Nerthus

2025-09-17T09:09:16Z

2A00:23C5:FE1C:3701:B5BB:F9F5:7CF6:B0BB: {{About||the insect genus|Nerthus (bug)}}

{{Short description|Deity in Germanic paganism}}
{{About||the insect genus|Nerthus (bug)}}
[[File:Nerthus by Emil Doepler.jpg|thumb|300px|Nerthus is led along her procession in "Nerthus" by Emil Doepler, 1905]]
In [[Germanic paganism]], '''Nerthus''' is a [[goddess]] associated with a ceremonial wagon procession. Nerthus is attested by first century A.D. Roman historian [[Tacitus]] in his ethnographic work ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]''.

In ''Germania'', Tacitus records that a group of [[Germanic peoples]] were particularly distinguished by their veneration of the goddess. Tacitus describes the wagon procession in some detail: Nerthus's cart is found on an unspecified island in the "ocean", where it is kept in a [[Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology|sacred grove]] and draped in white cloth. Only a priest may touch it. When the priest detects Nerthus's presence by the cart, the cart is drawn by [[:wikt:heifer|heifer]]s. Nerthus's cart is met with celebration and peacetime everywhere it goes, and during her procession no one goes to war and all iron objects are locked away. In time, after the goddess has had her fill of human company, the priest returns the cart to her "temple" and slaves ritually wash the goddess, her cart, and the cloth in a "secluded lake". According to Tacitus, the slaves are then immediately drowned in the lake.

Scholars have linked Tacitus's description of ceremonial wagons found from around Tacitus's time up until the [[Viking Age]], particularly the Germanic Iron Age [[Dejbjerg wagon]] in Denmark and the Viking Age [[Oseberg ship burial]] wagon in Norway. The goddess's name ''Nerthus'' (from [[Proto-Germanic]] *''Nerþuz'') is the early Germanic etymological precursor to the Old Norse deity name ''[[Njörðr]]'', a male deity who is comparably associated with wagons and water in [[Norse mythology]]. Together with his children [[Freyja]] and [[Freyr]], the three form the [[Vanir]], a family of deities. The Old Norse record contains three narratives featuring ritual wagon processions that scholars have compared to Tacitus's description of Nerthus's wagon procession, one of which (and potentially all of them) focus on Njörðr's son Freyr.

Additionally, scholars have sought to explain the difference in gender between the early Germanic and Old Norse forms of the deity, discussed potential etymological connections to the obscure female deity name [[Njörun]], mention of the mysterious [[Sister-wife of Njörðr]], proposed a variety of locations for where the procession may have occurred (generally in [[Denmark]]), and considered Tacitus's sources for his description.

Tacitus's Nerthus has had some influence on popular culture, and in particular the now widely rejected manuscript reading of ''Hertha'' in Germany.

== Etymology ==
[[Image:Njörd's desire of the Sea.jpg|thumb|"Njörd's desire of the Sea" by [[W. G. Collingwood]], 1908]]
Scholars commonly identify the goddess Nerthus with [[Njörðr]], a deity who is attested in [[Old Norse]] texts and in numerous [[Scandinavia]]n [[toponymy|place names]]. A major reason for this is [[etymology]]: Scholars identify the Romano-Germanic ''Nerthus'' as the exact expected linguistic precursor to the Old Norse deity name ''Njörðr'' and have [[Linguistic reconstruction|reconstructed]] the form as [[Proto-Germanic]] *''Nerþuz''.{{efn| name=NERTHUS-CONSENSUS|
"Most scholars accept that the name Njǫrðr, the wealthy hostage sent to the Æsir and the father of Freyr and Freyja, is identical to that of a goddess Nerthus "or Mother Earth" described by [[Tacitus]]<ref name=Tacts-Grmn>{{cite book |last=Tacitus |first=Publius Cornelius |author-link=Tacitus |title=Germania |title-link=Germania (book) |at=ch. 40}}</ref> {{harvp|Lindow|2020c|p=33}}; "... since [[Jacob Grimm]], the form ''Nerthum'' has been preferred due to its relation to the Old Norse name Njǫrðr" {{harvp|Janson|2018|pp=10-11}}; "Nerthus has long been seen as the etymon of Njǫrðr." {{harvp|North|1997|p=20}}; "Since the name Nerthus corresponds phonetically to that of Njǫrðr scholars have accepted her as his female counterpart." {{harvp|Motz|1992|p=3}}; "Nerthus cannot be other than Njörd ..." {{harvp|Dumézil|1977|p=18}}; "The Scandinavian Njord ... must be the one described by Tacitus under the name Nerthus ..."; {{harvp|Turville-Petre|1964|p=172}}; "strange has been the history of this goddess Nerthus in modern times. Sixteenth century scholars found irresistible the temptation to emend the name of 'Mother Earth' into ''Herthum'', which nineteenth century scholars further improved into ''Hertham'', ''Ertham''. For many years this false goddess drove out the rightful deity from the fortieth chapter of the ''Germania''<ref name=Tacts-Grmn/>" {{harvp|Chambers|2001|p=70}} (orig 1917).
}} As outlined by philologist John McKinnell, "Nerthus > *''Njarðuz'' ([[Vowel breaking|breaking]]) > *''Njǫrðuz'' > ''Njǫrðr''".<ref name=MCKINNELL-2005-50>{{harvp|McKinnell|2005|p=50}}</ref> Scholars have additionally linked both ''Nerthus'' and ''Njörðr'' to the obscure Old Norse goddess name ''[[Njörun]]''.{{efn|
name=NJORUN|
See for example {{harvp|Hopkins|2012|p=39}}:
:"From this survey we may conclude that academic consensus is that ''Njǫrun'' is potentially related to ''Njǫrðr'' and so too to the Proto-Germanic forebear of the name, *''Nerþuz''"<ref>{{harvp|Sturtevant|1952|p=167}}; {{harvp|de Vries|1977|pp=410-411}}; {{harvp|Finnur|Jónsson|1931|p=429}}</ref>
}}

The meaning of the [[theonym]] is unclear, but seems to be cognate with [[Old Irish]] ''nert'', meaning 'strength', perhaps meaning 'the powerful one'. The name may be related to [[Old English]] ''{{Lang|ang|geneorð}}'', meaning 'contented', and the Old English place name ''[[Neorxnawang]]'', used to gloss the word 'paradise' in Old English texts, or the word ''north''. According to philologist [[Jaan Puhvel]], "*Nerthuz is etymologically ambivalent, cognate not only with Old Irish ''nert'' 'strength' and Greek ''andro''- but with Vedic ''sū-nrt́ā'' 'good vigor, vitality' (used especially for [[Ushas|Uṣás]], thus gender ambivalent)".<ref name=PUVHEL1-1989-205>{{harvp|Puhvel|1989|p=205}}</ref> According to McKinnell, "The meaning of the name has usually been connected with Old Irish {{Lang|sga|nert}} 'strength' (so 'the powerful one'), but it might be related to Old English ''{{Lang|ang|geneorð}}'' 'contented' and ''[[neorxnawang]]'' 'paradise' (literally 'field of contentment'), or to the word 'north' (i.e. 'deity of the northern people', cf. Greek {{math|νέρτερος}} 'belonging to the underworld')."<ref name=MCKINNELL-2005-2001>{{harvp|McKinnell|2005|p=51}}</ref>

== ''Germania'' ==
In chapter 40 of his ethnography ''Germania'', Roman historian Tacitus, discussing the Suebian tribes of [[Germania]], writes that, beside the populous [[Semnones]] and warlike [[Langobardi]], there are seven more remote Suebian tribes; the [[Reudigni]], [[Aviones]], [[Anglii]], [[Varini]], [[Eudoses]], [[Suarines]], and [[Nuitones]]. The seven tribes are surrounded by rivers and forests and, according to Tacitus, there is nothing particularly worthy of comment about them as individuals, yet they are particularly distinguished as a group in that they all worship the goddess Nerthus. The chapter reads as follows:
<blockquote>
{|
|
Latin:
:''Contra Langobardos paucitas nobilitat: plurimis ac valentissimis nationibus cincti non per obsequium, sed proeliis ac periclitando tuti sunt. Reudigni deinde et Aviones et Anglii et Varini et Eudoses et Suardones et Nuithones fluminibus aut silvis muniuntur. Nec quicquam notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune Nerthum, id est Terram matrem, colunt eamque intervenire rebus hominum, invehi populis arbitrantur. Est in insula Oceani castum nemus, dicatumque in eo vehiculum, veste contectum; attingere uni sacerdoti concessum. Is adesse penetrali deam intellegit vectamque bubus feminis multa cum veneratione prosequitur. Laeti tunc dies, festa loca, quaecumque adventu hospitioque dignatur. Non bella ineunt, non arma sumunt; clausum omne ferrum; pax et quies tunc tantum nota, tunc tantum amata, donec idem sacerdos satiatam conversatione mortalium deam templo reddat. Mox vehiculum et vestes et, si credere velis, numen ipsum secreto lacu abluitur. Servi ministrant, quos statim idem lacus haurit. Arcanus hinc terror sanctaque ignorantia, quid sit illud, quod tantum perituri vident.''<ref name="STUART20">Stuart 1916:20.</ref>
|
[[Anthony Birley|A. R. Birley]] translation:
:By contrast, the Langobardi are distinguished by being few in number. Surrounded by many mighty peoples they have protected themselves not by submissiveness but by battle and boldness. Next to them come the Ruedigni, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suarines, and Huitones, protected by river and forests. There is nothing especially noteworthy about these states individually, but they are distinguished by a common worship of Nerthus, that is, Mother Earth, and believes that she intervenes in human affairs and rides through their peoples. There is a [[Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology|sacred grove]] on an island in the Ocean, in which there is a consecrated chariot, draped with cloth, where the priest alone may touch. He perceives the presence of the goddess in the innermost shrine and with great reverence escorts her in her chariot, which is drawn by female cattle. There are days of rejoicing then and the countryside celebrates the festival, wherever she designs to visit and to accept hospitality. No one goes to war, no one takes up arms, all objects of iron are locked away, then and only then do they experience peace and quiet, only then do they prize them, until the goddess has had her fill of human society and the priest brings her back to her temple. Afterwards the chariot, the cloth, and, if one may believe it, the deity herself are washed in a hidden lake. The slaves who perform this office are immediately swallowed up in the same lake. Hence arises dread of the mysterious, and piety, which keeps them ignorant of what only those about to perish may see.<ref name="BIRLEY58">Birley (1999:58).</ref>
|
[[Harold Mattingly]] translation:
:The Langobardi, by contrast, are distinguished by the fewness of their numbers. Ringed round as they are by many mighty peoples, they find safety not in obsequiousness but in battle and its perils. After them come the Reudingi, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suarini and Nuitones, behind their ramparts of rivers and woods. There is nothing noteworthy about these peoples individually, but they are distinguished by a common worship of Nerthus, or Mother Earth. They believe that she interests herself in human affairs and rides among their peoples. In an island of the Ocean stands a sacred grove, and in the grove a consecrated cart, draped with cloth, which none but the priest may touch. The priest perceives the presence of the goddess in this holy of holies and attends her, in deepest reverence, as her cart is drawn by heifers. Then follow days of rejoicing and merry-making in every place that she designs to visit and be entertained. No one goes to war, no one takes up arms; every object of iron is locked away; then, and only then, are peace and quiet known and loved, until the priest again restores the goddess to her temple, when she has had her fill of human company. After that the cart, the cloth and, if you care to believe it, the goddess herself are washed clean in a secluded lake. This service is performed by slaves who are immediately afterwards drowned in the lake. Thus mystery begets terror and pious reluctance to ask what the sight can be that only those doomed to die may see.<ref name="MATTINGLY">Mattingly 2009: 53-54.</ref>
|
|}
</blockquote>

== Tacitus's sources ==
Tacitus does not provide information regarding his sources for his description of Nerthus (nor the rest of ''Germania''). Tacitus's account may stem from earlier but now lost literary works (such as perhaps [[Pliny the Elder]]'s lost ''[[Bella Germaniae]]''), potentially his own experiences in Germania, or merchants and soldiers, such as Germanic peoples in Rome, or Germania and Romans who spent time in the region.{{efn|
name=GERMANIA-SOURCES|
For example, according to James B. Rives, "... Tacitus may very well have served on the Germanic frontier himself, and certainly would have had many opportunities to talk both with Romans who had experience in Germania and with Germani serving in the Roman army" {{harvp|Mattingly|2009|p={{mvar|xlii}}}}.{{full citation|date=September 2024|reason=no such ref in article}} See also discussion in {{harvp|Bintley|2015|pp=86-87}}.
}}

Tacitus's ''Germania'' places particular emphasis on the Semnones, and scholars have suggested that some or all of Tacitus's information may come from King [[Masyas]] of the Semnones and/or his high priestess, the [[Seeress (Germanic)|seeress]] [[Ganna (seeress)|Ganna]]. The two visited Rome for a blessing from Roman emperor [[Domitian]] in 92 AD. While Tacitus appears to have been away from Rome during this period, he would have had plenty of opportunity to gain information provided by King Masyas and Ganna from those who spent time with the two during their visit.{{efn|
name=SEMNONES-INFORMANTS|
For example, according to {{harvp|North|1997|p=22}}, "Tacitus's informant may have been [[Masyas|King Masyos]] of the [[Semnones]], who visited Rome in {{nobr|92 [CE]:}} The Semnones are described in preferential detail in ch. 39, immediately before the account of Nerthus in ch. 40". See also discussion in {{harvp|Bintley|2015|pp=86-87}}.
}}

== Reception ==
Tacitus's description of the Nerthus procession has been the subject of extensive discussion from scholars.

=== Name and manuscript variations ===
All surviving manuscripts of Tacitus's ''Germania'' date from around the fifteenth century and these display significant variation in the name of the goddess: All attested forms are in [[accusative case]] and include ''Nertum'' (yielding the nominate form ''Nerthus''), ''Herthum'' (implying a nominative form of ''Hertha'') and several others (including ''Nechtum'', ''Neithum'', ''Neherthum'', and ''Verthum'').<ref name=GERMANIA-MANUSCRIPT-VARIANTS>For discussion on these forms, see for example Lindow 2020b: 1331 and McKinnell 2005: 50-52.</ref>

Of the various forms found in the extant ''Germania'' manuscript tradition, two have yielded significant discussion among scholars since at least the nineteenth century, ''Nerthus'' and ''Hertha''. Hertha was popular in some of the earliest layers of ''Germania'' scholarship, such as the edition of [[Beatus Rhenanus]]. These scholars linked the name with a common German word for ''Earth'' (compare modern German ''Erde''). This reading has subsequently been rejected by most scholars. Since pioneering nineteenth century [[Germanic philology|philologist]] Jacob Grimm's identification of the form Nerthus as the etymological precursor to the Old Norse deity name ''[[Njǫrðr]]'', the reading ''Nerthus'' has been widely accepted as correct in scholarship.{{efn|name=NERTHUS-CONSENSUS}}

In 1902, the [[Codex Aesinas]] (often abbreviated as ''E'') was discovered, and it was also found to contain the form ''Nertum'', yielding the reading ''Nerthus''. The Codex Aesinas is a fifteenth-century composite manuscript that is considered a direct copy of the [[Codex Hersfeldensis]], the oldest identifiable manuscript of the text. All other manuscripts of Tacitus's ''Germania'' are thought by scholars to stem from the Codex Aesinas.{{efn|
name=AESINUS|
As summarized by M.J. Towsell, "The modern textual history of the Germania begins ... with the fifteenth-century humanist manuscript known as the Codex Aesinas, which appears to be the source of all the other Germania manuscripts (and very many copies were made in the Renaissance, all of which appear to be direct or indirect copies of this single manuscript)." {{harvp|Toswell|2010|p=30}}. Regarding Nerthus and the Codex Aesinas, see discussion in {{harvp|Lindow|2020b|p=1331}}.
}}

Some scholars have continued suggesting alternate readings to ''Nerthus''. For example, in 1992, [[Lotte Motz]] proposes that the linguistic correspondence is a coincidence and that "The variant ''nertum'' was chosen by Grimm ''because'' it corresponds to Njǫrðr".{{efn|
name=MOTZ-1992-3|
[[Lotte Motz|Motz]], however, states that she does not propose the reading ''Hertha'': "I do not wish to advocate the name Hertha for the goddess; I merely wish to state that the phonetic coincidence of the variant with the name of an Eddic god does not suffice to support an identify of the two numina." {{harvp|Motz|1992|pp=3-4}}
}}
Instead, Motz propose that various female entities from the continental Germanic folklore record, particularly those in central Germany and the Alps, stem from a single source, whom she identifies as Nerthus, and that migrating Germanic peoples brought the goddess to those regions from coastal Scandinavia.<ref name=MOTZ-1992-12-13>{{harvp|Motz|1992|pp=12-16}}</ref> After her death, Motz's proposal received support from [[Rudolf Simek]]. John Lindow rejects Motz's proposal and Simek's support. He highlights the presence of the form in the Codex Aesinas (discovered in 1902, while [[Jakob Grimm|Grimm]] died in 1863), and asks, "would it not be an extraordinary coincidence that a deity who fits the pattern of the later fertility gods should have a name that is etymologically identical with one of them?"{{efn| name=LINDOW-2020-1331|
{{harvp|Lindow|2020a|p=108}} says: "Rudolf Simek takes seriously the suggestion of {{harvp|Motz|1992}} that other name forms in the humanist editions of ''Germania'' are as valid as Nerthus and that the deity in ch. 40 has nothing to do with Njǫrðr but rather should be associated with Frau Percht or Frau Holle in recent folklore {{harvp|Simek|2003|pp=56–57}}. But as Simek admits, Nerthus has manuscript witness. Furthermore, Motz's argument for conceptual similarities seems forced." {{harvp|Lindow|2020b|p=1331}}.
}}

=== Location ===
Scholars have proposed a variety of locations for Tacitus's account of Nerthus. For example, [[Anders Andrén]] says:

:In the accounts of specific Germanic tribes, Tacitus also writes about the [[divine twins]], the [[Alcis (gods)|Alcis]], among the [[Naharvali]], and about the goddess Nerthus among a group of tribes, probably located in the southern part of present-day Denmark.<ref name=ANDRÉN-2020-212>{{harvp|Andrén|2020|p=212}}</ref>

Some scholars have proposed that the location of the Nerthus procession occurred on [[Zealand (Denmark)|Zealand]] in Denmark. They link the Nerthus with the medieval place name ''Niartharum'' (modern [[Nærum]]) located on Zealand. Further justification is given in that [[Lejre]], the seat of the ancient kings of Denmark, is also located on Zealand. Nerthus is then commonly compared to the goddess [[Gefjon]], who is said to have plowed the island of Zealand from Sweden in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' book ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and in Lejre wed the legendary Danish king [[Skjöldr]].<ref name=GEFJON-PLOWS>{{harvp|Chadwick|1907|pp=267—268, 289}}; {{harvp|Davidson|1964|p=113}}</ref>

Chambers notes that the mistaken name ''Hertha'' (see ''Name and manuscript variations'' above) led to the [[hydronym]] ''[[Herthasee (Rügen)|Herthasee]]'', a lake on the German island of [[Rügen]], which antiquarians proposed as a potential location of the Nerthus site described in Tacitus. However, along with the rejection of the reading ''Hertha'', the location is no longer considered to be a potential site.<ref name=CHAMBERS-69-71>{{harvp|Chambers|2001|pp=69-71}}</ref>

=== Gender difference between Nerthus and Njörðr ===
Although ''Njörðr'' etymologically descends from *''Nerþuz'', Tacitus describes Nerthus female while the Old Norse deity Njörðr is male. The form *''Nerþuz'' does not indicate whether the deity was considered male or female. This difference in gender between the two has resulted in significant discussion from scholars. A variety of reasons for this difference have been proposed: Over the years, scholars have variously proposed that that Nerthus was likely one of a pair of deities in a manner similar to Njörðr's incestuous children [[Freyr]] and [[Freyja]] (perhaps involving ''[[hieros gamos]]''), that Nerthus was a [[hermaphrodite|hermaphroditic]] deity, that the deity's gender simply changed from female to male over time, or that Tacitus's account mistakes Nerthus for a female deity rather than male deity.<ref name="NERTHUS-SEX">See for example discussion in Lindow 2020: 1332, Simek 2007: 230, North 1997: 20-24, and Turville-Petre 1964: 172.</ref> Others have proposed that a 'female Njörðr' continues into the Old Norse corpus as the [[Sister-wife of Njörðr]] and/or in the goddess name ''[[Njörun]]''.<ref name="SISTER-WIFE-NJORUN">See for example discussion in Hopkins 2012: 39-40.</ref>

=== Wagons, wagon processions, the Vanir, and cyclical rituals ===
Scholars associate Tacitus's description of Nerthus's ''vehiculum'' (translated above by Birley as "chariot" and by Mattingly as "cart") ritually deposited in a ''lacus'' (translated by Birley and Mattingly above as "lake") with ceremonial wagons found ritually placed in peat bogs around Tacitus's time, ceremonial wagons from the Viking Age, and descriptions of ceremonial wagon processions in Old Norse texts.<ref name=SCHOLARS-NERTHUS-WAGONS>{{harvp|Schjødt 2020a|pp=631-634}}; {{harvp|McKinnell|2005|pp=50-52}}; {{harvp|North|1997|pp=1-25}}; {{harvp|Gunnell|1995|pp=53-60}}; {{harvp|Davidson|1988|pp=116-119}}; {{harvp|Turville-Petre|1964|p=173}}</ref> Notable examples include the [[Dejbjerg wagon]]—in fact a composite of two wagons—discovered in western [[Jutland]], Denmark.{{efn|
name=DEJBJERG-NERTHUS|
For example, as {{harvp|Gunnell|1995}} puts it, "that such a wagon existed in real life is supported by archaeological evidence in the form of two early Iron Age wagons that were deposited in the bogs at [[Dejbjerg wagon|Dejbjerg]], [[Jylland]], at a time close to that of [[Germania (book)|Tacitus's account]].<ref name=Tacts-Grmn/> It is highly tempting to draw direct parallels between these wagons and those of Nerthus and Freyr described above."<ref name=GUNNELL-1995-59/>
}} A wagon from the Viking Age was found in the [[Oseberg ship burial]] in Norway. This wagon may have been incapable of turning corners and may have been used solely for ritual purposes.<ref name=GUNNELL-1995-59>{{harvp|Gunnell|1995|p=59}}</ref> The ship burial contains tapestry fragments, today known as the [[Oseberg tapestry fragments]]. These fragments depict a wagon procession.<ref name=GUNNELL-1995-60>{{harvp|Gunnell|1995|p=60}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Dejbjergvognen DO-621 original.jpg|The [[Dejbjerg wagon]] on display at the National Museum of Denmark, found deposited in a peat bog in Denmark and dating from around Tacitus's time
File:Fra Osebergfunnet - no-nb digifoto 20150217 00188 NB MIT FNR 16730.jpg|The reconstructed ceremonial wagon found in the Viking Age Oseberg ship burial. One side of the wagon features a depiction of nine cats.
File:Oseberg Wagon detail 2.jpg|Detail of the Oseberg wagon's depiction of nine cats
</gallery>

In Norse mythology, Njörðr is strongly associated with water, and he and his children, Freyr and Freyja, are particularly associated with wagons. Together this family is known in Old Norse sources as the [[Vanir]]. Njörðr is referred to as "god of wagons" (Old Norse ''vagna guð'') in the principal manuscript of ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' (the Codex Regius).<ref name=LINDOW-2001-237/>{{efn|name=WAGON-GOD|
According to John Lindow, {{nobr|"... we}} should accept that Snorri knew more valid [[kenning]]s than are attested in the verse he cites. For example, he tells that Njǫrðr may be kenned as ''vagna guð'' (god of wagons), which can be associated with the wagon that pulled Nerthus in Tacitus. We do not think that the association is fortuitous." {{harvp|Lindow|2020a|p=78}}; further discussion {{harvp|Lindow|2020b|p=1333}}. "With regard to Nerthus and the ''vehiculum'' in ch. 40 of ''Germania'', Njǫrðr is known as ''vagna guð'' ('god of wagons') in a scaldic kenning cited in the principal manuscript of ''Skáldskaparmál''" {{harvp|North|1997|p=24}}.
}}
According to the ''Prose Edda'', Freyja drives a chariot driven by cats, which scholars have linked to the depiction of nine cats on the Oseberg ship burial wagon, potentially indicating a wagon procession featuring the goddess.<ref name=INGUNN-2020-1278> {{harvp|Ásdísardóttir|2020|pp=1278-1279, 1287}}</ref> Dated to the fourteenth century, ''[[Ögmundar þáttr dytts]]'' tells of a ritual wagon procession wherein a depiction of Freyr is driven around in a wagon by a priestess in a manner scholars have compared to Tacitus's description.<ref name=GUNNELL-1995-54-59>{{harvp|Gunnell|1995|pp=54-59}}</ref>

Similar wagon procession-narratives may be found in two other texts, namely a description of a deity name [[Lýtir]] in ''[[Flateyjarbók]]'' and one featuring [[Fróði|Frotho]] in ''[[Gesta Danorum]]'', who is driven around for three days after his death so that the country wouldn't crumble. Both of these names have been interpreted by scholars as likely bynames for Freyr.{{efn|
name=FREYR-NAMES-WAGON|
Noting a comparable episode in ''[[Ynglinga saga]]'' describing a euhemerized account of Freyr's death and Saxo's description of Frotho's death, John Lindow notes that "clearly the two figures played out the same mythic pattern, and many scholars think they may have been the same figure {{harvp|Lindow|2001|p=124}}. On Lýtir and Freyr, see {{harvp|Simek|2007|pp=198-199}}.
}}

Some scholars have interpreted this to reflect that this procession occurred as a cyclic ritual associated with the Vanir. According to [[Jens Peter Schjødt]],
: "if we accept a close relationship among, perhaps even an identity of, Nerthus, Freyr, and Frotho ... it appears that these three descriptions are all part of a discourse connecting gods of the ''vanir'' type with circumambulations and thus with processions focusing on yearly rituals."<ref name=SCHJØDT-2020-633>{{harvp|Schjødt|2020a|p=633}}</ref>
Schjødt further writes:
:Cyclical rituals have no doubt taken place during several millennia in the North as well as everywhere else. One of the most famous descriptions of such a ritual from the Early Iron Age is Tacitus's description of the Nerthus ritual in ''Germania'' ch. 40. Although it is not said explicitly that this is a cyclical ritual, there is no doubt that it is recurring and that it involves the whole community. Like with most other rituals of this type, we are not told at what time of the year the Nerthus procession took place, but since it is clearly a ritual connected with fertility and peace, we may conjecture that it was not during the summer, which was the season for war and other kinds of male activities.<ref name=SCHJØDT-2020-803>{{harvp|Schjødt|2020b|p=803}}</ref>

[[Hilda Ellis Davidson|Hilda Davidson]] draws a parallel between these incidents and [[Germania (book)|Tacitus's account]]<ref name=Tacts-Grmn/> of Nerthus, suggesting that in addition a neck-ring-wearing female figure "kneeling as if to drive a chariot" also dates from the Bronze Age. Davidson says that the evidence suggests that similar customs as detailed in Tacitus's account continued to exist during the close of the pagan period through worship of the Vanir.<ref name=DAVIDSON-1964-96>{{harvp|Davidson|1964|p=96}}</ref>{{full citation|date=September 2024|reason=No such reference in article.}}

=== Bog bodies ===
[[File:Tollundmannen.jpg|thumb|The face of the [[Tollund Man]], a well-preserved ritually deposited [[bog body]] found in Denmark and dated to the fourth century BC]]
Known as [[bog body|bog bodies]], numerous well-preserved human remains have been found in [[peat bog]]s in Northern Europe. Like the wagons interred in peat bogs discussed above, these bodies were intentionally and [[Wetlands and islands in Germanic paganism|ritually placed]]. Various scholars have linked Tacitus's description of drowned slaves in a "lake" as a reference to the interment of human corpses in peat bogs. For example, according to archaeologist [[Peter Vilhelm Glob]]:
:The description of the goddess' attendants in the lake on the completion of the rites recalls the sacrificed bog people. There is indeed much to suggest that the bog people were participants in ritual celebrations of this kind, which culminated in their death and deposition in the bogs.<ref name="GLOB-2004-163">Glob 2004 [1965]: 163. On Glob and Nerthus, see further discussion in Sanders 2009: 6-7.</ref>

=== "Mother Earth" and the Roman cult of Cybele ===
[[File:AiKhanoumPlateSharp.jpg|thumb|A depiction of the Phrygian goddess Cybele with a chariot led by cats dated to the third century BC]]
In his description of Nerthus, Tacitus refers to the goddess as "Mother Earth" (''Terra Mater''). This has been received by scholars in a variety of ways and affected early manuscript readings of the deity's name (especially ''Herthum'', see "Name and manuscript variations" section above). In his assessment of the Old Norse personification of earth (''[[Jörð]]'', a goddess in [[Norse mythology]]), McKinnell says that the Old Norse earth personification does not appear to be notably connected to the [[Vanir]], Njörðr, and/or Nerthus. He concludes that "it seems likely that Tacitus equates Nerthus with ''Terra Mater'' as an ''[[interpretatio Romana]]'', a translation into terms his Roman readers would find familiar."<ref name="MCKINNELL-2022-539">McKinnell 2022: 539.</ref> John Lindow says that Tacitus's "identification with Mother Earth probably has much less to do with Jörd in Scandinavian mythology than with fertility goddesses in many cultures".<ref name="LINDOW-2001-237">Lindow 2001: 237.</ref>

The [[Phrygia]]n goddess [[Cybele]] had been absorbed into the Roman pantheon by Tacitus's time, and Tacitus served as a priest in the cult of Cybele, which included duties such as washing a sacred cult stone. Similar to Tacitus's description of Nerthus, Cybele was at times closely connected to or conflated with the concept of ''Terra Mater'' ('Mother Earth') through her identity as ''Mater Deum'' ('Mother of the Gods'), and was at times depicted with a chariot pulled by lions.<ref name="CYBELE">See discussion in for example North 1995: 20-23.</ref>

== Modern influence ==
The [[minor planet]] [[601 Nerthus]] is named after Nerthus. The form "Hertha" was adopted by [[Hertha (disambiguation)#Sports clubs|several German football clubs]].

Up until its superseding as the dominant reading, ''Hertha'' had some influence in German popular culture. For example, ''Hertha'' and ''[[Herthasee (Rügen)|Herthasee]]'' (see "location" section above) play major roles in German novelist [[Theodor Fontane]]'s 1896 novel ''[[Effi Briest]]''.<ref name="HARDY-125">Hardy 2001: 125.</ref>

Nerþuz is a character who appears in ''[[Fire Emblem Heroes]]''.

Herta (named The Great Herta in the game) is a character from ''[[Honkai: Star Rail]]''.

== See also ==
* [[Auðumbla]], a primeval cow in the mythology of the North Germanic peoples
* [[Baduhenna]], a Germanic goddess mentioned by [[Tacitus]] in ''Annals''
* [["Isis" of the Suebi]], another apparently Germanic goddess mentioned by [[Tacitus]] in ''[[Germania]]''
* [[Nereus]], a deity and son of the sea and earth in Greek mythology
* [[Tamfana]], another Germanic goddess mentioned by [[Tacitus]] in ''Annals''

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|25em}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin|25em|small=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Andrén |first=A. |author-link=Anders Andrén |year=2020 |section=The spatial and temporal frame |editor1-first=Jens Peter |editor1-last=Schjødt |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Anders |editor3-last=A. |editor3-link=Anders Andrén |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North. History and structures |volume=I: Basic premises and consideration of sources |pages=135–160 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Bintley |first=Michael D.J. |year=2015 |title=Trees in the Religions of Early Medieval England |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=9781843839897 }}
* {{cite book |translator-last=Birley |translator-first=A.R. |year=1999 |title=Agricola and Germany |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-283300-6 }}
* {{cite book |author-link=Raymond Wilson Chambers |last=Chambers |first=R.W. |year=2001 |orig-year=1912 |title=Widsith: A study in Old English heroic legend |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9781108015271 }}
* {{cite book |last=de Vries |first=Jan |year=1977 |title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch |lang=de |trans-title=Old Norse Etymological Dictionary |publisher=Brill }}
* {{cite book |first=Finnur |last=Jónsson |year=1931 |title=Lexicon Poeticum |publisher=S.L. Møllers bogtrykkeri }}
* {{cite book |last=Glob |first=P.V. |year=2004 |orig-year=1965 |title=The Bog People: Iron Age man preserved |publisher=New York Review Books |isbn=9781590170908 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gunnell |first=Terry |year=1995 |title=The Origins of Drama in Scandinavia |publisher=D.S. Brewer |isbn=9780859914581 }}
* [[Hector Munro Chadwick|Chadwick, Hector Munro]]. 1907. ''The Origin of the English Nation''. {{ISBN|0-941694-09-7}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Georges Dumézil |last=Dumézil |first=Georges |year=1988 |title=Gods of the Ancient Northmen |publisher=[[University of California Press]] }}
* {{cite book |author-link=Hilda Ellis Davidson |last=Davidson |first=H.E. |year=1988 |title=Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic religions |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] }}
* {{cite conference |last=Hardy |first=Barbara |publication-date=2010 |title=Tellers and listeners in ''Effi Briest'' |book-title=Theodor Fontane and the European Context: Literature, culture, and society in Prussia and Europe |conference=Interdisciplinary Symposium at the Institute of Germanic Studies |place=[[University of London]] |date=March 1999 |publisher=[[Rodopi (publisher)|Rodopi]] |isbn=9789042012363 }}
* {{cite periodical |last=Hopkins |first=Joseph |year=2012 |title=Goddesses unknown I: Njǫrun and the sister-wife of Njǫrðr |periodical=[[RMN Newsletter]] |volume=5 |pages=39–44 |url=https://www.academia.edu/2315070 |via=academia.edu }}
* {{cite book |first=Ingunn |last=Ásdísardóttir |year=2020 |section=Freyja |editor1-first=Jens Peter |editor1-last=Schjødt |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Anders |editor3-last=A. |editor3-link=Anders Andrén |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North. History and structures |volume=III: Social, geographical, and historic contexts, and communication between worlds |pages=1273–1302 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |year=2020a |section=Written Sources |editor1-first=Jens Peter |editor1-last=Schjødt |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Anders |editor3-last=A. |editor3-link=Anders Andrén |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North. History and structures |volume=I: Basic premises and consideration of sources |pages=63–101 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |year=2020b |section=Njǫrðr |editor1-first=Jens Peter |editor1-last=Schjødt |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Anders |editor3-last=A. |editor3-link=Anders Andrén |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North. History and structures |volume=III: Social, geographical, and historic contexts, and communication between worlds |pages=1331–1344 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |year=2020c |title=Old Norse Mythology |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |year=2001 |title=Norse Mythology: A guide to the gods, heroes, rituals, and beliefs |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-515382-0 }}
* {{cite book |first=Publius Cornelius |last=Tacitus |author-link=Tacitus |translator-last=Mattingly |translator-first=Harold |year=2009 |title=Agricola and Germania |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=978-0-140-45540-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=McKinnell |first=John |year=2005 |title=Meeting the Other in Norse Myth and Legend |publisher=D.S. Brewer |isbn=9781843840428 }}
* {{cite journal |last=McKinnell |first=John |year=2022 |title=The Earth as body in Old Norse |journal=Religionsvidenskabeligt Tidsskrift |volume=74 |pages=534–550 |doi=10.7146/rt.v74i.132122 |url=https://www.academia.edu/81536741 |via=academia.edu |doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Motz |first=L. |author-link=Lotte Motz |year=1992 |title=The Goddess Nerthus: A new approach |journal=Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik |volume=36 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1163/18756719-03601002 }}
* {{cite book |last=North |first=Richard |year=1997 |title=Heathen Gods in Old English Literature |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9780521551830 }}
* {{cite book |last=Janson |first=Henrik |year=2018 |section=Pictured by the other: Classical and early Medieval perspectives on religions in the north |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=McKinnell |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Margaret Clunies |editor3-last=Ross |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North |pages=7–40 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |author-link=Jaan Puhvel |last=Puhvel |first=Jaan |year=1989 |title=Comparative Mythology |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |isbn=9780801839382 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sanders |first=Karin |year=2009 |title=Bodies in the Bog and the Archaeological Imagination |publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=9780226734040 }}
* {{cite book |last=Schjødt |first=Jens Peter |year=2020a |section=Various ways of communicating |editor1-first=Jens Peter |editor1-last=Schjødt |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Anders |editor3-last=A. |editor3-link=Anders Andrén |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North. History and structures |volume=III: Social, Geographical, and Historic Contexts, and Communication between Worlds |pages=589–642 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Schjødt |first=Jens Peter |year=2020b |section=Cyclical rituals |editor1-first=Jens Peter |editor1-last=Schjødt |editor2-first=John |editor2-last=Lindow |editor3-first=Anders |editor3-last=A. |editor3-link=Anders Andrén |title=The Pre-Christian Religions of the North. History and structures |volume=II: Social, Geographical, and Historic Contexts, and Communication between Worlds |pages=797–822 |publisher=[[Brepols]] }}
* {{cite book |last=Simek |first=Rudolf |year=2007 |translator-first=Angela |translator-last=Hall |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]] |isbn=978-0-85991-513-7 }}
* {{cite book |first=Publius Cornelius |last=Tacitus |author-link=Tacitus |translator-last=Stuart |translator-first=Duane Reed |year=1916 |title=Tacitus - Germania |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|The Macmillan Company]] }}
* {{cite journal |last=Sturtevant |first=Albert Morey |date=November 1952 |title=Regarding the Old Norse name Gefjon |journal=[[Scandinavian Studies]] |volume=24 |number=4 |issn=0036-5637 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Toswell |first=M.J. |year=2010 |title=''Quid Tacitus ... ?'' The ''Germania'' and the study of Anglo-Saxon England |journal=Florilegium |volume=27 |pages=27–62 |doi=10.3138/flor.27.003 }}
* {{cite book |last=Turville-Petre |first=Gabriel |year=1964 |title=Myth and Religion of the North: The religion of ancient Scandinavia |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|25em|small=yes}}
* {{cite journal |first=G. |last=Dumézil |author-link=Georges Dumézil |year=1955 |title=Njordr, Nerthus et le folklore scandinave des génies de la mer |lang=fr |journal=Revue de l'histoire des religions |volume=147 |number=2 |pages=210–226 |doi=10.3406/rhr.1955.7224 |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/rhr_0035-1423_1955_num_147_2_7224 |via=persee.fr }}
* {{cite journal |last=Polomé |first=E. |year=1954 |title=A propos de la déesse Nerthus |lang=fr |journal=Latomus |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=167–200 |jstor=41517674 }}
{{refend}}

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[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Germanic goddesses]]
[[Category:Agricultural goddesses]]
[[Category:Vanir]]

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