List of Germanic deities
In
runic inscriptions, personal names, place names, and other sources. This article contains a comprehensive list of Germanic deities outside the numerous Germanic Matres and Matronae
inscriptions from the 1st to 5th century CE.
Gods
Name | Name meaning | Attested consorts and sexual partners | Attested children | Attestations |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alcis (Latinized Germanic) | Contested | None attested | None attested | Germania |
Baldr (Old Norse), Bældæg (Old English) | Old Norse form is contested. Old English form directly translates as "shining day".[1] | Nanna | Forseti | Merseburg Incantation, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum, Annales Lundenses, possibly Beowulf
|
Bragi (Old Norse) | Connected with Bragr ("poetry")[2] | Iðunn | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, skaldic poetry |
Dellingr (Old Norse) | Possibly "the dayspring"[3] or "shining one"[4] | Nótt | Dagr | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Forseti (Old Norse) | "Chairman"[5] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Freyr (Old Norse), Frea (Old English), Yngvi (Old Norse), Ing (Old English) | "Lord"[6] | Gerðr | Fjölnir (Heimskringla) | Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Heimskringla, Ögmundar þáttr dytts, Gesta Danorum, various others |
Heimdallr (Old Norse)
|
"World-brightener"[7] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda, Poetic Edda |
Hermóðr (Old Norse), Heremod (Old English) | "War-spirit"[8] | None attested | Sceaf (Old English only)
|
Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Beowulf, Old English royal genealogies |
Höðr (Old Norse) | "Warrior"[9] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum, Chronicon Lethrense, Annales Lundenses, possibly Beowulf |
Hœnir (Old Norse) | Contested | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, skaldic poetry |
Lóðurr (Old Norse) | Contested | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, skaldic poetry |
Loki (Old Norse) | Contested | Angrboda
|
Jormungandr, and Sleipnir
|
Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Heimskringla, Loka Táttur, Norwegian rune poem, Danish folk tales |
Móði and Magni (Old Norse) | "Courage" and "Strength" | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Máni (Old Norse) | "Moon" (Gives his name to Monday). | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Mímir (Old Norse) | "Rememberer" | None attested | Sons, unnamed | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Meili (Old Norse) | "the lovely one"[10] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Njörðr (Old Norse) | Contested | Once unnamed sister, once Skaði | Freyr, Freyja | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Heimskringla, Egils saga, Hauksbók ring oath, place names |
Proto-Germanic) (see List of names of Odin for more)
|
"Frenzy"[11]
(Gives his name to Wednesday). |
Frigg (consort), Skaði (Heimskringla only), Gunnlöð, Jörð, Rindr | See Sons of Odin | Most attestations of Germanic paganism |
Óðr (Old Norse) | "The frenzied one"[12] | Freyja | Hnoss, Gersemi | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Saxnōt (Old Saxon ), Seaxnet, Seaxnēat, Saxnat (Old English)
|
Contested | None attested | None attested | Old Saxon Baptismal Vow, Old English royal genealogies |
Thor: Þórr (North Germanic), Þunor (Old English), Thunaer (Old Saxon), Donar (Southern Germanic areas) | "Thunder", all names stem from Proto-Germanic *ÞunraR[13]
(Gives his name to Thursday). |
Sif (consort), Járnsaxa | Móði and Magni, Þrúðr | Most attestations of Germanic paganism |
Tuisto (Latinized Germanic) | "double", from the Proto-Germanic root *twai – "two"; "a god, born of the earth" (deum terra editum)
|
None attested | Mannus | Germania |
Týr (Old Norse), Tīw, Tīg (both Old English), Ziu (Old High German) | "God", derived from Proto-Germanic *Tīwaz[14]
(Gives his name to Tuesday). |
Unnamed, possibly Zisa | Seaxnot | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, skaldic poetry, Hadrian's Wall altar |
Ullr (Old Norse) | Something like "Glory"[15] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, skaldic poetry, Gesta Danorum, Thorsberg chape, toponyms in Norway and Sweden |
Váli (Old Norse) | "Chosen" | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum (as Bous) |
Viðarr (Old Norse)
|
Possibly "wide ruler"[16] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Vé (Old Norse) | Vé[17] | Possibly Frigg | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Vili (Old Norse) | "Will"[18] | Possibly Frigg | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Goddesses
Name | Name meaning | Attested consorts and sexual partners | Attested children | Attestations |
---|---|---|---|---|
Baduhenna (Latinized Germanic) | Badu-, may be cognate to matrons.[1]
|
None attested | None attested | Tacitus's Annals |
Bil (Old Norse) | Contested | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Beyla (Old Norse) | Proposed as related to "cow," "bean," or "bee."[19] | Byggvir | None attested | Poetic Edda |
Dís (Old Norse) | "goddess"[20] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda |
Eir (Old Norse) | "Peace, clemency"[21] or "help, mercy"[22] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Ēostre (Old English) | "East"[23] (Gives her name to Easter according to Bede). | None attested | None attested | De temporum ratione
|
List of names of Freyja for more)
|
"Lady"[24] | Freyr, Óðr | Hnoss, Gersemi | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Heimskringla, Sörla þáttr |
Frigg (Old Norse) | Derived from an Indo-European root meaning "Love"[25]
(Gives her name to Germanic equivalent of Venus ).
|
Odin (consort), Vili, Vé | Baldr, Höðr | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Historia Langobardorum , Second Merseburg Incantation
|
Fulla (Old Norse) | Possibly "bountiful"[26] | None attested | None attested | Second Merseburg Incantation , Poetic Edda, Prose Edda
|
Gefjun (Old Norse)
|
Related to "giving"[27] | Skjöldr, unnamed jötunn | Four oxen | Prose Edda, Ynglinga saga, Völsa þáttr, |
Gersemi (Old Norse) | "Treasure, precious object"[28] | None attested | None attested | Heimskringla |
Gerðr (Old Norse) | "Fenced in"[29] | Freyr | Fjölnir (Heimskringla) | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Heimskringla |
Gná (Old Norse)
|
Possibly related to Old Norse Gnæfa, meaning "to project"[30] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Gullveig (Old Norse) | Contested | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda |
Haeva (Latinized Germanic) | Possibly "marriage"[31] | Possibly Hercules Magusanus | None attested | Votive stone from the Netherlands (CIL XIII 8705) |
Hariasa | Possibly related to the valkyrie name Herja or meaning "goddess with lots of hair"[32] | None attested | None attested | Stone from Cologne, Germany (CIL XIII 8185) |
Hlín (Old Norse) | Possibly related to the Old Norse term hleinir, itself possibly meaning "protects"[33][34] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Hludana (Latinized Germanic) | "The famous"[31] | None attested | None attested | Votive stones from the Netherlands and Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany |
Hnoss (Old Norse) | "Treasure"[33] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Hretha (Old English)
|
Possibly "the famous" or "the victorious"[35] | None attested | None attested | De temporum ratione |
Idis (Old Norse) | well-respected and dignified woman | None attested | None attested | Merseburg charms |
Ilmr (Old Norse) | Potentially related to Old Norse ilmr, a masculine noun meaning "pleasant scent"[36][37] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda, skaldic poetry |
Iðunn (Old Norse) | Possibly "ever young"[38] | Bragi | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Irpa (Old Norse) | Possibly relating to "dark brown"[39] | None attested | None attested | Jómsvíkinga saga, Njáls saga |
Lofn (Old Norse) | Potentially related to "Praise"[40] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Nanna (Old Norse) | Possibly "mother" from nanna, or potentially related to nanþ-, meaning "the daring one"[41] | Baldr | Forseti | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum, Chronicon Lethrense, Setre Comb |
Nehalennia (Latinized Germanic) | Possibly "she who is at the sea" | None attested | None attested | Votive altars discovered around what is now the province of Zeeland, the Netherlands
|
Nerthus (Latinized Germanic, from Proto-Germanic *Nerthuz) | Latinized form of what Old Norse Njörðr would have looked like around 1 CE.[42] | None attested | None attested | Germania |
Njörun (Old Norse) | Possibly related to the Norse god Njörðr and the Roman goddess Nerio[43][44] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, skaldic poetry |
Norns (Old Norse) (Urðr, Verðandi, Skuld) |
Unknown | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, skaldic poetry |
Rán (Old Norse) | "Theft, robbery"[45] | Ægir | Nine daughters
|
Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Friðþjófs saga hins frœkna
|
Rindr (Old Norse) | Possibly related to *Vrindr[46] | Odin | Váli
|
Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Gesta Danorum |
Sága (Old Norse) | Possibly "to see"[47] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, skaldic poetry |
Sandraudiga (Latinized Germanic) | "She who dyes the sand red."[48] | None attested | None attested | North Brabant stone |
Sif (Old Norse) | "In-law-relationship"[49] | Thor | Þrúðr, Ullr | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Sigyn (Old Norse) | "Victorious girl-friend"[50] | Loki | Nari, Narfi and/or Váli | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Sinthgunt (Old High German) | Contested | None attested | None attested | Second Merseburg Incantation |
Sjöfn (Old Norse) | "Love"[51] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Skaði (Old Norse) | Possibly related to Scandia.[52]
|
Ullr, Odin, once Njörðr. | Sæmingr | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Ynglinga saga |
Snotra (Old Norse) | "The clever one"[53] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Sunna (Old High German)
|
"Sun"[54]
(Gives her name to Sunday). |
Glenr | daughter, unnamed | Second Merseburg Incantation, Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Syn (Old Norse) | "Refusal"[55] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda |
Tamfana (Latinized Germanic) | Unknown | None attested | None attested | Germania, Tamfanae sacrum inscription |
Þrúðr (Old Norse) | "Power"[56] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, Karlevi Runestone |
Þorgerðr Hölgabrúðr (Old Norse) | Literally "Þorgerðr Hölgi's Bride"[57] | None attested | Hölgi, possibly others | Jómsvíkinga saga, Njáls saga, Skáldskaparmál, Færeyinga saga |
Vár (Old Norse) | "Beloved"[58] | None attested | None attested | Poetic Edda, Prose Edda |
Vihansa (Latinized Germanic) | "War-goddess"[59] | None attested | None attested | Votive stone from Belgium (CIL XIII 3592) |
Vör (Old Norse) | Possibly "the careful one"[60] | None attested | None attested | Prose Edda, Poetic Edda Thrymsvitha |
Zisa | Possibly related to *Tiwaz | None attested | Possibly Tyr via linguistic connection
|
Codex Monac, Codex Emmeran, and Suevicarum rerum scriptores |
Pseudo-deities and purported deities
- Astrild, a synonym for the Roman deity Amor or Cupid invented and used by Nordic Baroque and Rococo authors
- Ercol, a synonym for the Roman deity Hercules used in King Alfred's Anglo-Saxon version of Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae
- Frau Berchta, a purported deity and female equivalent of Berchtold proposed by Jacob Grimm
- Biel , a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology[61]
- Holda, a purported deity proposed by Jacob Grimm
- Jecha, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology[61]
- Jupiterinvented and used by Nordic Baroque and Rococo authors
- Lahra, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology[61]
- Reto , a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology[61]
- Stuffo, a purported deity potentially stemming from a folk etymology
Related deities
- List of Anglo-Saxon deities
- Common Germanic deities
Notes
- ^ a b Simek (2007:26).
- ^ Simek (2007:43).
- ^ Bellows (1936:75).
- ^ Orchard (1997:32).
- ^ Orchard (1997:46).
- ^ Orchard (1997:47).
- ^ Orchard (1997:78).
- ^ Orchard (1997:83).
- ^ Orchard (1997:88).
- ^ Simek (2007:210).
- ^ Orchard (1997:123).
- ^ Orchard (1997:121).
- ^ Simek (2007:322).
- ^ Simek (2007:337).
- ^ Lindow (2001:301).
- ^ Orchard (1997:174—175).
- ^ Orchard (1997:173).
- ^ Simek (2007:363).
- ^ Lindow (2001:78).
- ^ August Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Indogermanischen Sprachen Part 3 Wortschatz der Germanischen Spracheinheit, 4th ed. rev. Alf Torp, Hjalmar Falk, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1909, OCLC 491891019, "dîsî, dîsi," p. 206 Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Lindow (2001:105).
- ^ Orchard (1997:36).
- ^ Barnhart (1995:229).
- ^ Lindow (2001:126)
- ^ Lindow (2001:129).
- ^ Orchard (1997:49).
- ^ North (1997:71).
- ^ Simek (2007:106).
- ^ Orchard (1997:54).
- ^ Lindow (2001:147).
- ^ ISBN 978-3-11-085519-7.
- ^ Simek (2007:131).
- ^ a b Lindow (2001:177).
- ^ Hopkins, J.S., 2016–17. Goddesses Unknown III: On the Identity of the Old Norse Goddess Hlín. RMN Newsletter, 12–13, 30–36.
- ^ Simek (2007:159).
- ^ Grimm (1888:1374).
- ^ Hopkins, J.S., 2014. Goddesses Unknown II: On the Apparent Old Norse Goddess Ilmr. RMN Newsletter, 8, pp.32-38.
- ^ Lindow (2001:199).
- ^ Simek (2007:176).
- ^ Lindow (2001:213).
- ^ Simek (2007:227).
- ^ Lindow (2001:237–238)
- ^ Finnur Jónsson (1913:110) suggests a Njörðr connection, Magnússon (1989:671) suggests Njörðr and Nerio.
- ^ Hopkins, J.S., 2012. Goddesses Unknown I: Njǫrun and the Sister-Wife of Njǫrðr. The Retrospective Methods Network Newsletter, 5 (December 2012), 39-44.
- ^ Simek (2007:260).
- ^ Simek (2007:266).
- ^ Lindow (2001:265).
- ^ Nordisk Familjebok (1916:665).
- ^ Lindow (2001:266).
- ^ Orchard (1997:146).
- ^ Lindow (2001:268).
- ^ Simek (2007:287).
- ^ Simek (2007:296).
- ^ Orchard (1997:152).
- ^ Orchard (1997:157).
- ^ Orchard (1997:165).
- ^ Simek (2007:326–327).
- ^ Simek (2007:353).
- ^ Schonfeld, M. (Moritz) (1911). Wörterbuch der altgermanischen personen-und völkernamen; nach der überlieferung des klassischen altertums. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Library. Heidelberg, C. Winter.
- ^ Simek (2007:368).
- ^ a b c d Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon, Band 2. Leipzig 1905, S. 832.
References
- Bellows, Henry Adams (Trans.) (1936). The Poetic Edda. Princeton University Press.
- ISBN 0-06-270084-7
- Grimm, Jacob (James Steven Stallybrass Trans.) (1888). Teutonic Mythology: Translated from the Fourth Edition with Notes and Appendix by James Stallybrass. Volume IV. London: George Bell and Sons.
- ISBN 0-19-515382-0
- Nordisk Familjebok (1916). Available online: [1]
- North, Richard (1997). Heathen Gods in Old English Literature. ISBN 0-521-55183-8
- Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. ISBN 0-304-34520-2
- Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. ISBN 0-85991-513-1