Is ancient German/Germanic mythology different from Norse/Nordic mythology? Are they essentially the same thing, considering that the Norse were (and are) Germanic people in the past or are there substantial differences? I see plenty of references to Norse mythology on the boards but hardly any to German mythology and there seems to be some kind of implication that Norse mythology subsumes German mythology. I am not well-versed in these matters and would be happy to see somebody clarify this for me. Thanks!
German/Germanic/Norse/Nordic Mythology?
The Lost Muse
First Post
Vagner's Ring Cycle would suggest that they share common roots at the very least.
Fifth Element
Legend
The Germanic and Norse deities are essentially the same, with different names at least. I'm sure the mythologies derived from the same sources originally.
Gilladian
Adventurer
For a rundown of Germanic mythology, I thought the Wikipedia article seemed fairly good http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_mythology
It has a couple of links to some other Teutonic resources you may find useful.
It has a couple of links to some other Teutonic resources you may find useful.
Wombat
First Post
From what we know (and that is pretty scant!) about the old Germanic and Norse religions, they are like the Greeks and the Romans -- at first they look the same, except for a few name changes, but scratch underneath the surface and you find some pretty significant differences.
Still, as I said, we have pretty little solid information on either... at least compared to their Mediterranean counterparts.
Still, as I said, we have pretty little solid information on either... at least compared to their Mediterranean counterparts.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
However what we can speculate on (for game purpuses) is the rituals of Eoster and those of the Yule.
Eoster was the wife of Woden and goddess of the earth, her festival marked the Spring Equinox and was a celebration of new growth (bunnies and eegs)
The name Yule comes from the Saxon word hwéol (wheel), connected with the circular course of the sun through the solstices and equinoxes. A winter/new years festival was held at this time over a period of 12 days (the 12 days of christmas) in which cattle and other beasts were slaughtered and offerings made.
NB there is some confusion because amongst many groups (including the Norse) the Winter festival was held in November marking the 'First snow' - this was a feast of the Dead (cf Samhain)
We do know that animal and human sacrifice was practiced and that the gernmanic Kings claimed descent from one or other of the gods. But we don't know much else beyond that in any great detail...
oh yes it also seems that the Germanic peoples did not have a 'priestly class' such as the Celtic Druids and instead most practices were 'domestic' involving families honouring their dead or a chief making a sacrifice on behalf of his village/tribe (again CHristmas as a feast of the family has direct roots in yule practices of Family gathering around the Yule log where the spirits of Ancestors appeared within the flames and children were honoured and initiated into family rituals).
In many ways the depiction of Conans 'prayer to Crom' seems to be somewhat accurate with regards to Germanic views of their gods ie the whole approach of "Crom, I don't know if you're listening but I could do with some help, and if you don't -l then to hell with you" (paraphased btw)
Eoster was the wife of Woden and goddess of the earth, her festival marked the Spring Equinox and was a celebration of new growth (bunnies and eegs)
The name Yule comes from the Saxon word hwéol (wheel), connected with the circular course of the sun through the solstices and equinoxes. A winter/new years festival was held at this time over a period of 12 days (the 12 days of christmas) in which cattle and other beasts were slaughtered and offerings made.
NB there is some confusion because amongst many groups (including the Norse) the Winter festival was held in November marking the 'First snow' - this was a feast of the Dead (cf Samhain)
We do know that animal and human sacrifice was practiced and that the gernmanic Kings claimed descent from one or other of the gods. But we don't know much else beyond that in any great detail...
oh yes it also seems that the Germanic peoples did not have a 'priestly class' such as the Celtic Druids and instead most practices were 'domestic' involving families honouring their dead or a chief making a sacrifice on behalf of his village/tribe (again CHristmas as a feast of the family has direct roots in yule practices of Family gathering around the Yule log where the spirits of Ancestors appeared within the flames and children were honoured and initiated into family rituals).
In many ways the depiction of Conans 'prayer to Crom' seems to be somewhat accurate with regards to Germanic views of their gods ie the whole approach of "Crom, I don't know if you're listening but I could do with some help, and if you don't -l then to hell with you" (paraphased btw)
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If you look at a genealogy of the kings & queens of England you'll see that our royal family descends from Woden - seriously. 
IMO Germanic and Norse mythology seems at root to be the same, albeit with local variations - obviously the Rhine only features in Germanic myth. This is different from the Greek-Roman situation where the Romans adopted Greek mythology wholesale to pad out their own relatively undeveloped mythos.
Edit: The fact is, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Swedes, and northern Germans all derive from a very small area of northwest Germany & Denmark, probably all within about a hundred miles of modern Hamburg. It's not surprising their mythology is the same, these were very very closely related peoples.
IMO Germanic and Norse mythology seems at root to be the same, albeit with local variations - obviously the Rhine only features in Germanic myth. This is different from the Greek-Roman situation where the Romans adopted Greek mythology wholesale to pad out their own relatively undeveloped mythos.
Edit: The fact is, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Swedes, and northern Germans all derive from a very small area of northwest Germany & Denmark, probably all within about a hundred miles of modern Hamburg. It's not surprising their mythology is the same, these were very very closely related peoples.
Fifth Element
Legend
Note that the worship of a goddess called Eoster is disputed, with only one source (Bede) providing the name.Tonguez said:
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