Nerthus is a goddess in Germanic paganism associated with fertility. Nerthus is attested by Tacitus, a 1st Century AD Roman historian, in his work entitled Germania. Various theories exist regarding the goddess and her potential later traces amongst the Germanic tribes. The minor planet 601 Nerthus is named after Nerthus.

Etymology

Njörðr is often identified with the Vanir god Njörðr who is attested in various 13th century Old Norse works and in numerous Scandinavian place names. The connection between the two is due to the linguistic relationship between Njörðr and the reconstructed *Nerþus,^[1] "Nerthus" being the feminine, Latinized form of what Njörðr would have looked like around 1 CE.^[2] This has led to theories about the relation of the two, including that Njörðr may have once been a hermaphroditic god or, generally considered more likely, that the name may indicate an otherwise unattested divine brother and sister pair such as the Vanir gods Freyr and Freyja.^[1] Connections have been proposed between the unnamed mother of Freyja and Freyr/sister of Njörðr mentioned in Lokasenna and Nerthus.^[3]

Germania

In Tacitus's 1st century work Germania, he records a processional ritual devoted to this goddess enacted by the northern Germanic tribes:

After the Langobardi come the Reudigni, Auiones, Angli, Varni, Eudoses, Suarines and Nuithones, all well guarded by rivers and forests.^[4] There is nothing remarkable about any of these tribes unless it be the common worship of Nerthus, that is Earth Mother. They believe she is interested in men's affairs and drives among them.^[5]

On an island in the ocean sea there is a sacred grove wherein waits a holy wagon covered by a drape. One priest only is allowed to touch it. He can feel the presence of the goddess when she is there in her sanctuary and accompanies her with great reverence as she is pulled along by kine.

It is a time of festive holiday making in whatever place she decides to honour with her advent and stay. No one goes to war, no one takes up arms, in fact every weapon is put away, only at that time are peace and quiet known and prized until the goddess, having had enough of peoples company, is at last restored by the same priest to her temple. After which the wagon and the drape, and if you like to believe me, the deity herself is bathed in a mysterious pool.

The rite is performed by slaves who, as soon as it is done, are drowned in the lake. In this way mystery begets dread and a pious ignorance concerning what that sight may be which only those who are about to die are allowed to see. --Germania, ch. 40.^[6]

Theories

A number of theories have been proposed regarding the figure of Nerthus, including the location of the events described, relations to other known gods and goddesses and her role amongst the Germanic tribes. Edgar Polomé argued that Njörðr and Nerthus come from different roots, adding that "Nerthus and Njörðr are two separate divine entities, whatever similarity their names show."^[7] Lotte Motz proposed that the Germanic goddess described by Tacitus may not have been called Nerthus at all, suggesting that the name was selected by Grimm in preference to other manuscript variants such as Herthus because it bore an etymological resemblance to Njörðr.^[8] Although Rudolf Simek viewed Motz's critique as "opening up new paths of thought on early Germanic religion,"^[9], the generally accepted reading remains "Nerthus."

John Grigsby (2005) theorized that the overthrowing of the Vanir religion by that of the Æsir is remembered in the Old English poem Beowulf, that Grendel's mother is derived from the lake-dwelling Nerthus, and that Beowulf's victory over her is symbolic of the ending of the Vanir cult in Denmark by the Odin-worshiping Danes.^[10]

The 19th-century Swedish writer Viktor Rydberg (1886) believed Nerthus was identical to the Old Norse giantess Jörð, whom he further saw as the hypothesized sister of Njörð and the mother of Frey and Freyja^[11]. Rydberg further identifed Nerthus as Odin's wife Frigg, based on the coincidence that Tacitus mentioned the Longobardi among the tribes who worship Nerthus, while the legendary history of the Longobards state that, before becoming Christians, they especially venerated Odin's wife Frea (Frigg).^[12] No scholar of Old Norse mythology has ever accepted these views.

Later traces

It has been theorized that evidence of the veneration of a mother goddess, representing the earth, survived among the Angles (Tacitus' Anglii) into Christian times as evidenced in the partially Christianized pagan Anglo-Saxon Æcerbot ritual.^[13] The earliest history of the Longobardi states that this tribe revered Odin's wife, Frea, suggesting her role as an earth mother.^[14]

Location

A number of scholars have proposed a potential location of Tacitus' account of Nerthus as on the island of Zealand in Denmark.^[15][16] Reasoning behind this notion is the linking the name Nerthus with the medieval place name Niartharum (now called Naerum) located on Zealand. Further justification is given that Lejre, the seat of the ancient kings of Denmark, is also located on Zealand. Nerthus is then comonly compared to Gefjun who is said to have plowed the island of Zealand from Sweden in Gylfaginning.^[17]

Identity

Jacob Grimm (1835) believed Nerthus was a Germanic "earth-mother," who also appeared under such names as Erda, Erce, Fru Gaue, Fjörgyn, Frau Holda and Hluodana.^[18]

Nerthus is typically identified as a Vanir goddess. Her wagon tour has been likened to several archeological wagon finds and legends of gods parading in wagons. Terry Gunnell and many others have noted various archaeological finds of ritual wagons in Denmark dating from 200 AD and the Bronze Age. Such a cermonial wagon, incapable of making turns, was discovered in the Oseberg ship find. Two of the most famous literary examples occur in the Icelandic family sagas. The Vanir god Freyr is said to ride in a wagon annually through the country accompanied by a priestess to bless the fields, according to a late story titled Hauks þáttr hábrókar in the 14th century Flateyjarbók manuscript. In the same source, King Eric of Sweden is said to consult a god named Lytir, whose wagon was brought to his hall in order to perform a divination ceremony.^[15] H.R. Davidson draws a parallel between these incidents and the Tacitus' account of Nerthus, suggesting that in addition a neck-ring wearing female figure "kneeling as if to drive a chariot" also dates from the Bronze Age. She posits that the evidence suggests that similar customs as detailed in Tacitus' account continued to exist during the close of the pagan period through worship of the Vanir.^[15]

Notes

References

• Chadwick, Hector Munro (1907). The Origin of the English Nation. ISBN 0941694097
• Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1990). Gods and Myths of Northern Europe. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-013627-4.
• Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1998). Roles of the Northern Goddess. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-13611-3
• Polomé, Edgar (1999). "Nerthus/Njorðr and Georges Dumézil", Mankind Quarterly 40:2.
• Foulke, William Dudley (Trans.) (2003). History of the Lombards: Paul the Deacon. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812210794
• Grigsby, John (2005). Beowulf and Grendel. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. ISBN 1842931539
• Motz, Lotte (1992). The Goddess Nerthus: A New Approach. Amsterdamer Beiträge zur Älteren Germanistik 36.
• Lindow, John (2001). Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515382-0
• McKinnell, John (2005). Meeting the Other in Norse Myth in Legends. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 1843840421
• Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0 304 34520 2
• Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer ISBN 0859915131
• Turville-Petre, E. O. G (1969). "Fertility of Beast and Soil" as collected in Polemé, Edgar (Editor). Old Norse Literature and Mythology: A Symposium. University of Texas Press

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