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Seth Estlow

Dr. D. Tenenbaum

English 4800

22 April 2009

Wuotan, Dona, Holda and Ziu

When one looks at mythology, it can be viewed in many ways. From a literary

perspective, the most common school of criticism used is Archetypal: the various

characters and plot devices are viewed as reflections of archetypes, images that have

existed in man’s collective unconscious for eons. Viewing the gods and heroes of specific

mythologies as universal archetypes is one way of looking at this type of literature. At the

same time, gods, like words, have specific origins. As languages change with time and

travel, so do deities. Just as a word in modern English may no longer resemble the Anglo-

Saxon word it derives from, so a deity of Viking Scandinavia or tribal Germany would

not resemble a deity of the ancient Aryan warrior tribes, even if the more recent deity is

derived from the older one. Can both of these views be true? Can a Germanic god be both

derived from older gods or concepts, as well as a reflection of a timeless archetype

existing in man’s collective unconscious? Stranger things have indeed happened.

Odin is the Anglicized version of the Old Norse Óðinn. It is the most commonly

used name of the god Wuotan, which is the Old High German version. Vodans is the

Gothic version of the name, Wôdan the Old Low German and Woden the Anglo-Saxon.

They are all derived from Wôðanaz, the Proto-Germanic name, which means “Master of

Fury” (Óðindís). His multitude of other names all hint at his various aspects. Aside from

the master of fury, he was also called Grím, meaning “Masked One,” Sigföð, or “Father-
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of-battle,” Óski, “Fulfiller-of-desire” and Farmatýr, or “Cargo-god,” and numerous others

(Sturluson 49). Wuotan was usually depicted as a tall old man with one eye and a gray

beard, dressed in gray clothes, a wide hat or hood and a wide blue cloak. He carried the

magical spear Gungnir (Guerber 16-17). He had two ravens called Hugin and Munin who

acted as his spies, and two hungry wolves called Geri and Freki (17). He was the god of

battle and lord over Valhalla, the hall where the slain warriors called einherjar, gathered

from the battlefields by the valkyries, feasted and fought, training for the final battle of

Ragnarok (18-22). Wuotan, as lord of fury and the violent storm wind, was also leader of

the Wild Hunt, riding his gray, eight-legged horse Sleipnir across the skies at Yuletide

with his furious host of phantoms and ghostly hounds (23-26). Wuotan was the

psychopomp of the Northern nations, leading dead souls to the afterlife. In medieval

legend, he became the Pied Piper of Hamelin, leading the souls of the dead, in the form of

swarming rats, to the grave in a vast procession with his magical flute, representing the

wind (27-290). As psychopomp, Wuotan appears as a ferryman, similar to Charon of

Greek mythology, in the poem Harbarzljod (Poetic Edda 69-77) and in The Death of

Sinfiotli to take away the body of the dead hero Sinfiotli (142).

Wuotan constantly sought out magical wisdom. He sought out the mead of poetry,

Óðrörir, invading the hollow mountain of the giant Suttung to seduce his daughter

Gunlod and retrieve the magical liquid (Sturluson 102). He gave his eye to the giant

Mimir to drink from his well of wisdom (Poetic Edda 7). He hung himself on the world

tree Yggdrasil, pierced with his spear as a sacrifice to himself, to gain the secret of the

runes – a magical alphabet that gave him the ability to perform numerous powerful spells

(Poetic Edda 34-38). He carved these runes onto his spear Gungnir, and came to be
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known as the God of the Hanged (Guerber 34). He had numerous brides and paramours,

fathering many gods. For this reason he was called “All-Father”. He fathered Thor, of

Donar the Thunderer, upon the earth goddess Jord or Erda (38). On the goddess Frigga he

fathered Balder, god of light, Hermod the swift, and according to some, Tyr or Ziu, the

god of war (38). On the giantess Rinda he fathered Vali, and on Grid he fathered Vidar,

god of vengeance (38-39). He fathered Bragi, god of poetry, on Gunlod, and the vigilant

Heimdall on the nine wave maidens, daughters of Aegir and Ran (39). He also fathered

many mortal heroes, including Sigi, father of the Volsung dynasty (Sturluson 26).

As god of wisdom and progenitor of heroes, Wuotan often guides the lives of his

chosen champions. When the hero Sigurd, descendant of Sigi, goes out by ship to avenge

the death of his father Sigmund, a storm arises and an old man appears. Wuotan is god of

storms, and often appears on earth in the guise of an old wanderer. When asked who he

is, the disguised god says “Hnikar they called me, when young Volsung/ gladdened the

raven when there was fighting;/ now you may call the old man on the cliff/ Feng or

Fiolnir; I would like passage!” (Poetic Edda 155). The name Hnikar means “Thruster” or

“Shaker,” Feng means “Snatch,” or “Gain,” and Fiolnir means “Very-Wise” or

“Concealer” (Óðindís). These titles are appropriate as Hnikar may refer to thrusting or

shaking of one’s spear, symbolizing Wuotan’s war god aspect. Feng may refer to

snatching up the runes or wisdom, and Fiolnir alludes to Wuotan as both god of wisdom

and the mysterious masked god. These titles refer to Wuotan appearing in disguise, and

spreading his wisdom, which is what he does after Sigurd allows him on the ship. One

Wuotan gets on the ship, the storm clears and he sits with Sigurd and gives him a list of

good and bad omens to watch for (Poetic Edda 156).

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As wanderer, psychopomp and god of wisdom and death, Wuotan has been

known to travel not only to the worlds of giants and men, but also to the world of the

dead to seek out answers. In Balder’s Dreams Wuotan hears the horrible nightmares of

his son Balder and rides his horse to the underworld to seek out the soul of a long-dead

prophetess, whom he summons forth from her rest using a runic spell (Poetic Edda 243).

He asks the seeress a series of questions in the guise of Vegtam, eventually learning that

Balder, beloved god of light, is doomed to die (244). Eventually he asks a question which

no one knows the answer to but himself, revealing his true identity, and the seeress

returns to her rest, refusing to answer any more questions for him (244-245). This is

similar to Vafthrudnismal when he seeks out the wise giant Vafthrudnir in order to have a

wisdom contest in the guise of Gagnrad (Poetic Edda 40-41). They go back and forth

asking each other questions about the mythology, and they both answer each question

correctly, until finally Wuotan asks the giant what he whispered in Balder’s ear on his

funeral pyre. Vafthrudnir cannot answer, and concludes that his guest is in fact Wuotan

(48-49).

Wuotan can be compared to several Greco-Roman gods. According to Jakob

Grimm, “In the shape of a bearded old man Wodan appears like a water spirit or water

god and to do justice to the Latin name Neptune, which some older writers use of him.”

Wuotan can also be compared to Zeus in that they are both white-bearded, patriarchal

leaders of the respective pantheons, and Wuotan’s spear resembles Zeus’ lightning bolt

(Guerber 346). Also, they have both had numerous liasons with goddesses and mortal

women, producing a plethora of gods and heroes, and they both lead a council of twelve

deities (346). The god Wuotan is most compared to, however, is Mercury. According to
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Guerber “Odin, as leader of the dead, is the counterpart of Mercury Psychopompus, both

being personifications of the wind, on whose wings disembodied souls were thought to be

wafted from this mortal sphere” (350). According to Viktor Rydberg Wuotan and

Mercury were both gods of wisdom who introduced poetry and writing to man, would

use trickery and cunning to accomplish their goals. They both appeared as travelers, gods

of martial games and combat and gods of the merchant profession, Mercury being god of

messengers and Wuotan being god of cargoes (Rydberg). Jung compared Wuotan to

Dionysus because they are both deities of madness and fury, capable of driving men and

women into an utter frenzy.

Wuotan’s origins lie in the psyche of the Aryan people. Wuotan does not have an

predecessor among the Proto-Aryan gods, nor does the name Wodanaz have a cognate in

any other Aryan pantheon (Serith). The name, as stated above, means “Master of Fury”

or “Lord of Madness,” but it may mean, more precisely, “Master of those who are in the

state of spiritual madness,” and have arisen out of the practice of the wates, or shaman,

calling on Wuotan to bestow battle fury upon warriors (Þeedrich). This is better known

today as berserker fury. It seems Wuotan, arose out of a state or practice rather than an

earlier deity, unlike other gods like Jupiter, who came from the Aryan god Dyé:us Pté:r,

or Neptune who arose from the Aryan god Xákwo:m Népo:t (Serith).

Still, it is believed by students of Jung that gods and other mythological figures

have their origins in the timeless archetypes that exist in man’s collective unconscious.

This is part of the Archetypal Criticism that looks at mythology from a literary

perspective, and from this perspective, Wuotan can be seen as the “Wise Old Man”

archetype. Catharina Raudvere states that “Despite the fact that the god [Wuotan] is
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depicted as an old man (and therefore physically less able), his age is principally a token

of his legitimacy, confirming him as passing on ancient values, rather than an obstacle to

authority” (123). His role as the helper and teacher of heroes marks him as the “Wise Old

Man” – Snider quotes Jung as saying, “‘The old man knows what roads lead to the goal

and points them out to the hero” (21). Wuotan also resembles Merlin, another character

who fits this archetype, as Snider quotes Zimmer, saying “Merlin symbolizes ‘the

magician as teacher and guide of souls. He is comparable… to the guru” (39).

So, is Wuotan merely a reflection of a universal archetype, an avatar of the

universal “Wise Old Man”? Or is he the Lord of Spiritual Fury and Master of the

Berserkers? It is indeed possible that Wuotan is the god of madness, poetry, death, battle,

wisdom and the storm-wind as well as the “Wise Old Man”. Perhaps Wuotan is a force

which, even today, guides the development of man by overseeing the destinies of a few

select individuals, and only manifests in the form of the “Wise Old Man” in order to

communicate better to mankind through this understandable shape. A god does not

choose to be old and feeble. A deity has the power to take what form he will. His image

is merely a representation of his wisdom, a symbol of his true nature. Wuotan can choose

to take the form of an old man, a youth, a wild beast, a tall warrior, but they are all

merely reflections of his true nature: The god of blustering, furious, transcendent spiritual

madness!

Wuotan is not the only deity of Germanic mythology to have an origin drawn

specifically from an earlier Aryan culture as well as resembling a common literary

archetype. The god Donar (Old High German) is better known by his Norse name Þórr,

Anglicized as Thor. He is also called Thunar in Anglo-Saxon (Thor’s Names). He is

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described as “a man in his prime, tall and well formed, with muscular limbs and bristling

red hair and beard” (Guerber 60). Donar also had a magical hammer called Malant in Old

High German (Coulter 64) but better known by its Norse name Miölnir, which he used to

battle against the frost giants, and would always return to his hand when thrown (Guerber

61). He also had an iron gauntlet called Iarn-greiper which he used to catch his hammer,

and a belt called Megin-giörd that could double his strength (61). Donar rode a chariot

pulled by goats through the sky (62) and was the husband of the goddess Sif, or Sibba,

and father of Modi, whose name means “courage,” and Magni, whose name means

“strength,” as well as the valkyrie Thrud (53-64).

Donar appears numerous times in the Eddas. He is the main protagonist of

Hymiskvida, in which he goes on a fishing trip with the giant Hymir and ends up

wrestling his mortal enemy Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, and eventually winning a

magical cauldron from the giant (Prose Edda 78-83). In another poem, Thrymskvida, the

king of the frost giants, Thrym, steals Donar’s hammer, and the manly god must dress in

drag, pretending to be the goddess Freya intent on wedding the giant, in order to get his

hammer back (Prose Edda 97-101). He also appears in the Prose Edda, in which he, his

two servants Thialfi and Roskva, and the god of mischief Loki, travel to Utgard to face

the wicked illusions of the giant chieftain Utgard-Loki (69-78). Also in Snorri’s Edda is

the tale of his battle with the formidable stone-headed giant Hrungnir (103-106). All of

these tales deal with Donar’s battles against the giants, who represented the forces of

chaos. Donar was the defender of the earth against these monsters, and is referred to as

“Midgard’s Buckler or Shield,” Midgard meaning “the middle world” or “earth” (Thor’s

Names). This is for good reason, because Thor is the son of Jord, or Erda, goddess of the
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earth, though other sources say Frigg is his mother (Guerber 59). Later it will be shown

that Jord and Frigg, as well as a few other goddesses, are in fact one.

Donar can be compared to the Roman god Jupiter. Malant resembles Jupiter’s

lightning bolt, which both gods use to fight the giants (Guerber 350). Also, the day of the

week which the Roman’s had called “Jove’s Day,” the Germanic people named after

Donar, or Thor, as in Thursday (352). He also resembles Hercules who was renowned for

his strength, wielded a club, and did battle with giants and monsters (351). Donar, like

the Russian thunder god Perun and the Hindu rain god Parjanya, is derived from the

ancient Aryan deity Perkwúnos, the Thunderer (Tlachtga). However, a strange

development happened. The name Donar is derived from the Germanic word for thunder,

but Perkwúnos comes from the ancient Aryan word meaning “oak,” “fir” or “wooded

mountain” (Serith). Perkwúnos did, however, survive in the Germanic mythology as

Fjörgynn or Fjörgyn which are the names of Frigg’s father and Jord, mother of

Thor/Donar, respectively (“Perkunas”). As Frigg and Jord are the same character, and

those both the mother of Donar, this transference is somewhat understandable.

From the archetypal perspective, Donar most resembles “the Hero.” The Hero is a

rescuer and a champion, as Donar is the champion of the earth (“Jung’s Archetypes”).

The hero is a very vast and vague archetype, and thus could be applied to many of the

gods, but Donar holds particular distinction in that he is the champion and defender of

gods and men, wields the invincible hammer Malant, and stands against the cruel and

barbaric giants who wish to invade the world of man and wreak havoc upon the earth.

Donar is the son of Wuotan, the highest god, and Erda, the earth mother. He is the

defender of mankind and the champion of the gods.

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Donar’s mother is called by a multitude of names, including Frigg/Frija, Nerthus,

Jord/Erda and Holda. Thought by some to be separate goddesses, numerous scholars have

conflated each of them with the others through in-depth scholarly work. Holda was a

goddess in Southern Germany where the name of Frigg was unknown. Her “attributes

were so exactly like hers [Frigg’s] that they were evidently the same” (Guerber 51).

Nerthus and Erda were both seen as the earth goddess. Erda, or Jord, is mentioned

throughout the Eddas as Thor’s mother and Nerthus, or Herthum, is mentioned by Roman

historian Tacitus in Germania as Tellus Mater, or “Mother Earth,” who, in the Norse

stories is none other than Jord. William Reeves gives nine valid and convincing reasons

to believe Frigg, Jord and Nerthus to be the same deity in his article “Nine Reasons to

Identify Frigg with Jord.”

H. A. Guerber describes Frigg, or “Frigga” as the goddess of the atmosphere,

queen of the gods and goddess of marriage (42). She describes the goddess as dressed in

“snow-white or dark garments, according to her somewhat variable moods” (42). She

describes Frigga as “a tall, beautiful, and stately woman, crowned with heron plumes”

and wearing a “golden girdle, from which hung a bunch of keys,” the Nordic symbols of

housewifery (42, 43). Frigga has a sister and handmaiden named Fulla, whom the

goddess trusts with all of her treasures. Fulla wears a golden band around her flowing

golden hair, and is called Abundantia in some parts of Germany (47). Both names signify

abundance, as does the hair, resembling a bundle of wheat (47). If Frigg is to be viewed

as the earth goddess, then Fulla may be seen as the goddess who rewards man’s hard

work with the treasures of the earth, i.e. crops.

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According to Snorri’s Edda Frigg knows the fates of all, though she does not

speak of them (48). This knowledge that she knows everyone’s fate makes the story of

the death of her favorite son, Balder, especially interesting. When she found out about the

horrible nightmares Balder had foretelling his death, she sought oaths from all things –

plants, animals, fire, metal, stones, etc. – to not harm Balder (80). Given her knowledge

of fate, this doomed, futile effort to avert it makes her love for her son quite obvious.

Inevitably, Loki finds out that the mistletoe is the only thing that Frigg did not take an

oath from (81). Loki fashions it into a dart and gives it to the blind god Hod to throw at

Balder, the blind god still thinking Balder is invulnerable (81). The dart slays Balder and

Frigg sends the god Hermod to Helheim, the underworld, to retrieve Balder’s soul (82,

83). Unfortunately, Balder cannot be resurrected.

In the Poetic Edda Frigg, the wise goddess, advises her husband before he goes

out to seek a wisdom contest with the giant Vafthudnir in Vafthrudnismal (40). This

shows her concern for her wandering husband, though they do have their rivalries. In

Grimnismal they foster two brothers, the sons of a king, and when the two youths meet

their own destinies, one as a king, the other as a cave-dwelling savage, they argue over

who is doing better (51) Frigg argues that Wuotan’s charge, Geirrod, though he became a

king, is cruel and inhospitable to guests. This is proven when Wuotan goes to meet

Geirrod as the wanderer Grimnir. Geirrod tortures his former mentor (51, 52).

Of the Classical goddesses, Holda most resembles Juno (Guerber 349). She is

queen of the gods, and goddess of marriage, the atmosphere and childbirth (349). None of

Holda’s names are etymologically derived from the ancient Aryan earth goddess

Dhéghom M´:ter, and this is for a good reason: When the Aryans travelled they would
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often worship the name of the earth goddess under the name the local peoples gave her

(Serith). This explains the numerous local names given to this goddess: aside from

Frigg/Frija, Jord/Erda, Nerthus and Holda, she was also called Hulda, Frau Holle

(Guerber 51), Frau Venus (53), Bertha, Brechta, the White Lady (56). Frau Gode, Frau

Wode, Vrou-elde (57) and Hlodyn (58).

Holda fits the archetype of the earth mother (“Jung’s Archetypes”). This is an

archetype in the truest sense of the word, for it is perhaps the most universal concept and

exists in nearly every mythology as a symbol of nature’s fertility and abundance.

Finally, the god Ziu is perhaps one of the most interesting gods of the Germanic

pantheon. He is better known by his Norse name Tyr, but also know as Tiw in Anglo-

Saxon and Tyz in Gothic, all deriving from his Proto-Germanic name Tiwaz. Sources

differ as to whether his mother was Frigg or “a beautiful giantess whose name is

unknown, but who was a personification of the raging sea” (Guerber 85). He was the god

of war and victory, whom Tuesday was named after (85). His symbol is the sword (85).

Little is known about him.

Ziu is mentioned few times in the Poetic Edda but in the Prose Edda, Sturluson

tells the tale of how Fenris, a monstrous wolf and the son of the wicked Loki, dwelt

among the gods until he got far too large and ravenous (56). The gods tried binding him

with two fetters, which he broke free of (56, 57). After that they had the dwarves make a

magical fetter to bind Fenris (57). They took him to an island and the gods tried to bind

him, but he only let himself be bound on the condition that Tyr/Ziu put his right hand in

the wolf’s mouth as a pledge that the gods would free him if he could not get out (58).
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Tyr agreed to do this, and the gods bound the wolf, but when he could not get out of the

fetter, and the gods would not release him, he bit of Tyr’s hand (58).

Ziu, the courageous and warlike god of battle, is often compared to the Roman

god Mars, or the Greek Ares (Guerber 352, 353), but as far as origins go, he has more in

common with the Roman Jupiter or Greek Zeus. These gods, as well as the Vedic Dyaus

Pitar and several others, derive ultimately from the ancient Aryan sky-god Dyé:s Pté:r,

whose name means “Sky Father” (Tlachtga). Dyé:s Pté:r was the primary and dominant

god of the Aryan pantheon and was the god of justice (Serith). Tiwaz, Ziu’s earliest form,

was like Dyé:s Pté:r, but according to Diana Paxson, Wuotan, a minor shamanic deity,

eventually usurped Ziu’s role as head god and Sky Father, reducing Ziu to a relatively

obscure god of law, justice and battle. Ziu decreased in poularity as Wuotan’s cult

became more powerful. Still, Ziu serves as a powerful deity and lawful counterpart to

furious Wuotan.

As far as archetypes go, it seems Ziu defies them. He began as a divine father

figure and eventually became more of a Hero figure – the defender of the gods,

sacrificing part of himself for the well-being of others (“Jung’s Archetypes”). As a deity,

Ziu transcends archetypes, changing with each age, as all gods do.

It seems archetypes are limited as methods of portraying the essence of a deity.

They serve only as images, mere reflections of the divine glory of the gods. Gods, like

humans, are multifaceted and no one archetype can ever truly define the entirety of their

being. One should not allow his perception of a deity to be limited by archetypes, or he

will never truly grasp the full glory of the gods of any mythology.