Sacral Kingship

The concept of divine Kingship was important to our Anglo Saxon and Germanic ancestors. Theirs was a culture of unswerving loyalty to the tribal leader - or King (though some tribes may have had a Council of chieftains rather than a single King). A good King did well for the tribe. He ensured plentiful food and security. He brought success in warfare and was able to share the spoils of these successes with his Athelings (noblemen) and the rest of the tribe. This fundamental principle of Germanic religion and culture is expressed at the beginning of the epic tale Beowulf (the funeral of Scyld Scefing). In line 10, we read, "þæt wæs god cyning!” – that was one good king! He was remembered this way, with loyalty and affection, because he brought riches and glory to his tribe – mainly through warfare and plunder!

Ritualised warfare was an important part of the Germanic heroic culture. It provided an opportunity for the tribe to get richer, to grow and to expand its territory. The King and his Athelings could gain personal wealth and glory. A successful King had tremendous respect and loyalty from his Athelings because they shared in his success. The concept of ring giving is symbolic of this sharing of wealth and ability to protect the tribe from its enemies. In return, the ring wearer was bound in loyalty oaths to the King. It was a reciprocal system that created powerful tribal bonds.

But kingship went further than simply a successful war leader and protector. The Germanic and Norse people saw themselves as being directly descended from their folk Gods (see the creation of humankind article in the section on creation mythology). Kings, in particular, traced their ancestry back to Woden, Tyr (Seaxnot) and Ing Frea. So much so, that even Christian royal lineages maintained these links. This is the concept of ‘Sacral Kingship’. Not simply a divine right to rule in the modern sense, but a sense that the King was a physical descendent of a deity and so had a particularly close relationship to him. Some scholars postulate that this form of Sacral Kingship may be derived from an earlier version that saw the King as a God in human form. This view is supported by considering other branches of the Indo European family, such as the Romans, who did practice this form of Sacral Kingship. Nevertheless, in the Germanic tradition, the tradition seems to be more one of a close relationship to a deity through ancestry. This also demonstrates the importance of tribal ancestors within the Heathen tradition and the relationship between folk and folk Gods.

At this point, it is necessary to go back to a fundamental aspect of Germanic heathen religion. This is the cycle of the marriage between God and Goddess, as mother earth, to create the new life. The forebears of the Anglo Saxon English expressed this through the cult of Nerthus (mother earth). The ‘new life’ born each year was most associated with Ing Frea, though other tribes and other times gave different names to these ‘personalities’ of the divine nature. Ing Frea is sometimes seen as the ‘dying God’. He is born in new life in the spring, brings forth the fruit of the summer season and eventually dies to the winter, only to be reborn the following year. It is a natural belief system for a North European environment.

The concept of Sacral Kingship can be seen as a representation of this cycle. The King is born into the new life (made a king) and brings peace and prosperity to his people as a manifestation of Ing Frea. This can be expressed as the King holding the ‘luck’ of the tribe, a sort of divine protection. However, if this ‘luck’ was thought to have left the King, he was no longer considered to be ‘sacral’ – the divine authority had left him. In such cases, he would be replaced and might even be killed first as a sacrificial offering to the Gods. The cult of the dying God could be exercised literally!

But the mystical ‘marriage’ between God and Mother Earth has another important aspect to it with regard to Sacral Kingship. The divine marriage to ‘Mother Earth’ is represented as an earthly marriage between the Sacral King and the physical earth of his kingdom. Not simply ‘earth’ in an abstract sense, but the actual kingdom or country and also to the folk of that country or tribe. The land itself is sacred and the King was a sort of earthly representative of that sacredness. A good ruler would then be expected to do what was best for the kingdom and for the folk group, or tribe, itself.

This concept may also be reflected in the myths surrounding Scyld Scefing, as he does seem to be closely connected with Ing Frea. In the article on culture, also in the section on creation mythology, it is suggested that Scef represents the dawn time of Germanic culture – the on set of civilisation, when people start to settle down into communities, begin to learn crafts, rear animals and grow crops. Similarly, Scyld represents protection, the King’s ability to protect his tribe from predatory incursions by other tribes and to win wealth and glory through the same warfare. In this sense, Scyld Scefing is strongly associated with the two sides of Ing Frea, the bringer of food (the Scef) and the giver of protection (the Scyld). Scyld Scefing is a human embodiment of Ing Frea, a “good King!”

But Ing Frea was not the only heathen God associated with Sacral Kingship. The Old English word for King (Cyning) does seem to be related to our modern words ‘cunning’ and ‘canny’ meaning wise or knowledgeable. Mythologically, such wisdom and knowledge is most associated with Woden (Odin in the Norse tradition). Woden seems to have been particularly venerated as the God of Kings and the aristocracy, especially heroic warrior Kings. He is the protector and can provide the sort of wisdom and cunning needed to outwit your enemies. But his name also suggests a sort of fury, expressed through the rushing of the winds. He is the battle leader, the strategist but also the inspiration to battle fury. He is patron to the beserkers – the King who leads by example and from the front! He is also known as the father of victories, able to determine, or foresee, the course of a battle. There is a tradition that Germanic warriors called to him over their shields at the start of a battle. They seemed to be able to tell by the results of this whether Woden would grant them victory or not.

Woden may have taken on some of the roles of Tyr in these respects. Tyr may be one of the earliest known of our folk Gods, our ancestor’s earliest understanding of the divine nature. His name is likely to simply mean ‘God’, being cognate with Zeus, Deus, Dieu, Theos and Deity. The rune poem sees Tyr as a guiding star, one who is always looking out for us, watching and protecting. He is seen in mythical terms as a father figure, protector and dealer of justice, the original All-Father.

So what does all this have to do with Christ? Surely He was the exact antithesis of the warrior King who made war against his neighbours and was considered ‘good’ if he defeated them and brought back wealth and treasure.

The answer to this lies in the way the old heroic tradition was absorbed into the new Christian faith. The Anglo Saxon Kings were convinced by the early missionaries that Christ was the ‘King of Kings’; more powerful than any earthly King, or the folk Gods they might embody. Christ is referred to in Saxon literature as the All-Ruler, the supreme King. He had heroically laid down His own life to offer the gift of eternal life to all who would follow Him. This is the ultimate treasure that any King could offer his people, one that transcends anything a mortal King could offer. In return, all earthly people, including Kings, should offer their loyalty to Him and become his warrior companions – or Gesithas. Reward for this loyalty was to be found in heaven; spiritual treasures rather than earthly ones.

Christ essentially took on the mantle of Ing Frea as provider and protector. He is gentle, peaceful and the source of new life, good crops and of general prosperity and happiness. In our heart of hearts, it is still Ing Frea we think of when we call ‘Lord’ – which is what his title ‘Frea’ means. But he is also a warrior. He is prepared to stand and fight to offer the protection he is associated with. He does not run away and allow the enemy to run wild in his lands. He is associated with both peace and defence – the sheaf and the shield. This is how our ancestors understood Christ, the Word of God.

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