*Perkʷūnos, the Proto-Indo-European Thunder God, His Balto-Slavic Reflexes and Sacred Toponyms

 

*Perkʷūnos is the reconstructed name of the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) Thunder God, and His name is cognate with the Proto-Baltic *Perkū́nas, from which we derive the Lithuanian Perkū́nas, the Latvian Pērkons and the Old Prussian Percunis. The Lithuanian theonym is thus the most conservative of the three Baltic god names. The Proto-Baltic theonym is likewise closely cognate with the Proto-Slavic *Perúnъ or to use its anglicised spelling, *Perun. From *Perun we derive the East Slavic Perun, attested in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian. The East Slavic forms preserve the stress and vowel quality closest to the Proto-Slavic. The earliest East Slavic attested form is Perunŭ, found in the Primary Chronicle, a primary source for the history of the East Slavs, compiled around the year 1110 in the Kiev area and covers the history of these people for the period 850 to 1110. The South Slavic theonym is also preserved as Perun (Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Slovene and Bulgarian). Among the West Slavs, Perun is preserved as the Czech form and Perún as the Slovak. Piorun is the Kashubian reflex, which is also the reflex for 'thunderbolt' in Polish. The Polish form is no longer a theonym but represents a crucial semantic shift to the 'thunderbolt' itself. So where the god's name disappeared it remains in the name of the thunderbolt in Polish. This shift of meaning from the god to His weapon is due to the effects of Christianisation among the Poles and a lack of written sources for pre-Christian religion among that people.

As my readers can see, the linguistic evidence for the Thunder God theonym and His PIE pedigree is very strong, and thus we can reconstruct the Balto-Slavic to be *Perkū́nas, the shared theonym of the Balts and Slavs. The PIE *Perkʷūnos is built from the following elements:-

. *per-/*perk-, 'to strike'.

. *pérkʷus, 'oak'.

. *-ū́nos, 'master of'/'one associated with'.

A reflex of the PIE/Proto-Balto-Slavic form can even be found in the Finnic Perkele, a borrowing from the Baltic as a loanword for the Thunder God which was later demonised by Christianisation and became associated with the 'Devil' and is used in modern Finnish as a profanity. This borrowing occurred due to the close proximity of the Finnic with the Baltic peoples. Perkele became an alternative name for the native Proto-Finnic Thunder God/Sky God, Ukko, which has the meaning of 'Old Man'. It should be emphasised here that Finnic is a Finno-Ugric, not an Indo-European language. While Perkele was used by the Finns, it was never used as theonym by the Estonians, who retained Uko as the name of their Thunder God/Sky God. The Estonians did not have the same cultural contact with the Lithuanians and Old Prussians as the Finns had.

There is also a high likelihood that the Old Norse Fjörgynn/Fjörgyn is a reflex of the same 

*Perkʷūnos root. Fjörgynn is referred to as the father of Frigg in both of the Eddas, while Fjörgyn (Jörð) is said to be the mother of Thor. Fjörgyn stems from the Proto-Germanic *fergunja, meaning 'mountain'/'mountainous forest'. *fergunja in turn stems from the PIE *per‑kwun‑iyā, which has the meaning, 'the realm of *Perkʷūnos' ('the wooded mountains' or 'the mountain/earth goddess'), the suffix -iya being feminine. What we thus have here is a feminine counterpart of the Thunder God name. According to the theory of Hilda Ellis Davidson,  Fjörgynn/Fjörgyn may be a fossilised remnant of a lost divine pair, along the lines of Nerthus/Njord (Religious Practices of the Northern Peoples in Scandinavian Tradition, 1990).

As an adjunct to my recent series of essays on the PIE Sky Father and Earth Mother, the Thunder God should be viewed as part of a tripartite system of:

. Sky/Thunder Father

. Earth Mother

. Thunder Son

*Perkʷūnos inherits his power from *Dyēus, the Sky Father, but He is born from or functionally tied to *Dʰéǵʰōm, the Earth Mother. He protects the fertility of the earth by releasing rain and defeating chaos. In many Indo-European traditions the Thunder God is the son of the Sky Father (Vedic, Baltic, Slavic, Germanic) and thus He may be viewed as the active agent of the Sky Father's power. However, it should be noted that the Thunder God's battles occur on the earth, not in the sky, and His sacred places are earthly features, such as oak trees and mountains.  As son of the Earth Mother, He wields the power of the Sky Father, and is without a doubt the most powerful of the gods, the guardian of men, gods, the earth, cosmic order and the righter of wrongs. Not surprisingly, He is the most popular and loved of the gods, especially in the Baltic, Slavic and Germanic traditions,even to this very day. 

Examples of Oak Trees and Groves Sacred to the Thunder God

. Zeus' Oak at Dodona.

. Donar's Oak at Geismar and Oldenburg, Germany.

. Thundersley from Old English Þunres lēah, a sacred grove in Essex, England.

. Thunderfield from Old English Þunres feld, a high chalk ridge used for assemblies near Horley, Surrey, England.

. Thunder Cross from Old English Þunres crosc, a pre-Christian way-marker at a hill-junction where three ridges meet in Kent, England. Later marked with a Christian cross.

. Thundersbarrow from Old English Þunres beorg (Thunor's barrow), a large hill-barrow on the South Downs in Sussex, England.

. Torslund (Thor's Grove), groves dedicated to Thor and dominated by oak trees, found in Zealand and Jutland, Denmark.

. Torskog, forests associated with Thor, often containing oaks, found in Funen and Jutland, Denmark. 

. Torsager (Thor's Field/Thor's Acre), Djursland, Zealand, Denmark. A hilltop settlement dedicated to Thor and on which a church was later built.

. Torslunda (Thor's Grove) at Öland and Småland, Sweden.

. Torsåker (Thor's Field) at Ångermanland and Gästrikland, Sweden.

. Torsvi (Holy place/sacred enclosure of Thor) at Uppland, Sweden.

. Torshov (Thor's hof/Thor's enclosure) at Oslo and Trøndelag, Norway.

. Torsnes (Thor's Headland) at Sogn and Fjordane, Norway.

. Torsneset (Thor's Headland) at Østfold, Norway.

. Torsåsen (Thor's Ridge) at Vestfold, Norway.

. Torsgard (Thor's enclosed/sacred space) at Hallingdal, Norway. 

. Perun's Oak at Novgorod, Russia.

. Perkunas' Oak at Nowa Wieś, Lithuania.

Examples of Bays, Waterfalls, Islands, Hills, Barrows and Mountains Sacred to the Thunder God

. Þórsmörk (Thor's Forest) in southern Iceland-a mountain-ringed valley.

. Torsbjerg (Thor's hill), an Iron Age sacred hill in Sønderjylland, Denmark, an area containing multiple hills, groves and ritual landscapes dedicated to Thor.

. Torshøj (Thor's Barrow/Thor's Hill) in Jutland, Funen and Zealand, Denmark.

. Torsbakke (Thor's Bank/Thor's Slope), a ridge overlooking the Roskilde Fjord, Denmark. 

. Torsburgen in Gotland, Sweden.

. Torshalla / Torshälla (Thor's Rock/Slope/Hill), sacred place at the river crossing dedicated to Thor at Södermanland, Sweden.

. Torshaug (Thor's Barrow/Thor's Mound) at Trøndelag, Norway.

. Torsfoss (Thor's Waterfall) at Hardanger, Norway.

. Torsvik (Thor's Bay) at Hordaland, Norway.

. Torsøya (Thor's Island) at Møre and Romsdal, Norway.

. Torshella (Thor's Rock/Slope/Hill) at Østfold, Norway.

. Torshammar (Hammer-shaped crag) at Oslofjord region, Norway.

. Thunor's Hlaew, a burial mound in Suffolk, England.

. Thunor's Hill (from Old English Þunres hyll), Suffolk, England.

. Thundercliffe (from Old English Þunres clif- Thunor's Cliffe), a gritstone escarpment the Don Valley, Yorkshire, England. 

. Tunworth from Old English Thunor-worth (Thunor's enclosure), a hilltop settlement on a high chalk hill in Hampshire, England.

. Donnersberg, near Kirchheimbolanden, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.

. Donnersberg, Erzgebirge Foothills, Sachsen, Germany.

. Donnerberg, Eifel mountains, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

. Donnerberg, Bayern, Germany.

. Thunerberg, Bayern, Germany.

. Donnerkupfe, Knüll Mountains, Hesse, Germany.

. Donnerskopf, Knüll Mountains, Hesse, Germany.

. Donnershübel, Thüringer Wald, Thüringen, Germany.

. Donnerkogel, Dachstein Alps, Upper Austria.

. Donnerwand, Styria/ Upper Austria border, Austria.

. Donnerstein, Tyrol, Austria.

. Donnergraben, Salzburg/Northern Limestone Alps, Austria.

. Donneralm, an Alpine pasture/high meadow, Styria, Austria.

. Donnerhöhe, Lower Austria, Austria.

. Thunberg, Canton Bern, Switzerland.

. Tunersee/Tuneralp, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

. Tonnerberg, Central Switzerland.

. Tonnerhütte, Central Switzerland.

. Donnerwetter‑Fluh, thunderstorm cliff in Switzerland.

. Perkūno's Hill in Perkūno Kalnas, Lithuania.

. Perkūno's Hill, near Kernavė, Lithuania.

. Perkūno's Hill, Jubarkas, Lithuania.

. Pirin, a mountain range in Bulgaria. Sacred to Perun.

. Velebit mountain range in Croatia. The key sacred peak being Sveto Brdo. Sacred to Perun.

This list of oak trees, groves, barrows, hills, bays, islands, waterfalls and mountains is not intended to be exhaustive, but illustrative of the importance of the Indo-European Thunder God and the survival of His name in our modern landscapes. It is my intention to begin work soon on what I envisage to be an exhaustive book on this very issue, but confined to the Germanic lands. I have set myself a goal of completing this work by my 70th birthday in just a few years time and it will be made available for purchase on completion. I intend the work to be part of my lasting legacy and it should prove to be of interest to both scholars and laymen. No such complete work yet exists in the English language on Thor toponyms collected together in a single volume.

The Sky Father and Earth Mother: the Basis of All Indo-European Religions, Part Seven, the Slavic Sky Father

Proto-Slavic Sky Father

*Svarogъ (English, '*Svarog') is the Proto-Slavic Sky Father. This theonym is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *svar‑ ('bright,shining, clear sky, fire, heat, radiance') and is attested in Old Church Slavonic, Russian, Polish and Serbo-Croatian. This in turn is derived from the reconstructed PIE *s(w)er‑ /*swer‑ ('to shine, to glow, to burn'). This PIE root appears in several Indo-European languages:

. Sanskrit svár — 'sky, heaven, sunlight'.

. Vedic Svar / Svarga — 'heaven, the radiant sky'.

. Avestan xvarənah‑ — 'glory, shining divine radiance'.

Thus *Svarog means 'The Bright One', 'The Radiant One', 'The Shining Heavenly Father'. Scholars regard *Svarog as the closest functional (not linguistic) reflex of the PIE Sky Father  *Dyēus ph₂tēr. As in the case of other Indo-European religions there was a shift away from the original, older Sky Father as the chief deity to a younger Thunder God:

. Germanic- Thor overshadows Tyr.

. Greek- Zeus absorbs Dyaus. 

. Baltic- Perkūnas overshadows Dievas.

. Vedic- Indra replaces Dyaus.

Thus in the Slavic world Perun overshadows Svarog. 

Svarog becomes a more distant Sky Father and is no longer active in the running of the world: this function has been transferred to the Thunder God, Perun, who becomes the chief deity in historical Slavic paganism. He becomes the god who is invoked by princes and warriors, and in the agreement of treaties. Svarog remains as a sky-fire deity, the father of Dazhbog, a solar deity who is the giver of wealth, prosperity, and good fortune. The etymology of His name is dažd‑ / dať- 'to give' and bogъ-'god, fortune, wealth'. In other words, 'The Giving God', 'The God Who Gives Wealth/Good Fortune'. Svarog's other son in some traditions is Svarožič, his name meaning 'Son of Svarog' and He is a solar-fire deity. 

While Svarog's significance fades, becoming more distant and mythic, and Perun rises to dominance, Dazhbog becomes the culture-hero and the sole benefactor of Svarog. He is an essential link, middle generation or intermediary stage between the two deities. The Indo-European pattern of the shift of power and dominance from the original Sky Father to a more active, younger and martial deity is a reflection of what was happening in Indo-European society at that time, a move from pastoral  and sky- orientated cultures to warrior, storm-orientated societies. The Thunder God represented power, protection and active kingship.

The shift from the Indo‑European Sky‑Father (*Dyēus ph₂tēr) to the Thunder‑God (*Perkʷunos) occurred over a very long time period from  4,000 BCE to 2,500 BCE (See The Prehistorical Sky Father Who Predated Zeus , Alexander Gale, 1 June 2026), from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) on the Pontic-Caspian steppe. The rise of the Thunder God corresponded with the emergence of warrior elites, increased raiding and conflicts, the spread of the domestication of the horse and mobile warfare. These social changes necessitated the emergence of a warrior-protector deity over a more distant and abstract Sky Father. This shift was already underway before the dispersal of the Indo-Europeans and the beginning of the Bronze Age. During this time, before their dispersal, we see the rise in importance of the central myth of the Thunder God myth, the slaying of the dragon. See the excellent book, The Medieval Dragon: The Nature of the Beast in Germanic Literature, 1998 by Joyce Tally Lionarons, published by Hisarlik Pr.

Timeline

Early PIE	before 4000 BCE	Sky‑Father (Dyēus) is chief deity
Late PIE	4000–2500 BCE	Thunder‑god (Perkʷunos) rises in importance
Early Bronze Age	2500–1500 BCE	Thunder‑god becomes dominant in most IE cultures
Historical IE cultures	after 1500 BCE	Zeus, Indra, Thor, Perun, Perkūnas take over

East Slavic Sky Father

The East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian) reflex of the Sky Father is Svarog, as I have already discussed in The Proto-Slavic Sky Father section of this essay. Indeed, it is in the texts of the  East Slavs that His name is preserved best. While not worshipped historically, He survives in the mythic genealogy. His son, Svarožič does not survive independently and His functions appear to have been absorbed into the other son, Dazhbog. Indeed, East Slavs call themselves 'Dazhbog's grandchildren.'

West Slavic Sky Father

Svarog's name does not appear in West Slavic sources, and neither does Dazhbog's. The only reflex of the Sky Father is Svarožič. Among the West Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Polabians, Sorbs) He is a fire-god, war-god, oracle-god and the protector of the tribe. His name is attested as Zuarasici among the Sorbs and as Rethra among the Polabians. 

South Slavic Sky Father

Among the South Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians, Slovenes) no names (with the exception of Dazhbog in Bulgarian apocrypha) have been preserved, only divine functions. Bulgarian folklore preserves a faint memory of a sky-smith figure. Fire rituals (kres, koleda, oganj) preserve the role of a fire-god. As already stated, the Bulgarian apocrypha is the only place where Dazhbog's name is preserved in the texts of the South Slavs. The Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle of 1073 refers to Him as a pre-Christian being and as a sun-related figure ('Dazhbog, the sun‑tsar'). He is demonised as a pagan ruler. His name, having survived well into the 11th century, the Christian scribes could not erase him, so they recast Him as an evil entity, although His solar character still shines through (if you excuse the intended pun!).

Parjanya, Perkunos, Perun, Thunaraz, Taranis-a Comparison

Whilst in Germanic mythology *Thunaraz became eclipsed by the increasingly more dominant *Wodanaz, in the Balto-Slavic world His equivalent maintained His dominance, although He was not always the most prominent deity in their pantheons:

"We will now examine it a little more in detail, commencing with the ideas attached to the early inhabitants of Russia to those solar gods who are supposed by many eminent scholars to have originally held higher rank than the wielder of the Thunderbolt, Perun." (Songs of the Russian People, William Shedden Ralston, 1872)

Readers of my blogs will realise that I have maintained consistently that over the millenia there has been a shift of power from *Tiwaz to *Thunaraz and then to *Wodanaz which is mirrored in the Celtic mythology also or at least the transfer of power from Nuada to Lug is. Taranis does not appear to be so prominent as *Thunaraz at the time of the recording of the Irish myths. The primary divine archetype that the folk requires does change from era to era to meet their current needs. We see a similar thing happening today with the gradual eclipse of the Woden archetype by Widar, His son. Referring to the early solar deities of the Slavs Ralston states:

"The most ancient among these deities is said to have been Svarog, apparently the Slavonic counterpart of the Vedic Varuna and the Hellenic Ouranos. His name is deduced by Russian philologists from a root corresponding with the Sanskrit Sur-to shine, and is compared by some of them with the Vedic Svar, and the later word Svarga, heaven."

The Sun is the child of Svarog and is called Dazhbog. Dazh is identical with the Germanic Dag which in modern German is Tag, day. Thus Dazhbog is the Day God. Bog of course means God. Another son of Svarog is Ogon, fire and is cognate with the Indian Agni, which is where we get the modern English ignite from. As mentioned in an earlier article  the Indian Thunder God Parjanya is a more ancient God than Indra and performs very similar functions but appears to be less war-like. Clearly Parjanya is etymologically linked with Perun and Perkunas, being derived from the ancient Proto-Indo-European *perkunwos.

"Russian mythologists identify the name of Perun with that of the Vedic Parjanya. Whether the latter was an independent deity, or whether his name was merely an epithet of Indra, does not appear to be certain, nor are philologists agreed as to whether Parjanya means 'the rain' or 'the thunderer;' but 'it is very probable that our ancestors adored, previously to the separation of the Aryan race, a god called Parjana, or Pargana, the personification of the thundering cloud, whom they believed to rouse the thunder-storm, to be armed with the lightning, to send the rain, to be the procreator of plants, and the upholder of justice. Afterwards the Graeco-Italian nation, bent on the adoration of Dyaus, forgot him entirely; the Aryans of India and the Teutonic tribes continued to worship him as a subordinate member of the family of the gods, but the Letto-Slavonians raised him to the dignity of a supreme leader of all other deities." (Ralston)

The description of Parjanya, more so perhaps than Indra corresponds more closely to the Balto-Slavic Thunder God:

"The desription of Parjanya is in all respects applicable to the deity worshipped by the different branches of the Slavo-Lettic family under various names, such as Lithuanian Perkunas, the Lettish Perkons, the Old Prussian Perkunos, the Polish Piorun, the Bohemian Peraun, and the Russian Perun." (Ralston) 

The Balts and Slavs lit a sacred fire before the image of the Thunder God:

"In Lithuania Perkunas, as the God of Thunder, was worshipped with great reverence. His statue is said to have held in its hand 'a precious stone like fire,' shaped in the image of the lightning,' and before it constantly burnt an oak-wood fire. If the fire by any chance went out, it was rekindled by means of sparks struck from the stone. His name is not yet forgotten by the people, who say, when the thunder rolls, Perkuns grumena, and who still sing dainos in which he is mentioned. In one of those a girl who is mourning for the loss of her flowers is asked,-

"Did the north wind blow,

Or did Perkunas thunder or send greetings?

In another it is told how when

The Morning Star held a wedding-feast,

Perkunas rode through the doorway,

Struck down the green oak" (Ralston)

There are many more such dainos or heathen hymns preserved by the Lithuanians which refer to Perkunas. It would serve us well to study them in more detail. According to Jaan Puhvel the Goddess Frigg's father or lover was called Fjorgynn. Also a Fjorgyn is named as the mother of Thor. This is possibly an alternative name for Jord (Earth). These names Fjorgynn and Fyorgyn are cognate with Perkunas and they in fact have been a divine couple. 

The German language Prussian Chronicle from about the year 1520 refers to the worship of a divine triad of Patollo, Potrimpo and Perkuno by  a high priest called Bruteno. The icons of the Gods were installed in three niches of an oak tree. A perpetual fire was burned before the icon. As Lithuanian heathenism was not abolished until as late as the 15th century and it still continued to linger on it would serve us well as Germanic heathens to study closely the Baltic myths to gain greater insight into our own closely related Germanic deities. It should be noted that heathenism is growing in the Baltic and Slavic lands at an apparently faster rate than in Germanic countries.

The Goat and its Relationship to the Northern European Thunder God

Misinformed bloggers on mythology would cite the evidence of Thor's goats in the Eddas as an indication of His 'lowly' status amongst the Aesir, particularly when compared to Odin. Believe it or not I have seen these foolish comments made by charlatans dabbling in mythology who have probably never even read the Eddas!

Most of my regular readers will know that I give great primacy to Thunor/Thunar/Thonar/Thor for He is more than likely the most ancient of our Germanic deities and unlike any other has close mythological cognates with the Baltic, Slavic, Celtic and Finno-Ugric peoples. However He is more often than not compared unfavourably with Odin but these who make such comparisons lack genuine understanding not only of our historical and sacred writings but of the very essence of the God Himself. I do not wish to digress further as this issue alone deserves a separate article and I wish to focus here on the goat and its significant relationship to the Thunder God amongst northern Europeans.

We know from both the Eddas that Thor's chariot was pulled by two goats. The Younger Edda gives the names of these goats:

Thor has two he-goats, that are called Tooth-Gnasher and Tooth-Gritter, and a chariot wherein he drives, and the he-goats draw the chariot; therefore is he called Öku-Thor. (Gylfaginning, translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur)

Rudolf Simek in his Dictionary of Northern Mythology defines Oku-Thor as 'driving Thor' and that the rumbling of thunder is likened to the driving of a chariot. There is a close resemblance between Oku and the name of the Finnish Thunder God Ucco although Simek discounts this as an explanation of the term, arguing that the flow of cultural transfer tends to be from the Germanic to the Finno-Ugric peoples but that is not in my opinion a sufficient argument for ruling it out altogether! Ucco or Ukko is derived from the Finnish terms for 'old man' and 'grandfather'. Ukko may originally have been called Perkele, a Baltic term. Like Thor Ukko possessed a Hammer, called Ukonvasar, 'hammer of Ukko'. Sometimes His weapon is depicted as an axe and called Ukonkirves. 

Heathen Finns like their Germanic, Baltic and Slavic counterparts would wear hammer or axe shaped amulets. The Sami had a similar deity, Horagelles whose name is similar in meaning to Ukko: 'grandfather' or 'great grandfather'. Interestingly the Sami also called this deity Thoron and even Thor!

It is natural that our ancestors conceived of the rumbling thunder as the sound of a chariot being driven across the sky but we must ask ourselves why it was pulled by goats rather than say horses? Both the Germanic Thunder God and the Balto-Slavic equivalents feature a chariot being pulled by goats

Perkunas, the Lithuanian Thunder God was seen a red-bearded man with an axe whose mode of transport was a chariot pulled by a billy goat. (See European Myth & Legend by Mike Dixon-Kennedy, 1997) The chariot of Perkunas is sometimes pictured as pulled by horses but often by goats, one black and one white which is a very obvious hint of solar symbolism. The goat is of course a solar symbol but the presence of both black and white ones strengthen this association. Additionally the male goat is a symbol of masculine virility, potency and vigour. The German Donar is particularly associated with mountains, many being named after Him. The Donnersberg in the Rheinland-Pfalz is a particularly well known example. The goat is also an animal which is at home in mountainous regions and its milk and meat would have formed a staple part of our ancestors' daily diet.

It is clear from Gylfaginning that Thor regarded His goats Tanngrisnir ('teeth barer') and Tanngnostr ('teeth grinder') as sacred due to the anger which He displayed when He discovered that Thjalfi had split the thighbone of one of the goats causing it to become lame. Scholars such as Simek point out that the names of the goats "are surely an invention and probably from Snorri himself as they are nowhere to be found except in Gylfaginning 20 and the thulur." The fact that the names are not mentioned in the Elder Edda does not make them an 'invention'. Snorri could have obtained his information from other sources including oral tradition but regardless of whether he 'invented' the names or not the fact remains that the goat has a long association with the northern European Thunder God as is evidenced from Slavic and Baltic sources. It is relevant for me to point out at this point that the Baltic mythology contains material so ancient that it can be traced back to Proto-Indo-European times.

PPe

Fire and Oak and their Associations with Thor

Dr H.R. Ellis Davidson in her Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, 1964 (in my opinion the best book of its kind in the last 55 years) points out that there is an association between Thor and fire. She states that in the Kjalnesinga Saga that there is a description of a temple dedicated to Thor in which there is an "altar made of iron on top". She explains that the fire was regarded as being 'sacred' and it was not permitted to go out.

Some scholars dismiss this description as an invention purely on the grounds that the saga is a 'late' on. Dr Ellis Davidson though considers the association of fire with Thor to be genuine and I am inclined to agree with her. She offers as supporting evidence the fact that a perpetual fire burned in the temple of Perkunos, the Thunder God of the Old Prussians, in an oak tree sanctuary. The oak as my readers will know is sacred to all of the Indo-European Thunder Gods, especially here in Northern Europe (with exception of Iceland) and the tree itself plays such an important part in the mythology and spiritual life of heathen England and Germania.

Thor as lord of the lightning is thus the lord of the fire from heaven. In her book she gives us a good description of the practices of the Old Prussians in respect of Perkunos. At the chief sanctuary at Romove there was situated a 'holy oak'. Images of the Gods were placed by the worshipers in the trunk of the tree. A sacred fire was maintained before the image of Perkunos and as with the fire of Thor it was not permitted to be extinguished. She explains that this sacred fire was surrounded by curtains and within this precinct the High Priest would commune with the God. She speculates that Thunor and Donar were worshiped in a similar way.

Interestingly Dr Ellis Davidson draws our attention to the existence of a grove dedicated to Thor that still existed until the year 1000 CE on the north bank of the river Liffey outside Dublin when it was destroyed by King Brian Boru. However it took him a month to complete its destruction so this must have been a sanctuary on a grand scale.

The oak tree of all trees of the forest is the most susceptible to be struck by lightning and thus we have an association between fire and the oak, both of which are sacred to Thor. In a sense the oak tree acts as a conductor of Thor's lightning power and thus a medium of not only His power which fills us with awe of Him but it is a way that He can most powerfully communicate with us. The study of Baltic mythology and heathen religious practice should be of importance to us as Germanic heathens for they give us insight into the beliefs and practices of our ancestors. Germany had a number of Donars Eichen (Donar's Oaks) but the most famous of these was located in Gaesmere in the state of Hesse. This sacred oak was cut down by the servants of the Anglo-Saxon missionary Boniface in the year 723 or 724, an act of sacrilege and religious and cultural vandalism.

"Now at that time many of the Hessians, brought under the Catholic faith and confirmed by the grace of the sevenfold spirit, received the laying on of hands; others indeed, not yet strengthened in soul, refused to accept in their entirety the lessons of the inviolate faith. Moreover some were wont secretly, some openly to sacrifice to trees and springs; some in secret, others openly practiced inspections of victims and divinations, legerdemain and incantations; some turned their attention to auguries and auspices and various sacrificial rites; while others, with sounder minds, abandoned all the profanations of heathenism, and committed none of these things. With the advice and counsel of these last, the saint attempted, in the place called Gaesmere, while the servants of God stood by his side, to fell a certain oak of extraordinary size, which is called, by an old name of the pagans, the Oak of Jupiter. And when in the strength of his steadfast heart he had cut the lower notch, there was present a great multitude of pagans, who in their souls were earnestly cursing the enemy of their gods. But when the fore side of the tree was notched only a little, suddenly the oak's vast bulk, driven by a blast from above, crashed to the ground, shivering its crown of branches as it fell; and, as if by the gracious compensation of the Most High, it was also burst into four parts, and four trunks of huge size, equal in length, were seen, unwrought by the brethren who stood by. At this sight the pagans who before had cursed now, on the contrary, believed, and blessed the Lord, and put away their former reviling. Then moreover the most holy bishop, after taking counsel with the brethren, built from the timber of the tree wooden oratory, and dedicated it in honor of Saint Peter the apostle." (Willibald's Life of St. Boniface, translated by Robinson0n) 

This act of heinous sacrilege was repeated time after time in Germania and we are reminded of Karl the Butcher's destruction of the Irminsul at Heresburg in Nordrhein-Westfalen in 772 CE during the Saxon Wars. Both Donar's Oak and the Irminsul were types of representations of the world tree Yggdrasil.

In Songs of the Russian People (1872) by William Shedden Ralston we have this interesting observation:

"In Lithuania Perkunas, as the God of Thunder, was worshipped with great reverence. His statue is said to have held in its hand a 'precious stone like fire', shaped 'in the image of the lightning', and before it constantly burnt an oak-wood fire. If the fire by any chance went out, it was rekindled by means of sparks struck from the stone."

The Lapps worshipped Thor who was known to them as Horagelles (Old Man Thor) or Toora/Taara in Estonia and Torym to the Ostyaks. In a 17th century engraving of a Saami sacrificial site Horagelles has a long handled hammer, and nails in the head. Suspended from the nail is a flint which the God can use to make fire. This reminds me of the story of the whetstone stuck in the forehead of Thor after his duel with the giant Hrungnir in Skldsakaparmal in the Younger Edda. As an interesting aside Wulf Ingessunu in his book Ar-Kan-Rune-Lag. The Secret Aryan Way (2015) associates this stone with the rune Stan and alludes to the Graal Stone which fell from the Light-Bearer, Lucifer's crown.