Anglo-Saxons had same gods as Vikings

[Jersay]

Anglo-Saxon religion
Main article: Anglo-Saxon mythology
The indigenous pre-Christian belief system of the Anglo-Saxons was a form of Germanic paganism and therefore closely related to Norse mythology, as well as other Germanic pre-Christian cultures.

Christianity (both Celtic and Roman) replaced the indigenous religion of the Saxons in England around the 8th and 9th centuries AD. The Synod of Whitby settled the choice for Roman Christianity. As the new clerics became the chroniclers, the old religion was systematically lost before it was recorded and today our knowledge of it is largely based on surviving texts, etymological links and archaeological finds.

One of the few recorded references is that a Kentish King would only meet the missionary St. Augustine in the open air, where he would be under the protection of the sky god, Woden. Written Christian prohibitions on acts of paganism are one of our main sources of information on pre-Christian beliefs.

Remnants of the Anglo-Saxon gods remain in the English language names for days of the week:

Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Tyr, the god of war: Tuesday
Woden, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Odin, the one-eyed wise god of storms and the dead: Wednesday
Þunor, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Thor, the thunder god: Thursday
Frige, the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of Freya, the love-goddess: Friday

Wikipedia is where to find it.

Damn you Anglo-Saxon buggers. But this really enforces that the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons were the same peopel and possibly the Celts as well. Just from different Areas.

 

[Jersay]

So this is the idea I am formulating.

The Vikings are the same people as the Anglo-Saxons, however they are from Scandanavia and a bit of Northern Germany, roughly, so they have similarities and differences. Then there were the Franks, either further north of the Vikings or a bit to the south. Then the Anglo-Saxons and a few other groups as well.

All in the Germanic area. Or what would be Germany and Central Europe now. Some similarities like Gods and such but a few differences in their location that made them different as well.

 

[ironaxe]

So this is the idea I am formulating.

The Vikings are the same people as the Anglo-Saxons, however they are from Scandanavia and a bit of Northern Germany, roughly, so they have similarities and differences. Then there were the Franks, either further north of the Vikings or a bit to the south. Then the Anglo-Saxons and a few other groups as well.

All in the Germanic area. Or what would be Germany and Central Europe now. Some similarities like Gods and such but a few differences in their location that made them different as well.

Feasible I suppose. I once read that the nearest language to modern English(maybe more northern?) is a certain Norse dialect! Clearly from the Viking struggles and settlements.

 

[Jersay]

Well the Anglo Saxons, were from what is Germany. The Vikings came from Northern germany and Scandanavia and the Celts as well as the Franks and other Germanic people were in Scandanavia and in Central Europe and Germany and in different time periods moved to the Isles.

 

[Jersay]

So this is the idea I am formulating.

The Vikings are the same people as the Anglo-Saxons, however they are from Scandanavia and a bit of Northern Germany, roughly, so they have similarities and differences. Then there were the Franks, either further north of the Vikings or a bit to the south. Then the Anglo-Saxons and a few other groups as well.

All in the Germanic area. Or what would be Germany and Central Europe now. Some similarities like Gods and such but a few differences in their location that made them different as well.

Feasible I suppose. I once read that the nearest language to modern English(maybe more northern?) is a certain Norse dialect! Clearly from the Viking struggles and settlements.

Possible or they already had very similar languages to begin with. Because in one of the Eddas of my religion a Norseman and an English farmer have a discussion and they are surprised they can understand each other (Viking was from Denmark I believe), and had very similar languages. And that was before the Viking killed the Farmer but that is not the important part of the story.

 

[ironaxe]

Possible or they already had very similar languages to begin with. Because in one of the Eddas of my religion a Norseman and an English farmer have a discussion and they are surprised they can understand each other (Viking was from Denmark I believe), and had very similar languages. And that was before the Viking killed the Farmer but that is not the important part of the story.

Isn't this episode taken from a post Stamford Bridge story, as the routed and slaughtered Norsemen fled eastwards from Harold's fired-up pursuing housecarls?

 

[Jersay]

Possible or they already had very similar languages to begin with. Because in one of the Eddas of my religion a Norseman and an English farmer have a discussion and they are surprised they can understand each other (Viking was from Denmark I believe), and had very similar languages. And that was before the Viking killed the Farmer but that is not the important part of the story.

Isn't this episode taken from a post Stamford Bridge story, as the routed and slaughtered Norsemen fled eastwards from Harold's fired-up pursuing housecarls?

This is possible that it comes from this battle. But it is in the Eddas that deals with that and how both groups seemed extremely alike in language.

 

[Daz_Hockey]

RE: Anglo-Saxons had same

the nearest Language to English is Fresian (a minority language in the nederlands), this has been proven for many years, it's no secret, althouth British liberating forces in ww2 were suprised to find that they could speak in each's own language and they could understand each other.

 

[Jersay]

Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons could speak the same language or near to the same language that they could understand back when they were killing each other. Its recorded in the Eddas and makes sense since they are both Germanic peoples.

 

[athabaska]

One of my faorite books is Robert MacNeil's 'The Story of English'. Daz hockey is correct. Extensive studies have been done. Volumes written. English is a hodgepodge but essentially an early Dutch/German language.

When one speaks of 'the Vikings', 'the Anlgo Saxons', etc. broad sweeps can't be made but specific references need to made to specific times in history.

It's similar when one speaks of 'the Romans'. The pre-empire and empire (what we call 'the Romans') stretches the equivalent of today (2006) back to 1300. When one speaks of 'the English' in a general sense, one can't assume that what applies to Henry 5th at Agincourt is applicable to goings on among 'the english' today.

 

[Jersay]

Re: RE: Anglo-Saxons had same gods as Vikings

One of my faorite books is Robert MacNeil's 'The Story of English'. Daz hockey is correct. Extensive studies have been done. Volumes written. English is a hodgepodge but essentially an early Dutch/German language.

When one speaks of 'the Vikings', 'the Anlgo Saxons', etc. broad weeps can't be made but specific references need to made to specific times in history.

So around about 1066, would it be possible that the Norse Language of the Vikings be similar to the English language at that time??

 

[Finder]

Well the celts converted slowly over to Chrsitianity both with the Celtic and Roman Churches (The Celtic actually disappeared and somewhat merdged with that of the Roman), but anyhow the Celts had there own Gods as well. Many of which have ties to the Nodic gods as well. But saying a people are the same over religous or gods being soemwhat the same is a stretch. Nobody says the Romans and Greeks are the same people, just because almost every Roman God and Goddess were based on Greek counterparts.

Same could be said about those of the Saxons (Anglo-Saxons as a group didn't emerge really untill later) and the Nords.

Christianity where it would become a dominate religion destoryed the traditional religions of the Romans, Greeks, Nords, Celts and a few other culturers.