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Nazewnictwo i symbolika ozdób starogermańskich

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Kowalski A. P.

Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Germanica

2017

issue 13

149-166

The paper is devoted to possible concepts that ancient Germans held about ornaments. Cultural categories related to wealth, prestige, gift, sacrifice and deposit are carefully discussed. The main accent is on the etymological analysis of Proto-Germanic names for brooch or fibula, ring, necklace, belt, buckle. These are items found by archaeologists in the areas of Barbaricum dating from the period since the Bronze Age. The changes that led to the development of the Wielbark culture identified with the Goths were very important. The population of this culture did not place weapons and tools in graves, but only ornaments. Such a norm may have resulted from the mythical convictions confirmed in the Poetic Edda. The Old Norse goddess called Gullveig (literally ‘gold strength’) was the reason for the war of the divine generations of Aesir and Vanir.The Aesir were rulers and warriors, whereas the Vanir represented farmers and producers.Aesir used weapons, Vanir tools.Gullveig, burned three times at the stake and three times reborn, seems to be a symbol of ornaments. The Goths used only female burial equipment, putting a taboo on military accessories typical of Aesir.In addition, some Old Nordic poems associate ornaments with a mythical snake.This aspect is confirmed by archeological and linguistic data. The mythical technique of making jewellery is also important. The Old Nordic divine blacksmith called Völundr folds it from the bodies of the dead princes. In this way, he refers to the cosmogonic myth of the sacrifice of Ymir. The techniques of making ornaments, based on the reintegration of elements, resemble folk methods of treatment and are related to the Germanic idea of beauty as a complex whole.

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Czarownice i nekromantki w kulturze starożytnych Germanów

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Kowalski A. P.

Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Germanica

2018

issue 14

139-151

In the culture of the ancient Germans, women were of high rank. This was especially true of the prophets. Some of them, for example Veleda, Völva, Valuvurg, were named after the Indo-European root *h2wel-. It meant active vision, giving knowledge about the future. This root lies in the names of poets, deities of death and the land of the dead. Necromancers were also active among the Germans. They were called haliurunnae among the Gothic tribes. Their Proto-Germanic term *haljarūnō is applied to knowledge of the secrets associated with graves and of the goddess Hel. The article presents the hypothesis that these female necromancers dealt with the magic of graves and bodies of the dead. Their divination and magic had a “material” aspect. According to Jordanes, these witches were persecuted. The practices associated with the goddess Hel were dark and carried out in secret. Perhaps a vestige of the actions of these witches are tombs which have been destroyed, violated and disturbed. We know them from the area of cultures which have been identified with the Goths, of which Jordanes wrote. At the time, the prophetesses, such as Veleda, were acting officially. Their divination was more ‘spiritual’. Therefore, they were accepted and were found in the company of the Germanic chiefs.

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2 Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Germanica

2 Kowalski A. P.

1 2018

1 2017

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Nazewnictwo i symbolika ozdób starogermańskich

Czarownice i nekromantki w kulturze starożytnych Germanów