The Gold Horns: the Life and Religion of the Anglo- Saxons
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The Gold Horns: The Life and Religion of the Anglo- Saxons Finn Rasmussen 2018 1 The image on the cover (figure 1) is a reconstruction of the two gold horns of Gallehus based on drawings. This book is aimed at students and graduates of History and Archaeology. In particular, those interested in the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons. It provides an original analysis of archaeological finds and documentation of the Anglo-Saxon religion. The book does not presuppose historical knowledge, so it can be read by anybody interested in English heritage. The mysterious figures on the famous Gold Horns unveil how life was viewed among the heathen Angles. The two Gold Horns are the most precious find from Danish antiquity because the pictures on the horns offer a substantial explanation of the pre-Christian religion of the Germanic tribes. The Gold Horns were sacrificed and buried by a group of Angles shortly before they migrated to England. The migration of the different Angle tribes from southern Jutland can be traced to different parts of England. The Angles brought their view of life with them and this can be observed in finds from the heathen Anglo-Saxons. The most important of these finds – the Sutton Hoo ship burial, Franks Casket, the square-headed brooches, idols, amulets, funeral ceramics and drinking vessels – are described in the book as is a most remarkable invention of the Angles: runes and how the runic alphabet reveals the Germanic outlook on life. 2 Contents Introduction 5 The Find 8 Use of Drinking Horns 10 Runic Inscription 16 Migration of the Angles 21 Ellem Syssel 28 Istathe Syssel 35 The Geats 43 The Wulfings 53 Barwith Syssel 60 Origin of the Angles 68 Angles in England 74 Social stratification 79 The Sutton Hoo ship-burial 88 The Saxons 95 The East Saxons 101 The Saxon Emigration 111 The Jutes 122 The Aesir Gods 130 The long horn 143 The Double Snake 147 The Worker 153 The Ruler 155 The Welcome Symbol 158 The Dead Soul 163 The Origin of the Long Horn 157 3 The Short Horn 173 Tiw 175 Deer and Dogs 181 Serpent 184 Mother of Life 186 The Twin Gods 192 The Two Warriors 197 Stamps 203 The Runic Alphabet 207 The Human Life Cycle 212 The Germanic Calendar 219 The Myth of the Divine Twins 225 Germanic Gods 228 Germanic gods of prosperity 235 Frey and Njord 246 The Origin of Religion 253 What happened to the Divine Twins? 260 Figures 266 Bibliography 271 4 Introduction The two golden horns from Gallehus are one of the most precious finds from Danish antiquity. They are decorated with hundreds of mysterious figures and symbols, which provide unique information on Germanic religion and social life. They also throw light on the mysterious origin of the runic alphabet. The Golden Horns were the catalyst for me beginning my study of Germanic religion. Ever since the Gold Horns of Gallehus appeared, there have been hundreds of different explanations offered for the figures and symbols on the horns. Some have tried to find connections to Christianity. However, this theory was short- lived as the horns were buried about AD 420 and, at that time, Christianity was not known to the Germanic tribes. Another theory saw a connection to Old Norse mythology, but this theory also fell short as the gods, Thor and Odin, from Norse mythology were not worshipped in Jutland until the Viking Age, AD 750-1050. Fifty years ago, historians of religion stated that the Gold Horns had pictures of the Divine Twins (Ward 1968), which would mean that some Germanic tribes worshipped these gods. However, no examination of the many symbols of the horns was carried out. Moreover, no thorough study has been made to date of the many picture symbols on finds from the Germanic culture. The exceptional runic inscription on the short horn and other circumstances surrounding the finding of the horns makes it probable that the horns were sacrificed and buried when a group of Angles migrated from southern Jutland to England. This idea led me to the study of the mass migration of Angles 5 from southern Jutland to England. The Old English poem, Beowulf, provides an excellent description of the situation in southern Jutland around AD 500. With the help of this and other sources, it is possible to identify different ethnic groups in southern Jutland and follow their migration routes. The first half of this book is a description of the cultural and social life of the Germanic peoples before they left the Continent and after they invaded England. We now call the Germanic settlers in England Anglo-Saxons, but it is important to note that “Angles” and “Saxons” are not in themselves names of ethnic groups, rather the two terms were how contemporary British monks described the Germanic invaders. Thus, also included in the first part of the book is an original analysis of the archaeological finds and documentation of the Anglo-Saxon settlement. This is then followed by a description of the religious ideas of the Germanic tribes. We will see that these ideas were very much the same for all Germanic peoples, including the Anglo- Saxons. Their religious ideas were based on three key gods, who will be described with documented analysis from the picture symbols on archaeological finds. What makes the interpretation of the horns difficult is the fact that there are no written testimonies from the Germanic tribes themselves. When studying prehistoric symbols, the approach is often to observe the context of the symbol and then compare that symbol with similar symbols from other finds. I have used this method for the hundreds of symbols on the Gold Horns and published the result (Rasmussen 1990). This book expands on those results, but I do not go into detail on all the symbols. Instead, I concentrate on explaining the general ideas and story of the horns. The period AD 1-400 is known as the Roman Iron Age and 6 the period AD 400-750, the Germanic Iron Age in Denmark. I will use the term “Germanic Age” for the entire period and the term “Germanics” for all the tribes in Europe who spoke a Germanic language as the modern term, “Germans” would be misleading. In Germanic tribal society, social status was based on lineage. The chieftain or the king did not have a strong power base. In the later Germanic Age, the core power of the king increased. This change in the social system was accompanied by two new religions: Christianity in England and the Old Norse mythology in the Nordic countries. I would like to thank my daughter Ulla Rasmussen for reading and correcting the manuscript. I also thank editor Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov for revising the manuscript from an archaeological point of view. 7 The Find Rarely has any other historic Danish find evoked so much excitement in the minds of both researchers and ordinary people as the Gold Horns. The horns were found in a field in the village Gallehus in southern Jutland. The story of their find has almost become folklore. One day, in the summer of 1639, a poor orphan lace maker was walking to town in order to sell her lace when she tumbled over the longer horn, which was protruding from the path. She stooped to examine what she had mistaken for a tree root. The horn eventually reached the lawful owner of all treasure: the king, Christian IV. The girl was rewarded with a new skirt. The king had the narrow end of the horn plugged with a screw plug, and gifted it to his eldest son as a drinking horn. In 1641, a drawing of the horn was made by Ole Worm (Olaus Wormius), personal physician to Christian IV. Ole Worm was not only a professor of anatomy and a very skilled artist, particularly of antiquities, he is also considered the father of Archaeology in Denmark. Ole Worm’s sketch is the only known documentation of the decoration on the long horn. A hundred years later, when digging for clay to daub his cottage, a small farmer from Gallehus found the shorter horn, only a few paces from where the first one had been found, but a couple of spits deeper. This horn was shorter as only the broad part had been preserved, but it was broader and had almost the same weight as the longer horn (3 kg). Three independent drawings of the shorter horn are in existence. The Gold Horns suffered a sad fate. In 1802, they were stolen from a royal cabinet by an impoverished goldsmith and forger, who smashed them and melted them down at once. 8 They are now only known from drawings and measurements. Nevertheless, the Gold Horns are an integral part of Danish national heritage. Almost every Dane has heard of them. They represent the treasures that can be found buried in Danish soil and are messages from a fantastic, mysterious and glorious past. Adam Oehlenschläger who wrote the Danish national anthem, also wrote a poem entitled “The Gold Horns" just after the horns were stolen. He describes the horns as being gifts from the Gods of Nature to those people, Who perceive the High In Nature’s Eye Later in the poem are the lines: Then sounds in mould The ancient gold And yet people perceived the horns only for their curiosity and gold value. The Gods of Nature give up trying to enlighten those people, and the poem ends: The truthful moment now has come, The sacred gift forever gone.