The Anglo Saxon Tribes

The Anglo Saxons their Language and contributing tribes.

Legend: * means my own reconstruction or idea.

An overview of Tribes and Language:

The Anglo Saxons are a grouping of Germanic tribes: Angles, Jutes, Saxons, Frisians, Danes and Geats to some extent. These tribes were hardly united, shifted loyalties and had a complicated relationship with each other. Many of the proposed early Anglo Saxon Kings were of royal Danish descent according to genealogy and many characters were associated with the the court of the Danes. The overall grouping with politics removed come from a pre Viking cultural age known as the Vendel Period. We see the material culture of the Vendel Period in Sweden, Denmark, Frisia, Germany and England. This is marked by ornate helmets and a distinct form of migration age influenced art/jewelry and sword styles. The Languages of these tribes would also be quite similar at this point despite fragmenting into North, West and Eastern Germanic it is easy to see that Anglo Saxon language bared a resemblance to early Norse dialects and Danish to this day. Today English fits into a category known as “Anglo Frisian” and our closest language family member is Frisian. English is known for retaining the sounds ðþ like Icelandic. Most other Germanic languages dropped these sounds except for certain dialects and an almost ðþ sound in Danish that is barely discernable.  Anglo Saxon language was extremely inflected and this reflected the complicated nature of the tongue. The Tribes shifted for position and waged war on each other as well as created alliances. One could say that there was not a united Anglo Saxon land until Alfred the great. The heritage of the Anglo Saxon is that of Angles, Saxons, Jutes (Hypothesized West Geats), Geats, Frisians and Franks . Unlike popular TV shows or movies the Anglo Saxons and Scandinavians were all quite aware of each other and  previous interrelations. The listeners of Beowulf in an Anglo Saxon hall are bombarded with places and names of tribes, people and ideas they would be familiar with. As archeology improves we see our ancestors were much more connected than we thought. Today English is an analytical language which has dropped its genders and cases. Our grammar still exists but is maintained in word order unlike OE which relied on cases to reflect grammar. We do have some gender in English today but it is natural gender like referring to certain things as She or He based on our understanding of the object. Example: “She’s a good old boat” or naming vehicles, boats and other things with female names. This is not universal however. Old English genders are sometimes perplexing and require heavy memorization of the Cases and articles. The Old English verb conjugations are also very difficult to memorize and master. The Anglo Saxons used the Fuþorc which is descended from the Elder Fuþark but contains 32 or more Runes. The increase in Runic characters is another indication of the complicated nature of the English language. English today is a combination of Anglo Saxon Vocabulary evolved through Middle English and then Norse, French and Latin. An interesting fact is that you could speak English only using Germanic vocabulary but you could not speak English using only French or Latin . The Norman invasion is responsible in part for the birth of Middle English with help from Danish Influence in the north.

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The Anglo Saxon Religion:

There is but one Anglo Saxon religion and that religion is “Germanic Polytheism”. This religion contains elements of Shamanism and Animism inherited from our Hunter Gatherer Ancestors in Scandinavia/Denmark and Indo European ancestral Shamans in the western Steppe. No other religion is Native to the Anglo Saxon but that of the old Gods like Woden, þunor, Frīg and Ing. The religion of the Anglo Saxon is not well attested in certain areas but well attested in others. Much of the context was eradicated by the church and harshly suppressed. We know that attested Anglo Saxon Gods are contemporary to their Continental and Scandinavian relatives minus some that appear to be Ancestral figures or alternate names of known Gods. Some are unique to regions such as a few Frisian/Dutch figures but these could be traced to other known Gods if by a slight stretch. Some Gods are simply not attested and no Anglo Saxon poem existed to preserve them unlike in Iceland. We are missing cosmology and other details however concepts like Midgard “OE Middangeard” and Valkyrie “OE Wælcyrge” were known and used concepts identical to their Norse counterpart. Nothing can be assumed with certainty but If large portions of Germanic religion is universal across most tribes we can assume that the conglomerate of Tribes who became collectively Anglo Saxon had the same complete religious cosmology as the rest. This reasoning is fairly sensical given the Scandinavian/Jutlandic origin of the tribes that contributed to this eventual cultural grouping.

A Few Gods:

Wōden: (Wednesday)

Chief God of the Germanic people and founder of many royal lines. In Scandinavia known as Oðinn (Odin) or by over 200 other names including Gautr, Grimnir, and Fumbultyr. Symbol is a spear or various Runes like Oðalla, Ansuz etc. Wōden’s name means “furious” however given his names like Allfather he obviously is a complex deity and has many facets. He famously hung for nine nights on Yggdrasil to gain sight into the Great Gap and retrieve the magic of the Runes. He is well known to walk amongst humans as well.

Þunor: (Thursday)

Sone of Wōden, God of thunder, the sky and fertility in agriculture. Supreme protector of mankind. Known as Þorr in Scandinavia (Thor), Donar in Germany and Þunær amongst the Old Saxons. Symbol is a Hammer. Thor is figured in a great many tales from Gotland where he travels amongst humans.

Seaxnēat: (Hero/King/Ancestral God)

A divine or semi divine Ancestor found in Old Saxon “Saxnōt” and Anglo Saxon genealogies of Essex. Sometimes listed as a Son of Wōden.

Tiw: Tiwesdæg (Tuesday)

The God of bravery, sacrifice, law, honor and is mentioned in early attestations as the Allfather. In Norse myth he (Tyr) famously loses his hand to protect Asgard from Fenris Wolf. His Rune has been found carved onto sword blades and hilts. The name Tiw, Tir, Tig and Tyr means God or Deity and is cognate to Zeus and PIE Deywos the supreme sky God.

Frīg-Frēo: (Friday)

Goddess of war, Fertility, Sex and magic. Consort or Wife of Wōden and the one who teaches him Seiðr. A Witch of great power and a shamanic figure. Frīg: Etymologically I do not view Frīg/Frēo as different deities and Frīg shares many aspects of Freyja beyond just etymology as Wōdens wife, great Witch and weaver of the sky. A Goddess of healing, house and motherhood as well. In Wōdens own words she knows more but will not say. She Like Odin has many names but none set in stone name. The term Frīg or Frēo is a title meaning “Lady”

Ingwine:

The God of the Ingeveonic tribes also known as Frēa (Lord) his actual name is Ing or Inwine. Norse Cognate Yngvi or Yngvi-Freyr. Yng is mentioned in the prefix of the Yngling dynasty. Many tribes declare descent from him and he is seen in Denmark as a great peace bringer. He may be figured in the sometimes perplexing Germanic mythological story presented of Tacitus’s Germania. Tuisto or Tuisco the God who propigated all Germanic people had a son Mannus who Ingwine may be descended from as a semi divine Ancestral God/Hero. The concepts is this myth does not satisfy however my questions in the least. I have seen it argued aand denied that Tuisto is Tiw or Tyr but the etymology only agrees that Tuisco could be etymologically linked to Tiw but I disagree in that the important part of the word is “TUI”. Personal opinion> I see major holes in the Tacitus data as it was second hand. I see something more like Tuisto was name sake God of the Teuton tribe who had some Celtic Influence after arriving in Jutland (Cimbria) and united with the Cimbrians to fight Rome who are both described as Celtic and Germanic. The word Teuton shares etymology with Celtic Tuatha and Teutabod (King of the Teutons) is theorized as a Celtic name. The Teutons are an Ingeveonic tribe.

Mannus :

Mannus, according to the Roman writer Tacitus, was a figure in the creation myths of the Germanic tribes. Tacitus is the only source of these myths.[1]

Tacitus wrote that Mannus was the son of Tuisto and the progenitor of the three Germanic tribes Ingaevones, Herminones and Istvaeones.[2] In discussing the German tribes Tacitus wrote:

In ancient lays, their only type of historical tradition, they celebrate Tuisto, a god brought forth from the earth. They attribute to him a son, Mannus, the source and founder of their people, and to Mannus three sons, from whose names those nearest the Ocean are called Ingvaeones, those in the middle Herminones, and the rest Istvaeones. Some people, inasmuch as antiquity gives free rein to speculation, maintain that there were more sons born from the god and hence more tribal designations—Marsi, Gambrivii, Suebi, and Vandilii—and that those names are genuine and ancient. (Germania, chapter 2)[3]

I note here that the God of the Geats (Gaut, Gautaz, Gautr, Gapt) is absent as a creator God here. The Gotenes are a tribe attested as Early as the Teutons. The Teutons and Gotanes are arguably the first mentioned tribes exhibiting Germanic features in the late BC’s. The first sign of a distinct Germanic culture were likely seen in the Late BC’s Jastorf and Wielbark cultures.

Gaut (God of the Geats) (Ancestral God)

I write here about Gaut because the Anglo Saxons were preoccupied with the Geats in poems like Beowulf and they are mention in the song Deor. It is arguable that the Geats had a presence in the Early Pagan times of England given the Vendel nature of the Anglo Saxon customs of pre Christian England and the Jutes likely being a confused alternative name of the Geats, Goths etc. Gaut is one of Odin’s names and he is the patron God of the Geatish tribe. I would also note than the Wulffing clan of the Geats and the Wuffing clan of the East Anglians are simply too close to not see a major connection.

Baldæg/Baldor:

Something of an Anglo Saxon term for Baldr the son of Wōden and he mentioned as such in the kings list of Bernicia. His name denotes bravery and boldness and he is the shining God who in Norse myth is slain by mistletoe.

Wyrd:

The Anglo Saxon form of the web of fate.

Beowa:

A not well attested deity Associated with barley, attested in the royal lineage as the son of Scyld, Grandson of Sceafa. The name is similar to Beowulf in the prefix.

Hreða:

A deity attested by Bede connected to the month Hrēðmōnað. The etymology may infer victory or fame.

in chapter 15 of his work De temporum ratione, Bede provides information about English months and celebrations. Bede records that Hrēþmōnaþ is analogous to March, and details that “Hrethmonath is named for their goddess Hretha, to whom they sacrificed at this time” (Rhed-monath a Dea illorum Rheda, cui in illo sacrificabant, nominatur…). Bede notes that Hrēþmōnaþ occurs between Solmōnaþ (February), so named due to the offerings of cakes to the gods during the month, and Ēostermōnaþ (April), named after the goddess Ēostre.[2]

Erce:

Attested in the 11th-century Æcerbot (“field-remedy”) charm. The personification of Earth. Likely related to ON Jorð.

Eostre:

Argued as the name of a Goddess or just the name of a month in the Anglo Saxon calendar recorded by Bede. The name means “East” as in the dawning son.

Eosturmonath 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.[21]

Siȝel/Sunne: (Sunday)

Goddess of the Sun and likely a deity stemming form as far back as the Nordic Bronze Age or even dawn of the Indo Europeans. Her name is in our “Sunday”.

Merseburg Charm (Wikipedia)

Eiris sazun idisi,     sazun hera duoder; suma hapt heptidun,     suma heri lezidun, suma clubodun     umbi cuoniouuidi: insprinc haptbandun,     inuar uigandun.

Once sat women, They sat here, then there. Some fastened bonds, Some impeded an army, Some unraveled fetters: Escape the bonds, flee the enemy!

Phol ende uuodan     uuorun zi holza. du uuart demo balderes uolon     sin uuoz birenkit. thu biguol en sinthgunt,     sunna era suister; thu biguol en friia,     uolla era suister; thu biguol en uuodan,     so he uuola conda: sose benrenki,     sose bluotrenki,     sose lidirenki: ben zi bena,     bluot zi bluoda, lid zi geliden,     sose gelimida sin!

Phol and Wodan were riding to the woods, and the foot of Balder’s foal was sprained So Sinthgunt, Sunna’s sister, conjured it; and Frija, Volla’s sister, conjured it; and Wodan conjured it, as well he could: Like bone-sprain, so blood-sprain, so joint-sprain: Bone to bone, blood to blood, joints to joints, so may they be glued

Voluspa: (Wikipiedia)

Benjamin Thorpe translation:

The sun from the south, the moon’s companion,
her right hand cast about the heavenly horses.
The sun knew not where she a dwelling had,
the moon know not what power he possessed,
the stars knew not where they had a station.[3]

Henry Adams Bellows translation:

The sun, the sister of the moon, from the south
Her right hand cast over heaven’s rim;
No knowledge she had where her home should be,
The moon knew not what might was his,
The stars knew not where their stations were.[4]

Mone: (Monday)

Personification of the Moon and brother of Sunne (See above).

Wecta/Wægdæg: (Hero/King/Demigod)

Attested as a son of Wōden in royal lineages and mentioned in prologue of the Poetic Edda as Vegdagr as a powerful King in East Saxony.

The Modra:

The sacred mothers attested by Bede. Possibly associated with the Norns. Venerated at Mōdraniht. Possibly cognate to other triple Goddess traditions in Europe. The West Germanic tradition of the Matres and Matronae may be connected.

Bede: … began the year on the 8th calends 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 (we suspect) of the ceremonies they enacted all that night.[2]

Nicors:

Water Spirits that haunt ponds, lakes and other bodies of water. Cognate to the Scandinavian Nøkken.

Wælcyrge:

Well attested in Norse Myth these skyward female spirits are the collectors of heroic dead and hand maidens to Freyja/Frīg. In Anglo Saxon they may have also denoted some evil female spirit or the ghostly form of a Hag (Evil Witch) out flying the night sky causing havoc.

Places and Things:

Irminsul:

The Axis Mundi or center of the universe this sacred pole is arguably the continental Saxon Yggdrasil. Although not attested in any Anglo Saxon source God poles and sacred trees are archeologically attested in areas of Denmark and The North German plane where the Anglo Saxon Tribes originally came from. If such sites existed amongst the Anglo Saxons they were likely made of wood and would have been destroyed during conversion. We know they worshipped at Sacred groves , Wells and Trees. (Opinion>) Perhaps they simply used trees already existing rather than building something new in England. We know the Elder Saxons had the Irminsul and it was likely a tall pole with the face or effigy of a God on top. Some mention if carvings and temples is mentioned in reference to the Anglo Saxons but a detailed description is lacking.

Ginnungagap: (* Beginnangap)

I have reconstructed that the Anglo Saxon term for this place would be something like “Beginnangap” and translate as “the beginning gap” or “first gap”. I disagree with term denoting chaos because that is not how the Gap is described. Because we have to lean on Norse myth for this I came up with a term in Old English as close to the Norse concept I could. I could be totally wrong in translation and conjugation but I present it here anyway.

Wælhall:

Wōdens heavenly mead hall where heroes go to feast after battle.

Mjöllnir: (* Mylnere)

In both the cases of Anglo Saxons and Elder Saxons the Hammer has a characteristically obvious longer haft and seems to Ignore the myth why the handle came out short. I present here my translation for Mjollnir into Anglo Saxon as “Mylnere” which translates as to crush or mill. My understanding of the etymology of Mjollnir (which is debated) is that it always simply meant to crush or mill and was cognate the word miller. Mylnere fits this etymology and matches Scandinavian etymologies who are nearly Identical to Mjollnir.

Example: Miller Trans to: Norwegian Nynorsk “mylnar” and Swedish mjölnare. I do not claim this absolute fact but I feel it is an interesting idea worth sharing.

Language Family:

North Sea Germanic Language Group: “Ingeveonic”

The Anglian, Frisian, Saxon (missing some elements) Language developed in Denmark (Jutland) and North Sea Coast/islands of Denmark, Frisia and Germany as tribes branched from a suggested common proto Germanic. The North Sea Germanic group also shares heavy similarities with Danish though Danish is a North Germanic Language. In mythological cycles Angul and Dan are sons of Humbli who gave their names to The English and the Danes. Dan has a meaning of something like low land or marsh and Angul has many plausible theories including “Narrow”. Angeln (Low Saxon), Angel (Danish) and Engla Land (Old English) still exists today in South Schleswig-Holstein Germany. The area has been ruled by North Sea Germanic peoples since the earliest arrival of Germanic speakers in the area. The languages of Scandinavia, Holland, Jutland, North Germany also all evolved along a certain path while German and Icelandic remained heavily inflected and are so today. Many sound changes took place and different sound laws, accents, dialects and variants emerge from Proto Germanic and this makes Germanic a complicated and fascinating language family. Anglo Saxon language studied today is derived mainly from West Saxon dialect sources but we have knowledge of Anglian and other dialects.

The modern descendants of Ingeveonic are what is known as Anglo-Frisian language group which includes English and Frisian “our closest linguistic relative” and Low Saxon. English shares a great close comparative nature to Danish, Norwegian, Dutch and more distantly German.

Low Saxon House in Germany.

GALLERY: Images are collected from the internet. if own or wish them removed please comment.

This is just a short glimpse into the history of the Anglo Saxons and particularly their pre christian culture.

Reading List:

Mead Hall (Stephen Pollington)

Aspects of Anglo Saxon Magic (Bill Griffith)

The Lost Gods of England (Kathleen Herbert)

The Elder Gods (Stephen Pollington)

Hammer of the Gods (Swain Wodening)

The Horse, Wheel and Language (David Anthony) PIE anthropology)

Rudiments of Runelore (S.Pollington)

Spellcraft (K. Herbert)

Beowulf (Audio Book) Many good choices on Audible (Not sponsored)

Hroð-

July 3, 2021 | Categories: Ancient Germany, Ancient Northern Europe, Ancient Scandinavia, Anglo Saxon Frisian, Anglo Saxon Runes, Anglo-Norda, Axe Culture, ænglisc, denmark, Eald Englisc, English Runes, European Culture, Frisian, Futhorc/Futhark/Futhork, Middle English, Norð Sea, Norse Culture, North Sea Coast, North Sea Germanic Jutland, Old English, old norse, Proto Germanic Language, runes, vendel era, West Germanic Language | Tags: Anglo Frisian, anglo saxon, Anglo Saxon Frisian, anglo saxon words, futhark, futhorc, jutland, Old English, Old English words, runes | Leave a comment