Skjoldungar; through Brand, of the Brondingas;
perhaps through Bætwa, of the Batavians ɪ. It seems
indeed not wholly improbable that every name in
the merely mythical portion of the genealogies re-
presents some particular tribe, under the distinctive
appellation of its tutelar god or hero ; and that we
may thus be led in some degree to a knowledge of
the several populations which coalesced to form the
various kingdoms.

Legends describing the adventures of Woden
either in a godlike or heroic form were probably
not wanting here, or in Germany; it is only in
Scandinavia that a portion of these have been pre-
served, unless the tales of Geat and Sceaf, to be
hereafter noticed, are in reality to be referred to
him. Equally probable is it that he had in this
country temples, images and religious rites, traces
of which we find upon the continent² ; and that

ɪ The MS. lists read Tætwa, but as the alliteration which prevails in
those pedigrees fails in this instance, Grimm threw out the suggestion
that the original reading was Bætwa. Selden, in the English Janus,
p. 9, cites Heuter de vet. Belgio, lib. ii. cap. 8, for Bato (Bætwa) the
eponymus of the Bataiians, but this does not appear to rest upon
any sound authority. On the subject of the names of Woden, and the
Anglosaxon genealogies, the reader may consult a tract of the author’s,
Die Stammtafel der Westsachsen, Munich 1836, and Beowulf, vol. ii.,
the Postscript to the Preface : together with a review of the first-named
book by Jacob Grimm, in the Gottinger Gel. Anz. for 1836.

^a The ancient Germans sacrificed human victims to him. “ Deorum
maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis diebus humanis quoque hostiis
Iitare fas habent.” Tae. Germ, xxxix. “ Victores diversam acienι Marti
ac Mercurio sacravere, quo voto equi, viri, cuncta victa occidioni dan-
tur.” Tac. Annal, xiii. 67. King Ane or Avn the old, offered up in
succession nine of his sons to 0)>inn, to increase the length of his own
life. Yngling. Sag. cap. xxix. ; Geijer, Gesch, Schwed. i. 416. “Sunt
etenim inibi vicinae nationes Suevorum ; quo cum moraretur et inter

trees, animals and places were consecrated to him¹.
So numerous indeed are the latter, so common in
every part of England are names of places com-
pounded with his name, that we must admit his
worship to have been current throughout the island :
it seems impossible to doubt that in every quarter
there were localities (usually rising ground) either
dedicated to him, or supposed to be under his espe-
cial protection ; and thus that he was here, as
in Germany, the supreme god whom the Saxons,
Franks and Alamans concurred in worshiping. The
following names of places may all be unhesitatingly
attributed to this cause, and they attest the gene-
ral recognition and wide dispersion of Woden’s
influence.

Wanborough, formerly Wodnesbeorh, in Surrey, lat.
51° 14' N., long. 38' W., placed upon the water-shed
which throws down streams to north and south,
habitatores illius loci progrederetur, reperit eos Sacrificium profanum
Iitare velle, vasque magnum, quod vulgo cupam vocant, quod viginti
et sex modios amplius minusve capiebat, Cerevisia plenum in medio ha-
bebant positum. Ad quod vir dei accessit et sciscitatur, quid de illo
fieri veilent ? Illi aiunt : deo suo Wodano, quern Mercurium vocant alii,
se velle litare.”. Ion. Bobbiensis Vita Columbani. Compare also what
Saxo Grammaticus says of the immense tub of beer which Hunding
prepared to celebrate the obsequies of Hadding. Hist. Dan. p. 19. On
festal occasions it was usual to drink to the health, lot>e or minne of the
gods. 0)>inn was generally thus honoured : the custom was preserved
among Christians, who drank minne to St. John, St. Martin, St. Ger-
trude and other saints. Grimm, Myth. p. δ3 sey.

ɪ Wolves and ravens appear to have been 0)>inn^,s sacred animals :
the Saxon legends do not record anything on this subject ; but here
and there we do hear of sacred trees, which may possibly have been
dedicated to this god : thus the Wonac (Cod. Dipl. No. 496), the
Wonstoc (Ibid. Nos. 287, 667), “ad quendamfraxinum quern imperiti
sacrum vocant.” Ibid. No. 1052. Respecting the sacred character of
the ash see Grimm, Myth. p. 617.

<<   <   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   >   >>