The text on the tablet reads translated:

To (the goddess) Vihansa, Quintus Cattus, nephew of Libus, Centurio of the third Cyrenean Legion, had dedicated his shield and lance.

The name of the goddess is most likely West-Germanic and seems to deal with fighting and battle. Therefore it is assumed, Vihansa is a Germanic war goddess.

The name of the goddess can’t be determined conclusively, the two most mentioned proposals are that it could be connected to Germanic
*wiga‑ i.e. fight
or to
*wiha- i.e. consecrate
(both with a – above the ‘i’ in stead of the dot).

That Roman legion, the name of it could be derived from ‘Cyrene’, an old name for Libya, was in its long existence not active in Western Europe,except for one time as in the year 39 or 40 CE a detachment was sent to Northern Gaul resp. what is now Belgium to support the  Emperor Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus’ (Caligula)  with his invasion of Britain. That detachment were likely not a battle contingent but rather did the supply organizing for the invasion.

The Roman soldier who beard the tablet on his weapons was, according to his name and the legion he served in, not a Germanic warrior, he came most likely from a region in the Empire far more to the south. But due to the practical Roman habit of venerating Gods originated to the region they were stationed in, he honored Vihansa.

“The translation of the name MERCURII DIES in Old
High German as Wuotanestag …(etc.) proves clearly,
that Tacitus with that name meant Woden.”

However, that argument has meanwhile become very questionable. Several scholars have published about this, among them JOACHIM GRZEGA, whose publication

ON THE NAMES FOR WEDNESDAY IN GERMANIC DIALECTS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WEST GERMANIC

can be read here (CLICK):

That contribution shows, that an Oldhighgerman “wuotanestac” (Wednesday) most likely never was in use in the southern parts of Germany and more to the south, which simply means, that the argument for a Woden veneration does not count for the Germanic tribes who lived there.

That disproves surely just one of the arguments. The other arguments

• The Psychopomp-role of Mercury
• The Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs blessing
• The second Merseburg incantation
• Jonas of Bobbio
• Paul the Deacon (Paulus Diaconus)
• Origo gentis Langobardorum
• Vita Barbati
• Beda Venerabilis (Bede)
• Nennius
• The Nordendorf rune fibula
• Placenames
• The Old Saxon Baptismal Vow
• Woden and Mercury are both gods of magic
• Woden leads the souls of the dead in the Wild Hunt
• Both Woden and Mercury received human sacrifices

are also discussed in the book “The Mercury – Woden complex”, which can be ordered through the usual bookshops, autographed copies can be obtained directly by writing a private message to me, being the author.

The book is available in English, German and Dutch:
EN: The Mercury – Woden complex
DE: Der Merkur – Wodan Komplex
NL: Het Mercurius – Wodan complex

The Codex pal. 577 from the Vatican Library contains an 8th or 9th century Saxon baptismal vow which asserts the baptismal subject forswears three Germanic gods:  Wodan, Donar and Saxnot:

“ec forsacho allum dioboles uuercum and uuordum, Thunaer ende Uuöden ende Saxnote ende allum them unholdum the hira genötas sint”

which translates as

“I (do) forsake all diabolic works and words, Donar and Wotan and Saxnot and all those demons that are their companions.”

Jan de Vries writes in his Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte:
“The third named God must have been commensurate with the first two, therefore a local God is out of the question.”
This seems logical and acceptable.
However, de Vries goes on to state:
“Here one can only think of Tiwaz, as the only God who could have the same rank.”

It is here, beginning with this statement, that de Vries’ statements have to considered in a more critical light.  Although he is noting this as a fact, it is just a hypothesis, and he leaves it unsupported by any clear arguments.
Despite the unsubstantiated nature of his assertions, de Vries’ view remains widely accepted, which is unfortunate because there are sound arguments to see Saxnot (Seaxnet) as another name for Freyr or Ingwe.

De Vries continues to stray further from empirical consideration of the subject by concluding:
“…the fertility gods here, unlike Njord and Freyr in the North, are completely absent.”

In response it should first be noted that we know far too little to draw such a general conclusion.  More specifically in contradiction to De Vries’ statement is the correlation between Freyr’s role in the North and Saxnot’s in the South.  A good example of this is noted by Adam von Bremen, who indicates that Thor (Donar), Odin (Wodan) and Freyr (Fricco) were honored in the main temple of Uppsala.

De Vries continues with his assertion by indicating that the Saxons took Saxnot with them to England, where they preserved his role as a son of Woden in the genealogical tree of the Kings of Essex, specifically as ‘Seaxneat or ‘Saxniat’.

This particular contention of De Vries is offset by the mention of “Frealaf” as Woden’s father in the tree of names for the Kings of Northumbria (Deira and Bernicia), Lindsey, Kent and East-Anglia. The first part of that name (Frea-) could well refer to the God Ingwe-Frey(r), Fricco, Fra. It seems reasonable to suggest that Freyr’s name is also preserved in the geneology of the kings of Wessex as ‘Freawine’, specifically in the family tree of Eethelwulf.
However, the Old-English ‘frea‘ has also the common meaning: master, lord and i.e. ‘frea wif‘ means ‘the master’s wife‘.

The fact that Ingwe-Freyr is known in other places as the ancestor of royal families may well suggest the existence of Freyr in England as well.

The Germanic tribes who conquered England, including the Angels, Saxons and Jutes, came from the continental North Sea coast, undoubtedly the main Ingwaonic area (Ingwe). It seems completely unlikely that, following their movement to England, a God of such importance in their traditions would completely disappear. That makes the appearance of parts of Freyr’s name in those family trees even more logical.

It’s certainly worth noting that Frey(r)-Ingwe was definitely not unknown to the Saxons. This is supported by the Weser-Runebones find, where the names Ingbari and Ingwe are clearly evident. These bones, and their numerous inscriptions, were found in the former land of the Saxons and indicate that Frey(r)-Ingwe was an important god there.

Finally, an inspection of the name itself yields persuasive evidence against De Vries’ assertion.  The original meaning of Saxnot, (Sahsginöt) is sword-companion, which might have given De Vries some reason to think of Tiwaz, although that subsides on closer inspection.
We know that Freyr-Ingwy had a powerful sword, in fact, he is the only one among the gods who possesses a magic sword at all. This fact alone, that in the myths only Freyr-Ingwy had such a sword, could well indicate that he was known among Germanic tribes as a sword god. He may even have been considered to be the sword god.  This could explain the underlying reason why he would be called Saxnot, even if they also knew him under another name.

“Goddess Holle – in search of a Germanic Goddess”

A few folk tales …
About Frau Hulle with the Gold-Knot
and Frau Holle in the Kyffhäuser

Gathered by the folk tale collectors Kuhn and Schwartz, who traveled around in the North of Germany and published their collection of folk tales in 1848………

1. Orally from Phulsborn near Apolda
In the old times, people knew much to tell about Frau Hulle, namely how
she had made someone rich. When once a man walked over a mountain
in the late evening, he saw Frau Hulle sitting there and sedulously wiping
off flax knots and throwing them onto a pile in front of her. He bade
her good evening, she thanked and told him to bag in the flax knots and
take them home. He thanked for the good will and said, he had plenty
of them home and did not want to weight himself with them. As he had
walked for a while, his shoe pinched him and he found some gold grains
in it. Some of the flax knots had got in his shoe and turned into gold.

2. Orally from Frankenhausen
When children go on the Kyffhäuser, they find Frau Hulle sitting and
spinning with a huge pile of flax knots. If they ask her for some flax
knots, she allows them to fill their pockets. But on their way home, some
say ‚what shall we do with it?‘ and throw them away. Only one keeps
them, and while the child goes home, its pocket grows heavy when the
flax knots turn into gold.

3. Orally from Straußberg an der Mark
Once in April, a woman went on the Kyffhäuser to fetch some brushwood,
when she saw an old woman sitting there with a stick, gathering
cotton bolls and with a huge pile of those beside her. Since cotton bolls
were only harvested in summer, the woman wondered and asked the
old woman what she wanted to do with them, as they wouldn‘t be quite
useful yet. The old woman told her to take some, as many as she‘d like,
since she was going to need them. But the woman couldn‘t believe it.
The the old woman filled her apron and also her basket. The woman
went on fetching some brushwood, but when she opened her apron, it
was full of gold coins and the basket too. She hurried back to the place
where she had met the old woman, but she as well as her pile of cotton
bolls were gone.

4. Orally from Tilleda
A. When women go on the Kyffhäuser, they see the Emperor‘s housekeeper
spreading a big pile of flax knots and beckoning them to fetch
some. So they take them and as they come home, the knots have turned
into gold.

B. A boy from Frankenhausen told, he once read a description of how
Emperor Frederick‘s housekeeper once sat on his mountain feeding his
horses. Once even she was bucked off near Halle by his best horse. The
boy also had read in a book that Frau Holle, heading the Wild Hunt,
wounded a wild boar who came at her. She quickly turned into an oak,
in which the boar got stuck with his tusks, and killed him.

The book is available through Amazon and any other good book shop.
Please note….. if you take the view inside of the book at Amazon, you’ll get a look in the colored eBook, the printed version is in b/w.

If you don’t have a high speed internet connection, you may wait quite awhile before the download is ready.

I have each page of the file in the graphical TIFF format on a high resolution, meant for deep zooming in to find out details. The PDF is protected, but if you need those TIFFs for a specific (non-commercial) project, I can make them available for you, of course also for free.

The Link is HERE.

The inscription on the base above writes:

MARTI
HALAMARDI
SACRVM
T.DOMIT.VINDEX
C.LEG.XX.V.V
V . S . L . M

Which means translated:
Dedicated to Mars-Halamardus by Titus Domitius Vindex, centurio of the 20.
Legion Valeria Victrix, who has willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.

This dedication was done at Vindex’ promotion ceremony to Centurion (leader over 100 soldiers) shortly before he was moved to Deva (Chester) in Roman-Britain.
The stone can be dated to the first century.

Linguistically the name is clear Germanic, can be explained through Germanic language:
The first part of the name likely deals with ‘man’ or ‘men’, ‘hero’ or ‘heroes’, the second part with killing, slaying, but also with ‘increase’, enlarge, enhance.
Within the first explanation the name could mean killer of enemies, (hostile men or heroes), in the second it could cohere with promotion, getting a higher position.

In actual Germanic religious practice (Asatru), Halamardus can be asked for help, f.i. his intermediate help when planning a career, when applying for a higher job and such things, also maintaining oneself and persevering in such procedures against rivals, competitors.

On an old map from the Middle Ages, which on its turn is said to rely on a Roman map, is at about the same place the name EFEVANUM documented. This name is interpreted as HAEVA FANUM which means ‘sanctuary of the Goddess Haeva‘.
Additionally the speculation exists, that this was the name of a small settlement (post) of auxiliary troops serving in the Roman army.
The name of the Goddess is supposedly connected with the concepts ‘family’ or ‘beloved’.
Haeva was likely venerated by the Germanic Batavians as that area belonged to their homelands, possibly too by the neighboring peoples of the Marsi, Bructeri and Tungri.

The inscription mentiones her together with the Batavian God Magusanus (Magusjaz, Magsjaz) and that caused quite a few speculations, like i.e. that they would be then a married couple. However, on many other votive stones from those days of the Roman Empire several deities are mentioned, sometimes two, sometimes even more. It is very unlikely that there were couples among them, in any case, we simply don’t know of them.
Usually this mentioning of more gods on one altar stone was likely a financial matter – such an altar was for the one who ordered it an expensive business; it was much cheaper to honor more Gods through one altar stone than such a stone for each deity.

The inscription on the stone reads:
HERCULI MAGUSANO ET HAEVA ULP. LUPIO ET ULPIA AMMAVA
PRO NATIS V. S. L. M.
Translated:
Their vow to Hercules Magusanus and Haeva for the welfare of their children have Ulpius Lupio and Ulpia Ammava (with this altar) fulfilled willingly and with good reason.

She is Holle, Mother Hulda
© Copyright GardenStone 2012

you’ll know her from the fairy tale
spread by the Brothers Grimm;
but hear now in this musing hymn
why all should pick her trail.

Her dwelling places are on earth
and in her distant Reign.
You never call for her in vain
for her we all are worth.

She is Holle, Mother Hulda,
she’s my goddess the mightiest of all!

Engaged is she in our affairs,
observing far and near;
a divine mother to revere
because she really cares.

She is Holle, Mother Hulda,
she’s my goddess the mightiest of all!

It’s her demand there shall be peace,
and harmony at home.
no matter too the place you roam,
take heed for bad caprice.

She punishes and gives reward
behavior bad and good;
so better slow down if you would
solve problems by the sword.

She is Holle, Mother Hulda,
she’s my goddess the mightiest of all!

Be an old woman on the way,
or hunting through the skies,
expect it’s she, be your device,
beware getting astray.

She is Holle, Mother Hulda,
she’s my goddess, the mightiest of all!

—————————————————————————–
If you like to read more information about this Goddess, take the book
“Goddess Holle – in search of a Germanic goddess“, available here
Copies, dedication-signed by me here