The Lunisolar Calendar of the Germanic Peoples

Reconstruction of a bound moon calendar from ancient, medieval and early modern sources

Andreas E. Zautner

• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9783753407234
• eBook ISBN:
  9783753431536
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophy History & Theory

The Lunisolar Calendar of the Germanic PeoplesReconstruction of a bound moon calendar from ancient, medieval and early modern sources

1. The Worldmill is turning—on the
Cosmography of the Germanic peoples

In the beginning of this book, we will take a diagraming look on the cosmography of the Germanic peoples. Please note that this is found in similar form among other antique, Indo-European peoples.

The core of the term ‘world’ (OE weorold, OHG Weralt) is of special interest in this connection, because it denotes a time dimension—the era (OE eald) in which humans (OE wer, OHG Wer) exist—the age of man. The original term for the cosmographic structure of the universe was ‘world room’ or ‘world building’ (OHG Weraltzimbar). In its basic construction, this world room or world framework consisted of three parts: Middleyard (OE middangeard, OHG Mittangart, ON miðgarðr) was the region where humans lived. The great plain of this middle world was named eormengrund (OE; OHG Irmingrunt, ON jörmungrundr), meaning “largest land”. On the outside, these world plains were confined by the world sea (OE weorold-wæter, OHG Weraltmeri), its outer rim on the horizon or world ring (OHG Weraltring) was circled by a gigantic lindworm (ON Jörmungandr), the Midgard Serpent (ON Miðgarðsormr).

In the middle of this world is the world mountain (OHG Weraltberc) according to Strabo's “Vita of St. Gallus”, and above it is the dome of the sky, which was also named ‘sky mountain’ (OHG Himilinberc, ON Himinbjörg). Thinking that the world mountain approximates a hemisphere, it shows this world view is not primitive measured against a modern conception of the world.

Inside this world mountain or under this world plane, we find a hidden or rather concealed world—Hel (OE hel, helle, OHG Hellia; ON Hel), which is also the abode of the deceased.

Above the human world Middleyard is the so-called upper sky—Upheaven (OE upheofon, OHG ufhimil, ON upphimin;). The summit of the world or sky mountain reaches into it.

The gods are dwelling on this summit or rather mountain crest. An Old High German term for pole, beam or crest and thus also for a mountain ridge was ans (OHG; ON áss, GOT ans, PGmc *ansaz). Accordingly, this abode of the gods on the ans or mountain crest was named Ásgarðr (ON). The gods who lived on this mountain crest were named Æsir (ON æsir, OE ēse; OHG ensī, GOT anseis).

Richard Wagner and other national romanticists transported this term as ‘Asen’ into Modern High German, although, based on the Old High German form ensī, ‘Änse’ would be the correct Modern High German word (Bachmann, 2012). This corresponds to the realm of the Greek gods, the Olympians, who lived on the crest of the Olymp, sharing the same general Indo-European mindset. In the middle of the world mountain and the dwelling of the Æsir, we find the world axis, the Axis mundi (LAT), the greatest column – the Irminsūl or, according to Notker’s translation of Boethius, the Magansūl (OHG), which is also named world tree or world ash (ON askr).

The dynamic element of this world room which is turning, as we can assume, is of special interest. Within the Nordic mythology, this all-encompassing rotating principle is represented by a being perceived as one of the jotnar (Giants), Mundilfæri (ON). There are several different interpretations for the name ‘Mundilfæri’. One says that the name is composed from Ancient Nordic möndull = mill axe and -færi = driver in a sense of setting something in motion (Nordberg, 2006). According to this interpretation, Mundilfæri is “the one who sets the world mill in motion”, the world mill itself or its rotating axis.

Another explanation links the first part of the name ‘Mundil-’ to the Old Nordic word mund = time, point of time, and the second part of the name, ‘-færi’, to the Old High German word ferjo = ferryman. This interpretation makes Mundilfæri the being which moves time or is the ferryman of time. This perception is probably based on bronze-age imagination where moon and sun were ferried on boats or chariots across the sky, pulled by horses (Nordberg, 2006).

In stanza 23 of the Eddic song Vafþrúðnismál as well as in part 10 of the Gylfaginning from Snorri’s “Prose Edda”, we learn that Mundilfæri is the mythological father of sun and moon. According to Rudolf Simek, ‘Mundilfæri’ could also be a personification of the moon itself (Simek, 2006). This highlights the two cosmological main actors in this book, the “wandering stars”, sun and moon—their observation is the basis for the bound moon calendar of the Germanic peoples.

2. Preliminary Considerations: On Nights,
Days and Weeks

Before we attend to the actual calendar and the months, we turn towards the smaller time units, the nights, days and weeks, to understand the time concept of the Germanic peoples.

DE MINORIBUS REBUS PRINCIPES CONSULTANT; DE MAIORIBUS OMNES, ITA TAMEN, UT EA QUOQUE, QUORUM PENES PLEBEM ARBITRIUM EST, APUD PRINCIPES PERTRACTENTUR. COEUNT, NISI QUID FORTUITUM ET SUBITUM INCIDIT, CERTIS DIEBUS, CUM AUT INCOHATUR LUNA AUT IMPLETUR; NAM AGENDIS REBUS HOC AUSPICATISSIMUM INITIUM CREDUNT. NEC DIERUM NUMERUM, UT NOS, SED NOCTIUM COMPUTANT. SIC CONSTITUUNT, SIC CONDICUNT: NOX DUCERE DIEM VIDETUR.

C. P. Tacitus: De origine et situ Germanorum liber (11)

Translation:

The High Ones counsel on small things, all consider the bigger things in a way, saying that the people’s decisions will be exerted by the High Ones. The community gathers – if nothing unusual or sudden happens—at certain times, when the moon is new or full, because they consider this the most lucky beginning to discuss matters. Incidentally, they do not calculate the number of days, but of nights—in this way they state purpose and commitment, night seems to precede the day.

We easily recognize the original understanding for the beginning of the day at midnight by this quote from Tacitus. A day begins in the middle of the night—at midnight, reaching its peak from morning to noon, at the highest rise of the sun, finding its end along the evening until next midnight. This principle is still valid today.

Original time counting after days, i. e. in the nights, can still be seen in old names for festival days like Christmas night, the Twelve Nights or Beltane night (Walpurgis night). Furthermore, the propitious role of the waxing moon is elucidated in this text.

In his annals, Tacitus reports about a feast happening in a starry night:

… DELECTA LONGIORE VIA CETERA ADCELERANTUR: ETENIM ATTULERANT EXPLORATORES FESTAM EAM GERMANIS NOCTEM AC SOLLEMNIBUS EPULIS LUDICRAM. CAECINA CUM EXPEDITIS COHORTIBUS PRAEIRE ET OBSTANTIA SILVARUM AMOLIRI IUBETUR: LEGIONES MODICO INTERVALLO SEQUUNTUR. IUVIT NOX SIDERIBUS INLUSTRIS, VENTUMQUE AD VICOS MARSORUM ET CIRCUMDATAE STATIONES STRATIS ETIAM TUM PER CUBILIA PROPTERQUE MENSAS, NULLO METU, NON ANTEPOSITI VIGILIIS: ADEO CUNCTA INCURIA DISIECTA ERANT NEQUE BELLI TIMOR, AC NE PAX QUIDEM NISI LANGUIDA ET SOLUTA INTER TEMULENTOS.

C. P. Tacitus: Annalium liber primus (50)

Translation:

One chooses the longer [path] and cares for quick action in everything, because scouts have reported that this night will be a festive night for the Germanic peoples, and there will be a lot of food and treats. Caecina has been given order to move in closer with light cohorts and make way through the forests. The legions will follow at short distance. A clear, starry night was beneficial for the operation, and so the Marsian villages were reached and surrounded by troops, while the inhabitants were still lying in their beds or on the tables, without a notion of danger and without sentinels. They were so disbanded in their lack of concern, without fear of martial attacks, and the peacefulness and quietness among them was caused by indolent flaccidity and current drunkenness.

Festivals were celebrated at night accordingly. The moon was not mentioned as light source here—this may be interpreted as happening in the new moon phase.

2.1. The Separation of Day and Night

Witnessed by old Anglo-Saxon and Nordic solar discs (OE sol-merca or dægmæl, ON sólarhringr), we know exactly how the day was segmented. Both day and night were cut into eight pieces, the so-called ‘Eight’ (ON átt or eykt) in the sense of octants. These pieces encompassed approximately three hours in modern time, they were named stunda (hours) or tíd (tim...

Table of contents

• Table of Contents
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Indication of the calendar for a date
• Preface to the 1st Edition
• Preface to the 2nd Edition…
• Preface to the 1st English Edition…
• 1. The Worldmill is turning—on the Cosmography of the Germanic peoples
• 2. Preliminary Considerations: On Nights, Days and Weeks
• 3. Drawing and Quartering the Month: Sparking, New, Full, Waning, and Unseen Moon
• 4. The Names of the Months…
• 5. Which types of calendars are there?
• 6. The Germanic Lunisolar Calendars
• 7. The Correlations of the different Calendar Systems
• 8. The Lunisolar Calendar in Germanic Mythology
• 9. The Seasons
• 10. The High Tides of the Germanic Year Circle—the Feast Days and Holidays
• 11. ‘Every nine Years’—Feasts in the nine-year Cycle
• 12. How long did they celebrate?
• 13. The Nine Year—Octaeteris in Germanic Mythology…
• 14. Summarizing Reconstruction of the bound Moon Calendar
• Appendix A: List of the Feast Days in the Roman Lunisolar Calendar…
• Appendix B: List of the Inscriptions on the Primstaff (after Losnegard, 1999) …
• Appendix C: Franks Casket—a Fate Spell and the Lunisolar Calendar (by Alfred Becker) …
• Epilog
• Credits
• References
• Figure Legends…
• Copyright