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VILMOS VOIGT
exclude that such existed. Ihe etymology of Nehalennias name (originating
perhaps from the Latin root of nex and necare “to kill”) is striking if we
accept the more than century-old assumption of Friedrich Kauffmann
(Dea Nehalennia, 1892) who connected the word néy “ship” with the names
of the gods Nerthus and Nehalennia. Nehalennia then means “she who lives
close to the water” (i.e., to the sea). This would not be far from the aquatic
connotation of Isis in Egypt. The goddess on the tablet is usually sitting in
a “Matrona” type of robe.f No priests or other participants of mysteries are
shown on the tablets.’
THE CASE OF NERTHUS / NJÖRDR
The Goddess Nerthus is already described in chapter 40 of the Germania
by Tacitus as Terra Mater venerated by many Germanic tribes south of
the “Eastern Sea” (that is, the Baltic Sea). According to this description, she
has a sanctuary on an island in the Ocean and on her cow-driven chariot, she
conducts regular processions over the land. Returning back home to the island,
she (and her vehicle with the covering carpet) are washed clean in a secret lake
by serfs, who are then killed in order that nobody should be informed about the
exact location of the secret place. In the cult of Nerthus, the division between
sacred and profane is clear, the rite is kept in secrecy in a brutal way—still we
cannot say that it is a mystery. The female name Nerthus is akin to the Old
Norse Njérdr, a god from the group of the Vanes,* with a special connection to
the sea and sailing.’ It is surprising that the name Nerthus comes from a group
of masculine words, including Ancient Greek dvijp, “man.” Njérdr commonly
occurs in Old Scandinavian place names and archaeological finds. In West
Norway, related place names originate mainly from the coast, while in Sweden
they are common in the central, agricultural area. In general, the Vane gods
(vanir) protect agriculture and the household—in contrary to the warrior¬
like As gods (aesir). The continuity of the cult of Njordr is traceable until the
time of the Christianization of Northern Europe. But we do not find explicit
references to mysteries connected to Njérdr. The female Nerthus developed
into a male god—this is striking, especially if we realize that Njordr’s children
are twins: the goddess Freyja and the god of fertility, Freyr (meaning, in the
§ Matrona, the “Great Mother” is a Celtic fertility goddess,
7 AY Hultgard, Nerthus und Nerthuskult, in RDA, Bd. 21, 2002a, 83-89. À. Hultgärd, Njördr,
in RDA, Bd. 21, 2002b, 234-240.
8 See in general Nils Lid (ed.), Religionshistorie, Stockholm — Oslo — Kobenhavn, Albert
Bonniers — H. Aschehoug & Co. - J. H. Schultz, 1942. (Nordisk Kultur XXVI.) See also
Adolf Schiick (ed.), Befolkning under medeltiden, Stockholm — Oslo — Kobenhavn, Albert
Bonniers — H. Aschehoug & Co. - J. H. Schultz, 1938. (Nordisk Kutur II.)
° H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, Middlesex, Penguin, 1964, 132-138.
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