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Anglo-Saxon Gods

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Hretha. In Anglo-Saxon paganism, Rheda (Latinized from Old English *Hrêðe or *Hrêða, possibly meaning "the famous" or "the victorious"[1]) is a goddess connected with the month '"Rhedmonth"' (from Old English *Hrēþmōnaþ).

Hretha

Rheda is attested solely by Bede in his 8th century work De temporum ratione. While the name of the goddess appears in Bede's Latin manuscript as Rheda, it is reconstructed into Old English as *Hrēþe and is sometimes modernly anglicized as Hretha (also "Hrethe" or "Hrede"). Hrēþmōnaþ is one of three events (apart from the days of the week) that refer to deities in the Anglo-Saxon calendar—the other two being Ēostermōnaþ and Mōdraniht. 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…). Frijjō. Following the Christianisation of England in the 7th and 8th centuries, Frige's worship was eradicated, but she left an influence on the English language.

Frijjō

She lent her name to the Modern English word "Friday", which came from the Old English word Frigedæg, meaning "Frige's Day". She also provided the basis for a number of place names across the country, including villages like Froyle, Freefolk and Fretherne. The role of Frige in pre-Christian England has been evaluated by a variety of different historians and scholars of Old English, such as Brian Branston (1957), Richard North (1997) and Stephen Pollington (2011). Cofgod. Dowden, Ken (2000).

Cofgod

European Paganism: The Realities of Cult from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-12034-9. Yngvi. "Yngve Frey bygger Gamla Upsala tempel" (1830) by Hugo Hamilton.

Yngvi

Yngvi-Freyr builds the Uppsala temple. Yngvi, Yngvin, Ingwine, Inguin are names that relate to an older theonym Ing and which appears to have been the older name for the god Freyr (originally an epithet, meaning "lord"). Gaut. The names may represent the eponymous founder of an early tribe ancestral to the Gautar (Geats), Gutans (Goths) and Gutes (Gotlanders).

Gaut

Gaut was one of Odin's names and the name forms are thought to be echoes of an ancient ancestry tradition among Germanic tribes, such as that of Yngvi, Freyr and the Ingaevones. Moreover, the names Geats, Goths and Gutes are closely related tribal names. Geat was originally Proto-Germanic *Gautoz, and Goths and Gutes were *Gutaniz. According to Andersson (1996), *Gautoz and *Gutaniz are two ablaut grades of a Proto-Germanic word with the meaning "to pour" (modern Swedish gjuta, modern Danish gyde, modern German giessen; English in-got,gushing) designating the tribes as "pourers of metal" or "forgers of men". Ēostre. Ostara (1884) by Johannes Gehrts.

Ēostre

Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is an ancient folk myth prevalent across Northern, Western and Central Europe.[1] The fundamental premise in all instances is the same: a phantasmal, spectral group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, with horses and hounds in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it.[2] The hunters may be the dead or fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead).[3] The hunter may be an unidentified lost soul, a deity or spirit of either gender, or may be a historical or legendary figure like Theodoric the Great, the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag, the Welsh psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd or the Germanic Woden[1] (or other reflections of the same god, such as Alemannic Wuodan in Wuotis Heer ("Wuodan's Army") of Central Switzerland, Swabia etc.).

Wild Hunt

In Germany, where it was also known as the "Wild Army", or "Furious Army", its leader was given various identities, including Wodan (or "Woden"), Knecht Ruprecht (cf. Origins[edit] Britain[edit] According to H. Wōden. Woden or Wodan (Old English: Ƿōden,[1] Old High German: Wôdan,[2] Old Saxon: Uuôden[3]) is a major deity of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic polytheism.

Wōden

With his Norse counterpart,[4] Odin, Woden represents a development of the Proto-Germanic god *Wōdanaz. He is the namesake for the English-language day of the week Wednesday. Though less is known about the pre-Christian religion of Anglo-Saxon and continental Germanic peoples than is known about Norse paganism, Woden is attested in English, German, and Dutch toponyms as well as in various texts and in archeological evidence from the Early Middle Ages.

Etymology and origins[edit]