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DanielLB
Elvenhome
Jan 19 2012, 12:26am
Post #1 of 5
(1084 views)
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Woden and Gandalf
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For those that are interest, The One Show (UK) had one of their short clips during the show, discussing the Anglo-Saxon god, Woden, and how it makes it self into Tolkien's mythology. Can be viewed here, from 23.42:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/...One_Show_18_01_2012/
For those who cannot watch the show, I will give a premise.
The clip goes into how the day 'Wednesday' got it's name.
It essentially derives from 'Woden's Day', which was intitially named after an Anglo-Saxon god, known as Woden. For comparison, across the European continent, Wednesday is named after the Greek god, Mercury.
In 410AD when the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain, from Germany, they built a defensive ditch and named it Woden's dyke. He was viewed as the most powerful of Anglo-Saxon gods, and so they believed he deserved such a large dyke. Woden was the god of poetry, wisdom, magic and war (for good or evil).
A historian describes how the 'nothern people' described Woden as 'an old man, with a long beard, a grey cloak and a blue hood and a slouched hat that covered one eye and concealed the fact that he had lost it gaining wisdom'.
While Anglo-Saxon gods were adandoned as Christiniaty spread, such beliefs were almost totally forgotten. Apart for a prof. of Anglo-Saxon - Tolkien.
They then highlight that Gandalf is essentially the image of Woden:
"He wore a tall pointed blue hat, grey cloak and a silver scarf. He had a long white beard and busy eyebrowns that stuck out beyond the brim of his hat." It concludes highlighting how Tolkien wove these ideas into his own work.
This information is probably already out there somehwere on the www, but thought I would highlight it for those interested
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Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome
Jan 19 2012, 3:06pm
Post #2 of 5
(671 views)
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I've always understood that 'Woden' is another name for 'Odin'.
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Odin being the head of the Norse pantheon of gods that includes Thor, Loki, Baldur, etc. Woden/Odin was famous for wandering about in disguise, sometimes accompanied by other gods, testing mortals or simply rewarding/punishing mortal men or women depending upon how he was treated by them.
One big difference between Woden/Odin and Gandalf is that Gandalf was not missing an eye (sacrificed by the All-Father to gain wisdom).
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.
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telain
Nargothrond
Jan 19 2012, 3:24pm
Post #3 of 5
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... though the Norse pantheon does sort of blend into the northern Germanic and vice-versa.
Woden is more accurately the Germanic, while Odin is more accurately the Norse. It is a bit like Zeus (Greek) and Jupiter (Roman), only with the names sounding more alike.
It is true that there are similarities, but they aren't the same; probably best to think of them as counterparts.
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Otaku-sempai
Elvenhome
Jan 19 2012, 3:36pm
Post #4 of 5
(656 views)
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Thanks for the clarification.
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.
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Oden
Ossiriand
Jan 20 2012, 12:17am
Post #5 of 5
(804 views)
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Thanks for the great information and the link.
I always like to learn more about my namesake.
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