Part I: The Bronze Age

Several problems arise when studying the religion of the Northern European Bronze Age. No written records from this time and region exist. The only evidence we have to go on is through hundreds of rock carvings scattered throughout the windy mountains and shores of Scandinavia. But analyzing this simple artwork has it’s own limitations and problems. Unearthed burial mounds and artifacts also give us some clues as to how the ancient Scandinavians celebrated the divine, though dating them can be tricky, especially when the contents of the grave are severely damaged. However, we can shift through later literature as we try to unravel the mysteries of ancient religions. It is possible that the later poetry and prose of the Eddas contain veiled references to religious practices that long predate their sources. Kennings, or Norse poetic devices may also offer some clues as to ancient Norse religion. But first, it is important to understand the times that produced this religion.

The Bronze Age was characterized by periods of migration and conquest. It was a time when different cultures came into contact and conflict by exchanging ideas, goods, and sometimes blows. Ralph Metzer credits two particular groups that possibly had the most influence during this time: The Kurgans and the Aryans. Both these groups were believed to be active sometime around 4300 BCE when much of Europe was inhabited by matriarchal hunter/gatherers. The Kurgans settled in Europe while the Aryans settled in India and Persia. Both groups are characterized as patriarchal nomadic warriors. This being the case, conflict with the relatively peaceful, matriarchal agricultural societies indigenous to Europe would seem inevitable. Metzner goes on to state three important factors that helped the Kurgans with their conquest: the domestication of the horse, the invention of the wheel and chariot, and improved weapons. As we shall see in the Bronze Age rock carvings, these became important symbols. According to Metzner, "The Kurgans revered the blade, the sword, and the axe as symbols of divine and royal power." Not only do weapons figure as important symbols in the rock carvings, but the horse and chariot appear to hold some importance as well.

Later myths seem to reflect early Scandinavian religion and perhaps society as well. One of the most well known myths of later Scandinavian mythology involves the war of the Aesir and the Vanir. The two groups start in conflict, but then reconcile and make peace. Possibly, this myth has been around since the earliest times, and reflects a matriarchal farming culture being absorbed into a nomadic warrior culture. Georges Dumezil counts the Scandinavians as an Indo-European society. His view on such cultures was that their gods would fall into three categories, or functions. The first function gods and goddesses revolve around the concept of kingship and leadership, and would have been worshiped by the kings. The second function deities relate to war and the military arts, and would be worshipped by the warriors. The third function gods would be agricultural, and control the areas of fertility and peace.

The indigenous people of Scandinavia show a tendency towards matriarchy. As early as 30,000 BCE, people began to make figurines of pregnant women. These figures, called the "Willendorf goddess figurines," suggest "a reverence for the feminine power of procreation and a deep connectedness with the natural world..." Manufacture of these figurines seems prevalent for quite some time, al least until the year 4300 BCE when the first wave of Kurgans invaded Europe. After this time, near the start of the Bronze Age, Scandinavian religion takes a patriarchal turn. Dumezil compares the myth of the Aesir-Vanir war to the Sabine War of Roman myth. C. Scott Littleton writes the "Sabine War … is paralleled in Scandinavian myth by the war between the Aesir (first and second functions) and the Vanir (third function), in which, as in Rome, the third-function representatives are defeated and absorbed into the community (here supernatural), rendering it complete."

It is important to note that the matriarchal tendencies of early Scandinavians were never completely destroyed. Up until the time when the Christian church took over, there always remained a sense of respect for the feminine and the feminine forces of the universe. It is also important to note that Dumezil’s theory of the three functions doesn’t work well with many of the Norse gods. The god Freyr, for example, would fall into the third function. Thus, by Dumezil’s reckoning, he is only a god of fertility. Kveldulf Gundarsson argues against this by writing "Ing/Freyr was more strongly associated with kingship than any god except Odin, and, though his emblem the boar, was called on by mortal warriors far more often than Thunnar…" Thus, Freyr actually fits into all three categories! This is true with many of the Norse gods. In a warrior culture, a god may be called upon for protection in battle at anytime, regardless if he is classified as a second function or not.

Interpreting rock carvings is not without it’s problems. Peter Gelling did an extensive survey of these carvings and mentions some obstacles to interpretation. First, rock carvings are often found in large groups, and it can be tricky to determine if the carvings are related or not. If two carvings overlap, it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine which one came first. At the time with the primitive technology, intricate detail was unknown. The carver had a limited amount of control over his medium. We must also take into consideration the artist’s style. If a rock carving of a man has enlarged hands, for example, it may mean the hands had some sort of religious importance or it could just be the engraver’s particular style. However, some trends do emerge.

Male figures are often characterized with an erect penis and a protrusion from the rear. If such figures are taken to be religious in nature, then it is possible to make two speculations as to Bronze Age ritual attire. First, it is possible that religious ceremonies were performed in the nude. The second speculation has to do with the rear protrusions, which are believed to represent animal tails or sheathed swords. It is possible that men wore animal tails attached to belts during ceremony. If they represent swords, then we can assume weapons played an important part in religious worship. Either one of these speculations is possible. Gelling states that as "…a general rule, it is perhaps more likely that indeterminate projections are tails than swords." In addition, some figures in rock carvings have artificial wings, antlers or horns, and elongated faces (either representing an animal’s head or a beak). So it appears certain rituals may have required the participants to dress up like animals. Weapons also held great importance, especially during an uncertain time when bands of nomadic raiders roamed the wilderness. However, this is not to suggest that weapons were worn to ritual simply for protection. Weapons are fairly frequent in rock carvings, and many of the Norse gods are associated with a certain weapon, like Thor and his hammer or Odin and his spear. Therefore, it is not far-fetched to assume that weapons held some sort of power or holiness, and a ritual dedicated to a war god may have included a weapon as part of ritual dress.

Females are far less common then males in the rock carvings. When pictured, they are usually depicted as non-phallic figures with long projections coming from the back of the head. Without a doubt, this probably represents the woman’s hair. However, this does not mean every figure pictured without a penis is female. Once again, we have to take into account the artist’s style. Or, the artist may have wished not to distinguish male and female figures within his work. But hair is not the only way women are pictured in rock carvings. Some are shown with swollen breasts or belly to indicate pregnancy. One rock carving which appears to be depicting a marriage seems to show the male’s penis touching the female at the thigh. Slightly above it is a white space shaped like an egg. This area could either be representing the womb or the egg within the female’s body.

One of the most common images in early rock carvings is the sun disk. This disk can take a variety of forms. Most common are crosses within circles. Others are more detailed: a circle within a circle with the inner circle surrounded by lines. Some solar disks are represented by a large circle with a series of smaller rings within it. Or, the sun disk might be represented by a plain circle-empty or filled in. Finally, some engravers have combined two or more of these images into a single, detailed picture. But whatever the style, the idea usually is the same: the sun projecting it’s light.

Sometimes, the sun is represented as the wheel of a chariot, being drawn by animals, or being carried on a ship or chariot. The idea of the sun being transported in such a manner did survive up through the Viking Age in the sun goddess Sunna and is well supported by archeological evidence. Several sculptures have been found of a disk on wheels attached to an animal on wheels. Such sculptures are probably smaller versions of models that may have been drawn in a procession or some sort. These sculptures are from later times, though, because the sun disk is very intricately carved and rarely resembles the sun disks on the rock carvings.

However, the earliest images of the sun personified as a deity are overwhelmingly male. Gelling notes that some rock carvings of male figures look like sun disks with tail, phallus, arms, legs, a head, and sometimes a weapon. Usually, these disk-men are carrying an axe or spear. Even more odd, some rock carvings depict several such characters! Gelling mentions that the notion of there being several sun gods could cause some objections. Since there is one sun, should there not be only one sun god? To explain this, he suggests that scenes depicting multiple disk-men could actually be several separate engravings done over a period of years. As stated previously, we have no way of knowing if one carving came before another in a large group. Or, he suggests that these disk men are to be understood as worshippers of the sun, and not the deity itself.

Some how it seems the perception of the solar deity made a transition from male to female, but how this transition occurred is unknown. Very little is known about Sunna. Both the prose and poetic Eddas mention she is the sister of the moon god Mani and both siblings are chased by two huge wolves. On the day of Ragnarok, they will be captured and devoured by the wolves, but before she is eaten she will give birth to a daughter who will take her place once the world is restored. That is the extent of her mythic identity. There are no weapons or exoteric concepts associated with her other than the basic functions of being a solar deity. The early sun god appears to be associated with the axe, the spear, and had some sort of protective function. The sun also appeared to be associated with justice, as are many of the other solar deities of the world. Possibly, the Bronze Age sun deity’s rulership and warrior functions are taken over by Odin, Tyr, and possibly Forseti, and the axe and spear insignia were transferred as well. The sun’s fertility aspects were taken over by various Vanic gods. Thus, when the sun god came to be perceived as a sun goddess and all she was left with was the role of the light bearer.

Sun worship appeared to be an important aspect of Bronze Age religion, but it was not the only part of the Bronze Age religious experience. By examining other rock carvings we can take a glimpse at other possible parts of religious life. As with any substance level primitive society, obtaining food became an important part of daily life. Among the various rock carvings we find evidence of rituals that were meant to insure both a successful hunt and a bountiful harvest.

Many rock carvings depict hunting scenes with familiar elements that appear in many parts of the primitive world. Archeologists have found stones depicting scenes where men are hunting animals. Often, these rock carvings show the animal being brought down by a spear or arrow. Scientists have analyzed pigment taken from cave paintings showing this sort of scene. They discovered that the pigment contained the DNA of the type of animal the scene depicted! This suggests a sort of magic that was believed to give people some sort of control over the animal they wished to hunt. It is not unreasonable to assume that Bronze Age rock carvings of the hunt were meant to serve a similar purpose. Gelling points out one rock carving depicting a hunt has the men chasing an unusually shaped deer, which he believes to be a man dressed as the animal he wished to kill. He also points to a carving which shows what appears to be a dead animal thrown across a stone, which suggests that "…the pursing of animals was not an entirely secular occupation. The sacrifice of previously captured animals would be intelligible enough..." On the same token, stone carvings may have been used for protecting animals as well as hunting them. Some rock carvings depict a man with a raised weapon that appears to be warding off or standing guard over a group of animals. Such carvings were probably thought to invoke a god to watch over the animals or summon some sort of land spirit to scare away predatory animals.

Agriculture was also important. A few carvings seem to depict some sort of a ritual ploughing, though to encourage the growth of new plants. A horse sometimes draws the ploughs in these carvings. However, Gelling, however, doubts the Bronze Age Europeans used the horse for such purposes. Instead, he suggests that the horse may be connected with the sun, so thus it would make more sense to believe that the horse was supposed to be a representative of the sun god and his power of life and fertility.