The Wanderer Anglo Saxon History, mythology, Folklore and religion

A 48‐line fragmentary poem in Old English dealing with part of the tragic tale of Finn and Hildeburh, a later part of which is sung by the scôp in Beowulf, II. 1,063–1,159. The fragment is included by F. Klaeber in his edition of Beowulf (1922, etc.) and in other editions.  The fragment of the Finnsburh poem and the Finnsburh reference in Beowulf somewhat overlap. The song sung during the cel...

Welund tasted misery among snakes. The stout-hearted hero endured troubles had sorrow and longing as his companion's cruelty cold as winter - he often found woe Once N idud laid restraints on him, supple sinew-bonds on the better man. That went by; so can this.

This episode of the Wanderer has David Casserly as a guest.  David Casserly was born and brought up in Bolton where he still lives. His first book "Massacre, The Storming of Bolton" published in 2011, came after a lifelong fascination with the subject and in learning the facts behind the story. He is a guest speaker for Blackpool and Fylde College on their history degree program and works for...

Mead was a very important part of a heathens civilization and culture. It helps define their leisure time and identity as a people and thus gets a prominent role in their stories and myths. Mead is no different from the Northern peoples during the Viking age. So important, in fact, that they use the drink as essentially a metaphor for how the inspiration for creative endeavors possesses people. Th...

Woden was a war god, and he appeared in heroic literature as the protector of heroes; fallen warriors joined him in V alhalla. The wolf and the raven were dedicated to him. His magical horse, S leipnir had eight legs, teeth inscribed with runes, and the ability to gallop through the air and over the sea. Woden was the great magician among the gods and was associated with runes. He was also the god...

This episode is very short, but It is a fun episode that talks about the Teutonic Knights fighting the Undead, This article is presented as fact from the sources I read. It is clearly complete fantasy but it was a great read. Unfortunately, I can no longer find this information on the internet. But I hope you enjoy the episode.

This episode is a short talk about the quarterstaff, it discusses some of the histories of the staff, and some of the people that used the staff as a weapon of defense. We go through a brief explanation of how the staff has progressed down through the ages to modern times. The name "quarterstaff" is first attested in the mid-16th century.  George Silver, an English Gentleman, and Maister of t...

Swords were enormously expensive weapons 1,500 years ago, and the Anglo Saxon warriors of those times needed a blade that could be used for everyday work and double as a fighting knife or sword. They and warriors of many other Northern European cultures chose the seax, which can be considered either a large dagger or a short single-edged sword. The origins of the seax are difficult to determine, b...

This episode is a talk by Guy Windsor. I try to include many different kinds of things in this podcast rather than keep rehashing stuff that has already been done. I have a few really good episodes lined up that I am sure everyone will like. Guy Windsor writes books about historical European swordsmanship and related topics like push-ups. My day job is finding and analyzing historical swordsmanshi...

This is a short episode on how the campaign to get Anglo Saxon Heathenism recognised by the UK government as a legitimate religion in the UK. It isn't going well and in fact the campaign is dead in the water. But I will carry on.

all of the Anglo-Saxon poetry that has survived is found in just four manuscripts which escaped the ravages of time, the pillaging of the Vikings, and the censorship of the Church. One thing that the Anglo-Saxon people were particularly fond of was telling (and trying to guess the answer of) riddles. It wasn't just children, who enjoyed riddles. Adults were very fond of them. People enjoyed trying...

In this episode, we look at Heathenism both old and modern. We look at how Heathenism has been reconstructed as well as heathenism of over a thousand years ago. Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism is a m odern pagan religion. Developed in Europe during the early 20th century, its practitioners model it on the a ncient Heathenism adhered to by...

Hello everyone. This is a very short episode but I had to give out what is happening at the moment. The Wanderer is now not just a podcast but is also a Website and a youtube channel. Website: https://www.thewanderer.info/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGOpG4Raynnu3bcRUXPbd3w The website: is a campaign website fighting for the recognition of Heathenism in England. The youtube channel i...

A discussion on Anglo Saxon Poetry.

How the Germanic tribes came and settled in Britain. Their battles, Families, and how they lived day to day.

Anglo-Saxon Poetry encompasses verse written during the 600-year Anglo-Saxon period of British history, from the mid-fifth century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. Almost all of the literature of this period was orally transmitted, and almost all poems were intended for oral performance. As a result of this, Anglo-Saxon poetry tends to be highly rhythmical, much like other forms of verse that emerg...

From paganism to Christianity, we explore the religions of Anglo-Saxon England. The Germanic migrants who settled in Britain in the fifth century were pagans. From the end of the sixth century, missionaries from Rome and Ireland converted the rulers of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to a religion – Christianity – which had originated in the Middle East. The conversion to Christianity had an enormous soc...

The Anglo-Saxons believed in many different creatures and monsters. They populated their world and haunted their nightmares. Grendel is one of three foes, along with Grendel's mother and a dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. Grendel is thought of as a huge troll-like creature who dwells in a swamp or a cave. Those are the sorts of locations the Saxons thought trolls lived. Beow...

What is Research? Research is a process of systematic inquiry that entails the collection of data; documentation of critical information; and analysis and interpretation of that data/information. Research is conducted to evaluate the validity of a hypothesis or an interpretive framework; to assemble a body of substantive knowledge and findings for sharing them in appropriate manners, and to genera...

Many different weapons were created and used in Anglo-Saxon England between the fifth and eleventh centuries. Spears, used for piercing and throwing, were the most common weapon. Other commonplace weapons included the sword, axe, and Seax—however, bows and arrows, as well as slings, were not frequently used by the Anglo-Saxons. For defensive purposes, the shield was the most common item used by wa...

Freya was the most important goddess in Northern mythology and religion. She was immensely popular throughout the entire Germanic world. Her name translates to “Lady” which is actually more of a title than her actual name. This is due to the fact that Freya journeyed many times into the mortal world under various names in search of her lost husband. Like most Anglo Saxon gods and goddesses Freya h...

one of the oldest gods of the Germanic Peoples and a somewhat enigmatic figure. He was apparently the god concerned with the formalities of war—especially treaties—and also, appropriately, of justice. It is in his character as guarantor of contracts, guardian of oaths, that the most famous myth about him may be understood: as a guarantee of good faith, he placed his hand between the jaws of the mo...

Magic in Anglo-Saxon England : galdorcræft ) refers to the belief and practice of Magic by the anglo Saxons between the fifth and eleventh centuries AD in Early Medieval England. In this period, magical practices were used for a variety of reasons, but from the available evidence, it appears that they were predominantly used for healing ailments and creating amulets, although it is apparent that a...

In this episode of the Wanderer Podcast, I am interviewing an Anglo-Saxon Heathen, His name is Jonny Hillman. A very experienced Heathen and very knowledgable on the subject of Paganism/Heathenism especially the path he follows himself which is Anglo Saxon Heathenism. The earliest English speakers were pagans, who worshipped many different gods and supernatural forces. Little is known about Anglo-...

Stáv is a Nordic style of martial arts based upon runic postures, using the 16 runes of the Younger Futhark. Stáv (pronounced st-arv) is a traditional European system that is designed to improve the mind-body and spirit. It has been maintained and developed for over 44 generations by the Norwegian Hafskjold family. "Although based on ancient philosophy, Stáv is a dynamic and evolving system that c...