Bealdor and Wuldor Two other gods that were probably worshiped by the Heathen Anglo-Saxons were Wuldor and Bealdor, which are both cognate with the Norse gods Ullr and Baldr. The name Ullr, who even in Norse mythology is a rather obscure god, is said to mean splendour, and likewise the Anglo-Saxon Wuldor is said to translate as glory. The word or name Wuldor is found hundreds of times in Old English literature, and it's likely that it originated amongst the Heathens. Two interesting examples of Wuldor are found in the words Wuldortanas and Wuldorfadur. Wuldortanas is found in the Nine Herbs Charm and means glory twigs. Whereas Wuldorfadur, which means glory father is found in the work that is usually called 'Caedmons Hymn'. It's been pointed out that the title Wuldorfadur or glory father could be the same as the title Sky Father, which was an ancient name for the Germanic god Tiwaz. Another name that it is similar to it is Allfather, which was a title for the Norse god Odin. So it's possible that glory father was originally a name for Woden, the Anglo-Saxon Odin. But whether the three titles are related is not known, but a common source could be possible. The word or name Bealdor is found a few times in Old English literature, including Beowulf, but none of them seem to suggest a connection between the Anglo-Saxon Bealdor and the Norse Baldr, apart from the fact that they are phonetically cognate with each other as they both mean lord. But some evidence that may suggest that the Anglo-Saxons knew of a Bealdor similar to his Norse counterpart is contained in the Old English poem called 'The Dream of the Rood', which, contains phrases and descriptions describing the 'crucifixion of Christ' that are very similar to those describing the death of Baldr in Norse myth. And this may indicate that the 'crucifixion of Christ' in The Dream of the Rood is just a Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxon myth concerning the death of Baldr or Bealdor. |
Bealdor and Wuldor Two other gods that were probably worshiped by the Heathen Anglo-Saxons were Wuldor and Bealdor, which are both cognate with the Norse gods Ullr and Baldr. The name Ullr, who even in Norse mythology is a rather obscure god, is said to mean splendour, and likewise the Anglo-Saxon Wuldor is said to translate as glory. The word or name Wuldor is found hundreds of times in Old English literature, and it's likely that it originated amongst the Heathens. Two interesting examples of Wuldor are found in the words Wuldortanas and Wuldorfadur. Wuldortanas is found in the Nine Herbs Charm and means glory twigs. Whereas Wuldorfadur, which means glory father is found in the work that is usually called 'Caedmons Hymn'. It's been pointed out that the title Wuldorfadur or glory father could be the same as the title Sky Father, which was an ancient name for the Germanic god Tiwaz. Another name that it is similar to it is Allfather, which was a title for the Norse god Odin. So it's possible that glory father was originally a name for Woden, the Anglo-Saxon Odin. But whether the three titles are related is not known, but a common source could be possible. The word or name Bealdor is found a few times in Old English literature, including Beowulf, but none of them seem to suggest a connection between the Anglo-Saxon Bealdor and the Norse Baldr, apart from the fact that they are phonetically cognate with each other as they both mean lord. But some evidence that may suggest that the Anglo-Saxons knew of a Bealdor similar to his Norse counterpart is contained in the Old English poem called 'The Dream of the Rood', which, contains phrases and descriptions describing the 'crucifixion of Christ' that are very similar to those describing the death of Baldr in Norse myth. And this may indicate that the 'crucifixion of Christ' in The Dream of the Rood is just a Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxon myth concerning the death of Baldr or Bealdor. |
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This page was last
updated on: July 22,
2003
