Saga Book Vol. 7 & 8
Page 3
Varini, Wærnes, on the map of Ptolemy,
are placed fairly in the present Mecklenburg. One of the main rivers of the
country till this day are called Warnow; it debouches near the well-known railway
junction of Warnemünde. The reign of the Varines was ruined by the Franks in
the year 595. The later invading Slavs who settled near the river of Warnow
called themselves Varnabi; perhaps the tribe may have been a denationalised
remnant of the Varines.
Eudoses are like the Eudosbi of Ptolemy
(corrupted into Fundusioi). Ptolemy's map places them on the north-west coast
of Jutland, as neighbours of the Charudes who lived on the east coast. In Cesar's
time Enduses and Charudes jointly made an inroad into Gaul. We know of no other
native possible equation than the tribe of Wederas in the Beowulf poem. As Euthungi
are often called Vithungi, and the Jutæ often Vitæ, it does not seem to us quite
excluded that a similar displacement of the initial sounds might have taken
place in Euduses-Wederas. The R could be quite regularly developed from a voiced
S.
Suarines or Suardones are by Chadwick and
others combined with the Varini as Su-varines, and again refound in the Mecklenburgian
town of Schwerin. We should prefer to correct Suarines, Suardones into Charudes,
as these are the notorious neighbours of the Euduses.
Charudes on Ptolemy's map are placed on
the east coast of Jutland, and here they are brought to mind by the medieval
district of Harz Hæret, nowadays Hads Herred. The greater part of the Charudes,
however, have moved on to the west coast, and live here as Hardboer, in the
district of Hard Syssel.
Nuithones is evidently corrupt. It may
be bettered inot Teutones or Euthiones. The Teutones, accordto Ptolemy's map,
are the neighbours of the Varines, whereas Mela places them on the island of
Codanonia (Scandinavia?). The Euthiones, who occur in a poem of Venantius Fortunatus,
583, of coursee would be identical with the well-known Jutes.
Half of the above interpretations, it is
true, are questionable, but at least Angles, Varines and Euduses are firmly
localised, and this is enough to give some idea of the general extension of
the Nerthus community. Jutland in its whole length is included; that is to say,
so far as it belongs to the Baltic sphere; the south-western part, because of
its maritime intercourse ith the North Sea regions, seems to have belonged to
another community. So the Nerthus-community belonged, moreover, to Mecklenburg,
the territory of the Varines. As to the Danish islands, they are not directly
mentioned. But the sacred "island in the ocean," in the opinion of
many scholars, is Sealand. And at any rate we cannot wonder if Tacitus was not
aware of the extension of the community beyond the Belts: for here his geographical
knowledge was quite sporadic and unreliable.
IV. PLACE-NAMES OR RUNE-STONES PRESERVING
THE NERTHUS-CULT. — Nærild in Varvith Syssel, West Jutland, anciently
a church village = Nerthus-hill? Njære, vicarage in Aabo Syssel, near Randers,
= Niarthar-ví, “Nerthus-sanctuary.” Nærbjærg, in Aabo Syssel, on Hælghænæs,
the "Holy Ness," = Nerthus~Barrow? The "Holy Ness " is no
doubt the most suitable place for a maritime cult on the whole coast of North
Jutland, as it stands far out into the Kattegat, widely visible with
its steep bank, which is called Ellemandsbjerget, “the Elf-mountain.” Rune-stone,
on the island of Funen, mentioning Nora goÞi (Nura kuÞi), according to Magnus
Olsen, "the priest of the Nerthus - worshippers.” Nærthøwæ, now N. and
S. Næraa, in the northern and eastern part of Funen, = “Nerthus - hill."
Niartherum, now Nærum, in N. Sealand, = “Nerthus-place." Närlunda, near
Helsingborg in Scania = “Nerthus-grove." Niærdholm, an unknown islet near
the coast of Scania.
In the Upper Swedish provinces, place-names,
preserving the cult of Nerthus, are exceedingly numerous. Sometimes they are
now singularlv distorted, such as Mjerdevid, formerly Njærdevi; (H. V. Clausen).
Also in Norway the name of Nerthus is represented, e. g., Njarðey, now
Næro is the well known Nærøfjord.
V. EVIDENCES ON THE CULT OF THE ANCESTRAL
HERO, INGUO. — The Inguions, as we have said before, arc generally identified
with the Nerthus-worshippers. We must remark beforehand that according to ancient
Gottonic laws of nomenclature, no ordinary human being was allowed to bear the
name of his own native eponymous hero, national nor gentile. Hence we draw the
conclusion that eponymous names, found in the early parts of ancient pedigrees,
have a certain systematic significance: they proved the means of indicating
the genealogical classification of the families concerned. This must be remembered
in order to understand the evidences correctly.
Pliny, Nat. Hist., IV., 96 and
99. The lnguions consist of the inhabitants of Saevo (Norway), 'moreover of
Cimbrians, Teutons, i.e., Jutlanders, and of Chauks in northern Hannoveria.
GENEALOGY OF THE ANGLIAN KINGS OF BERNICIA
— Woden — Beornec — Ing-ui. Anglo-Saxon Rune-Song. Ing was first among the East-Danes.
Hence he went over the wave.
The chariot (?) ran after him.
BEOWULF. - The Skjoldungs or Danes
are constantly called Ing-wine, i.e., "friends of Inguo."
GENEALOGY OF THE SIKLINGS, who, according
to Saxo, have emigrated from Götland to Sealand. Ungavin the top of the genealogy,
= Ing-vin.
GENEALOGY OF THE YNGLINGS OR SKILFINGS,
Kings of Sweden, worshipping the gods called Vanes. Niorthr-Freyr (called Yngvi,
Yngvi-Frejr or Ingunár-Freyr) (Vana f.) Vanlandi (Skjalf f.) Yngvi.
VI.FIRST COUNTER - VERIFICATION. LOCAL
OR NON - LOCAL CHARACTER OF THE NERTHUS - CULT. — It is a question how much
of the above~mentioned rites is international, and how much of more local origin.
The sacrificial procession of driving is
of course not local. We again find it with the lascivities, etc., on Rhenish
ground in the year of 1123 (Rodulf's Chronicon abbatiæ S. Trudonis lib. XI.,
see Kögel, Gesch. d. deutsch. Litt I., p. 23, Grimm Mythologie [3] 242,
[4] III., 86).
The chariot with religious images is found
on Celtic ground in Steiermark (Sophus Müller, "Urgesch. Europas,"
p. 131, Hallstadt Period) and Danish ground near the Seelandic place of Trundholm,
belonging to the cult of the Sun (Müller, ibid, p. 116).
Survivals of sacrificial sexual rites were
found on the island of Helgoland as late as in the 17th
century (Nathan Chytræus).
If we should try to trace the existence
of more local features, we should like to point out the difference in means
of conveyance. The Baltic districts evidently prefer the ordinary chariot. Evidences
: Nerthus, goddess of Lejre, Peace-Frode, Freyr, Sun-chariot from Sealand.
We may, perhaps, add Gefion’s plough as a sub-species. Only one instance of
ship driving is known within this region; the custom exists till this day in
Aarhus, the capital of Jutland.
The South Teutonic region seems to prefer
the ship driving. Tacitus relates that a goddess, "Isis," is worshipped
by the Swebians in the likeness of a ship. And we again find the ship-procession
both on Rhenish ground and in Tyrol (Kögel, i.e.). As the ship symbol is inappropriate
for an inland country like the Tyrol, the custom may have been carried thither
by Swebian "Isis-worshippers."
VII. SECOND COUNTER-VERIFICATION. — EVIDENCES
ABOUT NON-INGUIONIC TRIBES. — (a) Saxons. A national symbol of
theirs is Saxnôt. From him the East-Saxon kings in England are derived, whereas
all Jutic and Anglian kings are derived from Woden. Another national god of
the Saxons is Er, who is also worshipped by the Bavarians. His symbol most likely
is the Irmin-sûl, "the enormous column," worshipped by the Saxons,
who therefore would seem to belong to the Ermines, a group co-ordinate with
the Inguions; the Saxons, and the neighbouring Sigulons and Ambrons of classical
times appear in the same relation to the Inguions as the Saxons, Siggs and Ymbres
of Widsith, not being mentioned within the Nerthus group.
(b) Swebians, etc. According
to Pliny, they belong to the group of Ermines, co-ordinate with Inguions. The
Bavarians in 'the middle ages remembered their origin from Ermin or " Armen,"
who was, by learned conjecture, derived from Armenia. The national god Er is
worshipped from Saxony to Bavaria; hence Bavarian Ertag=Tuesday. Symbol: Irmin-sûl?
Compare the Saxons. The god Woden is unknown to the Bavarians; hence German
Mittwoch = Wednesday. A part of the Swebians, according to Tacitus, Germ.
c. 9, worship "Isis," symbolized as a ship. The ship-symbol also
found in the Rhine-province (near Aachen), and the Tyrol, see above. The
German name of " Isis
It was perhaps Hulda, Frau Holle. She may
have been counterpart of the female Nerthus.
(c) Frisians, etc. A national god
of theirs is Forsete, president of the "thing” or law-court, worshipped
especially in Helgoland, or "Fosetesland." He seems be the same as
the Mars Thingsus, worshipped by Tuiantes the inhabitants of Twenthe, south
of West Frisia. Tuesday in German is named after Mars Thingsus:Dingstag, Dienstag;
this denomination is most frequent in Western Germany and Holland. The Norwegians
in later times adopted Forsete into their mythology, but real worship of him
cannot be traced on Scandinavian ground.
(d) Franks. According to
Pliny, the people near the Rhine form a group called Istiones, or Istvæones.
The statement is supported by a 6th century "Generatio regum and gentium,"
written down in Gaul; here the Franks appear as “sons of Istio.” Even if the
genealogy is not to be trusted, its statement about vernacular tribe may lay
claim to reliability. We know nothing about local Franconian gods of greater
significance.
The collective evidence from the tribes
south of Jutland seems to show that their worship is characterized by special
features, in contrast to that of the Inguions. At any rate, we have found nothing
which justifies the assertion that the Inguions belonged to a southern type,
limited to the countries west of the Øresund and sharply contrasting with the
Scandinavian type.
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