Lyfing
04-12-2009, 12:31 AM
IN THE BEGINNINGS: Early Man and His Gods..
The rapid rise of the Teutons is truly astonishing: at the beginning of the first millennium they occupied southern Scandinavia and a small portion of what is now northern Germany; between 200 and 800 A.D., all of Europe, part of Great Britain and some of the coast of North Africa were controlled by Teutonic bands, and eventually the Franks were to emerge as an amalgamated Teuto-Italic Holy Roman Empire. Their ethnic strain is still dominant in northern Europe today.
What accounts for their sudden eruption into history? In the first place, the rumor of sophisticated urban centers in the south full of booty certainly attracted these bandit-warriors. In the second place, improved standards of living resulted in early population explosions. Finally, the most pressing motivation of all was a great climatic change. The weather in the north was in the process of becoming colder and damper with severe winters unfavorable to cattle raising. Parts of the Baltic land areas, with the
melting of the glaciers, were flooded. The coastal people were forced to move out. Indeed Roman tradition states that the Cimbri Teutons were forced to emigrate by a great flood.
In discussing the proto-Teutonic culture illustrated by rock carvings, it has already been indicated that the northern peoples were formed by an ethnic amalgamation of the megalith builders (carriers of the Mediterranean vegetation goddess tradition) with the pastoralist warriors of the steppes, the battle-ax people, plus an undefined infiltration of the ancient hunters.
A study of Teutonic mythology, as it has been handed down, supports this view of a mixed heritage. The masculine warrior aspects of the culture, however, are by far the strongest and it is these traits which characterize the magic of the clan and, according to Vilhelm Gronbech, are the key to Teutonic psychology. Though much of this interpretation depends upon Eddas and sagas composed by Norse and Icelandic bards and written down no earlier than 800 A.D., the material contained in these poems is much older and, by discarding what are judged to be later attitudes, a picture emerges of a somewhat gloomy, dramatic and bloodthirsty people
who, despite their material civilization of the Bronze and Iron Age, were as psychologically archaic as the Celts.
In the first place, although politically the Teutons were independent and in their assemblies often disagreed with their king and sometimes set him aside, in social and religious behavior they were motivated by a profound feeling of unity. The luck or magic of the clan affected them all and the conduct of any individual could either maintain or impair it. This was reflected in the word frith the loyalty between clan members, the unspoken bond which obliged them to support and defend each other and which forbade hostility between them. All relatives, in other words, were magically sacred; all outsiders were fair game. It is the opposition between the
in-group and the out-group which still exists today on an international scale.
An exaggerated, almost hysterical conception of honor was tied in with this concept. Not to accept a challenge violated the honor of the individual and the clan. In this situation a verbal insult was equal to a blow. To help a kinsman avenge an insult was an unconditional obligation even though the kinsman had shown himself to be a worthless person. This, in turn, was connected with the sense of justice. All punishment was carried out by the clan. Characters in the sagas scheme and plot for years to avenge their honor. If they did not, they lost their status as clan members and to lose this was to become a social outlaw and practically nonhuman. Outlawry was worse than death. Still more important and more significant
in the magico-religious sense was the fact that a stain on the honor could affect the health of the coming generation, kill the child in the womb, even render women barren.
The only way to avenge a slight to honor was to kill the offender or,
if not the actual offender, someone of his clan with a wider reputation as a warrior. Women shared this magical clan psychology, fiercely reproaching their men if they were slow to take up a challenge. On the other hand, there were no sanctions against injuring a fellow clan member because such a situation was unthinkable. The greatest tragedy was a fight between siblings who were unaware of their relationship. In fact the very word
sib also carried the meaning of peace.
Associated with the magic of the clan was the very ancient notion of name magic. The magic of the clan was handed down with its name; the giving of the name of an important warrior carried with it magic. To quote Gronbech, "Every kinsman felt himself as living all that one of his kin had once lived in the world, and he did not merely feel himself as possessing the deeds of old, he renewed them actually in his own doings."
Wealth was an affair of status; the treasure of a family or group was associated with its magic. If ravaged by an outsider it could cause disaster. The treasure of the Volsungs is a case in point, since it carried a curse with it. A parallel is the modern fable of the stolen Indian diamond which always brings bad luck.
The protocol of gift giving and receiving (which, as we have seen, probably also took place among the Mycenaeans) has interesting analogies among modem preliterates. The Teutons felt that failure to return a gift was no less than robbery. It put the receiver under profound obligation. Claude Levi-Strauss has pointed out that among very simple peoples in which food is a problem and famine often threatens, the sharing of goods is a moral duty. On a higher social level, as among the Trobrianders of the South Seas, there is elaborate ritual exchange of gifts on all sorts of occasions. This philosophy of exchange on a status level is no longer economic
but total even religious. It also serves the purpose of easing tension between aliens. As such it was also practiced by the Teutons. On the magical side some of A. E. Crawley's ideas might apply. He maintained that to the preliterate everything alien was dangerous. Contact with the alien had to be made magically safe. This was done by cross-inoculation. Each of two alien individuals took something from the other either actually or symbolically. The Teutons also made much of communal eating and drink-
ing, both being an essential part of their religious rituals and, in the case of strangers, eating together cemented frith. To refuse such an offer was a deadly insult. Gift giving was also an important part of the marriage ceremony.
The concept of good luck or magic of the clan was also embodied in the leader, whose personal magic symbolized and affected the whole group. Since this was an essentially warlike people, success centered around sexual and physical vitality and victory in war. Thus disqualification of a king among either the Celts or Teutons because of some bodily defect was not a matter of failure to promote vegetation but of failure of male prowess, unfitness to lead and fight. There were cases in which a king was deposed
because of defeats in battle and a child of his lineage put in his place.
Among the Teutons there was a fatalistic attitude toward personal
and group magic. If it failed and sacrifices did not succeed in renewing it, this was an indication that the gods were unfavorably disposed. A person who lost his magic was fey (from Old English faege) , a man who had lost his essential humanity and was touched with death. This idea of magic was not unlike that of an American Indian's medicine given him by his guardian spirit. The concept, however, only applied to the warrior class. Low-born thralls were considered to possess no souls, no magic, no sense of
frith, no privileges and obligations. Fortunately for the well-born, the spirits of ancestors could return in their descendants, carrying with them their special magic. For this reason it was customary to name children after relatives who were famous for their heroic deeds.
..pages 163-166
http://www.archive.org/details/inthebeginningse012790mbp
Later,
-Lyfing
The rapid rise of the Teutons is truly astonishing: at the beginning of the first millennium they occupied southern Scandinavia and a small portion of what is now northern Germany; between 200 and 800 A.D., all of Europe, part of Great Britain and some of the coast of North Africa were controlled by Teutonic bands, and eventually the Franks were to emerge as an amalgamated Teuto-Italic Holy Roman Empire. Their ethnic strain is still dominant in northern Europe today.
What accounts for their sudden eruption into history? In the first place, the rumor of sophisticated urban centers in the south full of booty certainly attracted these bandit-warriors. In the second place, improved standards of living resulted in early population explosions. Finally, the most pressing motivation of all was a great climatic change. The weather in the north was in the process of becoming colder and damper with severe winters unfavorable to cattle raising. Parts of the Baltic land areas, with the
melting of the glaciers, were flooded. The coastal people were forced to move out. Indeed Roman tradition states that the Cimbri Teutons were forced to emigrate by a great flood.
In discussing the proto-Teutonic culture illustrated by rock carvings, it has already been indicated that the northern peoples were formed by an ethnic amalgamation of the megalith builders (carriers of the Mediterranean vegetation goddess tradition) with the pastoralist warriors of the steppes, the battle-ax people, plus an undefined infiltration of the ancient hunters.
A study of Teutonic mythology, as it has been handed down, supports this view of a mixed heritage. The masculine warrior aspects of the culture, however, are by far the strongest and it is these traits which characterize the magic of the clan and, according to Vilhelm Gronbech, are the key to Teutonic psychology. Though much of this interpretation depends upon Eddas and sagas composed by Norse and Icelandic bards and written down no earlier than 800 A.D., the material contained in these poems is much older and, by discarding what are judged to be later attitudes, a picture emerges of a somewhat gloomy, dramatic and bloodthirsty people
who, despite their material civilization of the Bronze and Iron Age, were as psychologically archaic as the Celts.
In the first place, although politically the Teutons were independent and in their assemblies often disagreed with their king and sometimes set him aside, in social and religious behavior they were motivated by a profound feeling of unity. The luck or magic of the clan affected them all and the conduct of any individual could either maintain or impair it. This was reflected in the word frith the loyalty between clan members, the unspoken bond which obliged them to support and defend each other and which forbade hostility between them. All relatives, in other words, were magically sacred; all outsiders were fair game. It is the opposition between the
in-group and the out-group which still exists today on an international scale.
An exaggerated, almost hysterical conception of honor was tied in with this concept. Not to accept a challenge violated the honor of the individual and the clan. In this situation a verbal insult was equal to a blow. To help a kinsman avenge an insult was an unconditional obligation even though the kinsman had shown himself to be a worthless person. This, in turn, was connected with the sense of justice. All punishment was carried out by the clan. Characters in the sagas scheme and plot for years to avenge their honor. If they did not, they lost their status as clan members and to lose this was to become a social outlaw and practically nonhuman. Outlawry was worse than death. Still more important and more significant
in the magico-religious sense was the fact that a stain on the honor could affect the health of the coming generation, kill the child in the womb, even render women barren.
The only way to avenge a slight to honor was to kill the offender or,
if not the actual offender, someone of his clan with a wider reputation as a warrior. Women shared this magical clan psychology, fiercely reproaching their men if they were slow to take up a challenge. On the other hand, there were no sanctions against injuring a fellow clan member because such a situation was unthinkable. The greatest tragedy was a fight between siblings who were unaware of their relationship. In fact the very word
sib also carried the meaning of peace.
Associated with the magic of the clan was the very ancient notion of name magic. The magic of the clan was handed down with its name; the giving of the name of an important warrior carried with it magic. To quote Gronbech, "Every kinsman felt himself as living all that one of his kin had once lived in the world, and he did not merely feel himself as possessing the deeds of old, he renewed them actually in his own doings."
Wealth was an affair of status; the treasure of a family or group was associated with its magic. If ravaged by an outsider it could cause disaster. The treasure of the Volsungs is a case in point, since it carried a curse with it. A parallel is the modern fable of the stolen Indian diamond which always brings bad luck.
The protocol of gift giving and receiving (which, as we have seen, probably also took place among the Mycenaeans) has interesting analogies among modem preliterates. The Teutons felt that failure to return a gift was no less than robbery. It put the receiver under profound obligation. Claude Levi-Strauss has pointed out that among very simple peoples in which food is a problem and famine often threatens, the sharing of goods is a moral duty. On a higher social level, as among the Trobrianders of the South Seas, there is elaborate ritual exchange of gifts on all sorts of occasions. This philosophy of exchange on a status level is no longer economic
but total even religious. It also serves the purpose of easing tension between aliens. As such it was also practiced by the Teutons. On the magical side some of A. E. Crawley's ideas might apply. He maintained that to the preliterate everything alien was dangerous. Contact with the alien had to be made magically safe. This was done by cross-inoculation. Each of two alien individuals took something from the other either actually or symbolically. The Teutons also made much of communal eating and drink-
ing, both being an essential part of their religious rituals and, in the case of strangers, eating together cemented frith. To refuse such an offer was a deadly insult. Gift giving was also an important part of the marriage ceremony.
The concept of good luck or magic of the clan was also embodied in the leader, whose personal magic symbolized and affected the whole group. Since this was an essentially warlike people, success centered around sexual and physical vitality and victory in war. Thus disqualification of a king among either the Celts or Teutons because of some bodily defect was not a matter of failure to promote vegetation but of failure of male prowess, unfitness to lead and fight. There were cases in which a king was deposed
because of defeats in battle and a child of his lineage put in his place.
Among the Teutons there was a fatalistic attitude toward personal
and group magic. If it failed and sacrifices did not succeed in renewing it, this was an indication that the gods were unfavorably disposed. A person who lost his magic was fey (from Old English faege) , a man who had lost his essential humanity and was touched with death. This idea of magic was not unlike that of an American Indian's medicine given him by his guardian spirit. The concept, however, only applied to the warrior class. Low-born thralls were considered to possess no souls, no magic, no sense of
frith, no privileges and obligations. Fortunately for the well-born, the spirits of ancestors could return in their descendants, carrying with them their special magic. For this reason it was customary to name children after relatives who were famous for their heroic deeds.
..pages 163-166
http://www.archive.org/details/inthebeginningse012790mbp
Later,
-Lyfing