A modern day statue of Krodo erected in Bad Harzburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Some years ago whilst reading Legends and Tales of the Harz Mountains, North Germany by Maria Elise Turner Lauder (1885) I encountered a tale called The Steinkirche and the Hermit which refers to both Ostera and a God called Krodo:
"In the grey days long ago, when paganism ruled the land, there stood on the hills near the cave called the Steinkirche-altars to the gods.
Bright were the fires to Krodo in the darkness of the night, and on the opposite cliffs rose the fire pillar in honour of the goddess Ostera.
The crackling flames illuminated the country and the mountains, and invited the inhabitants of the nearlying vales and heights to the wild customs, the bloody sacrifices, and the raving dance of heathenism."
Poetically Lauder goes on to tell us how a xtian holy man converted the heathen Saxons by a supposed miracle and:
"And the hearts of the wild Sassen were opened.....
"They vowed to a man henceforth to forsake the worship of Krodo, to remain true to the new faith....."
Despite having a mother who came from the Harz mountains I had never heard or read this story before and neither had I heard of this God called Krodo. After carrying out some research I have found that He is one of the Saxons` ancestral Gods and thus my ancestral God.
Jacob Grimm refers to Krodo in his Teutonic Mythology Volume 1 and relates Him to the Roman God Saturn.
"But that AS. Saeteresbyrig from the middle of the 11th century irresistibly reveals the `burg` on the Harz mts, built (according to our hitherto despised accounts of the 15th century in Bothe`s Sachsenchronik) to the idol Saturn, which Saturn, it is added, the common people called Krodo; to this we may add the name touched upon in p. 206 (Hrethe, Hrethemonath), for which an older Hruodo, Chrodo was conjectured. We are told of an image of this Saturn or Krodo, which represented the idol as a man standing on a great fish, holding a pot of flowers in his right hand, and a wheel erect in his left; the Roman Saturn was furnished with the sickle, not a wheel."
Grimm tells us that Hrodo may be related to Baldag/Balder and he derives from this that the seventh day of the week (Saturday) may have been called Roydag and thus sacred to Krodo (see supplement 3 on page 248). Hrethemonath, the Anglo-Saxon month of March is the month heathens normally associate with the Goddess Hrethe.
"...but beside Sitivrat we have learnt another name for Saturn, namely Kirt, which certainly seems to be our Krodo and Hrudo."
Interestingly he interprets Sitivrat as being:
"sieve-turner" and that this "would be almost the same as kolo-vrat, wheel-turner, and afford a solution of that wheel in Krodo`s hand; both wheel (kolo) and sieve (sito) move round, and an ancient spell rested on sieve-turning. Slav mythologists have identified Sitivrat with the Hindu Satyavrata, who in a great deluge is saved by Vishnu in the form of a fish. Krodo stands on a fish; and Vishnu is represented wearing wreaths of flowers about his neck, and holding a wheel (chakra) in his fourth hand. All these coincidences are still meagre and insecure; but they suffice to establish the high antiquity of a Slavo-Teutonic myth, which starts up thus from one quarter."
Thus far we have established that not only is Krodo a Saxon and thus a Teutonic deity but His antiquity goes right back to Aryan times with his association with similar Slavic, Hindu and Roman deities. Indeed Krodo`s name is so ancient that Grimm states that it "is rather too ancient, and I can find no support for it in the Saxon speech." Clearly this deity was still remembered by the Saxons and other Aryan peoples long after their dispersion out of the Ur-heimat.
Elsewhere in Teutonic Mythology Grimm states:
"Bothe`s Sassenchronik relates under the year 780, that King Charles, during his conquest of the East Saxons, overthrew on the Hartesburg an idol similar to Saturn, which the people called Krodo."
One is reminded of Charlemagne`s (King Charles/Karl der Grosse) similar overthrow of the Irminsul also in the land of the Saxons in 772 CE.
In Goslar Cathedral there was stored the bronze Krodo Altar, dating back to the year 1040 CE, which is an indication that this God was still remembered with affection several hundred years after Karl`s sacrilege. It can now be found in Goslar`s town museum. A rebuilt statue of Krodo now stands at Harzburg Castle.
Even today there are a number of locations in the Harz that bear His name such as Crodenbeke (Krodo Valley)- now called Kroedlippen, Krotenpful, Crodenleide, Crothensee and Goetzenthal (Valley of the idols). Ground Ivy is also called Crodokraut which affords protection against witches.
After Karl destroyed Krodo`s temple he erected in its place a chapel and the site of this today is Harzburg Castle. Tradition has it that when Karl asked the East Saxons who was the God they worshipped they replied: "Krodo is our god", to which the emperor replied "Krodo is all the same as kroten-duevel!" Thus "toad-devil" became a German curse. Such curses often involve the names of our ancient deities.
A modern day Krodo statue erected in Bad Harzburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.
In common with many other practitioners of our Germanic religion I carry out a solitary rite in honour of Woden and Thunor on their sacred days, Wednesday and Thursday. I have recently moved these rites to Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in recognition that our ancestors reckoned the day to begin on the prior evening just as they counted in nights rather than days. This is where we get the expression a fortnight from, fēowertyne niht (Old English for 14 nights). By doing things correctly we show honour to our deities.
Whilst Thunor and Woden are generally regarded as our 2 most prominent deities our 7 day week honours others such as Tiw (Tuesday), Frigga (Friday), Saetern (Saturday), Sunna (Sunday) and Mani (Monday). The Kaiserchronik refers to our German Gods by Roman names, ascribing Saturday to the God Saturn:
"Then on the Saturday
Is a thing named rotunda
That was a lofty temple,
The god was named Saturnus,
Thereafter was it to all devils' honour."
The chronicle is referring to a temple which Boniface had converted into a church in dedication of Mary. It would appear from the writer's choice of words that although this temple was originally dedicated to Saturn it became a general place of worship of all our deities, which the Christian writer terms 'devils'. Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology Volume 1 states:
"The Anglo-Saxons, English, Frisians, Dutch and Low Saxons have left to the 'dies Saturni' the god's very name: Saeteresday or Saeternesdaeg, Saturday, Saterdei, Saterdach, Satersdag, and even the Irish have adopted dia Satuirn or Satarn; whereas the French samedi, Span. sabado, Ital. sabato, agrees with our High Germ. samstag."
But who was this Saeter? Grimm points out that the 11th century place name Saeteresbyrig refers back to the " 'burg' on the Harz mts, built (according to our hitherto despised accounts of the 15th century in Bothe's Sachsenchronik) to the idol Saturn, which Saturn, it is added, the common people called Krodo; to this we may add the name touched upon in p. 206 (Hrethe, Hrethemonath), for which an older Hruodo, Chrodo was conjectured. We are told of an image of this Saturn or Krodo, which represented the idol as a man standing on a great fish, holding a pot of flowers in his right hand, and a wheel erect in his left; the Roman Saturn was furnished with the sickle, not a wheel."
Grimm draws parallels between Krodo and a deity worshiped by the Slavs:
"Widukind mentions a brazen simulacrum Saturni among the Slavs of the tenth century, without at all describing it; but Old Bohemian glosses in Hanka 14a and 17a carry us farther. In the first Mercurius is called 'Radihost vnuk Kirtov' (Radigast grandson of Kirt), in the second, Picus Saturni filius is glossed 'ztracec Sitivratov zin' (woodpecker, Sitivrat's son); and in a third 20a, Saturn is again called Sitivrat. Who does not see that Sitivrat is the Slavic name for Saturn, which leads us at first glance to sit=satur? Radigast=Mercury (p.130n.) is the son of Stracec=Picus; and in fact Greek myths treat Picus as Zeus, making him give up the kingdom to his son Hermes. Picus is Jupiter, son of Saturn; but beside Sitivrat we have learnt another name for Saturn, namely Kirt, which certainly seems to be our Krodo and Hruodo. Sitivrat and Kirt confirm Saturn and Krodo; I do not know whether the Slavic word is to be connected with the Boh. krt, Pol. kret, Russ. krot, i.e., the mole. I should prefer to put into the other name Sitivrat the subordinate meaning of sito-vrat, sieve-turner, so that it would be almost the same as kolo-vrat, sieve-turner, so that it would be almost the same as kolo-vrat, wheel-turner, and afford a solution of that wheel in Krodo's hand; both wheel (kolo) and sieve (soto) move round, and an ancient spell rested on sieve-turning. Slav mythologists
have identified Sitivrat with the Hindu Satyavrata, who in a great deluge is saved by Vishnu in the form of a fish. Krodo stands on a fish; and Vishnu is represented wearing wreaths of flowers about his neck, and holding a wheel (chakra) in his fourth hand."
"The last to make up here number of seven, was the Idoll SEATER,
fondly of some supposed to be Saturnus, for he was otherwise
called CRODO, this goodly god stood to be adored in such manner
as here this picture doth shew him.
First on a pillar was placed a pearch, on
the sharpe prickled backe whereof stood this Idoll. He was leane
of visage, having long haire, and a long beard: and was
bare-headed, and bare footed. In his left hand he held up a
wheele, and in his right he carried a paile of water, wherein
were flowers, and fruites. His long coate was girded unto him
with a towel of white linnen. His standing on the sharpe finnes
of this fishe was to signifie that the Saxons for their serving
him, should pass stedfastly, & without harme in dangerous,
and difficult places.
By the wheele was betokened the knit
unity, and conjoyned concord of the Saxons, and their concurring
together in the running one course. By the girdle which with the
wind streamed from him was signified the Saxons freedome. By the
paile with flowers, and fruits was declared that with kindly
raine he would nourish the Earth, to bring foorth such fruites,
and flowers. And the day unto Name unto which he yet give the
name of SATER-DAY, did first receive by being unto him
celebrated, the same appellation." (The Saxon Gods, Resitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities, Richard Verstegan)
Grimm thus establishes a Slavo-Teutonic identity for this God who has roots stretching back even further to Proto-Indo-European times if the link with Vishnu is accepted.
Some time ago I posted some articles on the lesser known Saxon God Krodo who had a localised cult in the Harz Mountains which covers the modern German states of Lower Saxony and Thuringia. It is important that you read these articles as well as I do not intend to cover old ground in this article. These articles may be located on this blog by using the search facility.
Since then I have carried out some further research into Krodo and I wish to report some of these findings in this short update. We have of course references to this God in Grimm's Teutonic Mythology where Grimm refers to Conrad Bothe's Sachsenchronik which refers to this deity. It should be noted that the Sachsenchronik dates back to the 15th century so those of you who may be tempted to write this God off as a 19th century 'forgery' need to think again! Our ancestors worshipped many deities other than the major ones which most people have heard about such as Woden and Thunor etc. Many of these deities had very localised cults of worship which may not have extended beyond certain geographical limitations and may be Gods associated with particular mountains, hills, rivers, streams and wells etc.
According to Bothe the God Krodo was the same deity as the Roman Saturn but was referred to as Krodo by the "common people". An image of Krodo was erected on the Harzburg and subsequently overthrown by Charlemagne. Bothe describes the image as representing a man who stands on a column on top of a great fish, a basket of flowers in his right hand and a wheel in his left. According to Bothe the image of Krodo is representative of the four elements:
Fire. The wheel may be a sunwheel and thus representative of the sun.
Earth. The basket of flowers is an indication of fruitfulness of the earth.
Air. The blowing tails of his coat represents the wind, the 'breath of life'.
Water. The fish.
Bothe indicates in his writings that he has found references to Krodo in other sources which are presumably now lost to us. There is nothing to indicate that any of this has been made up by Bothe. There are references to many other Saxon and German Gods in ancient German writings which many modern 'scholars' are dismissive of for no (in my opinion) valid reason. There is a tendency among many modern academics to reject anything that does not neatly fit into their paradigms. This was not the case in the 19th and early 20th centuries when scholars were more open-minded (surely a necessary prerequisite for any authentic research?).
Apart from the reference to Krodo in the chronicle of Bothe there exist localised myths which make reference to Him. I draw my readers' attention to the fascinating collection of tales contained in Marie Elise Turner Lauder's Legends and Tales of the Harz Mountains, North Germany (1885).
"In the grey days long ago, when paganism ruled the land, there stood on the hills near the cave called the Steinkirche-altars to the gods.
Bright were the fires to Krodo in the darkness of the night, and on the opposite cliffs rose
the fire pillar in honour of the goddess Ostera.
The crackling flames illuminated the country and the mountains, and invited the
inhabitants of the nearlying vales and heights to the wild customs, the bloody sacrifices,
and the raving dance of heathenism."
By virtue of a supposed 'miracle' a Christian 'holyman' managed to convert these heathen Saxons. Consequently:
"And the hearts of the wild Sassen were opened...…..They vowed to a man henceforth to forsake the worship of Krodo, to remain true to the new faith."
We are told in Lauder's account that this 'holy man' was a "hermit" from a "southern land". On hearing the noisy celebrations the hermit climbed the mountain and commenced preaching to the Saxons and "he began to condemn the gods so dear to them, and challenged them to break in pieces their idols, and turn to the worship of the only true God, their rage kindled." (Not surprisingly!) The Saxons voted unanimously that the hermit should die. They led him to the summit of the mountain "to a place suitable for the execution." The hermit prayed to his god for "strength and courage in the trying moment" and receiving strength managed to free himself from them, seized a wooden battle-axe from one of them and "addressed the bloodthirsty multitude."
