Woden

Woden is usually regarded as the head god of the Heathen Anglo-Saxons, one reason being that there are far more references to Woden in Old English literature than any other god or goddess. We find the name Woden in the word Wednesday, which comes from the Old English Wodnesdaeg, or the day of Woden. The Anglo-Saxon kings looked to Woden as their ancestor god and creator of their lineages. As contradictory as it sounds, some authorities have suggested that the claiming of descent from the Heathen god Woden was actually a Christian introduction used for political and and social gains, and that his inclusion in royal genealogies replaced the original ancestor gods of the Anglo-Saxons, those being Seaxneat of the Saxons and Ingui of the Angles. But whether Woden is or is not the 'true' ancestor god of the Anglo-Saxon kings, it cannot be doubted that Woden was regarded as a great and powerful god amongst the Heathens. God of death, battle, wisdom, discoverer of the runes and leader the Wild Hunt, his cult was widespread. Certain place names are proof of this, as we find names such as Wodnes-beorh (Wodens barrow), Wodnes-denu (Wodens valley), Wednesfileld (Wodens plain), Wednesbury (Wodens fortress). Other names that incorporate
the name of Woden are Woodnesbourgh, Wornshill, Wednesley and Wansdyke. The last name, Wansdyke, means dyke or ditch of Woden, and it's attached to the words dyke or ditch that we have more evidence of the belief in Woden. This comes in the form of the word Grim, which was a 'nickname' for Woden, and means masked or hooded, and was a reference to the image of Woden as being attired in a hooded cloak. We find several of these place names in Southern England in the form of Grimsdyke or dyke of Grim. And this is evidence that the belief in Woden was so great that he came to be known by more than just one name. It's written also that the Heathen Anglo-Saxons sacrificed to Woden or UUoden before battle, which was a common practice amongst all Germanic peoples, and considering the amount of battles fought by the Anglo-Saxons during this era, the custom of pre and post-battle sacrifice to Woden must have been a regular occurrance. The reason for this type of sacrifice was to win the help and blessing of the god in question during battle, and no doubt if victorious there would have been much post-battle sacrifice. Woden was also seen as a sort of shamanistic wizard, the font of knowledge and discoverer on the runes. The Old English rune poem, that could possibly be a reference for Woden, says:


'Mouth is the chieften of speech,
the mainstain of wisdom
and comfort to wise ones,
for every noble warrior
hope and happiness.'


(Translation taken from Runelore by Edred Thorsson)


Although the poem says mouth and not Woden, this could actually be a 'punning' reference to Woden, who, as mentioned was regarded as all wise, and the mouth reference could then be seen as a reference to the speaking forth of the runic 'alphabet' or futhark. Evidence for Wodens character as a kind of shaman is contained in the charm known as the Nine Herbs Charm, where part of it says:


'These nine have power against nine poisons,
A worm came crawling, it bit a man,
Then Woden took nine glory twigs,
Smote the adder so that it split into nine,
There ended apple and poison.'


People tend to agree that the glory twigs are bits of wood or twigs inscribed with the runic character corresponding to the initial letter of each of the nine herbs mentioned earlier in the charm. With the use of rune magic, the healing properties of each of the nine herbs is transferred to each of the nine twigs, which then become glory twigs, and are then cast by Woden to attack the illness, which is visualised as a crawling serpent or worm, to cure the afflicted person of whatever he or she is suffering from.
One of the most enduring aspects of Woden is his leading of the Wild Hunt, a ride through the sky with his army of noisy lost souls. The Wild Hunt takes different forms depending on which country and which period in time it was recorded. The best example of the Wild Hunt in Anglo-Saxon tradition is the much quoted passage in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the year 1127 c.e, it reads:


'Let no one be surprised at what we are going to relate, for it was common gossip up and down the countryside that after February 6th many people both saw and heard a whole pack of huntsmen in full cry. They straddled black horses and black bucks, while their hounds were pitch black with staring hideous eyes. This was seen in the very deer park of Peterborough town, and in all the woods stretching from that same spot as far as Stamford. All through the night monks heard them sounding and winding their horns. Reliable witnesses who kept watch in the night declared that there might well have been twenty or even thirty of them in this tantivy as near as they could tell.'


(Translation taken from-'The Lost Gods of England' by Brian Branston)


This description of the hunt was written down well into the Christian period, and could have a couple of explanations. Either, as the passage was written down by a Christian monk, the enduring legacy of the Wild Hunt was eventually demonised and made a thing of evil, like much of heathen lore was, or the description is an accurate one and what the witnesses heard and saw were common folk carrying on a tradition based on the Wild Hunt or some other Heathen tradition. Whatever the monk recorded in the woods and deer park between Peterborough and Stamford it has an uncanny resemblance to Woden's Wild Hunt. Another mention of Woden in Old English literature can be seen in the Anglo-Saxon Maxims, where the line Woden worhte weos can be read, translated into modern English it means Woden made idols. It is difficult to know exactly what is meant by Woden made idols, but it could be a slight insight into how Woden and other Heathen gods were worshipped. In that the gods and goddesses may have been represented in physical and visual appearance by idols that were probably carved out of wood. And as the idols came to represent the 'evils' of Heathenism to the Christians, who at every opportunity destroyed them, they may have blamed Woden for their creation if he was seen as the head Anglo-Saxon god. There fore Woden worhte weos or Woden made idols. The image that the Heathen Anglo-Saxons may have had of Woden was probably best summed up by Richard Branston in his book The Lost Gods of England:


'The Woden of the Old English never became the warrior king in golden helmet, exclusive patron of princes and jarls, such as Snorri depicted in his Edda, he was never pre-occupied with the problem of organising his battalions of slain into a doomed army to oppose the Children of Muspell at Ragnorok. Instead the Anglo-Saxon Woden stalked the rolling down land, one-eyed and wise beyond all knowing in cloak and hood when the weather was fine, stopping at crossroads to recognise his own dangling from the gallows, but on black and stormy nights he racketed across the sky at the head of his wild hunt of lost and noisy souls.'

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