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The book Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art by Miranda Green (published 1992) states that "Nehalennia is nearly always portrayed with a dog"(p. 5).
Additionally, also by M. Green Animals in Celtic Life and Myth. London, UK: Routledge, 1998. p 200-201:
The tribe of the Morini lived in what is now the Netherlands, bordering the North Sea coast. They venerated a local Celtic goddess, Nehalennia, and set up two temples in her honour. She was a divinity of seafarers, and protected merchants and other travellers who regularly risked their lives and their merchandise in the perilous journey across the sea. Nehalennia’s cult was a successful one: visitors came to worship from as far away as Besançon and Trier. And it was a wealthy cult: the two shrines to the goddess were embellished with numerous altars . . . Nehalennia’s two sanctuaries, at Domburg on the island of Walcheren and at Colijnsplaat on the East Scheldte estuary, are both now submerged beneath the North Sea. However, many of her altars have been recovered, and these display a rich and complex iconography which throws some light on the nature and functions of the goddess. Nehalennia is generally depicted seated, with baskets of fruit as emblems of prosperity and often with marine symbols to signify her presidency over the sea. But most distinctive of all the motifs associated with this North Sea deity is the dog. On nearly every surviving stone — and there are more than a hundred — a large, benign, hound-like animal sits patiently by the goddess’s feet, facing his mistress.
This is from Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson's Roles of the Northern Goddesses, (pub. 1998): Nehalennia, a Germanic goddess worshipped at the point where travellers crossed the North Sea from the Netherlands, is shown on many carved stones holding loaves and apples like a Mother Goddess, sometimes with a prow of a ship beside her (see p. 112), but also frequently with an attendant dog which sits looking up at her (Plate 5). He was on thirteen of the twenty-one altars recorded by Ada Hondius-Crone (1955: 103), who describes him as a kind of greyhound. . .
L Hamm 02:43, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
If you read OERA LINDA BOOK there should be no problem to identify the origin of Nehalennia. Her original name was Minerva, and she was one of "Fryas children". She was taken to Crete and Athens, where cults to her arose. The sailors called her Nyhellenia. Oera Linda Book: [1] See also web-book by Radford: [2]
Rolf Kenneth 80.212.248.109 12:30, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
Krastain 21:36, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
What date were the earliest coins that depicted her? I added this source today that mentions several interesting points:
Note I answered my own question on dates so don't botther to go look it up (not I sheepishly got coins and stone votives mixed up). NOW I am wondering if a lot of the "etymology" section, except for what I answered is composed of "original research" and should be reduced to published speculation. Goldenrowley 22:02, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for inviting me. This has really been some time ago. I remember there has been a lot of speculation on the subject, nothing ever being completely satisfactory. Nobody has ever been as bold as to dedicate something like a comprehensive scientific article to the issue. A pity, for now all references are fragmented and published only to express opposition to other views. Thus, restricting yourself to publications you know of would necessarily convey the risk of distortion. Maybe we can expect something from Peter Schrijver in the near future, especally concerning -ennia, since he assumes reminiscent influences from Linear Pottery people, and godesses with -na are almost pan-european (although I wonder if he takes local and slightly less ancient maritime Beaker traditions original enough). The ultimate source to all those speculations is te be found in what is published on proto languages. A lot of symbolism is involved, pointing to a cultural heritage that is largely lost. All of this makes it extremely difficult to grasp any meaning to any speculation at all, if presented without any contextual information. By the way, this compilation is what it is: a compilation, well to be distinguished from original research. No new facts are revealed nor concocted, for this would never be my purpose. Rokus01 19:44, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
Hmm someone has put her in the Celtic menu. Goldenrowley 22:43, 6 October 2007 (UTC)
I would like to get several references and suggested page links for the following sentence, which is in the article. Specifically, what sources and pages would best validate and explain this claim? " Today it's understood that Celtic and Germanic tribes shared a common heritage in language as well as ancient religion and were culturally intertwined to a degree." (?) Goldenrowley ( talk) 05:51, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
Nehalennia? -- Illustrious One ( talk) 18:24, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
I can't connect the last sentence in the following paragraph from the Inscriptions and depictions section with the goddess Nehalennia. Perhaps this info was copied from another article without verifying the whole paragraph was applicable? Or is there a connection, but either I don't see it or it wasn't made clear?
Davidson further links the motif of the ship associated with Nehalennia with the Germanic Vanir pair of Freyr and Freyja, as well as the Germanic goddess Nerthus,[5] and draws a connection between the loaves of bread that appear on some depictions Nehalennia with oblong, shin-bone shaped loaves of bread baked in the shape of a boar at the time of Yule in Sweden.[6] Davidson further states that customs in Värmland, Sweden "within living memory" describe grain from the last sheaf being used to bake a loaf into the shape of a little girl, as well as examples of elaborate loaves being used for religious festivals, for fertility of fields in Anglo-Saxon England, and examples from Ireland.[6]
Also, I can't envision "oblong, shin-bone shaped loaves of bread baked in the shape of a boar," so is this a misquote? Er, mis-paraphrase?
Thanks for your help in advance! -- Geekdiva ( talk) 07:54, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
What's with the recent edits inserting a useless and misleading template followed by the injection of references to ancient Belgian language? We have a policy against this— WP:UNDUE. Far and away the most common notions on this figure is that her name is either Germanic or Celtic. Inserting a reference to a purely hypothesized "ancient Belgian language" without emphasizing the general academic consensus is misleading to the reader and seems to promote what is nearly a fringe idea. What gives? :bloodofox: ( talk) 21:09, 28 June 2016 (UTC)
It does not go through Zeeland, it is the Schelde River. KsVer ( talk) 14:01, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The book Symbol and Image in Celtic Religious Art by Miranda Green (published 1992) states that "Nehalennia is nearly always portrayed with a dog"(p. 5).
Additionally, also by M. Green Animals in Celtic Life and Myth. London, UK: Routledge, 1998. p 200-201:
The tribe of the Morini lived in what is now the Netherlands, bordering the North Sea coast. They venerated a local Celtic goddess, Nehalennia, and set up two temples in her honour. She was a divinity of seafarers, and protected merchants and other travellers who regularly risked their lives and their merchandise in the perilous journey across the sea. Nehalennia’s cult was a successful one: visitors came to worship from as far away as Besançon and Trier. And it was a wealthy cult: the two shrines to the goddess were embellished with numerous altars . . . Nehalennia’s two sanctuaries, at Domburg on the island of Walcheren and at Colijnsplaat on the East Scheldte estuary, are both now submerged beneath the North Sea. However, many of her altars have been recovered, and these display a rich and complex iconography which throws some light on the nature and functions of the goddess. Nehalennia is generally depicted seated, with baskets of fruit as emblems of prosperity and often with marine symbols to signify her presidency over the sea. But most distinctive of all the motifs associated with this North Sea deity is the dog. On nearly every surviving stone — and there are more than a hundred — a large, benign, hound-like animal sits patiently by the goddess’s feet, facing his mistress.
This is from Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson's Roles of the Northern Goddesses, (pub. 1998): Nehalennia, a Germanic goddess worshipped at the point where travellers crossed the North Sea from the Netherlands, is shown on many carved stones holding loaves and apples like a Mother Goddess, sometimes with a prow of a ship beside her (see p. 112), but also frequently with an attendant dog which sits looking up at her (Plate 5). He was on thirteen of the twenty-one altars recorded by Ada Hondius-Crone (1955: 103), who describes him as a kind of greyhound. . .
L Hamm 02:43, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
If you read OERA LINDA BOOK there should be no problem to identify the origin of Nehalennia. Her original name was Minerva, and she was one of "Fryas children". She was taken to Crete and Athens, where cults to her arose. The sailors called her Nyhellenia. Oera Linda Book: [1] See also web-book by Radford: [2]
Rolf Kenneth 80.212.248.109 12:30, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
Krastain 21:36, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
What date were the earliest coins that depicted her? I added this source today that mentions several interesting points:
Note I answered my own question on dates so don't botther to go look it up (not I sheepishly got coins and stone votives mixed up). NOW I am wondering if a lot of the "etymology" section, except for what I answered is composed of "original research" and should be reduced to published speculation. Goldenrowley 22:02, 24 September 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for inviting me. This has really been some time ago. I remember there has been a lot of speculation on the subject, nothing ever being completely satisfactory. Nobody has ever been as bold as to dedicate something like a comprehensive scientific article to the issue. A pity, for now all references are fragmented and published only to express opposition to other views. Thus, restricting yourself to publications you know of would necessarily convey the risk of distortion. Maybe we can expect something from Peter Schrijver in the near future, especally concerning -ennia, since he assumes reminiscent influences from Linear Pottery people, and godesses with -na are almost pan-european (although I wonder if he takes local and slightly less ancient maritime Beaker traditions original enough). The ultimate source to all those speculations is te be found in what is published on proto languages. A lot of symbolism is involved, pointing to a cultural heritage that is largely lost. All of this makes it extremely difficult to grasp any meaning to any speculation at all, if presented without any contextual information. By the way, this compilation is what it is: a compilation, well to be distinguished from original research. No new facts are revealed nor concocted, for this would never be my purpose. Rokus01 19:44, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
Hmm someone has put her in the Celtic menu. Goldenrowley 22:43, 6 October 2007 (UTC)
I would like to get several references and suggested page links for the following sentence, which is in the article. Specifically, what sources and pages would best validate and explain this claim? " Today it's understood that Celtic and Germanic tribes shared a common heritage in language as well as ancient religion and were culturally intertwined to a degree." (?) Goldenrowley ( talk) 05:51, 29 January 2008 (UTC)
Nehalennia? -- Illustrious One ( talk) 18:24, 23 February 2008 (UTC)
I can't connect the last sentence in the following paragraph from the Inscriptions and depictions section with the goddess Nehalennia. Perhaps this info was copied from another article without verifying the whole paragraph was applicable? Or is there a connection, but either I don't see it or it wasn't made clear?
Davidson further links the motif of the ship associated with Nehalennia with the Germanic Vanir pair of Freyr and Freyja, as well as the Germanic goddess Nerthus,[5] and draws a connection between the loaves of bread that appear on some depictions Nehalennia with oblong, shin-bone shaped loaves of bread baked in the shape of a boar at the time of Yule in Sweden.[6] Davidson further states that customs in Värmland, Sweden "within living memory" describe grain from the last sheaf being used to bake a loaf into the shape of a little girl, as well as examples of elaborate loaves being used for religious festivals, for fertility of fields in Anglo-Saxon England, and examples from Ireland.[6]
Also, I can't envision "oblong, shin-bone shaped loaves of bread baked in the shape of a boar," so is this a misquote? Er, mis-paraphrase?
Thanks for your help in advance! -- Geekdiva ( talk) 07:54, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
What's with the recent edits inserting a useless and misleading template followed by the injection of references to ancient Belgian language? We have a policy against this— WP:UNDUE. Far and away the most common notions on this figure is that her name is either Germanic or Celtic. Inserting a reference to a purely hypothesized "ancient Belgian language" without emphasizing the general academic consensus is misleading to the reader and seems to promote what is nearly a fringe idea. What gives? :bloodofox: ( talk) 21:09, 28 June 2016 (UTC)
It does not go through Zeeland, it is the Schelde River. KsVer ( talk) 14:01, 1 September 2019 (UTC)