Woden, Odin and the Runes

On a chalk down, in the south of England, a dark figure stands in the shadows, watching; shrouded in a deathly black cloak, his face hidden by a wide brimmed hat, revealing only one wisdom filled eye and his unkempt grey beard. In his hand he carries an ancient spear, carved with strange angular symbols, (Runes). In the distance, two Wolves bay and a pair of Ravens fly across the face of a full moon above him. He watches with interest the small settlement below, then strides past the gallows on that hillside, and merges into the darkness of the night. To any Anglo-Saxon of that period this description could only of been that of Woden.

To our ancestors he was many things; God of the Dead and of the gallows; Lord of the Wild Hunt; God of Wisdom, Magic and Master of the Runes; shaman and shapeshifter; cunning, tricky and devious; and ancestor of the Theign's and many of the Royal Houses of the early Angles, Saxons and Jutes. He is probably the most enigmatic of the old Gods and probably one of the best known aspects of the 'SkyFather' figure in Anglo-Saxon England.We know of Wodens coming to England from many seperate sources, most numerous are place names.

Woden was probably the most widely known of the Anglo-Saxon Gods and the naming of many of Englands old settlements and geographical landmarks are testimonials to this: Wodnesbeorg (Woden's Grave); Wodnesdene (Woden's Valley); Wodesgeat (Woden's gap). All in close proximity to each other in Wiltshire, with Wansdyke (Woden's dyke) close by, indicate a possible cult of Woden in that area; Wednesbury (Woden's earth works) and Wednesfield (Woden's field), in Staffordshire; Wensley (Woden's Grove), Derbyshire; Wodnesfeld and Wedynsfeld (Both translated as Woden's field), in Essex; Wodenslawe (Woden's mound), Bedfordshire; Woodnesborough (Woden's mound), Kent.

There are also place names using Woden's other common name Grim ('Masked one'): Grimsditch, in at least eleven counties, including Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Wiltshire; the name Grimesworne, occurs in Essex, Herefordshire and Warwickshire; Grimsbury, in Berkshire and Oxfordshire; Grim's Hill, a hillfort in Gloucestshire; and finally Grimspound, a Bronze Age settlement in Devon. The list is continuous. However, one of the most interesting archeological debates in recent times, involving Woden, has been regarding the Long Man of Wilmington, a chalk carving on a hillside in Sussex.

Two archeologists (Mr Christoper Hawkes and Mrs Sonia Chadwick Hawkes) have theorised that the Long Man of Wilmington is a representation of Woden. They base this theory on its similarities with the Finglesham belt buckle. A bronze piece found in an Anglo-Saxon Cemetery during excavation in 1964. The figure on the buckle is in the same pose, and bears a striking resemblance to the chalk carving.

So why were so many ancient features of the English landscape named after him? Was it because he was the most highly revered of the Anglo-Saxon Deities or was it because he was the most widely known? (Read More ....)