TEUTONIC MYTHOLOGY. - Centrostudirpinia.it

158 WODAN.
name, does occur, but not often ; and the meaning of the second
half of the compounds, and their reappearance in various regions,
are altogether in favour of their being attributable to the god.
From Lower Germany and Hesse, I have cited (p. 151) Wddenmueg,
Wodenesberg, WodenesJwU, Wddenesh Asun, and on the Jutish border
Wonsild ; from the Netherlands Woensdreclit ; in Upper Germany
such names hardly show themselves at all. 1 In England we find :
Woodnesbortf in Kent, near Sandwich : Wednesbury
and Wednes-
field in Staffordshire ; Wednesham in Cheshire, called Wodncsfield
in Ethelwerd p. 84S. 2 But their number is more considerable in
Scandinavia, where heathenism was preserved longer : and if in
Denmark and the Gothland portion of Sweden they occur more
frequently than in Norway and Sweden proper, I infer from this a
preponderance of Odin-worship in South Scandinavia. The chief
town in the I. of Funen (Fion) was named Odinsve (Fornm. sog. 11,
266. 281) from ve, a sanctuary ; sometimes also O&imey (ib. 230.
352) from ey t island, meadow ; and later again Odense, and in
Waldemar s Liber censualis 3 530. 542 Othdnso. In Lower Norway,
close to Frederikstad, a second O&insey (Heimskr. ed. Havn. 4, 348.
398), aft. called Onso. In Jutland, Othdnshylla (-huld, grace,
Wald. lib. cens. 519), aft. Onsild. Othdnslef (Othini reliquiae,
leavings, ib. 526), now Onskv. In Halland, Othdnsdle (-saal, hall,
ib. 533), now Onsala (Tuneld s geogr. 2, 492. 504) ; as well as in
Old Norway an Odhinssalr (conf. Woensel in Brabant, Woenssele ?).
In Schonen, Othdnshdret (Wald. lib. cens. 528) ; Othenshdrat (Bring
2, 62. 138. 142), 4 now Onsjo (Tuneld 2, 397) ; Onslunda (-grove,
Tuneld 2, 449) ; Otliensvara (Bring 2, 46-7, Othenvara 39) ;
Othenstroo (Bring 2, 48), from vara, foedus, and tro, fides ? In
Smaland, Odensvalahult (Tuneld 2, 146) and Odensjo (2, 109. 147.
Sjoborg lorsok p. 61). In Ostergotland, Odenfors (Tuneld 2, 72).
In Vestergotland, Odenskulla (2, 284) and Odenskdlla (2, 264), a
medicinal spring ; Odensaker, Onsaker (-acre, field, 2, 204. 253). In
1 An Odensberg in the Mark of Bibelnheim (now Biebesheim below Gerns-
heim in Darmstadt) is named in a doc. of 1403. Chmels reg. Ruperti p. 204 ;
the form Wodensberg would look more trustworthy.
2 If numbers be an object, I fancy the English contribution might be
swelled by looking up in a gazetteer the names beginning with Wans-, Wens-,
Wadden-, Weddin-, Wad-, Wed-, Wood-, Warn-, Wem-, Worn-. TRANS.
3
Langebek script, torn. 7.
4 Sven Bring, inonumenta Scanensia, vol 2, Lond. goth. 1748.