Philip A. Shaw's Pagan Goddesses in the Early Germanic World, Eostre, Hreda and the Cult of Matrons, published by Bristol Classical Press in 2011, is a scholarly study arguing, against a long popular assumption, that the goddess Eostre named by Bede was a local rather than a pan-Germanic figure, drawing on the matronae Austriahenae votive inscriptions discovered near Morken-Harff in 1958 as comparative evidence. Its strength is that it is a specialist philological and epigraphic argument engaging directly with the primary evidence, including material most popular writing on Eostre never cites. Its limit is that Shaw's own reading is one scholarly position within a genuinely contested question, since the sparse evidence for Eostre, essentially Bede's single mention, supports more than one interpretation, so a claim about Eostre's cult should be presented as a position in an active debate rather than as Shaw's conclusion settling it.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Philip A. Shaw's Pagan Goddesses in the Early Germanic World, published by Bristol Classical Press in 2011, is a specialist scholarly study engaging directly with the primary philological and epigraphic evidence, treated at the top tier, notwithstanding that its central argument is one position within a genuinely contested question. NotesArgues Eostre was a local rather than pan-Germanic goddess, and assesses the matronae Austriahenae inscriptions found near Morken-Harff in 1958.
Citation
AuthorPhilip A. Shaw
PublisherBristol Classical Press
Publication Year2011
Source Typeacademic monograph
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Bede, Figures This source names Bede directly: "that the goddess Eostre named by Bede was a local rather than a pan-Germanic figure, drawing on the matronae Austriahenae votive inscriptions discovered near Morken-Harff in 1958 as comparative..."
This source names Eostre directly: "Shaw's Pagan Goddesses in the Early Germanic World, Eostre, Hreda and the Cult of Matrons, published by Bristol Classical Press in 2011, is a scholarly study arguing, against a long popular..."
Claims Backed By This Source (22 claims)
This source backs 22 claims across the atlas. As facts: 17 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 3 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Articles, 6 claims: 6 well-attested.
- Holidays & Festivals, 6 claims: 4 well-attested, 2 general references.
- Cultures, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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