Krodo
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Krodo was a Germanic god of the Saxons, according to the 1492 Saxon Chronicle incunable probably written by the Brunswick goldsmith Conrad Bothe (c. 1475 – c. 1501) and printed in the studio of Peter Schöffer at Mainz. He is supposed to have been similar to the Roman god Saturn. Modern historians characterize the figure of Krodo as a fake (Janzen 2017).
Description
The Saxon Chronicle (written in
Bothe's account was already rejected as a fable by contemporary scholars such as Albert Krantz (c. 1450 – 1517). As the 15th century Saxon Chronicle is the first and only source, the existence of Krodo today is generally considered doubtful along with other supposed Germanic gods,[1] such as Ostara or Stuffo. Although his annals are obviously based on earlier chronicles like the Sächsische Weltchronik, Bothe himself renders no references or sources of his assumption. Nevertheless the nearby Goslar collegiate church contained the so-called Krodo Altar, which probably dates back to the 11th century and may have been transferred from Harzburg Castle by Emperor Henry III to his Imperial Palace of Goslar about 1047. In German folklore the tales of the pagan Krodo idol (Götze Crodo) were passed down apparently as a subject in the region of the villages of Götzenthal and Grotenleide near the Upper Saxon town of Meerane.[2]
In the spa resort of Bad Harzburg several streets and public institutions are named after Krodo. The town advertises itself today using the figure as a mascot. A replica statue was erected at Harzburg Castle in 2007.
References
- ^ Albert Schiffner: Handbuch der Geographie, Statistik und Topographie des Königreiches Sachsen 1839 I. p. 2
- ^ Johann Georg Theodor Grässe: Der Sagenschatz des Königreichs Sachsen. Vol. 2, Dresden 1874, p. 26-27
Sources
- Vollmer, Wilhelm: Wörterbuch der Mythologie. Stuttgart 1874, p. 302.
- J.A.E. Köhler: Das Sagenbuch des Erzgebirges, 1886
External links
- The god Krodo, by Horst Woick (in German)
- Janzen (2017) (in German)
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