• Anglo-Saxon Paganism, History and Beliefs by Jamie Lang
Anglo-Saxon Paganism: History and Beliefs

Jamie Lang
Self-published, 2021


Although extensively studied at academic level, the myths and mindset of the Anglo-Saxon era are relatively poorly served in terms of books for the general reader, at least compared to those covering Norse legend, Celtic beliefs or the Arthurian cycle. Presumably one of the reasons for this is that contemporary written documentation of this predominantly oral culture is thin on the ground, although later, Christianized accounts do exist, like Beowulf (discussed here). It’s also notable that Professor Tolkien, one of the twentieth century’s leading authorities on the period, used Anglo-Saxon folklore as the basis for his invented cosmology of Middle Earth, and weaved it into The Lord Of The Rings, as powerful and influential a fictional mythology as these islands have ever produced.
For these reasons, and also the shared roots with the better-known Viking sagas, the Anglo-Saxon belief system Lang explores feels familiar, even if details remain obscure or ambiguous. Inevitably at times he resorts to speculation, but these are often the book’s most stimulating moments. Lang exceeds his brief of documenting what we know of Anglo-Saxon mythology and goes some way to redefining what it might mean to be English, suggesting that a respect for gender equality, free expression of sexuality, the dignity of the common working man and a desire to live in peace were all defining qualities of our ancestors, ones that we might now wish to rediscover and celebrate.
Nevertheless, Lang weighs up the available evidence carefully, admitting when there’s little to go on and not shying away from accounts where the various Angles, Saxons, Ynglings and Heathobards come over as bloodthirsty or treacherous. The Anglo-Saxons may not have been saints, and they didn’t have much time to be scholars, but they come off a lot better than their later Scandinavian cousins, portrayed as macho bullies who lived for the killing and the plunder. The Viking god Odin is painted in a particularly damning light, though I’d have enjoyed reading more about his Anglo-Saxon counterpart Woden, who apparently forsook warlike ways to wander the English Downs.
Lang contrasts the polytheistic materialism of the Northern European tribes, which accepted elves, dragons and appealingly flawed gods and goddesses (the Vanir) as part of a natural multiverse, with the ‘One God, One Universe’ idealism of the later Greeks, which in turn formed the philosophical underpinnings of Christianity and, from there, western liberal democracy. He breaks up his history with eight retellings of Anglo-Saxon folktales, adapted to modern sensibilities. Lang justifies this by pointing out that any versions we might know would have been rewritten to reflect the attitudes of their times, from the Christian Middle Ages to the requirements of Victorian story collectors, and so a version crafted for a 21st Century audience is just as authentic as any other.
There’s a certain amount of repetition, but this does mean that each chapter can be read separately, as all relevant information is included. The introduction to runes is excellent, and lengthy digressions on Ishtar, Hecate and Loki (more a Norse god than an Anglo-Saxon one) may not add much to the core thesis but are fascinating in their own right. The star of the book is undoubtedly the multi-faceted fertility goddess Freya, who emerges as the chief candidate for England’s patron deity. It’s appropriate then that her painted image should adorn the book’s cover; and Airy Fairy regulars may find her face naggingly familiar as well…
Ben Graham


Anglo-Saxon Paganism, History and Beliefs by Jamie Lang

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Tags: Books, Anglo-Saxon Paganism, Jamie Lang