Otto Sigfrid Reuter, „Der Himmel über den Germanen”

Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte, 7, Heft 75 (Juni 1936), 490–510 + 8 Abbildungen;
Heft 76 (Juli 1936), 596–619 + 3 Abbildungen.

With English translation “Skylore of the North” (© 1982).

This essay by O.S. Reuter (1876–1945) is a summary of his full-length book Germanische Himmelskunde (1934). It was published in 1936 as a separate booklet and also in the official Nazi magazine Nationalsozialistische Monatshefte. As the booklet was not available for scanning, this Web version is taken from the magazine. Reuter describes the development of early Germanic astronomy and stresses its independence from eastern traditions. He draws most of his evidence from Scandinavia, since evidence from other Germanic countries has been lost.

The English version, translated and annotated by Michael Behrend under the title “Skylore of the North”, was published in four instalments in Stonehenge Viewpoint nos. 47–50 (1982); then as a separate booklet by Runestaff (1982) and The Earthlore Institute (1985), both of these being imprints of Nigel Pennick. The 1985 edition added a biographical note on Reuter by his daughter Irmgard Teubert.

The English text is here republished in a slightly revised form. The endnote indicators [1], etc., have here been added to the German version also.

The digitized version contains the following Web pages:

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DEUTSCHER  TEXT
[Einleitung] • I. Himmelsrand und Himmelskreis
II. Beobachtung und Messung
III. Die Zeitrechnung
IV. Sternhimmel und Weltbild • Die Hochseeschiffahrt • Rückblick und Ausblick
BILDER
Abb. 1.  Zur Entstehung des Richtungsbildes
Abb. 2.  Richtungsbild und Sonnenzeit (Die Himmelsuhr): Original • Abb. 2: Gefärbt
Abb. 3.  Süddeutsche Eyktmarken
Abb. 4.  Mitternachtssonne am Nordkap [Photo]
Abb. 5.  Die „Schafthöhe“ der Sonne
Abb. 6.  Zur astronomischen Ortsbestimmung: Die Lage Vinlands
Abb. 7.  Die Unterläufigkeit der Sonne um die Wintersonnwende
Abb. 8.  Zur Überlieferung der Odda-Tala
Abb. 9.  Zum altnorwegischen Sonnenjahr [Photo]
Abb. 10.  Das Gokstadschiff
Sternkarte: Original • Sternkarte: Gefärbt
EXTRA
Otto Sigfrid Reuter zum 60. Geburtstag  (1936)
ENGLISH  TEXT
Introduction • I. Edge and circle of the sky
II. Observation and measurement
III. The calendar
IV. Constellations and cosmology • Ocean navigation • Summary and prospects
IMAGES
Fig. 1.  Origin of the direction concept
Fig. 2.  Direction concept and solar time (the sky clock): Black & white • Fig. 2: Coloured
Fig. 3.  Eykt marks in Austria
Fig. 4.  The midnight sun at the North Cape [photo]
Fig. 5.  The “shaft height” of the sun
Fig. 6.  Determining latitude by astronomy: The site of Vinland
Fig. 7.  The sun below the horizon all day at the winter solstice
Fig. 8.  Surviving record of Odda-Tala (Oddi’s reckoning)
Fig. 9.  The old Norwegian solar year [photo]
Fig. 10.  The Gokstad ship
Star map: Black & white • Star map: Coloured
EXTRA
Otto Sigfrid Reuter on his 60th birthday  (1936)
Otto Sigfrid Reuter, by his daughter Irmgard Teubert (1985)