Hretha- Germanic GodDeity
Also known as: Rheda and Hrēþa
Domains
Description
One sentence from Bede is all that survives. March was Hrēþmōnaþ — Hretha's month — and the Anglo-Saxons offered sacrifices to this goddess as winter ended and the campaign season began. Her name means "glory," and nothing else about her worship, appearance, or myths has come down to us.
Mythology & Lore
Hretha's Month
In 725 CE, Bede compiled De Temporum Ratione, explaining the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon calendar. In a brief passage on the month-names, he notes that March was called Hrēþmonsþ, "Hretha's month," and that sacrifices were offered to the goddess during this time. This is the entire direct testimony for Hretha's existence. No myths, no descriptions, no ritual details. A single sentence from a Christian monk.
The name itself offers the only clue to her nature. Old English hrēþ means "glory" or "triumph," the same root that appears in the royal name Hrothgar ("glory-spear"). March marked the end of winter and the opening of the campaign season. Warriors prepared for spring raids. A goddess of glory receiving sacrifices at the threshold of war: offerings asking for triumph in the battles ahead.
The Lost Tradition
Bede names only two goddesses in his entire calendar discussion: Hretha for March and Ēostre for April. Both survive solely through his testimony. The Anglo-Saxons converted early enough that their pagan traditions were never systematically recorded. What remains are scattered month-names, place-names, and archaeological fragments. That Hretha survives at all is an accident of Bede's thoroughness. Had he been less interested in the old calendar, even her name would have been lost.