins belongs to the
tribe society and they are perfect deities there. Being twins their ethnic relation
could not be closer. The individuals in the tribe take care of each other and
they only have the tribe for help and protection.
The Palaeolithic hunters lived in small ethnic groups and made many cave
paintings. Some of the painted animals are most certainly meant to be helping
spirits, but there are hardly no examples of pairs of twins. Only some
aboriginal Australian groups have rock paintings and myths of a pair of
brothers. One example is pair who were born from the earth as dingos and then
they created all living creatures. Later they were human and now they are
snakes and create rain and storm.
Why did the Divine Twins not emerge before the farmers? The answer may be
that agriculture and domestication of animals demands planning. Harvest and
slaughtering must be planned a long time ahead and in these matters the
receiving older twin is most helpful. For sowing and growing the young twin is
most helpful. We have described the roles of the Divine Twins in the chapter
“Germanic gods of prosperity”. In the farming community there has to be room
for people with different abilities and the individual may have to change his
function.
Even in the tribe society the individual could have troubles that he couldn’t get
rid of by the help of his mates. He would feel insecure when he was sick or
when he was on travelling departed from the tribe. It was exactly in these
situations, that the Divine Twins were called for help and advice. Most
Germanic tribes had myths in which the Divine Twins were told to be the
ancestors of the tribe. These myths were often related to migration of the tribe.
They were guiding on voyages. I proposed that the Gold Horns were sacrificed
to the Twins at an instance of migration.

161 
What happened to the Divine
Twins?
In the Germanic period the society system changed from tribes to central
kingship. The religious ideas also had to be changed. When a tribe migrated,
warfare was inevitable and the tribe had to have an authoritarian leader. The
East Germanic tribes were the first to migrate and some of them like the Goths
had powerful kings. Furthermore people of different tribes were mixed by the
migration. The king didn’t make common cause with a tribe any more. A
central power needs a central religion. The Roman Emperor Constantine among
several religions chose Christianity as a central religion. Christianity was a
religion with strict laws and the Church was a strong centralized controlled
organization. The Germanic kings who took power in the former Roman
provinces accepted Christianity as official religion because it was convenient
for their administration.
Christianity has taken over part of the much older idea of the Divine Twins. The
Bible says that on the first day God created Night and Day. Night and Day were
twin gods by the Canaeans and they were twins. Night and Day helped God to
create the rest of the world. On the third day they created the Sun. In Genesis
we also read that Two angels visited Lot and helped him. Two angels also
visited Abraham and helped him.
Most of the towns in the Greek- Roman world had temples for the Divine Twins
called Castor and Polydeukes. The Christians replaced the heathen twin-gods
with a pair of saints. For example about 530 Pope Felix 4 th changed a temple in
Rome for the heathen twins of the city to a church for the brothers Sct.
Cosmas and Sct. Damiano. These Saints were physicians, one of the functions
of the Divine Twins.

91. Sun-relief in the Church of Santa Maria Quintanilla de la Vinas, Burgos

about 580.

All the Germanic people worshipped the Divine Twins which is documented by
decorations with an opposed pair of animals of the same species. In medieval
churches there are many decorations with opposed animals. In the Middle Ages

162 
a pare of Angels became very popular by the Christianized Germanic's. Figure
91 shows an early example about 580 from North Spain, where Gothic kings
ruled. The Goth's here like most of the Christianized Germanic tribes were
Arian Christians and opposed to the Catholic church. The Arians were the first
who used the cross as a Christian symbol. It was an equal armed cross and the
meaning of it was the same as the heathen meaning: ”the spiritual world” .
The Arians did not believe in saints but they believed in angels. In the ring we
have the inscription SOL meaning Sun. On both sides we have two angels
presenting the Sun. The scenery probably shows the creation of the Sun. The
legend reads:
(h)OC EXIGVVM EXIGVA OFF(ert) DO(mina) FLAMMOLA VOTUM D(eo)
This small vow/vowed gift the unworthy (exigua) lady Flammola offers to God.
It seems that angels took over the role of the Divine Twins. The angels had a
similar function as the twins. They both could dwell with the humans. Like all
spiritual beings they could be several places at the same time. They could even
take abode in humans. They were guiding humans. Even in our time many
people believe in guiding angels.
The most distinguishing mark of the Germanic view of life is probably the
believe in personal freedom. There is a tendency in Germanic families to let the
young generation leave home. This may lead to colonisation and emigration
even today. In Protestant Christianity the individual has a more personal
relation to God than in Catholicism. It is probably not a coincidence that the
extension of Protestantism today fits with the Germanic speaking areas. In the
Middle Age East Anglia was different from the rest of England by having the
greatest number of Freemen. This is due to the tradition of the Angles. It was
also East Anglia that had most risings against the Catholic central power in
London. Here Martin Luther had great influence. During Queen Mary many
protestants were burned on stake as punishment for their believe. 82% of them
were from the nine eastern counties out of the 50 counties in England.
In the Viking Age in Scandinavia Frey and Njord was worshipped and they had
almost the same function as the Divine Twins in the Germanic Age. Christianity
was successfully introduced in Scandinavia about 1000. The Danish king
brought the first bishops from England and established the first Christian town
in Denmark near the old Aesir centre Uppåkra in Scania. This town Lund was a
copy of London, and the two of them originally had the same latin name
Lundona. Christianity was predominantly exercised in the towns in the Catholic
period. In private homes in the countryside old habits were alive, and worship
of the old fertility gods, the Vanir could be found. The Vanir survived as Catholic
Saints. Freya had a new life as Gods Mother, Virgin Mary. Next to Virgin Mary
the most popular saint was Saint Nicolas, Santa Claus. He is patron saint for
travellers at sea, for merchants, for harvesters, for the poor and for children.
He has much the same function as Njord.
Saint Nicolas was very popular because he could bring prosperity. In Denmark
his popular name was Niels or Nis. It was a common believe that Nis lived in
the stable or the attic, and secured that sickness and failure of crops was kept
away. Sacrifices of food had to be given to him especially near Christmas time,
probably at Saint Nicolas day December 6. This custom can still be found.
Nowadays we find nisser as pixies at Christmas time and Santa Claus as the
bringer of Christmas gifts.
What happened to Frey is more crucial. Jesus Christ seems to have some of the

163 
same character as Frey being a dying and resurrecting god. Also Saint John the
Baptist may have some of Frey’s functions. At midsummer Frey was
worshipped with rituals at holy creeks and bonfires. These heathen traditions
are still practised in Denmark at the night of Saint John’s day July 24.
The ritual drinking for with the Divine Twins seem to have survived. In the
Viking Age there were drinking parties with toast for gods. In the Middle Age
there were toasts for the Saints. Figure 92 is a so called “ølhøne” (“beer hen”)
used in the 1800s in West Norway. The participants all drank from it. The name
and elaboration is a very old tradition and possibly goes back to the symbols
for the Divine Twins. When we propose a toast for some spiritual being it may
be a rest of the drinking ritual for the Divine Twins.

92. Ølhøne from West Norway 1800s.

Reminiscences of the Divine Twins can be seen in modern time in countries
where Germanic ethnic groups have settled. The oath “by Gemini” is clearly
addressed to the Divine Twins. A pair of horns or antlers is often mounted on
walls inside or outside, in particular above doors. The horns give protection by
the aid of the Divine Twins, but this purpose is forgotten. See also the gable
decorations figure 39.
Folk art traditions live for many generations. Some folklore embroideries have
motives of Mother of Life and the Divine Twins. At figure 93 Mother of Life is
represented by a bird, by a heart and by a woman. The Divine Twins are
represented by two standing riders, by two birds and by two plants. Motives
like that can also be found on paintings or woodcarvings at old furniture and at
old houses.

164 
93. Embroidered towel from North Zealand

If we look at many of today's customs, superstitions and celebrations, we can

see much of those Heathen religions firmly stamped on them. So in that sense
we can say strongly that Heathenism is still with us today, and is still being
practised, albeit unknown to most of those who practice it.

165 
Figures
1. Reconstruction of the two horns based on drawings.
2. The uppermost ring of the short horn; Drawing by Paulli.
3. Silver mounting for one of the two drinking horns from Taplow in Berkshire.
4. Replica of the helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship-grave.
5. Wall painting from Pompeii
6. The Germanic runic alphabet in the outer circle and the sound of the runes in
the inner circle.
7. South Jutland with three Syssel’s that was the old homeland of the Angles
8. Finds from the first half of the 400s. (Böhme 1986)
9. Two wooden heads from the front end of the Nydam boat 350.
10. Reconstruction of the village of Hjemsted 450 A.D.
11. Descendants of Wearmud and Ongentheow
12. Anglo-Saxon burial places. (Leeds 1970). “Anglo-Saxon” is a standard
expression for Germanics living in Britain.
13. Descendants of Hrethel and Ecgtheof
14.Gold bracteates found in Istathe Syssel and Holstein about 500.
15.Gold bracteate from Geltorf by the Schlei.(Hauck cat. 254)
16. Descendants of Healfdene and Helm.
17. Gold bracteate from Undley near Lakenheath in Suffolk 5th. century.
18. The reconstructed Anglian village at West Stow about 500.
19. Buckle from Galsted in Barwith Syssel. 400s.
20. Open-air idol from Oberdorla, Thüringia height 32 cm. 200s AD.
21. Pots used for grave gifts. a) Oberdorla, Thüringia 200 A.D. (Behm-Blancke
2002). b) Hjemsted South Jutland about 450 (Ethelberg 1986).
22. Urn from Spong Hill, North Elmham, Norfolk (Myres and Green 1973) and
urn from Sancton, Yorkshire. (Myres and Southern 1973) 400s.
23. Cruciform brooches about 500. a) Olde, Norway. b) Dankirke, South Jutland.
c) Wakerley, Northhampshire. (Hines 1984).
24. Square-headed brooch from Fairford, Luton. Guilt bronze. Drilled holes
suggest repair in antiquity. (Hines 1997)
25. Three sceattas of the so called Wodan/Monster type. 710.
26. Mythical eagle placed on the shield in Sutton Hoo. The face on the leg is
copied.
27. Lid from a belt purse, where king Redwald kept gold.
28. Part of Scythian drinking horn from Merdjany, Kuban, 200-years B.C.
29. Sarmatian spearheads about 200 a) found in Dahmsdorf near Berlin, b)
found in Kowel, Northwest Ukraine. (Shchukin 1994)
30. Buckle from Kossewen, Samland about 200.

166 
31. Wooden cup found in Vimose in Funen about 300.
32. Equal-armed brooch and two eagle brooches from a grave in Anderlingen,
Hadeln, 400s (Hässler 1991).
33. Bronze strap ends from Abbeville by River Somme 400s (Salin 1904).
34. Decoration on a brooch from Canterbury, Kent
35. Pair of applaid saucer brooches from a grave in Great Chesterford, Essex
about 450 (Evison 1994).
36. Saucer brooches from North Wessex, a) East Shefford, b) Collingbourne
Ducis (British Museum).
37. Disc brooch from Kingston, Kent, about 600.
38. Sword pommel from the Staffordshire Hoard near Lichfield in Mercia.
39. Gable decorations in Lower Saxony called “Hengst and Hors”. 1800s.
40. D-bracteates. a) from Grathe Hede, Jutland (Hauck cat.434b,1) and
b) from Finglesham, Kent (Hauck cat.426,2b).
41. Bronze amulet in the form of a hammer from 500s grave in the Saxon
cemetery at Ash, Kent.
42. The belt buckle from Finglesham, Kent about 600 AD.
43. The decoration of the upper seven rings of the long horn, based on Ole
Worms drawing.
44. Gold arm ring from a rich grave in Nordrup, Seeland; about 250.
45. Part of a sword sheath. Nydam Moor; 350
46. Cadeceus. The staff of Hermes.
47. Yin Yang symbol.
48. Stone ring used for religious ball playing by Maya’s at Chicken-Itza 900.
49. Decoration plate of bronze from Niederursel near Wiesbaden, 600s.
50. Guldgubbe from Helgö, Sweden and from Lundeborg, Fyn.
51. Franks Casket, the right side.
52. Carving at a gravestone from Gotland about 500.
53. The “Spongman”. Lid of an urn found at the Spong Hill cemetery.
54. The runic alphabet. Under it the pronunciation of the letters. Under it the
corresponding Venetic letters.

55. Fibula from Meldorf, West Holstein, AD 40.

56. Gravestone from Wiesbaden.
57. The five rings from the short horn. Drawing made by Paulli.
58. Bull of bronze with horns and eyes of silver from Gudme Funen 300s.
59. Top of the whetstone scepter from the Sutton Hoo ship grave.
60. Outline of the Red Horse of Tysoe. 76 x 61m.
61. Deer hunt. Stone carving from Bjergagergård, South Jutland. 600 B.C.
62. Bronze idols from Fårdal, Jutland 600 B.C.

167 
63. Lance shaft with runic inscription from Kragehul Moor at Funen, 400s
64. Stone heads with three faces from Glejbjerg and Bramminge, South Jutland.
The number “17” at the head from Bramminge is due to a later carving.
65. Urns from Funen 200 AD. a: Fraude. b: Alenbækhuse. (Albrechtsen 1968)
66. Boar-crested helmet from Benty Grange in Derbyshire (Mercia) 600s.
67. The two uppermost rings of the short horn with the 24 sun symbols marked.
68. Ægishjalmr.
69. The human life cycle.
70. Runes in the east connected to the birth of man.
71. Runes in the northwest connected to the earth.
72. Runes in the north connected to the dead spirit.
73. Runes in the northeast connected to the conception.
74. Runes in the southeast connected to the child.
75. Runes in the south connected to the worker.
76. Runes in the southwest connected to the ruler.
77. Runes in the west connected to the death.
78. Sceatta found near Ipswich, East Anglia ca.700. (Rickfors)
79. Drawing of 18 sun marks at the long horn ring 3.
80. Idol of burned clay from Catalhöyük in Turkey.
81. Goldbracteate from Holmetorp, Öland, about 500 (Hauck cat.279).
82. Silver cups from Himlingøje, Zeeland, about 275.
83. Figures from the Himlingøje Cups.
84. Wooden idol found in a well at Oss-Ussen height 75 cm (Silkeborg 2001).
85. Gold bracteate from Gudme, Funen, about 500. (Hauck cat. 51,3)
86. Gold bracteate from Funen 480s. (Hauck cat. 58)
87 Metal beaker with seven gold bands from the 500s found in Uppåkra.
88. Decoration at the gold bands of the metal beaker figure 87.
89. Bracteate from Seeland (Hauck cat. 105).
90. Gold bracteate from Darum near Ribe in Southwest Jutland about 500.
(Hauck cat. 42)
91. Sun-relief in the Church of Santa Maria Quintanilla de la Vinas, Burgos
about 580.
92. Ølhøne from West Norway 1800s.
93. Embroidered towel from North Zealand

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