Post by Mysti on Jul 7, 2007 9:07:32 GMT -5
Of Norse Loki and the Celt Lugh
by DaRC
Firstly I must give credit to the web-sites at the end who's information and words I have shamelessly plundered and reformatted into the essay below. Being a programmer I'm used to cutting and pasting the necessary parts needed to create a whole and it is what I have done here.
Summary
This summarizes the conclusion below which defines the details of my thoughts. The main thrust here is that the Celts were amongst the earliest European tribes to smelt iron, their culture thus heavily influenced those tribes around them particularly the Norse, Northern or Germanic tribes. Loki provides the echo of that Celtic influence on early Northern culture within the Norse mythology. As Lugh or Lugus was one of the primary Celtic deities I think that Loki can be identified as the Norse view of Lugh. This depends upon Loki and Lugh being identified together for which the argument is that both were fostered in the legends. They both have a close association with mistletoe and provide gifts to their friends. They are lightning Gods rather than Sun, Earth or Water gods and can both be associated with killing, via a thrown spear, a Sun god. This is just what inspiration points to me as obvious and that the demonisation of Loki is the influence of Christianity in misinterpreting the Norse mythology for it's own ends.
The beginning of Norse Mythology
The Early Northern Iron Age (c. 500 BC)
The knowledge of the early Norse iron age is limited to archaeological evidence and comments from classical authors. Evidence suggests that the late Bronze Age (ca. 700 BC) was a time of cultural change when the language(s) spoken earlier may have been replaced by the Germanic language.
It seems that there were organised villages and the gradual change to a more sophisticated, stratified society started around 500 BC right at the beginning of the Iron Age. Many finds have been found in bogs. The oldest war booty offering, known as the Hjortspring find, contains the remains of the oldest prehistoric Danish boat. It is of the same type as the craft known from Bronze Age rock carvings. The weapons found with it, however, are of Celtic origin. Other finds from the end of the Bronze Age period include the Dejbjerg wagons and the large cauldrons from Brå and Gundestrup which bear witness to connections with the Celts. These precious vessels were brought back during the turbulent period when the Germanic Cimbrians and Teutons were roaming Europe and attacking the northern boundary of the Roman Empire where at Noricum in 113 BC they defeated a Roman army.
The Roots of the Runes
What we now know as the runic alphabet seems to have developed from two distinct sources - one magical, one literate. Pre-runic symbols, or hällristningar, have been found in various Bronze Age rock carvings, primarily in Sweden. Some of these symbols are readily identifiable in the later alphabets, while others represent ideas and concepts which were incorporated into the names of the runes (sun, horse, etc.). The exact meanings of these sigils are now lost to us, as is their original purpose, but they are believed to have been used for divination or lot-casting, and it is fairly certain that they contributed to the magical function of the later runic alphabets.
There is some debate over the origin of the "alphabet" aspect of the runes. Cases have been made for both Latin and Greek derivation, and several scholars are once again arguing in favour of both these theories. However, the strongest evidence still seems to point to a North Italic origin (from Etruscan). The parallels between the two alphabets are too close to be ignored, particularly in the forms of the letters, as well as in the variable direction of the writing, and certain structural and even symbolic characteristics. This would also explain why so many of the runes resemble Roman letters, since both Italic and Latin scripts are derived from the Etruscan alphabet (itself a branch of the Western Greek family of alphabets).
This theory would place the original creation of the futhark sometime before the 1st. century AD., when the Italic scripts were absorbed and replaced by the Latin alphabet. Linguistic and phonetic analysis points to an even earlier inception date, perhaps as far back as 200 BC.
When the northern tribes began integrating the Italic alphabets into their own symbolic system, they gave the letters names relating to all aspects of their secular and religious lives, thus transforming their simple pictographs into a magical alphabet which could be used for talismans, magical inscriptions and divination.
(Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, pp. 5-6).
A third theory, and perhaps the most popular today, is that the runestaves were derived from North Italic alphabets used in the Alpine regions of Italy. Like the Latin alphabet, these scripts derived from the Etruscan alphabet. They were in use until the first or second century when they were finally superseded by the Latin script. Like the runestaves, the North Italic alphabets could be written either right to left or left to right H. Arntz believes that one of the Germanic tribes said to be in the Alpine regions by Roman authors could have encountered North Italic writing as early as the fourth century BC. From this they evolved the futhark as we know it and by the second century BC it had already began its spread northward (Elliot, pp. 8-9). We do know that Germanic tribes did indeed encounter North Italic writing. In 1812 a helmet was unearthed at Negau near the border of Austria and Yugoslavia. Inscribed upon the helmet are the words hargasti teiwa, which indicates that someone who spoke Proto-Germanic knew the North Italic script and used it in writing his own language.
It must be noted that this theory gives sufficient time for the runestaves to be in use in Denmark and Norway in the third century AD. A major objection that can be made to this theory is that the shapes of many of the runestaves do not resemble North Italic writing at all. This problem could be solved when one considers the symbols often found in rock carvings which appear to predate the runestaves themselves. Many of these symbols resemble many of the runestaves, so much so that it seems possible that whoever invented the runestaves could have adapted some of the North Italic letters for the rune row's use and derived the other staves from these ancient symbols (Elliot, p. 7).
Though we cannot say for certain, it seems likely that the Common Germanic rune row was invented some time between the fourth century BC and the first century AD. It was apparently developed by an individual familiar with North Italic script who adapted letters from that alphabet and symbols used by the Germanic peoples for use in the rune row.
Celtic Comparative History
It can be seen from the above that circa 300 BC - 100 BC is probably when the Norse Mythology is created. Odin's discovery of the Runes is from around that time and it was a time when Norse culture was changing from a Farmstead culture into a more stratified, organised culture and coming into contact with the Italian and Celtic cultures via both trade and war.
So what was happening with the Celts at this time? Beginning around 500 BCE, and following on the sudden expansion of both wealth and territory it had experienced in the Early Iron Age, the Celtic world entered into a period of comfort and self-confidence where it took great interest in the cultures and artistic expressions of its neighbours and borrowed freely from them, yet always adapted such borrowings to native Celtic tastes and values. This blend of innovation and tradition gave rise to the unique La Tène style of Celtic art, and doubtless had repercussions at all levels of Celtic culture, particularly in the realm of religion. A whole vocabulary of religious symbols of Oriental origin began to be depicted on art objects during this period, suggesting a renewed interest in religious ideas as a result of exposure to foreign traditions, although there does not seem to have been any break with the fundamental Indo-European heritage. Many of these imported symbols, as well as some other new ones of native origin, are found in association with one particular god, Lugus, whose sudden and widespread rise to prominence must have been one of the most important events in La Tène religion.
The La Tène period was when the Celts were at the height of their political power and it was during this period that they came to the note of the Classical Greeks and Romans particularly during their invasions of the Etruscan city of Clusium and Rome in 390 BC where Brennus', their leader or the title of their leader, demanded his weight in gold to leave the city alone. Throughout the next 200 years there are constant movement of Celtic tribes from the Atlantic to Asia Minor. This also coincides with Greek expansion under Alexander the Great and Roman expansion. When the German tribes start their migrations into Transalpine Gaul ca 100 BC this causes the last of the great Celtic migrations from the East of the Rhine to the West of the Rhine which in turn enabled Julius Caesar to conquer the now divided Gaul. All the Gaulish tribes and their lands had been conquered - Transalpine, Cisalpine and Gaul itself. However many of the German tribes adopted Celtic culture and religious practice.
by DaRC
Firstly I must give credit to the web-sites at the end who's information and words I have shamelessly plundered and reformatted into the essay below. Being a programmer I'm used to cutting and pasting the necessary parts needed to create a whole and it is what I have done here.
Summary
This summarizes the conclusion below which defines the details of my thoughts. The main thrust here is that the Celts were amongst the earliest European tribes to smelt iron, their culture thus heavily influenced those tribes around them particularly the Norse, Northern or Germanic tribes. Loki provides the echo of that Celtic influence on early Northern culture within the Norse mythology. As Lugh or Lugus was one of the primary Celtic deities I think that Loki can be identified as the Norse view of Lugh. This depends upon Loki and Lugh being identified together for which the argument is that both were fostered in the legends. They both have a close association with mistletoe and provide gifts to their friends. They are lightning Gods rather than Sun, Earth or Water gods and can both be associated with killing, via a thrown spear, a Sun god. This is just what inspiration points to me as obvious and that the demonisation of Loki is the influence of Christianity in misinterpreting the Norse mythology for it's own ends.
The beginning of Norse Mythology
The Early Northern Iron Age (c. 500 BC)
The knowledge of the early Norse iron age is limited to archaeological evidence and comments from classical authors. Evidence suggests that the late Bronze Age (ca. 700 BC) was a time of cultural change when the language(s) spoken earlier may have been replaced by the Germanic language.
It seems that there were organised villages and the gradual change to a more sophisticated, stratified society started around 500 BC right at the beginning of the Iron Age. Many finds have been found in bogs. The oldest war booty offering, known as the Hjortspring find, contains the remains of the oldest prehistoric Danish boat. It is of the same type as the craft known from Bronze Age rock carvings. The weapons found with it, however, are of Celtic origin. Other finds from the end of the Bronze Age period include the Dejbjerg wagons and the large cauldrons from Brå and Gundestrup which bear witness to connections with the Celts. These precious vessels were brought back during the turbulent period when the Germanic Cimbrians and Teutons were roaming Europe and attacking the northern boundary of the Roman Empire where at Noricum in 113 BC they defeated a Roman army.
The Roots of the Runes
What we now know as the runic alphabet seems to have developed from two distinct sources - one magical, one literate. Pre-runic symbols, or hällristningar, have been found in various Bronze Age rock carvings, primarily in Sweden. Some of these symbols are readily identifiable in the later alphabets, while others represent ideas and concepts which were incorporated into the names of the runes (sun, horse, etc.). The exact meanings of these sigils are now lost to us, as is their original purpose, but they are believed to have been used for divination or lot-casting, and it is fairly certain that they contributed to the magical function of the later runic alphabets.
There is some debate over the origin of the "alphabet" aspect of the runes. Cases have been made for both Latin and Greek derivation, and several scholars are once again arguing in favour of both these theories. However, the strongest evidence still seems to point to a North Italic origin (from Etruscan). The parallels between the two alphabets are too close to be ignored, particularly in the forms of the letters, as well as in the variable direction of the writing, and certain structural and even symbolic characteristics. This would also explain why so many of the runes resemble Roman letters, since both Italic and Latin scripts are derived from the Etruscan alphabet (itself a branch of the Western Greek family of alphabets).
This theory would place the original creation of the futhark sometime before the 1st. century AD., when the Italic scripts were absorbed and replaced by the Latin alphabet. Linguistic and phonetic analysis points to an even earlier inception date, perhaps as far back as 200 BC.
When the northern tribes began integrating the Italic alphabets into their own symbolic system, they gave the letters names relating to all aspects of their secular and religious lives, thus transforming their simple pictographs into a magical alphabet which could be used for talismans, magical inscriptions and divination.
(Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, pp. 5-6).
A third theory, and perhaps the most popular today, is that the runestaves were derived from North Italic alphabets used in the Alpine regions of Italy. Like the Latin alphabet, these scripts derived from the Etruscan alphabet. They were in use until the first or second century when they were finally superseded by the Latin script. Like the runestaves, the North Italic alphabets could be written either right to left or left to right H. Arntz believes that one of the Germanic tribes said to be in the Alpine regions by Roman authors could have encountered North Italic writing as early as the fourth century BC. From this they evolved the futhark as we know it and by the second century BC it had already began its spread northward (Elliot, pp. 8-9). We do know that Germanic tribes did indeed encounter North Italic writing. In 1812 a helmet was unearthed at Negau near the border of Austria and Yugoslavia. Inscribed upon the helmet are the words hargasti teiwa, which indicates that someone who spoke Proto-Germanic knew the North Italic script and used it in writing his own language.
It must be noted that this theory gives sufficient time for the runestaves to be in use in Denmark and Norway in the third century AD. A major objection that can be made to this theory is that the shapes of many of the runestaves do not resemble North Italic writing at all. This problem could be solved when one considers the symbols often found in rock carvings which appear to predate the runestaves themselves. Many of these symbols resemble many of the runestaves, so much so that it seems possible that whoever invented the runestaves could have adapted some of the North Italic letters for the rune row's use and derived the other staves from these ancient symbols (Elliot, p. 7).
Though we cannot say for certain, it seems likely that the Common Germanic rune row was invented some time between the fourth century BC and the first century AD. It was apparently developed by an individual familiar with North Italic script who adapted letters from that alphabet and symbols used by the Germanic peoples for use in the rune row.
Celtic Comparative History
It can be seen from the above that circa 300 BC - 100 BC is probably when the Norse Mythology is created. Odin's discovery of the Runes is from around that time and it was a time when Norse culture was changing from a Farmstead culture into a more stratified, organised culture and coming into contact with the Italian and Celtic cultures via both trade and war.
So what was happening with the Celts at this time? Beginning around 500 BCE, and following on the sudden expansion of both wealth and territory it had experienced in the Early Iron Age, the Celtic world entered into a period of comfort and self-confidence where it took great interest in the cultures and artistic expressions of its neighbours and borrowed freely from them, yet always adapted such borrowings to native Celtic tastes and values. This blend of innovation and tradition gave rise to the unique La Tène style of Celtic art, and doubtless had repercussions at all levels of Celtic culture, particularly in the realm of religion. A whole vocabulary of religious symbols of Oriental origin began to be depicted on art objects during this period, suggesting a renewed interest in religious ideas as a result of exposure to foreign traditions, although there does not seem to have been any break with the fundamental Indo-European heritage. Many of these imported symbols, as well as some other new ones of native origin, are found in association with one particular god, Lugus, whose sudden and widespread rise to prominence must have been one of the most important events in La Tène religion.
The La Tène period was when the Celts were at the height of their political power and it was during this period that they came to the note of the Classical Greeks and Romans particularly during their invasions of the Etruscan city of Clusium and Rome in 390 BC where Brennus', their leader or the title of their leader, demanded his weight in gold to leave the city alone. Throughout the next 200 years there are constant movement of Celtic tribes from the Atlantic to Asia Minor. This also coincides with Greek expansion under Alexander the Great and Roman expansion. When the German tribes start their migrations into Transalpine Gaul ca 100 BC this causes the last of the great Celtic migrations from the East of the Rhine to the West of the Rhine which in turn enabled Julius Caesar to conquer the now divided Gaul. All the Gaulish tribes and their lands had been conquered - Transalpine, Cisalpine and Gaul itself. However many of the German tribes adopted Celtic culture and religious practice.