Do we know anything about the Normans' spirituality?

[RedDragon94]

I come from a bunch of Normans genealogically and I just wondered, is there any info on what their religion was like before the Catholic Church decided to erase history? What was their religion before that? Or were they always catholic?

 

[Sees]

Their own flavor of Ásatrú/Heathenry. Norman=Northman=Norseman.

 

[RedDragon94]

Their own flavor of Ásatrú/Heathenry. Norman=Northman=Norseman.

Oh. Thanks. I found a site, have you ever been here? http://heathengods.com/ What do you think about it?

 

[Sees]

Oh. Thanks. I found a site, have you ever been here? http://heathengods.com/ What do you think about it?

I've looked around there a bunch but it's been a while. A couple of the books I have in PDF form were from there. It's a site I would recommend people check out.

 

[RedDragon94]

I've looked around there a bunch but it's been a while. A couple of the books I have in PDF form were from there. It's a site I would recommend people check out.

So, whereas Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, etc. are all about practicing magick, Heathenry isn't as much. Or am I wrong?

 

[Riverwolf]

So, whereas Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, etc. are all about practicing magick, Heathenry isn't as much. Or am I wrong?

No, you're right. Heathenry is focused FAR more on practical day-to-day living. Some Heathens practice some kind of magic, but they're not very common.

Probably because we basically don't know anything about how pre-Christian magic worked among the Germanic-speaking Tribes.

 

[RedDragon94]

No, you're right. Heathenry is focused FAR more on practical day-to-day living. Some Heathens practice some kind of magic, but they're not very common.

Probably because we basically don't know anything about how pre-Christian magic worked among the Germanic-speaking Tribes.

And yet it's still considered paganism because it's based off of pre Christian traditions, right?

 

[Sees]

Things like spellwork, divination, journeying, etc. is like a subset of paganism - it is rather universal but it was traditionally more specialist. For Germanic tribes there were men skilled in poetry and runes, wise women who would travel all around to perform divination and work spells, people dedicated to care for sacred areas, etc. but most of the people were simple farmers, craftsman, fisherman, hunters, parents...

For reconstructionism as a whole it is more about worldview/values, holiday celebration, learning from myths and folk stories...everybody tends to get interested in the more esoteric stuff eventually, to whatever degree, but it really isn't foundational or fundamental.

 

[RedDragon94]

Things like spellwork, divination, journeying, etc. is like a subset of paganism - it is rather universal but it was traditionally more specialist. For Germanic tribes there were men skilled in poetry and runes, wise women who would travel all around to perform divination and work spells, people dedicated to care for sacred areas, etc. but most of the people were simple farmers, craftsman, fisherman, hunters, parents...

For reconstructionism as a whole it is more about worldview/values, holiday celebration, learning from myths and folk stories...everybody tends to get interested in the more esoteric stuff eventually, to whatever degree, but it really isn't foundational or fundamental.

This is... cool. I don't have the right kind of mind to do magic (I've been diagnosed as schizophrenic), but I am interested in paganism. Maybe that's my path. I'll have to do my research. I still live with my parents (who are Christian) so I probably can't join a kindred, but this will be in the back of my mind.

 

[Riverwolf]

This is... cool. I don't have the right kind of mind to do magic (I've been diagnosed as schizophrenic), but I am interested in paganism. Maybe that's my path. I'll have to do my research. I still live with my parents (who are Christian) so I probably can't join a kindred, but this will be in the back of my mind.

Don't worry about it. I'm not part of a Kindred, either. Plenty of room for solitary practice.

...just watch out when you do your research. Heathens can get rather... aggressively opinionated, shall we say? LOL More seriously, there's also tragically a fairly loud white-supremacist presence among Heathens that you'll need to watch out for.

 

[RedDragon94]

there's also tragically a fairly loud white-supremacist presence among Heathens that you'll need to watch out for.

Are they called Odinist?

 

[Riverwolf]

Are they called Odinist?

There is a group called that, whom I know very little about (though I think Odinists are what's called "folkist", which is something else) so I'm not sure.

It's not so much a particular group, so much as many individuals/groups scattered throughout Europe and the US. They're VERY loud and pretty eager to inadvertently tarnish the popular conception of Heathenry.

 

[RedDragon94]

There is a group called that, whom I know very little about (though I think Odinists are what's called "folkist", which is something else) so I'm not sure.

It's not so much a particular group, so much as many individuals/groups scattered throughout Europe and the US. They're VERY loud and pretty eager to inadvertently tarnish the popular conception of Heathenry.

Oh... great.

 

[Riverwolf]

Oh... great.

If it's any consolation, all other Heathens are just as passionately vocal about denouncing those folks. Like I said, Heathens can be "aggressively opinionated".

 

[RedDragon94]

If it's any consolation, all other Heathens are just as passionately vocal about denouncing those folks. Like I said, Heathens can be "aggressively opinionated".

And in this case it's a good thing. It'll take a little more than a few white supremacists to stop me from considering this.

 

[Jainarayan]

Keep in mind that the Normans were not exclusively Norse. In fact, the Norse were a minority. The original inhabitants of what became Normandy were Celts, Gauls, Germanics, and only the gods know who else.

 

[Jainarayan]

Heathens can be "aggressively opinionated".

Q. What do you call two Heathens in a room?

A. An argument.

 

[Sees]

Keep in mind that the Normans were not exclusively Norse. In fact, the Norse were a minority. The original inhabitants of what became Normandy were Celts, Gauls, Germanics, and only the gods know who else.

Same difference

Celtic influence is definitely a given for the whole region...think in general all Indo-Euro recons/revivalists should learn about the other close traditions by default.

 

[Jainarayan]

Same difference

Celtic influence is definitely a given for the whole region...think in general all Indo-Euro recons/revivalists should learn about the other close traditions by default.

BOOYAAAHHH!!!

 

[Riverwolf]

Same difference

Celtic influence is definitely a given for the whole region...think in general all Indo-Euro recons/revivalists should learn about the other close traditions by default.

I agree. The "Celtic/Germanic" distinction is wholly a linguistic one, in terms of language family, and based largely on Roman categorization. While language and culture are effectively so dependent on each other that referring to one refers to the other, the degree of exchange and overlap would have been based far more on geographic accessibility.

People would have identified with their own given Tribe, not with any wider concept of "Celtic" or "Germanic." I doubt your average speaker of an Ingvaeonic language would have understood an East Germanic language any better than they'd understand a Gallic language. I mean, consider that Modern English speakers struggle with understanding even Early Modern English properly, let alone closely related languages like Dutch.

And I'm still only talking about Celtic and Germanic. This also would include Balto-Slavic and Finno-Uralic speaking Tribes. Heck, Lithuania, as I understand it, was the last European country to convert to Christianity, and so retains a lot of its pre-Christian traditions. That makes them a great place to learn about the Old Way.

At the very least, recognizing these differences and similarities could potentially help Heathens recognize that encorporating elements from more modern traditions, or other Indo-European traditions, doesn't necessarily negate the Heathenness of a self-identified Heathen. It just means such a person is definitely not a recon.