Why Some Days Are Roman and Some Are Norse ?
I have been fascinated by calendars since I was a child. It seemed very important to me to be able to keep track of each and every piece of time -- to know for sure what day & date it was. During my free time in class I often made calendars and thereby learned patterns in the numbering of days. But I took the names of the days for granted. It wasn't until recently that I realized we have three days named for Roman gods and four days named for Norse gods! How did that happen?The Romans invaded England in the 1st century B.C., bringing with them strange customs such as the Greek/Roman pantheon, the public forum, and even public baths. At that time England was occupied by the Celtic tribes. The Romans gradually established themselves just as they had done over much of Europe, spreading the Roman gospel of civilization. Some of the Celtic leaders even traveled to Rome to be educated, further entrenching Roman culture. At that time the days of the week would have been entirely Latin, as follows: solis dies, lunae dies, martis dies, mercurii dies, jovis dies, veneris dies, saturni dies (Sun's day, Moon's day, Mars' day, Mercury's day, Jove or Jupiter's day, Venus's day, Saturn's day) We can immediately spot the origin of Sunday, Monday, and Saturday (even though the words for 'sun' and 'moon' are different). But what happened to Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus? Actually, most of them are still there, but in slightly different forms.Mars, the Roman god of war, was named Tiw (tee-you) in Germanic/Norse mythology. Thus we have "Tiw's day" or Tuesday. Thor, who gives his name to Thursday, was a thunder god for the Germanic tribes. Guess what? Jupiter or Jove was a thunder god too! Friday may be named for either Freya or Frigg, both of whom were Germanic goddesses related to love. This corresponds to the Roman goddess Venus, likewise honored on the sixth day of the week.
I have been fascinated by calendars since I was a child. It seemed very important to me to be able to keep track of each and every piece of time -- to know for sure what day & date it was. During my free time in class I often made calendars and thereby learned patterns in the numbering of days. But I took the names of the days for granted. It wasn't until recently that I realized we have three days named for Roman gods and four days named for Norse gods! How did that happen?The Romans invaded England in the 1st century B.C., bringing with them strange customs such as the Greek/Roman pantheon, the public forum, and even public baths. At that time England was occupied by the Celtic tribes. The Romans gradually established themselves just as they had done over much of Europe, spreading the Roman gospel of civilization. Some of the Celtic leaders even traveled to Rome to be educated, further entrenching Roman culture. At that time the days of the week would have been entirely Latin, as follows: solis dies, lunae dies, martis dies, mercurii dies, jovis dies, veneris dies, saturni dies (Sun's day, Moon's day, Mars' day, Mercury's day, Jove or Jupiter's day, Venus's day, Saturn's day) We can immediately spot the origin of Sunday, Monday, and Saturday (even though the words for 'sun' and 'moon' are different). But what happened to Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus? Actually, most of them are still there, but in slightly different forms.Mars, the Roman god of war, was named Tiw (tee-you) in Germanic/Norse mythology. Thus we have "Tiw's day" or Tuesday. Thor, who gives his name to Thursday, was a thunder god for the Germanic tribes. Guess what? Jupiter or Jove was a thunder god too! Friday may be named for either Freya or Frigg, both of whom were Germanic goddesses related to love. This corresponds to the Roman goddess Venus, likewise honored on the sixth day of the week.
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