Hretha

Hretha

Hretha is a goddess in Anglo-Saxon paganism. Hretha is attested solely by Bede in his 8th century work "De temporum ratione", chapter XV. Bede associates Hretha with the third month of his listing of the Anglo-Saxon calendar, "Hreth-monath", corresponding to what is now March.

"De temporum ratione"

Bede writes that:

In olden times the English people— for it did not seem fitting to me that I should speak of other nations' observance of the year and yet be silent about my own nation's— calculated their months according to the course of the Moon. Hence, after the manner of the Hebrews and the Greeks, [the months] take their name from the Moon, for the moon is called "mona" and each month "monath".

The first month, which the Latins call January, is Giuli; February is called Sol-monath; March, Hreth-monath; April, Eostur-monath ...

Bede writes the month was "named from their goddess Hretha, whom they sacrificed to in that month". "Hretha" signifies "fame", and Hrethel, or Hreðel was the king of the Geats, in "Beowulf". Such a name for a warrior is very widespread among European peoples: cf. for example the Greek name "Etiocles".

Grimm

According to Jacob Grimm in his work 19th century work "Deutsche Mythologie", her name may be related to Old High German "hruod" and Old Norse "hróðr", "glory".

Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien adapted Hrethmonath for his "Shire-reckoning" in "The Lord of the Rings" [http://www.shire-reckoning.com/calendar.html]

ee also

*Ēostre

References

*Wallis, Faith (translator) 1999. "Bede: The Reckoning of Time" (Liverpool University Press).

External links

* [http://www.gadarg.org.uk/essays/e007.htm Richard Sermon, "The Celtic calendar and the Anglo-Saxon year"] at Gloucester and District Archaeological Research Group webite
* [http://www.shire-reckoning.com/calendar.html "The Shire Calendar"]

----


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ēostre — Ostara redirects here. For other uses, see Ostara (disambiguation). Ostara (1884) by Johannes Gehrts. The goddess flies through the he …   Wikipedia

  • List of Germanic deities — A scene from one of the Merseburg Incantations: the Germanic gods Wodan and Balder stand before the goddesses Sunna, Sinthgunt, Volla and Friia (Emil Doepler, 1905) In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peo …   Wikipedia

  • Beowulf — This article is about the epic poem. For the character, see Beowulf (hero). For other uses, see Beowulf (disambiguation). Beowulf first page of Beowulf in Cotton Vitellius A. xv …   Wikipedia

  • Elf — This article is about the mythical creature. For other uses, see Elf (disambiguation). An elf (plural elves) is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings (wights, vættir) endowed with magical… …   Wikipedia

  • Midgard — For other uses, see Midgard (disambiguation). The runes a:miþkarþi for Old Norse à Miðgarði meaning in Midgard in Middle Earth , on the Fyrby Runestone (Sö 56) in Södermanland, Sweden. Midgard (an Anglicised[ …   Wikipedia

  • Saxons — For other uses, see Saxon (disambiguation). 1868 illustration of Augustine addressing the Saxons …   Wikipedia

  • Grendel — For other uses, see Grendel (disambiguation). An illustration of Grendel by J.R. Skelton from Stories of Beowulf. Grendel is described as Very terrible to look upon. Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel s mother and the dragon …   Wikipedia

  • Jötunn — Frost Giant redirects here. For the music album, see Frost Giant (album). The jötnar Fafner and Fasolt seize Freyja in Arthur Rackham s illustration to Richard Wagner s Der Ring des Nibelungen. A jötunn (anglicized jotunn or jotun; …   Wikipedia

  • Wyrd — For other uses, see Wyrd (disambiguation). Wyrd is a concept in Anglo Saxon culture roughly corresponding to fate or personal destiny. The word is ancestral to Modern English weird, which retains its original meaning only dialectally. The cognate …   Wikipedia

  • Symbel — A drinking scene on an image stone from Gotland, in the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities in Stockholm. See Symbel (band) for the British band. Symbel (OE) and sumbl (ON) are Germanic terms for feast, banquet . Paul C. Bauschatz in 1976… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”