Germanic mythology Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic lang ...

, Seaxnēat (pronounced ) or Saxnōt was the national god of the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Attestation

The

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

form ''Seaxnēat'' is recorded in the genealogies of the kings of Essex. The

Old Saxon Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Europe). I ...

form ''Saxnōt'' is attested in the ''

Old Saxon Baptismal Vow The ''Old Saxon Baptismal Vow'', also called the ''Old Saxon Catechism'', ''Utrecht Baptismal Vow'' and ''Abrenuntiatio Diaboli'', is a baptismal vow that was found in a ninth-century manuscript in a monastery library in Mainz, Germany. The vow ...

'' along with the gods ''Uuoden'' (Woden) and '' Thunaer'' (Thor). The genealogy of the kings of Essex originally placed Seaxnēat at its apex. It was subsequently modified to make Seaxnēat son of

Woden Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victor ...

, with the first king of Essex seven generations later: :Woden, Seaxnēat, Gesecg, Andsecg, Swaeppa, Sigefugel, Bedca, Offa, Æscwine (r. c. 527-587)

Etymology

The name is usually derived from "

seax ''Seax'' (; also sax, sæx, sex; invariant in plural, latinized ''sachsum'') is an Old English word for "knife". In modern archaeology, the term ''seax'' is used specifically for a type of small sword, knife or dagger typical of the Germanic pe ...

", the eponymous knife which was characteristic of the tribe, and ''(ge)-not'', ''(ge)-nēat'' as "companion" (cognate with German ''Genosse'' "comrade"), resulting in a translation of "sword-companion" (''gladii consors, ensifer''). This interpretation of the name is due to

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 t ...

, who identified Saxnot with the god Tiw (Zio). Grimm's view is more recently endorsed by Chaney (1970), but Simek (2007:276) prefers an identification with Fro, following

Gabriel Turville-Petre Edward Oswald Gabriel Turville-Petre (25 March 1908 – 17 February 1978) was an English philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies. Born at Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire to a prominent Roman Catholic family, Turville-Petre was edu ...

(and invoking

Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...

trifunctional hypothesis The trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society postulates a tripartite ideology ("''idéologie tripartite''") reflected in the existence of three classes or castes— priests, warriors, and commoners (farmers or trades ...

). Swiss linguist Heinrich Wagner ( de) proposed that the second element of his name is cognate to Celtic deity

Nodens *''Nodens'' or *''Nodons'' ( reconstructed from the dative ''Nodenti'' or ''Nodonti'') is a Celtic healing god worshipped in Ancient Britain. Although no physical depiction of him has survived, votive plaques found in a shrine at Lydney Park ...

, both from a root meaning 'to get, make use of'.

Parallels

Heinrich Wagner also saw mythological parallels between Saxnot and its proposed cognate Nodens (and Nuada): the word ''sax'' may refer to a shortsword, whereas Nuada is the bearer of a flashing sword in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

; deity Saxnot is revered as the ancestor of the Saxons, while Nuada is "progenitor ''par excellance''".Wagner, Heinrich. "Zur Etymologie von keltisch ''Nodons'', Ir. ''Nuadu'', Kymr. ''Nudd/Lludd''". In: ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' 41, no. 1 (1986): 180-182. https://doi.org/10.1515/zcph.1986.41.1.180

Notes

References

* * Philippson, E. A.(1929). ''Germanisches Heidentum bei den Angelsachsen''. Leipzig. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall.
Dictionary of Northern Mythology
'. D.S. Brewer Anglo-Saxon gods Germanic gods {{europe-myth-stub

Attestation

Etymology

Parallels

See also

Notes

References