Ascending the Steps to Hliðskjálf: the Cult of Óðinn in Early Scandinavian Aristocracy
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Ascending the Steps to Hliðskjálf The Cult of Óðinn in Early Scandinavian Aristocracy Joshua Rood Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Félagsvísindasvið Ascending the Steps to Hliðskjálf The Cult of Óðinn in Early Scandinavian Aristocracy Joshua Rood Lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú Leiðbeinandi: Terry Gunnell Félags- og mannvísindadeild Félagsvísindasvið Háskóla Íslands Maí 2017 Ritgerð þessi er lokaverkefni til MA–gráðu í Norrænni trú og er óheimilt að afrita ritgerðina á nokkurn hátt nema með leyfi rétthafa. © Joshua Rood 2017 Reykjavík, Ísland 2017 Abstract Ascending the Steps to Hliðskjálf: The Cult of Óðinn in Early Scandinavian Aristocracy This thesis is a study of the cult of Óðinn as it seems to have evolved within the newly emerging warrior-based aristocracy of southern Scandinavia during the centuries prior to the Viking Age. By approaching sources critically and focusing on archaeological evidence, it looks specifically at how the deity developed within the said milieu and at the uses his cult may have served for those who worshipped him. It subsequently seeks to address other related questions such as when Óðinn came to become associated with warrior-kings in Scandinavia, where this seems to have occurred, and how it might have happened, including an examination of the social and political influences that might have been involved in the development. By means of this process, the study attempts to provide contextual insight into the relationship that seems to have existed between rulers and religion in pre-Christian southern Scandinavia. As is well known, the later medieval literary sources often portray Óðinn as being the ultimate sovereign, ruling over other gods and earthly rulers alike. This thesis attempts to shed some new light on the centuries prior to these accounts, offering a model of an earlier manifestation of the god who would become the “alfǫðr”. Útdráttur Uppgangan að Hliðskjálf: Óðinsdýrkun í árdaga norræns aðals Þessi rannsókn tekur til Óðinsdýrkunar innan nýtilkominnar aðalsstéttar suður-Skandinavíu á öldunum fram að víkingaöld. Með gagnrýninni nálgun á heimildir og áherslu á fornleifar verður einblínt á hvernig goðið þróaðist í því umhverfi og hvaða þörfum átrúnaður á Óðin fullnægði. Næst verður leitast við að svara spurningum á borð við "hvenær" tengsl Óðins við stríðsherra Skandinavíu urðu til, "hvar" það virðist helst hafa gerst, og "hvernig" það kann að hafa gerst, með tilliti til þeirra félagslegu og pólitísku þátta sem höfðu áhrif á þá þróun. Um leið mun rannsóknin gera tilraun til að skýra samhengið í sambandi höfðingja og trúar í suður- Skandinavíu fyrir kristnitöku. Að lokum, í ljósi þess að miðaldaheimildir lýsa Óðni oft sem hinum fullkomna einvaldi sem ríkir yfir öðrum goðum sem og jarðneskjum höfðingjum, mun rannsóknin reyna að varpa nýju ljósi á aldirnar á undan og færa fram mynd af fyrri birtingarmynd goðsins sem síðar átti eftir að verða alfǫðr. 3 Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the help and support of so many others that I cannot begin to name them all. I want to thank my advisor, Terry Gunnell, for his wisdom and guidance, and for demanding I dig deeper than I thought I could, reach farther than I thought I could, and for setting the bar so high that I thought I could not reach it, but who then helped me to surpass it. Thank you Arngrímur Vidalín for helping me appear to have eloquent Icelandic. Thank you Mathias Nordvig for the guidance and brainstorm sessions. Liv Aurdal and Luke John Murphy, thank you for putting up with me in those last stages and coming to the rescue when I was in a panic. Lyonel Perabo, thanks for the editting assistance and witty feedback. Thank you Mom and Dad for supporting your son’s bizarre obsessions. Hopefully you find this work interesting. Most of all, there is a special place in my heart for those friends and especially loved ones who understood how much this meant to me, and supported me when I decided to pursue it, even when it meant leaving them. I will be grateful to you forever. 4 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1.1 Óðinn the Allfather……………………………………………………………9 1.1.2 Approaching the Past: Previous Approaches and Perspectives………..11 1.1.3 Thesis Methodology and Objectives…………………………………..14 1.1.4 Thesis Structure……………………………………………………….15 2. Religion and Society in Scandinavia 2.1.1 Defining Religion…………………………………………………………….18 2.1.2 Revealed Religions Versus Ethnic Religions………………………….19 2.2. A Scandinavian Pre-Historical Overview…………………………………..22 2.2.1 The Stone Age ………………………………………………………..22 2.2.2 The Bronze Age ………………………………………………………22 2.2.3 The Roman Iron Age and the Migration and Vendel Periods…………23 2.2.4 Religious Change in the Migration and Vendel Periods………………25 2.2.5 Observing Scandinavian Religious and Social Change……………….26 3. Rulers and Religion: Approaches Past and Present 3.1. Approaches to Rulers and Religion: Introduction…………………………28 3.1.1 The “Sacral Kingship” Theory………………………………………..28 3.1.2 Criticizing “Sacral Kingship” in Scandinavia…………………………31 3.1.3 The Twilight of the “Sacral Kingship” Theory……………………….32 3.2. Towards New Approaches…………………………………………………..34 3.2.1 Central-Place Research………………………………………………..35 3.2.2 The Concept of “Rulership Ideology”………………………………...38 3.2.3 “Religious Ruler Ideology”…………………………………………...40 3.2.4 Religion and Rulership Ideology: Conclusion………………………...42 4. Óðinn and Aristocracy: Past and Present Research 4.1. Óðinn and Aristocracy Research: Introduction……………………………43 4.1.1 Snorri Sturluson: The Foundation……………………………………..43 4.1.2 Jacob Grimm and Óðinn: “The Highest and Supreme”……………….44 4.1.3 Dumézil and Óðinn’s Indo-European Roots…………………………..45 4.1.4 Óðinn as a God of Landless Men and the Männerbunde………………46 4.1.5 Criticizing the Männerbunde………………………………………….48 4.2. Óðinn and Rulership Ideology………………………………………………49 4.2.1 The Aristocratic Warband…………………………………………….49 4.2.2 Valhǫll as the Macrocosmic Hall……………………………………..50 4.2.3 Óðinn and the Warlord………………………………………………..51 4.2.4 Óðinn and Aristocracy Research: Conclusion………………………..53 5. The Rise of Scandinavian Warrior-Aristocracy 5.1. Introduction and Methodology……………………………………………..54 5.1.1 Southern Scandinavia’s Connections to Rome During the Roman Iron Age………………………………………………………56 5.1.2 Southern Scandinavia in the Roman Iron Age………………………..57 5.1.3 Uppåkra in the Roman Iron Age……………………………………...59 5.1.4 Gudme in the Roman Iron Age……………………………………….62 5 5.1.5 Scandinavia in the Roman Iron Age: Conclusion…………………….66 5.2 The Germanic Iron Age……………………………………………………..67 5.2.1 The Rise of the Successor Kingdoms in the Germanic Iron Age……..67 5.2.2 Scandinavia During the Migration and Vendel Periods……………….68 5.2.3 Southern Scandinavia and its Cultural Contacts in the Migration and Vendel Periods…………………………………….70 5.2.4 Scandinavia Consolidation of Power in the Vendel Period……………73 5.2.5 Influences on Scandinavian Production in the Migration and Vendel Periods……………………………………………………74 5.2.6 Southern Influence on Scandinavian Leadership Ideology……………77 5.3. Elite Residencies in Southern Scandinavia in the Germanic Iron Age……79 5.3.1 Uppåkra in the Germanic Iron Age……………………………………80 5.3.2 Gudme in the Germanic Iron Age……………………………………..82 5.3.3 Tissø During the Germanic Iron Age………………………………….83 5.3.4 Lejre During the Germanic Iron Age………………………………….88 5.3.5 Uppsala in the Germanic Iron Age…………………………………….93 5.3.6 Järrestad in the Germanic Iron Age……………………………………98 5.3.7 Toftegård in the Germanic Iron Age…………………………………..99 5.3.8 Helgö and Sorte Muld in the Germanic Iron Age……………………100 5.4. Cult-Houses and Locations at Iron-Age Central Places……………..101 5.4.1 Evidence for Ritual Activity at Uppåkra……………………………..101 5.4.2 Evidence for Ritual Activity at Gudme………………………………105 5.4.3 Evidence for Ritual Activity at Tissø………………………………...107 5.4.4 Evidence for Ritual Activity at Lejre………………………………...112 5.4.5 Evidence for Ritual Activity at Järrestad…………………………….113 5.4.6 The Emerging Warrior Aristocracy of Southern Scandinavia: Conclusion…………………………………..114 6. The Evidence for Óðinn-Worship 6.1. Introduction and Methodology…………………………………………….116 6.1.1 Uþin, Wodan, and Godan: The Earliest Dateable References to Óðinn………………………….118 6.1.2 More Problematic Evidence for Óðinn in Anglo-Saxon Christian Works…………………………………….124 6.2. The Place-Name Evidence for Óðinn…………………………………...…128 6.2.1 The Trustworthiness of Mapping…………………………………….129 6.2.2 The Theophoric Place-Name Evidence Relating to Óðinn: Maps……131 6.2.3 Theophoric Place-Names in Scandinavia: Results…………………...133 6.2.4 The Óðinn Place-Names: Conclusion………………………………..134 6.3. Research into the Iconography of Óðinn………………………………….135 6.3.1 Bird-Headed Terminals and Horned Figures………………………...136 6.3.2 One-Eyed Figures……………………………………………………145 6.3.2.a One-Eyed Figures with Horns or Birds’ Heads………………145 6.3.2.b One-Eyed Figures without Horns……………………………146 6.3.2.c One-Eyed Masks……………………………………………..147 6.4. Evidence for the Worship of Óðinn in the Migration and Vendel Periods: Conclusion…………………………………………………149 6 7. Conclusions 7.1.1 Thesis Summary……………………………………………………154 7.1.2 Óðinn’s Southern Roots…………………………………………...…155 7.1.3 The Role of Óðinn………………………………………………...…157 7.1.4 Óðinn’s Continuity and Change………………………………..……159 7.1.5 Ascending the Steps to Hliðskjálf……………………………………161 7 List of figures and maps Figure 1. Silver figure from Lejre………………………………………………………….92 Figure 2. A simplified map of the seventh-century complex at Uppsala………………….97 Figure 3. Four phases of the hall and cult-house at the second complex at Tissø………..111 Figure 4. Some pendants from the hall/cult-house complex at Tissø…………………….111 Figure 5. The Nordendorf brooch inscription……………………………………………123 Figure 6. The inscription on the skull fragment from Ribe………………………………123 Figure 7. An example from Subgroup 1: The “Torslunda Dancer”………………………140 Figure 8. An example from Subgroup 1: “Twin Warriors” on the Sutton Hoo Helmet plate………………………………………………………………….140 Figure 9.