although the word Heathen may have negative meanings to many people, I have decided to use this word as a single name to unite all the diversity that existed within the pre-Christian religion and culture of the Anglo-Saxons. And I am pretty sure that those who were branded Heathens in ancient days were more than likely proud to be called so. The Anglo-Saxon King Penda, who ruled the kingdom of Mercia, when asked to convert to Christianity kindly declined the offer and chose to live out the remainder of his life branded a Heathen. But being a Heathen still allowed him to worship his ancestral gods and goddesses and celebrate his ancestors. Penda wanted to remain true to who he was and where he came from, and being a Heathen very much allowed him to do that. And I am sure for a very long time many of his countrymen felt the same way too, and clung to the old rather than favour the new, proud to be called Heathens. I hope you find your stay here a pleasant and enjoyable one, and hope that you discover information that you need or didn't already know. If you have time please feel free to sign the guestbook or guest map, alternatively you can join the Anglo-Saxon Heathenism mailing list to receive information on the Anglo-Saxons and to know when this website is updated. If you are unable to find here what you are seeking, then please try the link sections of this website for many more sites that may provide you with the information that you are looking for. Again thank you for visiting my site, enjoy your stay. Copyright © 2000/2007 Stuart Alan All Rights Reserved |
known as Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Our first historical mention of these peoples, which also makes it the first historical mention of the English people in general, is found in a work called Germania, that was written by a Roman historian called Tacitus. He records in detail the culture and ways of many Teutonic tribes in the first century AD, including those of the Angles. The Angles are said to be a tribe that were protected by forests and rivers, and a tribe that along with six others took part in the worship of an Earth Mother goddess called Nerthus. There are several theories as to why these Teutonic tribes made Britain their home. Some legends say they were invited over by a British Chief to help in their fight against Scots and Picts, whereas another theory is that the Angles, Saxons and Jutes may themselves have been forced out of their original homeland by the movements of other tribes. During the early centuries many tribes left their homelands in Scandinavia and Northern Europe to seek out new lands to call home. Some made it as far as Northern Italy, or Spain, whereas others reached the shores of North Africa. But the Angles, Saxons and Jutes chose differently, and instead of travelling by foot, these coastal peoples travelled by boat to the island of Britain. The Jutes settled in South East England and created the kingdom of Kent, whereas the Saxons settled in a much larger area and created the kingdoms of Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), and Wessex (West Saxons). The Angles in their settlement created the ancient kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia, these kingdoms stretched from the very north to the central and eastern coasts of England. It is said in historical writings that the land where the Angles on the European mainland once dwelled was left deserted of all it's inhabitants, indicating that everyone from the most royal to the most common of peoples joined in the settlement of England. So it's not surprising that the land they settled was eventually given their name, land of the Angles, England. Here these people remained |
Roman Empire to roughly about the time of the Norman Conquest of England. The time span in England that is commonly called the pagan Saxon period by historians, and the period which this website is about, is right in the middle of the early centuries of those Dark Ages. Information about this time period is in short supply, and our most accurate information concerning this era comes from archaeological discoveries, such as the Sutton Hoo ship burial. The end of the pagan period not surprisingly started with the introduction of Christianity to England and the Anglo-Saxon peoples. This introduction radically altered the Anglo-Saxon way of life, not just culturally or religiously, for it also severed ties with their own ancestry and history, which had been recorded from father to son for centuries in the Anglo-Saxon oral tradition of story telling. Stories and tales of warriors such as Beowulf, Beowulf seemingly being the only 'complete' story to survive the conversion. And also lore and stories of their gods and goddesses. So although we have lost so much information concerning the Heathen religion of the Anglo-Saxons, we have been left in literature and archaeological finds information about their pre-Christian religion and culture that we can use to give us some indication as to how they lived, how they worshipped and how they survived. The Anglo-Saxons probably never had a single word or name that described the religion they practised before the arrival of Christianity. The reason for this is |
Home Page and Introduction |
Roman Empire to roughly about the time of the Norman Conquest of England. The time span in England that is commonly called the pagan Saxon period by historians, and the period which this website is about, is right in the middle of the early centuries of those Dark Ages. Information about this time period is in short supply, and our most accurate information concerning this era comes from archaeological discoveries, such as the Sutton Hoo ship burial. The end of the pagan period not surprisingly started with the introduction of Christianity to England and the Anglo-Saxon peoples. This introduction radically altered the Anglo-Saxon way of life, not just culturally or religiously, for it also severed ties with their own ancestry and history, which had been recorded from father to son for centuries in the Anglo-Saxon oral tradition of story telling. Stories and tales of warriors such as Beowulf, Beowulf seemingly being the only 'complete' story to survive the conversion. And also lore and stories of their gods and goddesses. So although we have lost so much information concerning the Heathen religion of the Anglo-Saxons, we have been left in literature and archaeological finds information about their pre-Christian religion and culture that we can use to give us some indication as to how they lived, how they worshipped and how they survived. The Anglo-Saxons probably never had a single word or name that described the religion they practised before the arrival of Christianity. The reason for this is |
Introduction |
First and foremost thank you for visiting my site and I hope you enjoy your stay. This site is aimed at giving and explaining as much as possible concerning the pre-Christian religion and culture of the Anglo-Saxon peoples of England. Here you will find information and articles concerning the gods and goddesses that the Anglo-Saxons worshipped, and others that they may have worshipped. You will also be able to read how and where they did their worshipping and the festivals that they celebrated each year. Aswell as this, you will also discover information about runes, English place names, the Sutton Hoo ship burial, sacred Anglo-Saxon symbols and much, much more. Quite simply this site is here to give those interested as much information as possible concerning the Pagan/Heathen religion of the Anglo-Saxons. |
In the beginning the Anglo-Saxons were a mixture of several Teutonic tribes, who made Britain their home sometime in the fifth century. They came from what is today Denmark and Northern Germany, and they were Heathens, people who had worshipped their native and ancestral gods for thousands of years. The Teutonic tribes that made up the main stock of the Anglo-Saxons were |
known as Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Our first historical mention of these peoples, which also makes it the first historical mention of the English people in general, is found in a work called Germania, that was written by a Roman historian called Tacitus. He records in detail the culture and ways of many Teutonic tribes in the first century AD, including those of the Angles. The Angles are said to be a tribe that were protected by forests and rivers, and a tribe that along with six others took part in the worship of an Earth Mother goddess called Nerthus. There are several theories as to why these Teutonic tribes made Britain their home. Some legends say they were invited over by a British Chief to help in their fight against Scots and Picts, whereas another theory is that the Angles, Saxons and Jutes may themselves have been forced out of their original homeland by the movements of other tribes. During the early centuries many tribes left their homelands in Scandinavia and Northern Europe to seek out new lands to call home. Some made it as far as Northern Italy, or Spain, whereas others reached the shores of North Africa. But the Angles, Saxons and Jutes chose differently, and instead of travelling by foot, these coastal peoples travelled by boat to the island of Britain. The Jutes settled in South East England and created the kingdom of Kent, whereas the Saxons settled in a much larger area and created the kingdoms of Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), and Wessex (West Saxons). The Angles in their settlement created the ancient kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia, these kingdoms stretched from the very north to the central and eastern coasts of England. It is said in historical writings that the land where the Angles on the European mainland once dwelled was left deserted of all it's inhabitants, indicating that everyone from the most royal to the most common of peoples joined in the settlement of England. So it's not surprising that the land they settled was eventually given their name, land of the Angles, England. Here these people remained |
until nearly a thousand years later, where again by boat, many of them sought out new lands in the New World to make their home to eventually become Americans and Canadians and other peoples throughout the world. The era known as the Dark Ages, is exactly that, dark, a time from the fall of the |
that this nameless religion was more than likely never a unified one with a central figure at the centre of it, such as Jesus Christ is with Christianity. But instead it seems that it was a mixture of differing cults that had it's own purpose and direction. But the one thing that did unite the practitioners of these cults is that to the Christians they were all regarded as Heathens, people who still followed the old ways and had yet to turned to the new. And |
although the word Heathen may have negative meanings to many people, I have decided to use this word as a single name to unite all the diversity that existed within the pre-Christian religion and culture of the Anglo-Saxons. And I am pretty sure that those who were branded Heathens in ancient days were more than likely proud to be called so. The Anglo-Saxon King Penda, who ruled the kingdom of Mercia, when asked to convert to Christianity kindly declined the offer and chose to live out the remainder of his life branded a Heathen. But being a Heathen still allowed him to worship his ancestral gods and goddesses and celebrate his ancestors. Penda wanted to remain true to who he was and where he came from, and being a Heathen very much allowed him to do that. And I am sure for a very long time many of his countrymen felt the same way too, and clung to the old rather than favour the new, proud to be called Heathens. I hope you find your stay here a pleasant and enjoyable one, and hope that you discover information that you need or didn't already know. If you have time please feel free to sign the guestbook or guest map, alternatively you can join the Anglo-Saxon Heathenism mailing list to receive information on the Anglo-Saxons and to know when this website is updated. If you are unable to find here what you are seeking, then please try the link sections of this website for many more sites that may provide you with the information that you are looking for. Again thank you for visiting my site, enjoy your stay. Copyright © 2000/2007 Stuart Alan All Rights Reserved |
This page was last
updated on: December
8, 2006
