[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Top thru Author” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_enable_image=”off” min_height=”400px” custom_margin=”0px||-40px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/spring-2021-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/coreopsis-winter-2019-header.png” admin_label=”Coreopsis logo” _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Title & Author” module_id=”author” module_class=”noindent” _builder_version=”4.9.1″]<\/p>\n
Martina Lamberti<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px|||”]<\/p>\n After the Christianization of the Germanic communities, specifically in the area of West Germanic, what was regarded as a Pagan ritual was completely altered and adapted to the new religion. Considering the Christian Paschal rituals, it is legitimate to wonder whether or not its roots are purely related to Christ. Today, what is known as Easter in English and Ostern<\/span><\/i> in German reveals an etymological relation with the Pagan Germanic tradition: The celebration of the spring equinox and the worship of the goddess of fertility. Based on a review of the literature, such as editions, critical essays, and translations, the study aims to analyse and inquire about \u0112ostre, this lost Germanic goddess, and to define the reception of this Germanic myth in the current Christian Paschal rituals.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/spring-2021-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/North-American-Trout-Lily-by-Carly-JJ-Turner-2021.png” title_text=”North American Trout Lily by Carly JJ Turner 2021″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n After a depressing period of darkness, long dormancy, dreary winter, the arrival of spring season carries along a boost of renewed energy, and a cyclical rebirth that leaves traces of hope in the physicality and spirituality of all living beings (Ruether, 2006, p. 41). Since the ancient times, almost every culture has had some type of ritual to celebrate the return to life and the renewal of nature. Among the countless cultural manifestations, one could cite the Roman spring festivals in honour of Ceres, the goddess of nature and fertility (Spaeth, 1996, pp. 36-37), the Babylonian and Assyrian celebrations dedicated to Ishtar (Ruether, 2006, pp. 41-42), or the Mexican annual event of the spring equinox in Teotihuac\u00e1n (Delgadillo Torres, 2008, p. 57).\u00a0<\/p>\n Although Christian Paschal liturgy is very anchored to the idea of Easter as the resurrection of life, in the religious sense of the term, it seems to find its roots in the celebrations of the spring equinox (Sermon, 2008, p. 332). It is recognised that, in the liturgical order of Christianity, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday subsequent to the full moon after the spring equinox. Consequently, all the rituals that take place in the spring period are characterised by naturalistic symbolism and activities focused on the rebirth of nature and the fertility of life (Sermon, 2008, p. 340).\u00a0<\/p>\n Easter can be considered as one of the most exemplifying cases of religious syncretism[1]<\/sup><\/a>, since it blends Christian elements with the customs and traditions of northern European pre-Christian culture. At the time of the expansion of Christianity in Europe, mostly in the context of the Christianization of Germanic peoples enacted by the missionaries, it was customary to suppress and uproot what was regarded as Pagan, and to indoctrinate to the new faith (Russell, 1994, p. 7). Many symbolic acts destroyed \u201cthe indigenous religious worldview\u201d (Cusack, 2011, p. 48) and violently imposed Christian doctrine. This happened by means of the eradication of the sacred trees worshipped by Pagan peoples, and whose wood was used to build chapels (Cusack, 2011, pp. 36-40; Lamberti, 2020, p. 204), through the evangelisation with the use of biblical texts translated into vernacular, or resorting to cultural analogies. This last aspect is particularly significant, since many of the rituals and traditions of the Pagan Germanic culture were absorbed by Christianity[2]<\/sup><\/a> (Koehneke, 1999). It is therefore legitimate to think that the Paschal tradition has been deeply influenced by very remote customs, considering that the denomination of the Christian feast, known as Easter in the Anglophone countries and Ostern<\/span><\/i> in Germany, reveals an etymological connection with a lost Pagan Germanic goddess: \u0112ostre or \u014cstara (Shaw, 2011, pp. 53-54).<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n De Temporum Ratione, a treatise in Latin which relates the main medieval views on cosmos, the ancient calendars, and the ideas of seasonal changes. Chapter 15, entitled \u201cDe Mensibus Anglorum\u201d (On the English Months), contains Bede’s discussions about the origins of the names of English months, his explanations of their etymologies, and the mentioning of the rituals associated with each month (Cusack, 2007, pp. 23-24; Shaw, 2011, p. 49). With regard to the month of April, the Venerable affirmed:<\/p>\n Eostur-monath, qui nunc Paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a Dea illorum qu\u00e6 Eostre vocabatur, et cui in illo festa celebrabant nomen habuit: a cujus nomine nunc Paschale tempus cognominant, consueto antiqu\u00e6 observationis vocabulo gaudia nov\u00e6 solemnitatis vocantes (Jones, 1977).<\/p>\n Eostur-monath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month,” and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named\u00a0Eostre<\/b>, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance\u00a0 (Wallis, 1999, p. 54).<\/p>\n It is not difficult to assume that the Anglo-Saxon name for the vernal equinox could be inspired by a deity (Meaney, 1985, p. 1). March was defined Hreth-monath<\/i> \u201cthe month of Hretha\u2019\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a> April, Eostur-monath<\/i>, was therefore defined the \u201cmonth of \u0112ostre\u201d (North, 1997, pp. 226-228). The choice of female goddesses may refer to the root of mona\u03f8<\/i> \u201cmonth,\u201d related to mona<\/i> \u201cmoon\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a> (Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, 1966), and hence emphasising the bond woman-moon (Meaney, 1985, p. 1).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The existence of such a goddess was supported by the study of Shaw (2011, pp. 58-60) who found connections between \u0112ostre and the roots of some place and personal names. Helm (1950, p. 10) argued that she was probably one of the Idisi<\/i>, the female deities similar to the valkyries, also mentioned in the First Merseburg Charm<\/i>[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n Although some scholars did not believe in the existence of this spring goddess and claimed that she was a mere invention of Bede, Jacob Grimm, who firmly believed that \u0112ostre was idolized by some Germanic peoples, stated:<\/p>\n It would be uncritical to saddle this father of the church, who everywhere keeps heathenism at a distance, and tells us less of it than he knows, with the invention of these goddesses. […] We Germans to this day call April ostermonat<\/i>, and \u00f4starm\u00e2noth<\/i> is found as early as Eginarth (temp. Carl. Mag.). […] This Ost\u00e2ra, like the AS E\u00e1stre<\/i>, must in the heathen religion have denoted a higher being, whose worship was so firmly rooted, that the Christian teacher tolerated the name and applied it to one of their own grandest anniversaries (Grimm, 1882, pp. 289-290).<\/p>\n Within the perspective of giving an interpretation to the name of the female deity mentioned by Bede, scholars tried to deal with its etymology. The name \u0112ostre seems to be associated with the word \u201ceast\u201d (Nord\u00e9n, 2004). According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1966), it seems to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *aus-<\/i> meaning \u201cto shine\u201d or \u201ceastern,\u201d and from Proto-Germanic *austaz-<\/i> that became austr<\/i> in Old Norse and e\u0101st<\/i> in Old English, meaning the place where the sun rises (Bosworth and Toller, 1898). The Old Norse noun is reflected in the literary attestation of Austri, the name of the male spirit of light identified in the Gylfaginning<\/i>, in the prose Edda<\/i> (Shaw, 2011, p. 51). Grimm (1882, p. 291), and then Owen (1981, p. 27), claimed to agree on the etymology because \u0112ostre was the goddess of dawn, and she could also be the female equivalent of Austri. Knobloch (1959, pp. 42-44) wrote that \u0112ostre was simply a loan from the Latin There is another attestation in Old English that, according to Grendon (1909, p. 156), could refer to the goddess. It is one of the twelve Old English metrical charms, \u00c6cerbot<\/i>[6]<\/sup><\/a>, that was intended for insuring the fruitfulness of the land. A section of the charm, that recites \u201cErce, eor\u00fean modor,\u201d implies that Erce<\/i> was the mother of the earth and the goddess of fertility. It was thought to be another denomination for the spring goddess \u0112ostre because it followed with \u201c\u00e6cera wexendra and wridendra \/ eacniendra and elniendra \/ sceafta hehra, scirra w\u00e6stma\u201d (fields fruitful and flourishing \/ fertile and strong \/ high shafts, bright abundance) (Grendon, 1909, p. 174).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n Further discussion emerged around 1859, when the historian and archaeologist Georg Zappert purchased the Codex Suppl. No. 1668, a fifteenth-century manuscript preserved in the Austrian National Library of Vienna. Even before, in 1852, he had noticed some Old High German words on a strip of parchment that covered the spine of the manuscript (Kletke, 1867, p. 8). Among the fourteen fragments of parchment binding, he claimed to have found a lost poem in five lines, probably a lullaby, in Old High German. Such poem, dating back to tenth century, seemed to contain references to some Pagan Germanic gods, including an Old High German attestation of the goddess \u0112ostre (Edwards, 2002, p. 149). The rationalised version of the text, provided by the same Zappert, is:<\/p>\n Tocha slaf\u00eas sliumo \u00a0 uueinon sar lazz\u00eas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Triuua uuerit kraftlicho \u00a0 themo uuolfa uurgiantemo.<\/p>\n slaf\u00eas unz za morgane \u00a0 manes tr\u00fbt sunilo.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ost\u00e2r\u00e2<\/b> stellit chinde \u00a0 honak egir suozziu.<\/p>\n Hera prichit chinde \u00a0 pluomun plobun rotun.<\/p>\n Zanfana sentit morgane \u00a0 ueiziu scaf kleiniu,<\/p>\n unta Einouga, herra hurt! \u00a0 horska aska harta (Edwards, 2002, p. 150).<\/p>\n (My beloved, may you sleep hastily, leave off crying \/ Triwa<\/span><\/i> defends vigorously from the murdering wolf. \/ May you sleep until morning dear man’s son \/ <\/span>Ostara<\/i><\/b> for the child leaves honey and sweet eggs \/ <\/span>Hera<\/span><\/i> for the child breaks flowers blue and red \/\u00a0 <\/span>Tanfana<\/span><\/i> sends tomorrow a white small sheep \/ And <\/span>One-eye<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>herra<\/span><\/i> hurt! Rapid hard spears.)<\/span><\/p>\n Edwards (2002, p. 154) affirmed that \u201cthe lullaby offered a wealth of evidence for the new science of Germanic mythology, which explains Jacob Grimm’s enthusiastic welcome of the discovery\u201d. According to Grimm the text was a wonderful discovery, indeed he described it as \u201cder wunderbarste fund, der germachts warden konnte\u201d, because it finally confirmed the identity of Bede’s \u0112ostre (Edwards, 2002, p. 149).<\/span><\/p>\n Like the <\/span>Second Merseburg Charm<\/span><\/i>,[7]<\/sup><\/a>which mentions some deities (among which the unknown Sinthgunt and Phol) who tried to heal the horse of Balder, the Old High German lullaby invokes some \u201cunheard-of deities.\u201d Such goddesses are <\/span>Triuua<\/span><\/i>, probably the personification of the virtue Loyalty, <\/span>Hera<\/span><\/i>, the earth-goddess, <\/span>Zanfana<\/span><\/i>, a goddess mentioned by Tacitus, and <\/span>Ostara<\/span><\/i>, the goddess of spring. As in the final verses of the <\/span>Second Merseburg Charm <\/span><\/i>in which Odin heals the horse, the last line of the <\/span>Schlummerlied<\/span><\/i> mentions <\/span>Einouga<\/span><\/i> \u201cOne-eye,\u201d the father of the Germanic deities. Hence, although it was considered an invention of Zappert according to some scholars, the lullaby seems to share many features of the heathen Old High German poetic texts (Edwards, 2002, p. 156).<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/spring-2021-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Spring-Nest-and-Eggs-by-Carly-JJ-Turner-2021.png” title_text=”Spring Nest and Eggs by Carly JJ Turner 2021″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n With the rise of the Romantic movement in Europe and the will to provide a cultural identity to the nations, there was a tendency to explore the past roots, through the rediscovery of ancient mythology and tradition. It is particularly in Germany that, thanks to German nationalism and to the discovery of the medieval texts, this interest in celebrating the history of the nation developed. After Georg Zappert’s finding and Jacob Grimm’s statements about Ostara, the nineteenth century saw the dissemination of various legends and painting representations of Germanic gods (Kohn, 1950, p. 443).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the great interest in the spring goddess, there is no trace of her original appearance, although Grimm found that her memory had remained anchored in the German oral tradition, according to which the deity was depicted as a maiden with the head of a hare (Grimm, 1882, p. 290). The association with this animal derives from some legends that were widespread in the nineteenth century throughout Germany. Krebs (1883, pp. 121-122) told one of the versions[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n Some time ago the question was raised how it came that, according to South German still prevailing folk-lore, the Hare is believed by children to lay the Easter-eggs. [\u2026] Originally the hare seems to have been a bird which the ancient Teutonic goddess Ostara (the Anglo-Saxon E\u00e0stre or Eostre, as Bede calls her) transformed into a quadruped. For this reason the Hare, in grateful recollection of its former quality as bird and swift messenger of the Spring-Goddess, is able to lay eggs on her festival at Easter-time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Billson (1892, p. 441), in his study of the origins of the sacredness of the hare, stated that the evidence of the connection between the Christian festival of Easter and the worship of hares had to be found in the folk-customs, namely the period preceding the Roman invasion of northern Europe. In Celtic tradition, the hare was a totem animal of the lunar goddesses because it died every morning and resurrected every evening, like the moon. It stands for the cyclic movement of life, and this is the reason why the goddess of spring is symbolised by the hare (Billson, 1892, p. 449). Moreover, the egg is the symbol of fertility and rebirth, but it also depicts the balance between male and female, between light and darkness, like the equinox[9]<\/sup><\/a> (John the Wizz, 2005).<\/span><\/p>\n Grimm (1883, p. 780) confirmed the custom of the Easter eggs in Germany and he found evidence of a further interesting celebration held on the occasion of the vernal equinox:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bonfires were lighted at Easter [\u2026] Maidens clothed in white, who at Easter, at the season of returning spring, show themselves in clefts of the rock and on mountains, are suggestive of the ancient goddess (Grimm, 1882, p. 291).\u00a0<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/societyforritualarts.com\/coreopsis\/spring-2021-issue\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Rock-Smudge-and-Candle-by-Carly-JJ-Turner-2021.png” title_text=”Rock Smudge and Candle by Carly JJ Turner 2021″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n Since<\/span> the<\/span> 1950s, Neo-Pagan religions have been celebrating the goddess of spring on the day of spring equinox. Cusack (2007, pp. 34-36) has found at least three new-pagan rituals in honour of Ostara, all focused on the symbolism of the natural world. The most well-attested ritual, that blends both Germanic elements (with Old English invocations) and Wiccan elements (Flowers, 1981), refers to the Wiccan religion that defines Ostara as one of the eight Sabbats. Another one celebrates the coming of spring as a defeat of winter, and it involves the preparation of a cauldron filled with water and flowers. The third is known as <\/span>Ostara Blot<\/span><\/i>, a ritual that employs eggs, rune magic and ale (Cusack, 2007, p. 36).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In conclusion, taking into account the current Paschal tradition, it is possible to notice the meddling of heathen Germanic customs in the Christian liturgy. Despite the fact that in some countries, the etymon of Easter seems to have been influenced by the Catholic term,\u00a0 resulting from the Hebrew <\/span>Pesah <\/span><\/i>(Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, 1966), in the English-speaking countries and in Germany the feast’s name is still anchored to the Pagan Germanic past. Christianity founded one of its most relevant celebrations, acquiring the customs and the symbology of the Germanic peoples, eradicating what was contrary to the dogma (Koehneke, 1999, pp. 21-22). Among the symbolic elements of pre-Christian worship, Christian doctrine took possession of symbols like the egg, the hare or the rabbit. This would in turn point to an explanation for the current Easter tradition, in which the spring equinox is nothing but a time reference for Easter and the egg came to symbolise, not the fertility of nature, but the resurrection of Christ. What about \u0112ostre or Ostara? As Jacob Grimm (1882, p. 291) stated:<\/span><\/p>\n Ostara, E\u00e1stre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing, whose meaning could be easily adapted to the resurrection-day of the Christian’s God.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text module_class=”noindent” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> One of the features of the religious texts translated into Old English and Old High German was the representation of Christ as a Germanic warrior or as Odin, Lord of the \u00c6sir. [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Content Block” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ background_enable_image=”off” custom_margin=”0px||0px||true|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.7″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.26.6″][et_pb_text module_class=”reference” _builder_version=”4.9.1″ custom_margin=”||||false|false”]<\/p>\n Billson, C. J. (1892). The Easter Hare. Folklore, 3(4), 441-466.<\/span><\/p>\n Bosworth, J. & Toller Northcote, T. (1898). <\/span>An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary<\/span><\/i>. Oxford, United Kingdom: Clarendon Press.<\/span><\/p>\n Cusack, C. (2007). The Goddess Eostre: Bede’s Text and Contemporary Pagan Tradition(s). <\/span>The Pomegranate<\/span><\/i>, 9(1), 22-40. doi: 10.1558\/pome.v9i1.22<\/span><\/p>\n Cusack, C. (2011). Pagan Saxon Resistance to Charlemagne Mission: Indigenous Religion and World Religion in the Early Middle Ages. <\/span>The Pomegranate<\/span><\/i>, 13(1), 33-51.\u00a0 doi: 10.1558\/pome.v13i1.33<\/span><\/p>\n Delgadillo Torres, R. (2008). El Equinoccio de Primavera: Mitos y Realidades. <\/span>Casa del Tiempo<\/span><\/i>, 2(13), 57-62.<\/span><\/p>\n Edwards, C. (2002). <\/span>The Beginnings of German Literature: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Old High German<\/span><\/i>. London, United Kingdom: Camden House.<\/span><\/p>\n Flowers, S. (1981). Revival of Germanic Religion in Contemporary Anglo-America. <\/span>The Mankind Quarterly<\/span><\/i>, 21(3), 279-94.<\/span><\/p>\n Grendon, F. (1909). The Anglo-Saxon charms. <\/span>The Journal of American Folk-lore<\/span><\/i> 22, 105-214.<\/span><\/p>\n Grimm, J. (1882). <\/span>Teutonic Mythology<\/span><\/i> vol. I. London, United Kingdom: George Bell and Sons.<\/span><\/p>\n Grimm, J. (1883). <\/span>Teutonic Mythology<\/span><\/i> vol. II. London, United Kingdom: George Bell and Sons.<\/span><\/p>\n Helm, K. (1950). Erfundene G\u00f6tter?. In R. Kienast (Ed.), <\/span>Studien zur deutschen Philologie des Mittelalters. Festschrift zum 80. Geburtstag von Friedrick Panzer<\/span><\/i> (1-11). Heidelberg, Germany: Winter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Howard, J. A. (1976). \u00dcber die Echtheit eines althochdeutschen Wiegenliedes. <\/span>Studia Neophilologica<\/span><\/i> 48, 21-35.<\/span><\/p>\n John the Wiz. (2005). <\/span>Paganism Explained: Ostara<\/span><\/i>. Retrieved from\u00a0 www.bbc.co.uk\/bradford\/lifestyle\/faith\/2005\/paganism_ostara.shtml<\/span><\/p>\n Jones, C. W. (1977). <\/span>Beda Venerabilis. De temporum ratione liber<\/span><\/i>. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kasprzak, D. (2010). Conversion of the Germanic Peoples to Christianity in the Period Between the Fourth and Ninth Centuries A.D. <\/span>Roczniki Historii Kosciola<\/span><\/i> 2(57), 19-55.<\/span><\/p>\n Kletke, C. A. (1867). <\/span>Ueber deutsche Dichtungen in heidnischer Zeit: insbesondere \u00fcber ein im Jahre 1858 entdecktes althochdeutsches Schlummerlied<\/span><\/i>. Breslau, Poland: Grass, Barth und Comp.<\/span><\/p>\n Koehneke, S. P. (1999). <\/span>Paganism and Its Influence On the Development of Christianity<\/span><\/i> (Honors thesis, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana). Retrieved from:\u00a0 https:\/\/cardinalscholar.bsu.edu\/bitstream\/handle\/handle\/191200\/K64_1999KoehnekeStevenP.pdf?sequence=1\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kohn, H. (1950). Romanticism and the Rise of German Nationalism. <\/span>The Review of Politics<\/span><\/i> 12(4), 443-472.<\/span><\/p>\n Knobloch, J. (1959). Der Ursprung von nhd. Ostern, engl. Easter. <\/span>Die Sprache<\/span><\/i> 5, 27-45.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Krebs, H. (1883). Easter Eggs and the Hare. <\/span>The Folk-lore Journal<\/span><\/i> 1(11), 121-122.<\/span><\/p>\n Lamberti, M. (2020). The Merseburg Charms: Pagan Magic and Christian Culture in Medieval Germany. In F. Conti (Ed.), <\/span>Civilizations of the Supernatural: Witchcraft, Ritual, and Religious Experience in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Traditions<\/span><\/i> (203-220). Budapest, Hungary: Trivent Publishing. doi:10.22618\/TP.HMWR.20201<\/span><\/p>\n Meaney, A. (1985). Bede and Anglo-Saxon Paganism. <\/span>Parergon<\/span><\/i> 3, 1-29.<\/span><\/p>\n Nord\u00e9n, I. S. (2004). <\/span>Who is Ostara Anyway? The Truth about her Name and Festival.<\/span><\/i> Retrieved from: www.geocities.com\/ingwibergo\/ostara.html<\/span><\/p>\n North, R. (1997). <\/span>Heathen Gods in Old English Literature<\/span><\/i>. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Onions, C. T. (1966). <\/span>The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology<\/span><\/i>. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.<\/span><\/p>\n Owen, G. R. (1981). <\/span>Rites and Religions of the Anglo-Saxons<\/span><\/i>. London, United Kingdom: David and Charles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAbstract<\/h2>\n
Is Easter a springtime ritual?<\/h2>\n
The Anglo-Saxon \u0112ostre:\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Ostara in the Old High German Schlummerlied<\/h2>\n
Ostara and the legend of the Hare<\/h2>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Endnotes<\/h2>\n
[2]<\/a> It is the case of Christmas tradition and the figure of Santa Claus, which seems to derive from the Pagan deity Odin.
[3]<\/a> See Shaw (2011) for a detailed analysis of the goddess.
[4]<\/a> The relation between the two words, month and moon, is due to the fact that originally the month was the interval between one new moon and the next.
[5]<\/a> For a more detailed analysis of the charm, see Lamberti (2020, pp. 212-214).
[6]<\/a> It is an eleventh-century remedy, transmitted in the manuscript British Library Cotton Caligula, A. VII, consisting of a prayer and a ritual, intended for the fruitfulness of the field.
[7]<\/a> For a detailed analysis of the charm, see Lamberti (2020, pp. 214-217).
[8]<\/a> According to another version, a hare started laying colourful eggs as a gift to the goddess and she, in return, ordered to distribute them to children.
[9]<\/a> The term stems from the Latin \u00e6quus \u201cequal\u201d and nox \u201cnight\u201d and it describes the days of the year when daytime and night-time are equal in length.<\/p>\nReferences<\/span><\/h2>\n