Hretha
Encyclopedia
Hrêðe is a goddess in Anglo-Saxon paganism connected with the month Hrēdmōnath. Hrêðe is attested solely by Bede
in his 8th century work De temporum ratione
. While the name of the goddess appears in Bede's Latin manuscript as Rheda, it is reconstructed into Old English as Hrêðe and is sometimes modernly anglicized as Hretha, Hrethe, or Hrede. Hrēdmōnath is one of three events that refer to deities in the Anglo-Saxon calendar; the other two being Ēostur-monath
and Mōdraniht
.
, Bede provides information about English months and celebrations. Bede records that Hrethmonath is analogues to the Latin March, and details that "Hrethmonath is named for their goddess Hretha, to whom they sacrificed
at this time" (Rhed-monath a Dea illorum Rheda, cui in illo sacrificabant, nominatur [...]). Bede notes that Hrethmonath occurs between Solmonath (February) so named due to the offerings of cakes to the gods during the month, and Eostremonath (April) named after the goddess Ēostre
.
notes, while no other source mentions the goddesses Hrêðe and Ēostre, saddling Bede, a "father of the church, who everywhere keeps heathenism at a distance, and tells us less than he knows" with the invention of the goddesses Hrêðe and Ēostre would be uncritical, and that "there is nothing improbable in them, nay the first of them [Hrêðe] is justified by clear traces in the vocabularies of the German tribes
." Grimm proposes a connection between Hrêðe and the Old High German
female personal name Hruadâ. Grimm theorizes that the Old High German form of the goddess name Hrêðe was *Hrouda.
Rudolf Simek
notes that Grimm's derivation of the name Hrêðe means that Hrêðe "could have a similar meaning to the eponymous Roman god of the same month, Mars
." David Raoul Wilson comments that while "Bede gives us no clues as to the rituals involved during Rhedmonath and Eosturmonath, it is reasonable to assume that they related to the beginning of spring, the new growing season, and fertility."
's fiction work The Lord of the Rings
—The Return of the King
—contains an appendix (Appendix D) that provides a sample of the Shire calendar. Month three of the calendar is Rethe, modeled after Hrēdmōnath, and spelled as if used in modern times; syllables are dropped and elements altered to reflect attempts by successive generations to guess what the name originally meant.
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
in his 8th century work De temporum ratione
De temporum ratione
The Reckoning of Time is an Anglo-Saxon era treatise written in Latin by the Northumbrian monk Bede in 725. The treatise includes an introduction to the traditional ancient and medieval view of the cosmos, including an explanation of how the spherical earth influenced the changing length of...
. While the name of the goddess appears in Bede's Latin manuscript as Rheda, it is reconstructed into Old English as Hrêðe and is sometimes modernly anglicized as Hretha, Hrethe, or Hrede. Hrēdmōnath is one of three events that refer to deities in the Anglo-Saxon calendar; the other two being Ēostur-monath
Eostre
Old English Ēostre and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a Germanic goddess whose Anglo-Saxon month, Ēostur-monath , has given its name to the festival of Easter...
and Mōdraniht
Modraniht
Mōdraniht was an event held at New Years Day by the heathen Angles where a sacrifice was made. The event is attested by the medieval English historian Bede in his 8th century Latin work De temporum ratione...
.
De temporum ratione
In chapter 15 of his work De temporum rationeDe temporum ratione
The Reckoning of Time is an Anglo-Saxon era treatise written in Latin by the Northumbrian monk Bede in 725. The treatise includes an introduction to the traditional ancient and medieval view of the cosmos, including an explanation of how the spherical earth influenced the changing length of...
, Bede provides information about English months and celebrations. Bede records that Hrethmonath is analogues to the Latin March, and details that "Hrethmonath is named for their goddess Hretha, to whom they sacrificed
Blót
The blót was Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast. Related religious practices were performed by other Germanic peoples, such as the pagan Anglo-Saxons...
at this time" (Rhed-monath a Dea illorum Rheda, cui in illo sacrificabant, nominatur [...]). Bede notes that Hrethmonath occurs between Solmonath (February) so named due to the offerings of cakes to the gods during the month, and Eostremonath (April) named after the goddess Ēostre
Eostre
Old English Ēostre and Old High German Ôstarâ are the names of a Germanic goddess whose Anglo-Saxon month, Ēostur-monath , has given its name to the festival of Easter...
.
Theories
19th century scholar Jacob GrimmJacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist and mythologist. He is best known as the discoverer of Grimm's Law, the author of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm, as the editor of Grimm's Fairy...
notes, while no other source mentions the goddesses Hrêðe and Ēostre, saddling Bede, a "father of the church, who everywhere keeps heathenism at a distance, and tells us less than he knows" with the invention of the goddesses Hrêðe and Ēostre would be uncritical, and that "there is nothing improbable in them, nay the first of them [Hrêðe] is justified by clear traces in the vocabularies of the German tribes
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
." Grimm proposes a connection between Hrêðe and the Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
female personal name Hruadâ. Grimm theorizes that the Old High German form of the goddess name Hrêðe was *Hrouda.
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek
Rudolf Simek is an Austrian Germanist and Philologian.Simek studied German literature, philosophy and Catholic theology in the University of Vienna, before becoming a librarian and a docent at the institution. He taught among others in the universities of Edinburgh, Tromsø and Sydney...
notes that Grimm's derivation of the name Hrêðe means that Hrêðe "could have a similar meaning to the eponymous Roman god of the same month, Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
." David Raoul Wilson comments that while "Bede gives us no clues as to the rituals involved during Rhedmonath and Eosturmonath, it is reasonable to assume that they related to the beginning of spring, the new growing season, and fertility."
Modern influence
Book three of scholar and author J. R. R. TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fiction work The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
—The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
—contains an appendix (Appendix D) that provides a sample of the Shire calendar. Month three of the calendar is Rethe, modeled after Hrēdmōnath, and spelled as if used in modern times; syllables are dropped and elements altered to reflect attempts by successive generations to guess what the name originally meant.