Nerthus
From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project
Nerthus is an ancient Germanic Mother Goddess. Tacitus(Roman Historian, 1st-2nd century CE) refers to her as Mother Earth, (Terra Mater ) and says she was worshipped by seven Germanic tribes (the Reudigni, the Auiones, the Angli, the Varni, the Eudoses, the Suarines, and Nuithones.) He also relates that her worship centered on a temple in a sacred grove on an island in the Baltic Sea. [1]
“None of these tribes have any noteworthy feature, except their common worship of Ertha (Nerthus/Nerhum), or mother-Earth, and their belief that she interposes in human affairs, and visits the nations in her car. In an island of the ocean there is a sacred grove, and within it a consecrated chariot, covered over with a garment. Only one priest is permitted to touch it. He can perceive the presence of the goddess in this sacred recess, and walks by her side with the utmost reverence as she is drawn along by heifers. It is a season of rejoicing, and festivity reigns wherever she deigns to go and be received. They do not go to battle or wear arms; every weapon is under lock; peace and quiet are known and welcomed only at these times, till the goddess, weary of human intercourse, is at length restored by the same priest to her temple. Afterwards the car, the vestments, and, if you like to believe it, the divinity herself, are purified in a secret lake. Slaves perform the rite, who are instantly swallowed up by its waters. Hence arises a mysterious terror and a pious ignorance concerning the nature of that which is seen only by men doomed to die. [2]”
The actual Germanic name of the goddess in Tacitus's time might have been *Nerþuz. It is closely related to that of Njord (Njörðr), one of the Vanir and a god of the sea in Norse mythology. The name of Nerthus appears in some old Scandinavian place names, dating from the end of the Nordic Bronze Age to the beginning of the Iron Age but seldom from the more recent part of the Iron Age (Viking Age). The same is true for the male god Ullr (meaning glory or radiance), who is likely one of the Vanir like Njord, and also for the giantess Skaði, the consort of Njord. Rather the opposite is true for names of the Æsir. The place names containing references to these deities commonly have endings indicating places of worship, such as -lund (grove, e.g. Närlunda), -tun (enclosed place, e.g. Närtuna) or -vi (horgr, e.g. Ullevi).
During the centuries that passed between Tacitus's description and the Eddas, there are no remaining records of the role of Nerthus in early Germanic mythology, and thus her role and persona can only be studied in speculation and extrapolation from ancient sources.
References
1. Encyclopedia Britannica 32nd. Volume
2. The Works of Tacitus, tr. by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb [1864-1877]
