Editing Germanic peoples (section)

==Religion==
===Germanic paganism===
{{Main|Germanic paganism|Proto-Germanic folklore|Germanic mythology|List of Germanic deities}}
[[File:MUFT - Oberdorla Götter 2.jpg|thumb|Wooden idols from [[Opfermoor Vogtei|Oberdorla moor]], modern [[Thuringia]]. The idols were found in context with animal bones and other evidence of sacrificial rites.{{sfn|Steuer|2021|pp=641–642}}|303x303px]]
Germanic paganism refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic-speaking peoples.{{sfn|Hultgård|2010|p=863}} It did not form a uniform religious system across Germanic-speaking Europe, but varied from place to place, people to people, and time to time. In many contact areas (e.g. [[Rhineland]] and eastern and northern Scandinavia), it was similar to neighboring religions such as those of the [[Slavs]], [[Celts]], and [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic peoples]].{{sfn|Hultgård|2010|pp=865–866}} The term is sometimes applied as early as the [[Stone Age]], [[Bronze Age]], or the earlier [[Iron Age]], but it is more generally restricted to the time period after the Germanic languages had become distinct from other Indo-European languages. From the first reports in Roman sources to the final conversion to Christianity, Germanic paganism thus covers a period of around one thousand years.{{sfn|Hultgård|2010|pp=866–867}} Scholars are divided as to the degree of continuity between the religious practices of the earlier Germanic peoples and those attested in later [[Norse paganism]] and elsewhere: while some scholars argue that Tacitus, early medieval sources, and the Norse sources indicate religious continuity, other scholars are highly skeptical of such arguments.{{sfn|Schjødt|2020|p=265}}

Like their neighbors and other historically related peoples, the ancient Germanic peoples [[List of Germanic deities|venerated numerous indigenous deities]]. These deities are attested throughout literature authored by or written about Germanic-speaking peoples, including [[runic inscriptions]], contemporary written accounts, and in folklore after Christianization. As an example, the second of the two [[Merseburg charms]] (two [[Old High German]] examples of [[alliterative verse]] from a manuscript dated to the ninth century) mentions six deities: [[Odin|Woden]], [[Baldr|Balder]], [[Sinthgunt]], [[Sól (Germanic mythology)|Sunna]], [[Frigg|Frija]], and [[Fulla|Volla]].<ref>For general discussion regarding the Merseburg Charms, see for example {{harvnb|Lindow|2001||pp=227–28}} and {{harvnb|Simek|1993|pp=84, 278–279}}.</ref>

With the exception of ''Sinthgunt'', proposed [[cognate]]s to these deities occur in other Germanic languages, such as [[Old English]] and [[Old Norse]]. By way of the [[comparative method]], [[philology|philologists]] are then able to reconstruct and propose early Germanic forms of these names from early [[Germanic mythology]]. Compare the following table:

{| class="wikitable"
!Old High German
!Old Norse
!Old English
!Proto-Germanic reconstruction
!Notes
|-
|''Wuotan''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=469}}
|''Óðinn''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=469}}
|''Wōden''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=469}}
|*''Wōđanaz''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=469}}
|A deity similarly associated with healing magic in the Old English ''[[Nine Herbs Charm]]'' and particular forms of magic throughout the Old Norse record. This deity is strongly associated with extensions of *''Frijjō'' (see below).
|-
|''Balder''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=33}}
|''Baldr''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=33}}
|''Bældæg''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=33}}
|*''Balđraz''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=33}}
|In Old Norse texts, where the only description of the deity occurs, Baldr is a son of the god Odin and is associated with beauty and light.
|-
|''Sunne''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|pp=361, 385, 387}}
|''Sól''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|pp=361, 385, 387}}
|''Sigel''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|pp=361, 385, 387}}
|*''Sowelō'' ~ *''Sōel''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=385}}{{Sfn|Magnússon|1989|pp=463–464}}
|A theonym identical to the proper noun 'Sun'. A goddess and the personified Sun.
|-
|''Volla''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=118}}
|''Fulla''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=118}}
|Unattested
|*''Fullōn''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=118}}
|A goddess associated with extensions of the goddess *''Frijjō'' (see below). The Old Norse record refers to Fulla as a servant of the goddess Frigg, while the second Merseburg Charm refers to Volla as Friia's sister.
|-
|''Friia''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=114}}
|''Frigg''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=114}}
|''Frīg''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=114}}
|*''Frijjō''{{sfn|Orel|2003|p=114}}
|Associated with the goddess Volla/Fulla in both the Old High German and Old Norse records, this goddess is also strongly associated with the god Odin (see above) in both the Old Norse and Langobardic records.
|}

The structure of the magic formula in this charm has a long history prior to this attestation: it is first known to have occurred in [[Vedic India]], where it occurs in the [[Atharvaveda]], dated to around 500&nbsp;BCE.<ref>The Atharveda charm is specifically charm 12 of book four of the Atharveda. See discussion in for example {{harvnb|Storms|2013|pp=107–112}}.</ref> Numerous other beings common to various groups of ancient Germanic peoples receive mention throughout the ancient Germanic record. One such type of entity, a variety of supernatural women, is also mentioned in the first of the two Merseburg Charms:

{| class="wikitable"
!Old High German
!Old Norse
!Old English
!Proto-Germanic reconstruction
!Notes
|-
|''itis''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=72}}
|''dís''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=72}}
|''ides''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=72}}
|*''đīsō''{{Sfn|Orel|2003|p=72}}
|A type of goddess-like supernatural entity. The West Germanic forms present some linguistic difficulties but the North Germanic and West Germanic forms are used explicitly as cognates (compare Old English ''ides Scildinga'' and Old Norse ''dís Skjǫldunga'').{{Sfn|Kroonen|2013|pp=96, 114–115}}
|}

Other widely attested entities from the North and West Germanic folklore include [[elf|elves]], [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarf]]s, and the [[mare (folklore)|mare]]. (For more discussion on these entities, see [[Proto-Germanic folklore]].)

The great majority of material describing Germanic mythology stems from the North Germanic record. The body of myths among the North Germanic-speaking peoples is known today as [[Norse mythology]] and is attested in numerous works, the most expansive of which are the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' and the ''[[Prose Edda]]''. While these texts were composed in the 13th century, they frequently quote genres of traditional alliterative verse known today as ''[[Poetic Edda|eddic poetry]]'' and ''[[Skald#Skaldic poetry|skaldic poetry]]'' dating to the pre-Christian period.<ref>For a concise overview of sources on Germanic mythology, see {{harvnb|Simek|1993|pp=298–300}}.</ref>

[[File:Inscription on Golden horn of Gallehus.jpg|thumb|An image of a museum reproduction of one of the two golden horns of Gallehus, found in Denmark and dating to the early fifth century. Composed in Proto-Norse, the Elder Futhark inscription on the horn features the earliest known generally accepted example of Germanic alliterative verse.]]

West Germanic mythology (that of speakers of, e.g., Old English and Old High German) is comparatively poorly attested. Notable texts include the [[Old Saxon Baptismal Vow]] and the Old English [[Nine Herbs Charm]]. While most extant references are simply to deity names, some narratives do survive into the present, such as the Lombard origin myth, which details a tradition among the [[Lombards]] that features the deities Frea (cognate with Old Norse {{Lang|non|Frigg}}) and Godan (cognate with Old Norse {{Lang|non|Óðinn}}). Attested in the 7th-century ''[[Origo Gentis Langobardorum]]'' and the 8th-century ''[[Historia Langobardorum]]'' from the [[Italian Peninsula]], the narrative strongly corresponds in numerous ways with the prose introduction to the eddic poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'', recorded in 13th-century Iceland.{{sfn|Simek|1993|pp=298–300}}<ref>On the correspondences between the prose introduction to ''Grímnismál'' and the Langobardic origin myth, see for example {{harvnb|Lindow|2001|p=129}}.</ref>

Very few texts make up the corpus of Gothic and other East Germanic languages, and East Germanic paganism and its associated mythic body is especially poorly attested. Notable topics that provide insight into the matter of East Germanic paganism include the [[Ring of Pietroassa]], which appears to be a cult object (see also [[Gothic runic inscriptions]]), and the mention of the Gothic {{Lang|got|Anses}} (cognate with Old Norse ''[[Æsir]]'' '(pagan) gods') by [[Jordanes]].<ref>Regarding the Ring of Pietroassa, see for example discussion in {{harvnb|MacLeod|Mees|2006|pp=173–174}}. On Gothic ''Anses'', see for example {{harvnb|Orel|2003|p=21}}.</ref>

Practices associated with the religion of the ancient Germanic peoples see fewer attestations. However, elements of religious practices are discernable throughout the textual record associated with the ancient Germanic peoples, including [[Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology|a focus on sacred groves and trees]], the presence of [[Seeress (Germanic)|seeresses]], and [[Proto-Germanic folklore#Other|numerous vocabulary items]]. The archaeological record has yielded a variety of depictions of deities, a number of them associated with depictions of the ancient Germanic peoples (see [[Anthropomorphic wooden cult figurines of Central and Northern Europe]]). Notable from the Roman period are the [[Matres and Matronae]], some having Germanic names, to whom devotional altars were set up in regions of Germania, Eastern Gaul, and Northern Italy (with a small distribution elsewhere) that were occupied by the Roman army from the first to the fifth century.{{sfn|Simek|1993|pp=204–205}}

Germanic mythology and religious practice is of particular interest to Indo-Europeanists, scholars who seek to identify aspects of ancient Germanic culture—both in terms of linguistic correspondence and by way of [[Motif-Index of Folk-Literature#Terminology|motifs]]—stemming from [[Proto-Indo-European culture]], including [[Proto-Indo-European mythology]]. The primordial being Ymir, attested solely in Old Norse sources, makes for a commonly cited example. In Old Norse texts, the death of this entity results in creation of the cosmos, a complex of motifs that finds strong correspondence elsewhere in the Indo-European sphere, notably in [[Vedic mythology]].<ref>See discussion in for example {{harvnb|Puhvel|1989|pp=189–221}} and {{harvnb|Witzel| 2017|pp=365–369}}.</ref>

===Conversion to Christianity===
{{main|Christianisation of the Germanic peoples}}
[[File:Wulfila bibel.jpg|thumb|235px|Page from the {{lang|la|[[Codex Argenteus]]}} containing the [[Gothic Bible]] translated by [[Wulfila]]]]
Germanic peoples began entering the Roman Empire in large numbers at the same time that [[Christianity]] was spreading there,{{sfn|Cusack|1998|p=35}} and this connection was a major factor encouraging conversion.{{sfn|Düwel|2010a|p=356}} The East Germanic peoples, the Langobards, and the Suevi in Spain converted to [[Arianism|Arian Christianity]],{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|p=350}} a form of Christianity that believed that God the Father was superior to God the Son.{{sfn|Düwel|2010a|p=802}} The first Germanic people to convert to Arianism were the Visigoths, at the latest in 376 when they entered the Roman Empire. This followed a longer period of missionary work by both [[Nicene Creed|Orthodox]] Christians and Arians, such as the Arian [[Wulfila]], who was made missionary bishop of the Goths in 341 and translated the [[Gothic Bible|Bible into Gothic]].{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|pp=350–353}} The Arian Germanic peoples all eventually converted to Nicene Christianity, which had become the dominant form of Christianity within the Roman Empire; the last to convert were the Visigoths in Spain under their king [[Reccared]] in 587.{{sfn|Cusack|1998|pp=50–51}}

The areas of the Roman Empire conquered by the Franks, [[Alemanni]], and [[Baiuvarii]] were mostly Christian already, but it appears that Christianity declined there.{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|pp=360–362}} In 496, the Frankish king [[Clovis I]] converted to Nicene Christianity. This began a period of missionizing within Frankish territory.{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|pp=362–364}} The Anglo-Saxons gradually converted following a mission sent by Pope [[Gregory the Great]] in 595.{{sfn|Stenton|1971|pp=104–128}} In the 7th century, Frankish-supported missionary activity spread out of Gaul, led by figures of the [[Anglo-Saxon mission]] such as [[Saint Boniface]].{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|pp=364–371}} The Saxons initially rejected Christianization,{{sfn|Padberg|2010|p=588}} but were eventually forcibly converted by [[Charlemagne]] as a result of their conquest in the [[Saxon Wars]] in 776/777.{{sfn|Padberg|2010|pp=588–589}}

While attempts to convert the Scandinavian peoples began in 831, they were mostly unsuccessful until the 10th and 11th centuries.{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|pp=389–391}} The last Germanic people to convert were the Swedes, although the [[Geats]] had converted earlier. The pagan [[Temple at Uppsala]] seems to have continued to exist into the early 1100s.{{sfn|Schäferdiek|Gschwantler|2010|pp=401–404}}