Eurasian Israelism in Gesta Danorum (Part II)

Posted Thursday 21. January, 2021

Category: Eurasian Israelism  ✷  ▼ Download (.md)

◄ BACK TO BLOG

On the very first page of Gesta Danorum, a link between the Danes and the English is established;

“Old reports maintain that the English race arose from this Angel, who had his name given to the region he governed, resolving to pass on an undying recognition of himself by an easy kind of memorial.” – Gesta Danorum 1.2

It is in the favor of the Eurasian Israelist idea that ancient sources claim common ancestry between these groups. We will explore how Angel came to be the first Englishman, and what his Levantine roots may have been.

Cornelius Tacitus and Germania

The Roman historian Tacitus writes, in his publication Germania, that the Angli neighbour the Eudoses, later called the Jutes, and that they are shared in their worship of Nerthus. The Jutes are today a part of the broader ethnic group of Danes.

“The neighboring Reudigni, and the Avions, Angli, Varini, Eudoses, Suardones, and Nuithones, are defended by rivers or forests. Nothing remarkable occurs in any of these; except that they unite in the worship of Hertha (Mother Earth, Nerthus)” – Germania 40

There is here a mention of the Jutes, Eudoses, but not of the Danes. Gudmund Schütte, a danish historian and specialist in Germanic studies has proposed that the Reudigni were a Danish, or even pre-Dane tribe that settled modern day Randers. I speculate that one or more of these tribes “became” the Danes, and settled Denmark with the Angles, as Saxo describes. “Isis” of the Suebi, described by Tacitus, has been the subject of historical controversy. The notion that a Germanic tribe would worship an Egyptian goddess seems out of place, but would support the notion that the Germanic people at least had knowledge of the gods of the middle east. Scholars have noted that Tacitus may have used interpretatio graeca, interpretation by means of Greek models, and therefore used Isis as a comparison for the Roman audiences. Another interesting detail in Germania is a description of one of the rituals used by the Germanic tribes in their worship of Nerthus. Tacitus describes it the following way:

“In an island of the ocean stands a sacred and unviolated grove, in which is a consecrated chariot, covered with a veil, which the priest alone is permitted to touch. He becomes conscious of the entrance of the goddess into this secret recess; and with profound veneration attends the vehicle, which is drawn by yoked cows.” – Germania 40

The brief description of this religious ritual has striking comparisons to the Tabernacle used by the Israelites during the exodus. Similarly, both have a central place of worship which is covered by a “veil,” or a “tent” with only a priest being allowed to enter the “secret recess” or “inner sanctuary.” Although the comparisons semingly end there, as the Israelites worshipped a single male god, the presence of a holy place of consecration in which the “soul” of the venerated deity meta-physically resides, and only the priest can enter, benefits the position of Eurasian Israelism.

With the writings of Saxo and Tacitus, it is possible to make a loose timeline of events, based primarily on these two manuscripts. According to Tacitus, several Germanic tribes resided in central Europe, among these the Angli and Reudigni, who were identified by Schütte as possible Danish. These tribes, according to Saxo, resided in the south of Jutland and created societies. Historical accounts later describe the Angli and another group, the Saxons entering eastern Great Britain and forming the Anglo-Saxon people. This alone does not identify any of these groups with any Levantine group, but it establishes a clear historical perspective: that the modern day Danes and English immigrated from the south, and that their origins before that are largely speculative.

Hebrew Identity of Angel

It is unclear who Humli, father of Dan and Angel is. No obvious Hebrew equivalent to the name or identity has been found, and it remains a mystery. I will be contacting hebrew speakers about a possible connection. One theory proposed by Brit-Am points to the hebrew word for a bull-calf, aegel (עגל) which is also a nickname used for Ephraim in Jeremiah 31:18. Ephraim is mentioned here because the tribe was located next to Dan. I intend on contacting Brit-Am and asking them for further information regarding this topic.

I admit I find this explanation flimsy and irrelevant, and would put more credence into Angel having a name like Malakh, which would be Angelos in Greek, and that name transferring during the migration, somehow. As you might have been able to tell, I also do not but much credence into this explanation either. A latin name for the Jutes, Iutae, is almost identical to the latin for Judah, Iudas. Like Ephraim, Judah was a tribe located next to Dan. I find it likely that members of the tribe of Judah went with Dan (and possible Ephraim) in their possible migration.

Conclusions

We can draw a number of loose conclusions, that together may draw a more convincing argument. It is important to note that all evidence presented here is circumstantial at best, speculative at worst.

• According to Saxo and Tacitus, the Jutes and Angli shared a common ancestry, culture and geographical location.
• The latin term for the Jutes, Iutae, is almost identical to the latin for Judah, Iudas.
• Religious practices of the Germanic tribes described by Tacitus share striking similarities with Israelite religious practice described in the bible.
• The name Angel may have a connection to an established nickname for Ephraim

MARANATHA

M. L. Mayaan-Baruch

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC-BY-SA-4.0) - You are free to share and adapt the works in this blog, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.