Alrunes
The Alrunes were the Lares or Penates of the ancient Germans. An Alruna-wife
was the household-goddess. Female demons or sorceresses, mothers of the
Huns in ancient Germany. They practiced metamorphosis, changing into all
sorts of shapes without changing their sex. The Germans gave the name
to little statures, about a foot high. To them the people attributed great
virtue, honoring them in similar fashion as the African Negroes honored
their fetishes. The statues were richly clothed, given comfortable housing,
and served food and drink at every meal. It was believed that if the images
were neglected they would bring severe misfortune upon the household.
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Beda
A goddess from ancient Germany.
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Berchta
("white lady") A goddess of South German mythology. She is akin
to the Hulda of North Germany, but after the Christians degraded her into
a scary old woman to frighten children. Berchta was sometimes depicted
with a long iron nose and one large foot.
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Bertha
A character from German folklore, with characteristics of the Italian
Befana and the South German Berchta. She is a White Lady who steals softly
into nurseries and rocks infants to sleep, but is the terror of all naughty
children.
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Erda
Ancient German earth goddess
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Lorelei
A beautiful siren who sat on a cliff above the Rhine, luring sailors to
their death with her song. |
Nerthus
The primary deity of the northern Germanic tribes, her name meant "earth".
When the wagon displaying her statue was paraded among the tribes, all
weapons were put away and all fighting stopped.
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