In
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...
, Baduhenna is a goddess. Baduhenna is solely attested in
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his t ...
's ''
Annals
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
'' where Tacitus records that a
sacred grove
Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...
in ancient
Frisia
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...
was dedicated to her, and that near this grove 900 Roman soldiers were killed in 28
CE. Scholars have analyzed the name of the goddess and linked the figure to the Germanic
Matres and Matronae
The Matres (Latin for "mothers") and Matronae (Latin for "matrons") were female deities venerated in Northwestern Europe, of whom relics are found dating from the first to the fifth century AD. They are depicted on votive offerings and altars th ...
.
Etymology
The first element of the goddess's name, ''Badu-'', may be cognate to
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
''*badwa-'' meaning "battle." The second portion of the name ''-henna'' appears as ''-henae'' in the names of
matrons, Germanic goddesses widely attested from the 1st to 5th century CE on votive stones and votive altars.
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German studies, German and Scandinavian studies, Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in G ...
states that the goddess's name etymology implies that the goddess is associated with war, and Simek points out that sacred groves are commonly associated with the
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
.
[Simek (2007:26).]
Attestation
Baduhenna is solely attested in book 4, chapter 73 of Tacitus's ''Annals''. In chapters 73 and 74 of ''Annals'', Tacitus describes the defeat of the Roman army in ancient Frisia:
See also
*
"Isis" of the Suebi, a Germanic goddess mentioned by Tacitus in his ''Germania''
*
Nerthus
In Germanic paganism, Nerthus is a goddess associated with a ceremonial wagon procession. Nerthus is attested by first century AD Roman historian Tacitus in his ethnographic work ''Germania''.
In ''Germania'', Tacitus records that a group of Germ ...
, a Germanic goddess mentioned by Tacitus in his ''Germania''
*
Regnator omnium deus
In Tacitus' work ''Germania'' from the year 98, ''regnator omnium deus'' (''god, ruler of all'') was a deity worshipped by the Semnones tribe in a sacred grove. Comparisons have been made between this reference and the poem '' Helgakviða Hundingsb ...
, a Germanic god mentioned by Tacitus in his ''Germania''
*
Tamfana In Germanic paganism, Tamfana is a goddess. The destruction of a temple dedicated to the goddess is recorded by Roman senator Tacitus to have occurred during a massacre of the Germanic Marsi by forces led by Roman general Germanicus. Scholars have ...
, a Germanic goddess mentioned by Tacitus in his ''Annals''
Notes
References
* Church, Alfred John. Brodribb, William Jackson (Trans.) (1876). ''Annals of Tacitus''. MacMillan and Co.
* Frost, Percival (1872). ''The Annals of Tacitus''. Whittaker & Co.
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''.
D.S. Brewer.
{{Germanic peoples
Germanic goddesses
Trees in Germanic paganism
Germanic deities