Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Beow / Beowa, The God of Barley
Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, sometimes Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s Beow Beowa / Beaw / Beo / Bedwig. Meaning of the Barley or Sheaf. An Anglo Saxon God of Grain. Specifically Barley. Some people attribute a connection of Beow and Beowulf, though it’s likely just a similarity in name, as Beowulf was commonly shortened to Beow. He’s possibly more linked to the folk character John Barleycorn, who presided over similar agricultural functions. Son of Sceafa, meaning Sheaf, a bundle of stalks of various grains, likely a nature God in his own right. Beowa as the God of Barley is amongst the pantheon of Anglo Saxon Agriculture deities. Beowa was a popular name for Kings in Norway and the myth that Beowa was the ancestor of those lines along with being attributed as both either an ancestor and descendant of Voden. Hopefully not at the same time otherwise there’s some magical time travel happening.
