Information AboutWoden |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WODEN | |
| anglo-saxon mythology | |
| germanic deities | |
| death gods | |
| indo-european mythology | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
Woden was worshipped during the Migration Period , until the 7th or 8th century, when Germanic Paganism was gradually replaced by Christianity . In Anglo-Saxon England , Woden was rationalized as a historical king, and remnants of worship were continued into modern times as Folklore , Wodan figuring prominently in both English and Continental folklore as the leader of the Wild Hunt . ORIGINS See Also: Wodanaz CONTINENTAL WODAN Details of the Migration Period of Germanic religion are sketchy, reconstructed from artefacts, sparse contemporary sources, and the later testimonies of medieval legends and placenames. According to Jonas Bobiensis , the 6th Century Irish missionary Saint Columbanus is reputed to have disrupted a Beer Sacrifice to Wuodan (''Deo suo Vodano nomine'') in Bregenz , Alemannia . Wuodan was the chief god of the Alamanni , his name appears in the runic inscription on the Nordendorf Fibula . The " Merseburger Zaubersprüche " ("Merseburg Charms"), apart from runic inscriptions the only surviving pagan texts in the German language, were written down around AD 800. One of them describes Wodan as a healer: ANGLO-SAXON WODEN The for varied reasons, and the conversion of their respective peoples almost always inevitably followed, sometimes in the space of a few years, but more often over the course of a few generations. For the Anglo-Saxons, Woden was the carrier-off of the dead, but not necessarily with the exact same attributes of the Norse Odin. There do not appear to have been the concepts of Valkyries and Valhalla in the Norse sense, although there is a word for the former, ''Waelcyrge''. In addition to the roles named here, Woden was considered to be the leader of the Wild Hunt . The familial relationships are the same between Woden and the other Anglo-Saxon gods as they are for the Norse. Wednesday (''Wōdnes dæg'', "Woden's day") is named for him, his link with the dead making him the appropriate match to the Roman Mercury . (Compare with the French ''mercredi'' or Italian ''mercoledì'' for Wednesday.) The Anglo-Saxon kings claimed descent from Woden. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Historia Britonum , Woden had the sons Wecta , Baeldaeg , Casere and Wihtlaeg .
Anglo-Saxon literature starts at about the time of the conversion from the old religion. Though whatever stories recording his part in the lives of men and the gods are lost, Woden's name survived in the names of many settlements and geographical features. FURTHER READING
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