Baduhenna is a goddess of Germanic paganism attested solely in Tacitus's Annals, which record that a sacred grove in ancient Frisia was dedicated to her and that nine hundred Roman soldiers were killed near it by the Frisii in AD 28. Scholars have linked her name, whose first element may relate to a Proto-Germanic word for battle, to the wider class of Germanic Matres and Matronae goddesses widely attested on votive stones and altars from the first to the fifth century, and the philologist Rudolf Simek reads her name's etymology as confirming an association with war.
Facts
Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayHistorically attested; no continuous cult 4 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Function
Domain / Function Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Baduhenna, Structured Record (Wikidata Q)
3. Baduhenna (Wikipedia)
lead states 'Baduhenna is solely attested in Tacitus's Annals' (Tacitus's Annals, c. 116 AD)View the Source 4. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs
John Lindow, Oxford University Press
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