The average understanding

The latter reads:

De regibus orientalium seaxonum, offa sighering, sighere sigberhting, sigberht s[aweard]ing, saweard saberhting, saberht sledding, sle[dd] æscwining, æscwine offing, offa bedcing, bedca [sigefugling], sigefugl swæpping, swæppa antsecging, ants[ecg] gesecging, gesecg seaxneating.



Concerning the kings of the East Saxons: Offa son of Sigehere, son of Sigeberht, son of Sæweard, son of Saberht, son of Sledd, son of Æscwine, son of Offa, son of Bedca, son of Sigefugl, son of Swæppa, son of Andsecg, son of Gesecg, son of Seaxnēat.

The common place of linguistics and scholarship on Seaxnēat

Erkenwyne king of the East-Saxons did beare for his armes, three [seaxes] argent, in a field gules

The three seaxes symbol as it first appears in Speed's book. Source: BRITISH COUNTY FLAGS, Essex Flag. <https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/05/20/essex-flag/> Acessed in 27/09/2018.

Pollington and beyond

The word neat, nyten normally means 'cattle' but the term geneat refers to a class of noble freeman, and it must be this sense which is intended here. The alternative spelling Sahs-ginot support this, as ginot is apparently cognate with geneat. [...]



The fact that he was named alongside Uuoden and Thunaer implies that he might be a third-function god, associated with farmers, fishers, workmen and merchants, and that he was among the top tier of deities; if so the -neat element in his name might then imply a connection with 'cattle'. It is equally possible that the second element might be related to the word nett 'net' (from PIE *ned- 'bind, tie up') and therefore refer to the binding of the sword or seax in the service of the god.

(Stephen Pollington — Elder Gods)

Genēatas in Anglo-Saxon society

Ceorls were 'folcfry' (folk-free), that is, free in the eyes of the community. They enjoyed weregilds and had the right to seek compensations for other free kinsmen and kinswomen. They were allowed to bear arms and be considered 'fyrd worthy' and 'moot worthy'. This meant they were considered worthy to serve in the fyrd and take part in folk meetings. They did not have the same degree of freedom as ðegns or eoldermen. A ceorl's wereguild was set nominally at 200 shillings, one sixth that of a ðegn. There were three main classes of ceorl, although the dividing line between the classes was indistinct. First were the geneatas, the peasant aristocracy who paid rent to their overlord. Geneat originally meant companion, implying that the class originated from the lord's household, often receiving land as a gift.

(Regia Anglorum — Anglo-Saxon Social Organisation)

Geneat riht is mistlic be ðam ðe onlande stænt, on sumon he sceal land gafol syllan ond gærsswyn, on geare, ond ridan ond auerian ond lade lædan. Wyrcan, ond hlaford feormian. Ripan ond mawan, deorhege heawan. Ond sæte haldan, bytlian, ond burh hegegian nigefaran to tune feccan, cyricsceat syllan, ond ælmes feoh, heafodwearde healdan, ond horswearde, ærendian, fyr, swa nyr, swa hwyder swa him mon to tæcð.



The duty of the tenant is diverse, according to [the customs] that stand on the estate. In some he must pay land tax and a pasturage pig each year, and ride and provide horses for team work and carry loads, labour, provide food for the lord, reap and mow, cut the animal-hedge, and maintain snares, build and fence the dwellings within an enclosure, and lead newcomers to the enclosure, pay church tribute and alms money, hold head-guard (duties) and guard horses, go on errands, either further or nearer or to wherever he is sent [13].

Bigstandað me strange geneatas, þa ne willað me æt þam striðe geswican, hæleþas heard mode. Hie habbað me to hearran gecorene, rofe rincas; mid swilcum maeg man ræd geþencean, fon mid swilcum folc-gesteallan. Frynd hie mine georne, hold on hyra hyge-sceaftum.



Strong companions [genēatas] stand by me, tough-minded warriors who will not fail me in the strife. They have chosen me as their master [lord], the brave soldiers; with such supporters one can consider plans, undertake them with such as these. They are my zealous friends, loyal in their hearts. [9]

What about the "tribal god of the Saxons"?

Many ancient writers appear to refer to a deity named variously Toutatis, Teutates, Teutenus, Toutiorîxs, and so on. The deity, often called a war-God, is variously identified with Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Apollo. In fact, the term, Toutatîs in the plural, refers to the Gods of tribes and localities. Tribal cults were ubiquitous in ancient Gaul. Every tribe and locality had one, though not all are known today. [11].

3. Swift in ships, he traversed the sea as a warrior of the west: a red wind, which dyed sword-blades with a bloody cloud.



4. Fergus Fairrge, Nuadu Necht, strong and brave: a great champion who did not love punishment from a rightful lord. [14].

Conclusion

References

As you can see, there is not much to be inferred from these quotes. As I don't have access to the original manuscript of the Essex genealogies, what I can do is trust Stephen Pollington's quote. There are some other quotes from the same document in which Seaxnēat appears as a son of Wōden. If that's the case, the mention of Seaxnēat alongside Þunor and Wōden affirms his importance in Continental and Insular Saxon ethnic religions, as the Norse counterparts Þórr and Óðinn were clearly main deities in Scandinavian belief and ritual. Even if Seaxnēat was understood as a son of Wōden, this doesn't make him a second class deity. In the Eddic version of the Norse lore Þórr is still a main deity, even if he is a son of Óðinn.As neither myths concerning the nature of Seaxnēat were handed down to us, nor archeological finds can directly be linked to him, linguistics seem to be a reasonably good option to proceed some research. The name "Seaxnēat" is often understood as comprising two parts:, a type of dagger which seems to have given its name to the Saxon people, and, which is often interpreted as deriving from, "companion". The obvious translation is thus "Knife companion" or "Companion of the Saxons" [1].This interpretation is commonly associated to the Essex flag, which features three heraldically stylised scimitars. Nevertheless, this symbol seems to have been firstly published in 1611, by John Speed in his atlas, probably relying on Richard Verstegan's account, who stated in his 1605 workthati. e., that the three seaxes were on a red background [2].It is tempting to link the flag of Essex and the mention of Seaxnēat in Essex royal genealogies, but it really looks like an anachronism; even Verstergan's account has no direct source, not to mention eight or ten centuries between Anglo-Saxon heathen times and the first account of the modern Essex flag.On the other hand, compared mythology also offer some insights. Academic efforts are summarised in Pollington's: either Hilda Ellis Davidson and Georges Dumézil suggest that Seaxnēat means "sword companion", and it is in some way related to Tacitus' account of sword dances performed by young men as entertainment in Germanic feasts. North suggests that Seaxnēat may be the tribal or ancestor god of the Saxons, but his appearance alongside Wōden in the baptismal vow dismiss any identification of both.Jacob Grimm identify Seaxnēat as Tīw, probably thanks to the sword and martial functions that were probably associated with both. Chaney supports Grimm's guess, but Rudolf Simek associates Seaxnēat with Frēa (which may be the same as Ingui) instead [3]. Linguistic evidence doesn't support this kind of identification, and I think they go too far: the Germanic religion as a whole is known for its warlike features and its tribal-oriented beliefs, so it is likely that any deified ancestor or founder god must have the basic features of a warrior, the average status of a Germanic heathen of yore; although professional warriors were the lesser part of the society, it seems that any man should be able to fight in one time or another, even farmers. Following this logic, Seaxnēat may have had noble qualities associated with him, as it can be seen at least in Óðinn, Freyja, Njǫrðr and Freyr.There are some linguistic appointments that may be taken into consideration in order to better understand the nature of Seaxnēat:If we proceed an identification of Uuoden with Óðinn and Thunaer with Þórr, it seems difficult to prove whether Seaxnēat was a "third function", i. e., a workers god. Óðinn is probably a god more related to the warrior elites, while Þórr can be easily linked with the "folk cult", so both options seems to bear some truth.But if we also see the nameas a compound of(knife) and(a noble freeman), as Pollington suggests, then a range of interpretations are possible. The Anglo-Saxon society was a highly hierarchised one. On the top of the kingdom was the(king), followed by those eligible to succeed to the throne, the; thewere a class of noblemen that ruled in a kingdom's shire, and they were able to choose a new king among the. Any nobleman could be served by his own. All of them were bound to the warrior class. Below thewere the, "freemen, farmers and independent landed householders who formed the mainstay of the Saxon kingdom, based as it was on a rural economy". The most noble of them were the. Some otherwere theand. The lowest class citizens were the, the slaves [4].So it seems quite reasonable to interpret the name as "with", the "Noble freeman with a knife", "Knife noble freeman", "Knife", or else "of the", "knife".As we can see, both interpretations may imply the same ideas: that the god was originally a protector of a specific kind ofor freemen, the, and that the seax knife was his sacred or symbol weapon.Well, if Seaxnēat is to be understood as the god of the, what is a, in the first place? The wordcomes from the verb, "to enjoy, have the benefit of, make use of" [5]. Ais thus literally "one who enjoys (a nobleman friendship)". Bosworth-Toller's dictionary also illustrates that ais one who belongs to the household or follow theof a superior (which may be a[5]); a tenant holding by service (and rent) to the lord, a hearth companion [6].According to thethe main functions of thecould be summarised thus:Thewere a kind of peasant aristocracy. They were free from week-work, and they had many services, but nothing so unbecoming for a free man though. Thewere peasants with some charcteristics of a mounted. They were also known as radknights or radmen, who served as a link between the lord's household and the peasantry, especially in western midlands of Anglo-Saxon England [7]. Although many of the duties of thewere agricultural in nature, there were some works considered honourable, and their position in the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy was substantially higher than that of a[8].When translating theto the old English language, in many times the early Christians in England adapted it, maybe unconsciously, printing their own cultural worldview in the texts. For example, a passage fromis read asIf Seaxnēat is specially linked to this specific class of Anglo-Saxon citizens, then we might expect that their attributions were related to all this. Even if we interpret the -only as a non-specific "companion", theoffer a good guess on what "companion" could mean in Anglo-Saxon England.Seaxnēat is often regarded in modern Anglo-Saxon Heathenry as a tribal deity, the progenitor of all Saxons. By linking him more directly to a specific class of early English society we are not dismissing this status. Lārhūs Fyrnsida [10] gives Seaxnēat some by-names such as(War Renowned),(Battle Sharp), but the most interesting here are(Tribe-God) and foremost(Tribe Father) which is the reconstructed Old English form of the Gaulish nameAs Seaxnēat was at least in one instance said to be the ancestor of the ruling class (warrior kings), it is expected that he wasn't uniquely associated with the. Let's take a look about what can be understood of Toutātis and in which way it can help us to figure out which role Seaxnēat still can play in modern Anglo-Saxon Heathenry.In modern Gaulish Polytheism, Toutātis can be defined thus:However,might not be a theonym, it is a title given to tribal Celtic deities instead. The name itself finds its origin in the Proto-Celtic"the one (who comes) from the tribe/nation". He is a kind of god specially dedicated to the community life of a(tribe). What we can conclude from this is that in the pre-Christian and pre-Roman past there would be a clear conception that the God of the Law would have been the first sovereign among the gods, but one who lost his right hand in a conflict with their rivals, what recalls the myth of Týr and Fenrir. As among the Celts there was the notion that only a physically perfect individual could rule decently, this would make it impossible to continue his role. His successor is the God of Thunder. However, despite he was deposed, his legacy continued in the form of moral and social rules. As the first sovereign, it would have been expected that he had established the norms that would govern life in the community; hence the name "God of the Law". Nevertheless, Toutātis is often associated in Roman religion with Mārs, which is, aside from his well known attributes as god of war, an agricultural deity; water also plays a major role in deities which can be associated with the Toutātis title, even if they are not necessarily sea or water ones [12] (see the Celtic deity Nōdons, for that matter), as the sea and water are important to them mostly as a means of transportation. For example, in one Irish genealogical poem, we read thatSo the sea is clearly important for its association with liminal qualities, as a border between two different realities, which can bring the unknown from the Otherworld to the world of men. It is tempting to associate the following passage with the beginning lines of, where it is described how Scyld Scefing came to the Geatland and how he developed a tribe there.So, based on this evidence, what can we tell of Seaxnēat's nature?As is often said, Seaxnēat is the progenitor of the Saxon peoples. Furthermore, he is a warlike god. As an embodiment of masculine aggression, he is the force that drives wars — but ideally, war that delivers a secure peace. He also rules over allegiance, oaths and any social tie. Thus, Seaxnēat can be seen as a god of theand the; all this makes him a god likely to be worshiped by soldiers. He presides over the core characteristics of an Anglo-Saxon warband. Albeit he is as warrior as any of the average early English men were, Seaxnēat is more than that, and can be associated with agricultural functions, such as farmers work.Seaxnēat is, as the founder god, liable for the basic features of Saxon culture and ethics (). He may be linked to language, music, storytelling, and the keeper of tradition. He can be seen as the organiser of Anglo-Saxon hierarchies, and a god of kingship. As the god of theSeaxnēat may be linked to the workers in modern days, ruling over daily affairs; he may as well be linked to horses (as one of the mainduties).In modern Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, be it Fyrnsidu or any other label, Seaxnēat always has (or ideally has) a main place in our practice. Rethinking and deepening the understanding about him hopefully can make our traditions be better developed and stronger.[1] POLLINGTON, Stephen.. Anglo-Saxon Books, 2011.[2] BRITISH COUNTY FLAGS, https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/05/20/essex-flag/ >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[3] NYGON WYRTA FYRNSIDU,. < http://fyrnsidubrasil.blogspot.com/p/seaxneat.html >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[4] REGIA ANGLORUM, https://regia.org/research/history/Saxons1.htm >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[5] LAMBERT, Tom., Oxford University Press, 2017. < https://books.google.com.br/books?id=eucwDgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-BR#v=onepage&q&f=false >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[6] Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. < http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[7] STENTON, Frank.. Oxford University Press, 1971. < https://books.google.com.br/books?id=0Y65NxJaMtcC&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-BR#v=onepage&q&f=false >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[8] BLAIR, Peter Hunter. An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge University Press, 2003. < https://books.google.com.br/books?id=9eN87VsPaw0C&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-BR#v=onepage&q&f=false > Acessed in 27/09/2018.[9] BROOMHALL, Susan (org.). Routledge, 2016. < https://books.google.com.br/books?id=rlmrCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-BR >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[10] LĀRHŪS FYRNSIDA.. < https://larhusfyrnsida.com/fundamentals/godu/seaxneat/ >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[11] WIDUGENI, Segômaros.. < http://polytheist.com/segomaros/2016/01/20/toutatis/ >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[12] CELTOCRĀBII̯ON.. < https://celtocrabion.wordpress.com/noibii-os-sacros/deuses/deus-da-lei/ >. Acessed in 27/09/2018.[13] EARLY ENGLISH LAWS.. < http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/texts/rspger/view/#edition-2/translation-2 >. Acessed in 28/09/2018.[14] KOCH, John T.. ABC-CLIO, 2006. < https://books.google.com.br/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&printsec=frontcover&hl=pt-BR#v=onepage&q&f=false >. Acessed in 28/09/2018.