Dutch mythology The mythology of the modern-day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg has its roots in the mythologies of pre-Christian (e.g. Gaulish (Gallo-Roman) and Germanic) cultures, predating the region's Christianization under the influence of the Franks in ...

and

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

s, the Witte Wieven (also known as Wittewijven) are spirits of " wise women" (or else elven beings). The mythology dates back at least to the pre-Christian era (7th century) and was known in the present-day regions of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and parts of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In some places they were known as ''Juffers'' or ''Joffers'' ("ladies"), or as '' Dames Blanches'' (White Ladies) in French.

Origins

''Witte wieven'' in modern

Dutch Low Saxon Dutch Low Saxon ( or ''Nederlaands Nedersaksies''; nl, Nederlands Nedersaksisch) are the Low Saxon dialects of the Low German language that are spoken in the northeastern Netherlands and are written there with local, unstandardised orthographi ...

literally translates to "white women", but originally meant "wise women". "Wit" or "witte" meant wise in a way similar to the English "witty". Witte wieven is still often translated to "white woman", as the words come from the same roots. The association of wise women with the color white was either an accidental translation error, or a symbolic color association for wisdom (sources differ). Historically, the witte wieven are thought to be wise female

herbalist Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

s and medicine healers who took care of people's physical and mental ailments. It was said they had the talent for

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

and looking into the future. They had a high status in the communities, and so when they died ceremonies were held at their grave sites to honour them. According to

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, their spirits remained on earth, and they became living spirits (or elven beings) that either helped or hindered people who encountered them. They tended to reside in the burial sites or other sacred places. It was thought that mist on a gravehill was the spirit of the wise woman appearing, and people would bring them offerings and ask for help. While many scholars believe Witte Wieven originated as above from honoring graves of wise women, others think the mythology of witte wieven come from part of the Germanic belief in

disen Disen is a neighborhood divided between the boroughs of Bjerke and Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway. Disen was originally a manor south of Grefsenåsen. The name stems from dís in Norse mythology. Disen farm was parceled out as a residential area f ...

, land wights, and/or

alven An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "l ...

(Dutch for "elf") for several reasons: The practice of bringing offerings and asking for help from their graves is very similar to honoring disen, land wights and alfen 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 ...

. In addition, in some localities the mythological witte wieven were described directly as "Alfen" or "Alven".

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He is known as the discoverer of Grimm's law of linguistics, the co-author of th ...

mentioned them in the ''Deutsche Mythologie'' (1835) as the Dutch variant of the German

Weiße Frauen In German folklore, the Weiße Frauen (meaning White Women) are elven-like spirits that may have derived from Germanic paganism in the form of legends of light elves (Old Norse: ''Ljósálfar''). The Dutch Witte Wieven went at least as far back ...

: "The people of Friesland, Drenthe and the Netherlands have just as much to tell of their ''witten wijven'' or ''juffers'' in hills and caverns ... though here they get mixed up with elvish personages."

Characterization

At first, early

medieval literature Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...

described the witte wieven more like pranksters and pests. Later Christian teaching transformed the idea of a "witte wieven" into ''mistflarden'' (wisps of mist or fog): ghost witches — recharacterized as evil and to be avoided. In certain legends "Alvinne" was a ghost in a white cloak.

Legacy

The following places were named after witte wieven, and report witte wieven legends: In the Netherlands: * Near the Village of

Eefde Eefde is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Lochem, about 3 km northeast of the city of Zutphen.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topografische Dienst and ANWB, 2005. Overview It was f ...

is ''Wittewievenbult'': this translates as "White Women Hill". Local legend holds that White Women appear on Christmas Eve every year and dance on this hill. * Near the Village of

Barchem Barchem is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland, located in the municipality Lochem, about 15 km east of the city of Zutphen. It was first mentioned in 1474 as Borchem, and means "settlement on/near a hill". It used to be a little ag ...

is ''Wittewijvenkuil'': this translates as "White Women Pit". It is a pit between two local hills. Local legend holds that three white women lived there."Heathen History of Achterhoek": 2002.

Notes

Sources

* Grimm, Jacob (1835). ''Deutsche Mythologie'' (German Mythology); From English released version ''Grimm's Teutonic Mythology'' (1888); Available online by Northvegr © 2004-2007, Chapter 32, pag
3
* Reginheim

Files retrieved 02-24-2007 * Reginheim

(in English) File retrieved 03-08-2007.

External links