In the skaldic poetry, a kenning that is often used in reference to the Gods is "son of Odin". Both Baldr and Thor are referred to by this kenning in particular.

In the poem Haustlǫng (Autumn-long) by the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir, Thor is referred to as burr Óðins, meaning son of Óðinn.

The same kenning is used for Baldr in stanza 7 of Húsdrápa by Úlfr Uggason:

Boðfróðr Freyr ríðr fyrst til borgar sonar Óðins á inum golli byrsta borg ok stýrir folkum.

"Battle-skilled Freyr rides first to the funeral pyre of the son of Óðinn (Baldr) on the boar bristled with gold (Gullinbursti) and leads the troops."

Additionally, the Æsir are also collectively known as ætt Óðins, meaning family/race of Óðinn as noted in stanza 13 of the Hallfreðar Saga. This kenning corresponds to Snorri Sturluson's account of Óðinn in the Gylfaginning, where Óðinn is referred to as the Allfather because "he is father of all the Gods and of men..."

A number of Woden’s Burg’s can be found across England including Wednesbury in Essex. A church now sits on the highest point and probably replaced a Weoh dedicated to Woden. This church uses the Three Seaxes of Essex as an emblem and boasts a ‘Woden window’. Another church which unconsciously continues to hold the spirit of Woden is at Woodnesborough, spelt Wodnesbeorge in 1100. The current church replaces the far older Saxon one – however a local legend has it somewhere either in or under the church a Golden image of Woden still remains!

Adam’s Grave was a Neolithic long barrow as was once known as Wodnesbeorh as recorded in an Anglo-Saxon charter. Two battles were fought there (or nearby at Wanborough) in 592 and 715 - Her micel wælfill wæs æt Woddes beorge, 7 Ceawlin wæs ut adrifen." (There was great slaughter at Woden's hill, and Ceawlin was driven out.) It is also believed that one of the hills had a chalk figure of Woden carved into it.

Image- Wodnesbeorh barrow by Hedley Thorne

WODEN. Song: Danheim - Skugga.

Woden as Mercury

There is an obscure Old English text, Solomon and Saturn, which credits Woden with the establishment of letters:

saga me, hwá aeróst bócstasfas sette?
ic the secge, Mercurius ge gygand.

"Tell me, who first established letters?
I tell thee, Mercurius the giant."

The exerpt from Solomon and Saturn above also coincides with verses 138-139 in the Hávamál, which credits Woden with the discovery of the runes. Mercurius is the original Latin form of Mercury, who we know was identified with Woden since the time of Tacitus (c. 56-120 AD) and was worshipped as the highest god amongst the Germans:

"Of the gods, Mercury (Odin) is the principal object of their adoration; whom, on certain days, they think it lawful to propitiate even with human victims. To Hercules (Thor) and Mars (Tyr), they offer the animals usually allotted for sacrifice..." -Tacitus, Germania

Moreover, in his Annals, Tacitus wrote of how war broke out between the Hermunduri and the Chatti over a salt bearing river. He notes that each side vowed to sacrifice the other to Mars and Mercury for victory.

In sources as late as the 12th century, such as The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095-1155), the identification of Mercury as Woden is further exemplified. Geoffrey writes in reference to Hengist, the leader and first king of the Jutes in Kent, that they "...especially worship Mercury, whom we call Woden."

Additionally, Layamon's Middle English poem Brut - which was largely influenced by the Anglo-Norman poet Robert Wace's Roman de Brut (1155) - states that Hengist once said that Woden is the highest of Gods.

For those who would prefer to read in the Substack format with pictures, you can do so here in this (free) article.

Souls on the Banks of the Acheron - Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl, 1898.

This newly uploaded documentary on the origin, lives and art of the Gravettians is an intriguing look into the culture of ice age Europeans.

Three things I found very interesting were:

-In good times, the Gravettian population could reach a peak of 30,000, while in bad times it could fall as low as 2,000.

-Gravettian groups often travelled over 200km (125 miles) to obtain the best raw materials for tool production.

-The distribution of specific types of personal Gravettian ornaments in the archaelogical record reveals what are likely 9 distinct culture groups across Gravettian Europe. There were also regional differences in how people lived and how they were buried, with cave shelters being utilised in the west whilst in Central and Eastern Europe, people preferred to live in open air sites.

As always, another top-tier production by Dan Davis. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next!

The Gravettian Culture: Lords of the Mammoth Steppe.

DECLARATION OF TRADITION

Months in the making, the Declaration of Tradition is now OPEN for all Germanic Pagans to sign today!

Working with various Pagans, the DOT has been devised so as to represent the traditional values we are to adhere to as followers of Germanic Paganism.

The Declaration of Tradition serves as a means of unifying sincere followers of Germanic Paganism with a framework we can refer to and use to take collective action.

If you are a Germanic Pagan and believe in the traditional values taught to us by our Gods and ancestors, become a signatory today. You can sign as an individual or as an organisation if you have a gathering.

Special thank you to WodenWyrd and Þórr Siðr for their valuable assistance in the Declaration's creation, to Dan Capp / The Fyrgen for the website building, and to all individuals and organisations that have become signatories.

BECOME A SIGNATORY:
declarationoftradition.com

In the Styrbjarnar þáttr Svíakappa (The Tale of Styrbjörn the Swedish Champion), a man named Eiríkr inn sigrsæli (Eric the Victorious) is described as blótaði Óðin - sacrificing to Odin - as well as gafsk honum, meaning he gave himself to Odin.

Gautrek's Saga also features the same terminology when Starkaðr stabs a reed-stalk into King Vikar, which turns into a real spear and says:

Nú gef ek þik Óðni.
"Now I give you to Odin."

The idea of "giving" oneself to a deity is primarily in reference to Odin. Hávamál verse 138 has Odin giving Himself to Himself on Yggdrasill:

Veit ek at ek hekk
vindga meiði á
nætr allar níu,
geiri undaðr
ok gefinn Óðni,
sjálfr sjálfum mér,
á þeim meiði er manngi veit
hvar's hann af rótum renn.

"I know that I hung
on a wind-battered tree
nine long nights,
pierced by a spear
and given to Óðinn,
myself to myself,
on that tree no man knows where its roots run."

Wāt iċ þæt iċ hēng
windgan māde on
nihta allu nigon,
gāre wundod
and ġiefen Wōdne,
self selfum mē,
on þām māde
þe nān mann wāt
hwæs hē of rōtum rinnþ.

Hávamál 138 in Old English (Crawford).

Creative professional Laurence Hardy in his series documenting the history of ancient European Pagan fertility cults has written an article about the Declaration of Tradition: https://laurencehardy.co/journal/anchored-in-the-ancients

You can sign the DOT here: declarationoftradition.com

Based Total War game capitalising "Him" and "Gods" when referring to Them. Thanks to Poetica Atelli for sending this in.