Bible (172G, etc.), belong to the Lutheran Church ; those of Grj'noeus (3 vols. 8vo, Bcasle, 177C), and Voege- lin (Zurich, 17H1) to the Reformed. Belonging to the present century are the translations of Preiss (1811), Schiifer (ISKl)", Mever (ISl'SO. [Richter and Pleissncr] (1830), B.jckel (183-}), Alt (1837), Von der Heyd (1852), chiefly of the X. T. only. IJut all these yield in im- portance to the work of De "Wette, prepared originallj' in conjunction -with Augusti (6 vols., Heidelli. 180;)- 14), subsequentl}- wholly by himself (3 vols., 1831-33, 4th ed. 1858). The Jewish version bj' Arnheim, Flirst, and Sachs, under the editorship of Zunz (Berlin, 1838), is also deserving of notice. Finally we notice the careful translations in Phillippson's Israelitische Bibel (1858) and Bunsen's Bibelwerh (1858 sq.).- — Kitto, s. v. Germany. I. Ancient Religion of. — The informa- tion we now possess concerning the religion of the tribes of Germania Magna, such as the Alemans, Sax- ons, Franks, etc., is very incomplete and disconnect- ed. The Greek and Latin authors mention the names of but a few deities, who seem to have been to some extent similar hi their attributes to their own gods. The Christian writers also mention them only in so far as is necessarjr for their purpose, and their views are naturally colored with their own o])inions. The Scan- dinavian mythology must originiilh' have been very closely connected with that of Germany ; but we can get no light from that quarter, as we do- not know the earl}- period of the former. It is clear that at an earlv period the Celtic element was infused in the Ale- man and the Frank, while among the northern tribes, the Slavonic, Lithuanic, and Finnic myths were intro- duced ; while a tendency towards the Greek worship is also perceptilde. As for the dliinities of the ancient Germans, Cffisar states that thej' worshipped only such as visibly exerted a decided influence over events ; he particularly mentions three : jthe Sun, Vulcan, and the Moon. The domestic divinities wefi-e : Wvotan (AV'o- den), the supreme god, and his wife Freia, the goddess of the household and of marriage ; Zio, the god of war ; Fiv, who watched over the crops, and his wife Frouu-a; afterwards came Uhul or Paltar (the Balder of the north), Fosile, and Thunar (Donar), god of the clouds and storms. The progenitor of the human race was Tuisco, who combined the attributes of the Greek Uranos and Zeus, and whose son Mannus is identical with the subsequent Irmin, or the Greek Hercules. Among the special divinities of different tribes were Nerthus (commonly Ilertha), goddess of fertility and the chase; the A Ices, two brothers (a sort of Castor and Pollux) ; Costra, in Saxony, etc. Other goddesses appear to have been merely aliases of these : thus IIlu- dana and Eisa were identical with Freia, etc. Among the inferior divinities (dasmons) were the Riesen (gi- ants), phj'sically resembling men, who were supposed to belong to a former period of creation, and dwelt in the mountains, where they erected gigantic fortifica- tions, and defended themselves against intruders with stones and rocks. In direct contrast from these were the Zwerge (pigmies), who appeared among men on special occasions, sometimes to impart gifts and bless- ings to them, at other times to do them evil and frus- trate their plans. There were also Berggeister (spirits of the mountains), called also Elbe or Elfen (elves) ; Waldgdster (spirits of the forests), especially the Wild Hunter, Schratz ; Wassergeister (spirits of the waters), or Nixen. There were also a quantity of lares, or favorable household gods of an inferior degree, while tormenting genii haunted the houses and their neigh- borhoods at night, disturbing slumberers and throw- ing stones at passers-by. Horses and bulls were con- sidered sacred, and bears, wolves, and foxes were objects of respectful awe. The gods and goddesses often took the form of birds, and among these the ea- gle, raven, and woodpecker were regarded with the highest veneration. The cuckoo was supposed to pos- sess the gift of prophecy. Serpents also were wor-
shipped, and the fear they inspired gave rise to the fable of the dragon. The cosmogonj' of Germany seems to have greatly varied with the times and in the different tribes ; the general belief was that the gods originated out of chaos, created the world, and gov- erned it. Belief in continued existence after death was shown by the idea of the great city of the dead, WaUiaUa. The mode of worship was very simple, if compared witii that of the Greeks and Romans, or even of the Celts. The temples were not generally structures made by men, but often trees or groves which the deitj^ was supposed to inhabit, revealing himself in the rustling of the leaves. Some of the gods dwelt in the mountains, caves, or streams. Yet there were also regular temples, of which vestiges are yet found, and which contained images of the gods ; for, although Ca3sar and Tacitus deny their existence, there is oft mention made in the earh' times of Chris- tianity of the destruction of idols in Germany [see Ir- mexsul], and images of the sun and the moon have been found (though these may also have belonged to Celtic or Slavonic tribes). The holy places were moun- tains or rocks ; e. g. the Blocksherg, the chain of moun- tains between Silesia and Bohemia, etc. The woods and trees, especialh' the oak, beech, and linden-tree, were objects of particular veneration. Unbelievers were not allowed to touch them, or to enter the groves. The worship consisted in praj'er to the gods ; the sacri- fices were either propitiator}' or thank-ofierings ; they also took place before consulting the omens, going to war, electing a king, or on anj' other special occasion. These sacrifices consisted generally in horses, bulls, goats, etc., and even human beings. The color of the animal was generally white. Besides this, on all fes- tive occasions, a portion of the feast was oftered to the household gods, and laid before tlieir shrine. No mention is made of the general feasts of the Germans in the earlier times, yet it is considered likely that they had at least as principal ones the Juel, Easter, and the Summer feasts. The priests took part in legislation and the wars as well as in worship, and in war they carried the sacred images or symbols against the ene- mj'. In the household the head of the family could act as its priest. Chosen women, called Ahunes, con- secrated the horses, and prophesied by consulting the omens at the sacrifices. See Schedius, De diis germa- nis (Amst. 1648) ; G. Schiitz, Eiercitaiiones ad Germa- niam sacrani geniilem Jiicientes (Lpz. 1748) ; IMoser, De vett. Germanormn et Gallorum. theologki (1749) ; Meyer, Erbrterung d. ehemaligen Religionsu-esens d. Dadschen (Lpz. 1756) ; Hermann, De jmi'iori Dei cuitu naturali veterum Germnnorum (Baireuth, 17G1); Siebenkees, Von der Religion dtr alien Deiiischcn (Altdorf, 1771); Reinhold, Beitrnge einer Mythologie der (dien D. Goiter (JIunst. 1791) ; Loos, D. Gotterlehre der alt. Deutscken (Col. 1804) ; Scheller, Mytkologie d. nordischen u. deut- scken VoUcer (Regensb. 1816) ; Braun, Der relig. der alt. Dentschen (Mainz, 1819) ; jMone, Gesch. d. Hiidenikums im nordischen Europa (Lpz. 1819-23, 2 vols.) ; Bonisch, D. Goiter DeutscJdands (Kamenz, 1830) : Legis, Hand- buch d. alldeutschen u. nordisch. Gotterlehre (Lpz. 1831) ; Barth, Altdeutscke Religion (Leipz. 1832); J. Grimm, Deutsche Mgthologie (Giitting. 1835 ; 2d ed. 1844) ; ii\m- rock, Handhuch der D. Mgthologie (Munich, 1844-55, 2 vols.) ; .J. A\'. A\'olf, Zdischrift fur D. Mgih. u. Silien. kunde (Gott. 1853-55, 2 vols.'). ' (J. N. P.)