The Suebi Honored Wuodan with Beer Libations: Accounts from Grimm, Columban, and the Matronae
By Sean Jobst
Sources confirm it was a common Suebi tradition to honor Wuodan (our original name for Him, later evolving into Old High German Wodan and modern German Wotan) with beer libations, so that a modern Swabian Heathen practice could incorporate a Giozan (Old High German “to pour” -> Proto-Germanic *Geutana, “to pour") with beer of a high quality befitting to Wuodan, preferably our own South German beers such as made with hops from the Bavarian Hallertau, where Wuodan and other Germanic Deities were honored and so their energies are imbued with the land.
As we were animists like every other ethnic faith, our ancestors knew that through this ritual the drink itself would become imbued with a spiritual energy exchanged with the Deity. Blotar (Proto-Germanic *Blotana, “to sacrifice”) were specific offerings to the Gods or Goddesses. This included something tangible as part of the gifting and exchange cycle; but could also include words or a vow honoring the Deity, invoked by their unique kennings and qualities. As noted by two leading scholars, the Indo-European words for libation come from the same roots as words for “promise, vow.”(1)
The great German linguist and folklorist Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), himself descended from the Hessian lands of the Chatti (kinsmen of the Irminones along with our Suebi and Alemanni), rendered an essential service to continental Germanisches Heidentum by collecting the folklore of disparate regions and compiling them into a cohesive work documenting continuity to our ancient Mythology - despite all propaganda claiming everything was “lost” or broken. Grimm linked this Germanic practice to the broader Indo-European tradition:
“As it was a primitive and widespread custom at a banquet to
set aside a part of the food for the household gods, and particularly to place
a dish of broth before Berhta and Hulda, the gods were also invited to share
the festive drink. The drinker, before taking any himself, would pour some out
of his vessel for the god or house sprite, as the Lithuanians, when they drank
beer, spilt some of it on the ground for their earth-goddess Zemynele. Compare with
this the Norwegian sagas of Thor, who appears at weddings when invited, and
takes up and empties huge casks of ale. I will now turn once more to that
account of the Suevic ale-titb (cupa) in Jonas, and use it to explain the
heathen practice of minne drinking [ritual toast], which is far from being extinct
under Christianity. Here also both name and custom appear common to all the
Teutonic races.”(2)
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| Ancient Germanic minne ritual. Illustration by German artist Martin Wiegand (1867-1961) for Bildersaal Deutscher Geschichte (Stuttgart: Union Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, 1890). (Source) |
Columban’s account of Suebi ritual
The source he references is the Italian monk Jonas of Bobbio, whose Vita Columbani (Life of Columban, circa 639-641) is a biography of “Saint” Columban (543-615), the Irish missionary sent by Rome and the Frankish archons to convert our Suebi/Alemanni volk to Christianity. That his mission occurred over a hundred years after our regions were conquered by the Christianized Franks (following Clovis’ conversion in 496) demonstrates how resilient our tribesmen were upon our ancestral Heathenry in the face of a Christian onslaught backed by overwhelming political and financial authority.
Such accounts are a useful source for describing our ancestral traditions because these missionaries, desiring to convert a people to their foreign archonic religion, recorded traditions as they witnessed them, wanting to “refute” and ascribe them to the “demonic” (since it was related to Gods of ethnikos, gentilis “the nations” rather than to their own hebraic messianic egregore). These accounts can be easily discerned from their own commentary, as these were “supernatural” exaggerations obviously invented to fit their mythic hagiography, as well as to demonstrate the “truth” of Christianity and their own “miraculous” claims to sainthood. I now cite Jonas’ account in its original Latin, followed by the English translation:
“Ad destinatum deinde perveniunt locum. Quem peragrans vir Dei non suis placere animis aiet, sed tamen ob fidem in gentibus serendam inibi paulisper moraturum se spondit. Sunt etenim inibi vicinae nationes Suaevorum. Quo cum moraretur et inter habitatores loci illius progrederetur, repperit eos sacrificium profanum litare velle, vasque magnum, quem vulgo cupam vocant, qui XX modia amplius minusve capiebat, cervisa plenum in medio positum. Ad quem vir Dei accessit sciscitaturque, quid de illo fieri vellint. Illi aiunt se Deo suo Vodano* nomine, quem Mercurium, ut alii aiunt, autumant, velle litare. Ille pestiferum opus audiens vas insufflat, miroque modo vas cum fragore dissolvitur et per frustra dividitur, visque rapida cum ligore cervisae prorumpit; manifesteque datur intellegi diabolum in eo vase fuisse occultatum, qui per profanum ligorem caperet animas sacrificantum. Videntes barbari, stupefacti aiunt magnum virum Dei habere anhelitum, qui sic possit dissolvere vas ligaminibus munitum; castigatusque euangelicis dictis, ut ab his segregarentur sacrificiis, domibus redire imperat. Multique eorum tunc per beati viri suasum vel doctrinam ad Christi fidem conversi, baptismum sunt consecuti; aliosque, quos iam lavacro ablutus error detinebat profanus, ad cultum euangelicae doctrinae monitis suis ut bonus pastor ecclesiae sinibus reducebat. * Vadono (A1a), Wodano (A1b), Woda (A2)”
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| Columban among the "savage" Suebi/Alemanni, portraying an obvious Christian bias |
“At length they arrived at the place designated, which did not wholly please Columban; but he decided to remain, in order to spread the faith among the people, who were Swabians. Once, as he was going through this country, he discovered that the natives were going to make a heathen offering. They had a large cask that they called a cupa, and that held about twenty-six measures, filled with beer and set in their midst. On Columban’s asking what they intended to do with it, they answered that they were making an offering to their God Wodan (whom others call Mercury). When he heard of this abomination, he breathed on the cask, and lo! it broke with a crash and fell in pieces so that all the beer ran out. Then it was clear that the devil had been concealed in the cask, and that through the earthly drink he had proposed to ensnare the souls of the participants. As the heathens saw that, they were amazed and said Columban had a strong breath, to split a well-bound cask in that manner. But he reproved them in the words of the Gospel, and commanded them to cease from such offerings and to go home. Many were converted then, by the preaching of the holy man, and turning to the learning and faith of Christ, were baptized by him. Others, who were already baptized but still lived in the heathenish unbelief, like a good shepherd, he again led by his words to the faith and into the bosom of the church.”(3)
The “supernatural” element is obviously part of his mythic
hagiography, contradicted by the historical resistance he faced trying to convert our
kinsmen; and as it steals the qualities associated with the
God he was demonstrating his alleged “power” over, as the modern German Heathen
writer and artist ‘Iwobrand’ writes: “It is worth mentioning that the breath
ascribed to the saint seems to point towards the very god that is supposed to
be defeated by it: Wodan is the god of the storm-like spirit, Old English wōd
(Germanic *wōdaz), which gets hold of the furious, i.e. the inspired.”(4)
Jonas’ last sentence is closer to the truth, as it
was only a centuries-long process of syncretism imposed by the church and its Frankish
authorities, that converted the Suebi/Alemanni – notwithstanding the folklore
we held onto since then which can now be a guiding light to Schwäbisches Heidentum, whose living flame was never entirely extinguished - it just went underground, often hiding in plain sight within the church, and embedded within the ancestral memories and archetypal symbols of the volk. As
Iwobrand continues: “In the sixth century there was already a network of
monasteries in the region, but since the fifth century a great number of
Alemanni had fallen back into paganism. Especially the more remote areas,
covered with thick woodland, would still be settled by a persistent pagan
population.”
After arriving at the Merovingian court of King Theudebert II of Austrasia at Metz (Lothringen) in 611, Columban’s mission was “granted” land at Bregenz, in Vorarlberg (the Schwäbisch part of modern Austria). Following the route of the Rhein and Donau, he met with little success among our volk, further attesting to the Heathen resilience well into the 7th century. Accompanied by “Saint” Gallus to Bregenz in 612, Columban found an oratory outwardly dedicated to “Saint” Aurelia but containing three brass idols, which he destroyed and threw into Lake Constanz, and founded the Mehrerau Abbey.(5) Gallus remained as the conquerors' religious general over Schwaben, lending his name to St. Gallen and other Swiss toponyms.
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| Bregenzerwald in Vorarlberg (Source) |
Heathen worship resisted Christianization in Bregenz
A similar account was given in the Vita S. Galli,
written by the Swabian monk Walafrid Strabo sometime in the early 800s: “They also found in the temple some images
of bronze, gilded and fixed to the wall, which the people, having abandoned the
worship of the sacred altar, adored, and were accustomed to offer sacrifices
to: these are the ancient and ancient gods, the guardians of this place, whose
comfort both we and ours endure to the present day.” Given the earlier
account of Tacitus about the foremost Gods of the Suebi, these three could
possibly represent Ziu, Wuodan and Donar. After quoting this passage (in its
original Latin), Grimm gives a lengthy analysis on whose idols they possibly were:
“A doubt may be raised, however, as to whether by these
heathen gods are to be understood Alamannish, or possibly Roman gods? Roman
paganism in a district of the old Helvetia is quite conceivable, and dii
tutores loci sounds almost like the very thing. On the other hand it must be
remembered, that Alamanns had been settled here for three centuries, and any
other worship than theirs could hardly be at that time the popular one. That
sacrifice to Woden on the neighboring Lake of Zurich mentioned by Jonas in his
older biography of the two saints, was altogether German. Lastly, the
association of three divinities to be jointly worshipped stands out a prominent
feature in our domestic heathenism; when the Romans dedicated a temple to
several deities, their images were not placed side by side, but in separate
cellae (chapels).”(6)
He continues: “By this account also the temple is first of
all Christian, and afterwards occupied by the heathen (Alamanns), therefore not
an old Eomanone [Irminone]. That Woden’s statue was one of those idola vana
that were broken to pieces, may almost be inferred from Jonas’ account of the
beer-sacrifice offered to him. Eatpert’s cantilena S. Galli has only the vague
words: Castra de Turegum adnavigant Tucconium, Decent fidem gentem, Jovem
linquunt ardentem [‘The camp of
the Turegians sails to Tuconium, They befit the nation's faith, They leave Jove
burning’]. This Jupiter on fire, from whom the people apostatized, may very
well be Donar (Thunar, Thor), but his statue is not alluded to. According to
Arx, Eckehardus IV. quotes Joviset Neptuni idola, but I cannot find the passage;
conf. p. 122 Ermoldus Nigellus on Neptune. It is plain that the three statues have
to do with the idolatry on L. Constance, not with that on L. Zurich; and if
Mercury, Jupiter and Neptune stood there together, the first two at all events
may be easily applied to German deities.”(7)
Its significant these passages mention “saint” Aurelia of
Strasbourg and not the “Christ” figure, suggesting the Christians used various
“saints” who could easily be disguised as tutelary deities to convert our
ancestors, otherwise repulsed by the “Christ” stories. Even the
historicity of this fourth century “saint” was questioned by Alsatian
historian Philippe-André Grandidier (1752-1787) who, despite being a priest,
was committed to the scientific method. The account
also attests to the resilient of Heathenry, as even the semblance of Christian
worship was shed in favor of the open worship of our Gods. Missionaries were continuously sent, culminating in Columban and
Galli. After a year of many of his abbots – who should be seen as religious
invaders – being “murdered” in the woods by our Heathen tribesmen, Columban
crossed the Alps where he died three years later in Lombardy.
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| The missionaries had an Abrahamic-induced fear of our forests, mountains, lakes and rivers, knowing these contained a primal spiritual energy. An illustration by German Heathen writer and artist Iwobrand (Source) |
Other accounts of beer libations across Deutschland
Beer has an ancient history in Germany, extending at least 3,000 years. Archaeological excavations from a
burial site of a Celtic or Germanic chieftain near Kulmbach (Bayern) has uncovered
ceramic amphoras containing beer residue. That he was sent off to the Otherworld
with gifts of beer accompanying him underscores the sacredness of beer as a ritual
drink in our regions. Nearby the Kulmbacher Mönchhof brewery was founded in
1349, suggesting that much like churches so too were breweries often
constructed atop Heathen sacred sites. Around 98 CE, the Roman Tacitus also
recorded both the popularity of beer and its ritualistic use among the Germanic
peoples. One modern historian has mentioned the cultural implications between Germanic
beer culture vis-à-vis the dominant Roman vinology:
“Although beer was a common beverage in practically all ancient societies, the wine-drinking Greeks and Romans mysteriously excluded it from their diet. It is too simplistic to state that they simply disliked the drink. For each negative trait imputed to beer there almost invariably exists some further testimony to the contrary. Thus it is variously described as a sour, foul-smelling, impure, cloudy, harmful, flatulence-causing, unmanly liquid made from rotten cereals, a divine punishment, but also as a sweet, good-tasting, nice-smelling, nutritious, healthful, useful, strong cereal beverage, a divine gift. The exclusion of beer from the Greek and Roman diet is essentially a manifestation of a deep-set vinocentricity closely connected to a disdain of the ‘other’.
“The vinocentric outlook is obvious from the fact that
beer was often simply known as barley wine or wheat wine, while barbarians were
said to make intoxicating beverages in imitation of wine, and to have recourse
to beer when wine was wanting. Wine and beer were also often considered polar
opposites: wine was civilized and beer barbaric (in being undiluted with water,
though it was, it seems, just as strong as wine, and in being drunk with
filtered straws); wine was manly and beer effeminate; wine upper class and beer
lower class. The very fact that beer was the drink of others was enough to
condemn it, and the actual taste of the beverage probably had little influence
on verdicts against it. Those who actually ventured to try some brew did not
necessarily find it so bad.”(8)
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| Perhaps the most famous of the Matronae votive altars, the Matronae Aufaniae (circa 164CE), discovered under the site of the Bonn Minster church. |
We now continue our journey from the South into more northerly German regions, further attesting to the Heathen practice of beer libations. The first clue concerns the general use of beer for sacred purposes and not only to Wuodan. Spread across Deutschland are votive offerings to the Matronae, various feminine tutelary spirits associated with specific areas. These reveal the shared animism of the Celts and Germanen, upon which later Roman elements were also added, for these were all branches of the same Indo-European family and the Matronae are the matron energies tied to place. A list of Matronae compiled by the Norwegian scholar and historian Maria Kvilhaug includes a patroness of beer:
“Alusneihae (Beer Mothers)Where: Inden-Pier, Kreis Düren [Nordrhein-Westfalen], West Germany
Aside from the Suebi, Grimm traces beer offerings to Wuodan among the Northern folk customs of Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg: “He [18th century Mecklenburg historian David Franck] adds, that at the squires mansions, when the rye is all cut, there is Wodel-beer served out to the mowers; no one weeds flax on a Wodenstag, lest Woden’s horse should trample the seeds; from Christmas to Twelfth-day they will not spin, nor leave any flax on the distaff, and to the question why they answer, Wode is galloping across. We are expressly told, this wild hunter Wode rides a white horse….
“A custom in Schaumburg [Lower Saxony]
I find thus described [By Munchhausen in Bragur VI. 1, 2134.]: the people go out
to mow in parties of twelve, sixteen or twenty scythes, but it is so managed,
that on the last day of harvest they all finish at the same time, or some leave
a strip standing which they can cut down at a stroke the last thing, or they
merely pass their scythes over the stubble, pretending there is still some left
to mow. At the last stroke of the scythe they raise their implements aloft, putting
them upright, and beat the blades three times with the strop. Each spills on
the field a little of the drink he has, whether beer, brandy, or milk, then
drinks himself, while they wave their hats, beat their scythes three times, and
cry aloud Wold, Wold, Wold! and the women knock all the crumbs out of their
baskets on the stubble. They march home shouting and singing.”(10)
Finally, preserved in the texts of our Norse cousins across
the North and Baltic Seas are these pertinent words directly from the High One
Himself: “66. To some feasts, I’ve come much too late, And to others, much too
soon- either the beer was all gone, Or not yet brewed: The unlucky man can’t
seem to get it right” – Hávamál: The Words of the High One(11)
So it is that I raise a libation to Wuodan. Prost
und Hail Wuodan!
Notes:
(1) Douglas Q. Adams and J.P. Mallory, “Libation,”
Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London/Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn
Publishers, 1997, p. 351.
(2) Jacob Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, Vol. I, trans. James
Steven Stallybrass, London: George Bell & Sons, 1882, p. 59.
(3) The Life of St. Columban, by the Monk Jonas, trans. Dana
Carleton Munro, Book I, Chapter 53, <
https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/columban.asp>.
(4) Iwobrand, “Alemannic Paganism in the Vitae Columbani & Galli,” Oct. 5, 2020, <https://iwobrand.wordpress.com/2020/10/05/alemannic-paganism-in-the-vitae-columbani-galli/>.
(5) See Columba Edmonds, “St. Columbanus,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Online: <https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04137a.htm>.
(6) Grimm, op. cit., p. 109.
(7) ibid., p. 110. Later in his work, Grimm proposes that “Neptune” refers to either Wodan or Njord. But I place little relevance here, as there is obviously no attestations of Njord among our inland mountainous volk, although sometimes there is overlap between sea and chthonic Deities. I'm prone to chalk the account up to how far-removed these missionaries were from their own Germanic or Celtic ancestry, conceiving the pre-Christian generally in Roman terms.
(8) Max Nelson, “The Cultural Construction of Beer Among Greeks and Romans,” Syllecta Classica, January 2003, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 101-120, < https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268871081_The_Cultural_Construction_of_Beer_Among_Greeks_and_Romans>.
(9) Maria Kvilhaug, “Ancestral Mothers and Goddess Collectives in German Iron Age Votive Altars and Inscriptions dedicated to the ‘Matrones’,” Jan. 21, 2020, <https://bladehoner.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/ancestral-mothers-and-goddess-collectives-in-german-iron-age-votive-altars-and-inscriptions-dedicated-to-the-matrones/>.
(10) Grimm, op. cit., p. 156.
(11) From the translation by James Hjuka Coulter, Sewell:
Hammerstede, 2nd edition, 2002, reproduced in his book: Germanic
Heathenry: A Practical Guide, 1st Books Library, 2003, p. 261.
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