Death Hags... in Denmark

[Nightcall]

I've been researching the origins of seidr, AKA Norse sorcery for the last few months, and came across this today. Cauldron of blood, ritual sacrifice, women and battle magic...

~Battle Magic~

There are records of an ancient tribe of Jutland in Denmark, named the Cimbri. It is difficult to tell whether they are Germanic or Celtic, they could be a mix of both. Evidence of this possible blend comes from artefacts and burial mounds found in Denmark which are remarkably similar to those found in Ireland and Britain.

The Cimbri tribe was amongst those who resisted the Romans, and would face them in battle, in around 100BC. The warriors would be accompanied onto the battle-field by their wives and seer-priestesses. These seeresses are described as being “grey-haired, clad in white, with flaxen cloaks fastened on with clasps, girt with girdles of bronze, and bare footed” [1].

Captives from the enemy side would be sacrificed and their entrails and blood would be collected in vessels, with which the seer-priestesses would make prophecies and divine the outcome of battle in blood.

One theory around the Gundestrup cauldron is that it may be a sacrificial vessel where blood was collected during times of battle.

These accounts may be grisly tales of fiction told to frighten Roman children, or make the Cimbri seem barbaric compared to the more civilised southerners (in the Roman eyes at least!), or they may well be actual accounts. We know that blood was used in magic, whether from drawing a stave or marking a rune, to making a dedication or sacrifice to the Gods. It is quite possible that the essence of the enemy was claimed to please the gods, strengthen the warriors and help them defeat their foes.

[1] Wikipedia, Cimbri http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimbri


The women sorceresses also carried iron staffs.

[Tyrannus deathbringer]

Magic cauldron's that restore life to the dead are a big part of British Celtic myth...and that's where I thought the inspiration for the Druchii Cauldron of Blood came from...

But these Cimbri do seem like proper Witch Elves in the application of their magic cauldron!

Cool find

[Sulla]

Let's not bring reality into this eh?

Warhammer world; impossibly hot scantily clad elven babes caling down their iron skinned god's wrath.

Reality; overweight, rotten toothed old hags stinking from the detritus of animal/human sacrifices they have just performed.

[Calisson]

Sulla, you're the bane of poetry. Curse on you

[Red...]

Wait....there are Death Hags in reality Sulla? Hmm...remind me to stay away from whereever you live =)

As to the OP, it's an interesting find, but I think that the whole evil woman performing nefarious deeds to retain her eternal youth vibe is fairly prevalent across a lot of mythologies and folk lore.

[Saintofm]

Let's not bring reality into this eh?

Warhammer world; impossibly hot scantily clad elven babes caling down their iron skinned god's wrath.

Reality; overweight, rotten toothed old hags stinking from the detritus of animal/human sacrifices they have just performed.

Is that before or after they have their dip in the cauldron?

In all seriousness I find this info interesting as GW, like Tolkin before, used real world peoples and old legends as their inspiration, so this adds a new level.

As for Brit. and other tribes, it makes sense to be. Germanic tribes were famouse for their women going to battle, and there have been stories of them putting the wagons in the right place to make reatreating harder, becasue no woman of those tribes wanted a whimpy husband. And if their husband was getting their butt handed to him.

Yes this is all taken with a grain of salt when it comes to reality as Jesus didn't wield warhammers (Empire), Vikings did not look like angry rugby players from the Islands with more padding (Warriors of Chaos), Azteks were not Dinosaur People who share names with Dinobots (Lizardmen), Scots Men Are Not Big, Green, belligerent blokes (Orcs and Goblins),and vampires don't sparkle (Twilight).

[Thraundil]

Let us remember that these battlefield occurances are written by the victor. Cimbri and Teuton tribes fled from what is now Denmark and northern germany around 110-100 BC, this much is known from roman historians. One can speculate that the harvest had failed, and there were too many mouths to feed, and as the (likely far too small to challenge the roman republic) tribes migrated south, they gave encountering tribes two options. Join us or we will wipe you out, take your food and valuables, and move along. When this proceeded southwards into gaul, a roman province, Rome had to do something. In 107 BC the cimbri routed and destroyed a roman army in sourthern Gaul (now France) sent to stop them. Some years later another army was raised and sent (I believe this was around the time of the Marian reforms), and if memory serves was victorious after a longer campaign. Rome defeated the Cimbri and Teuton tribes, and while there may have been some truth in the human sacrifice to appease the gods deal, theres a very good chance the romans greatly exaggarated the whole story

[xFallenx]

As far as the cauldron restoring youth, I always thought of Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed, while the death hags/witches as the wives of North-Men battling the Romans (The true/false belief that there was no retreat for fear of being carved up by the ladies as you ran by).

I think the differing stories between us is actually closer to the mark of how they were created by GW. Hearsay/opinion/speculation being universal.

[Gwii2510]

That really explains a lot about my girlfriend.... ;-)

[xFallenx]

That really explains a lot about my girlfriend.... ;-)

Sounds like a keeper, just keep her away from the knife block.

[Saintofm]

Also, when the anniversary comes around, it sounds like: flowers, chocolate, Death Metal Concert