Mannus Explained

Mannus, according to the Roman writer Tacitus, was a figure in the creation myths of the Germanic tribes. Tacitus is the only source of these myths.^[1] Tacitus wrote that Mannus was the son of Tuisto and the progenitor of the three Germanic tribes Ingaevones, Herminones and Istvaeones.^[2] In discussing the German tribes, Tacitus wrote:^[3]

Several authors consider the name Mannus in Tacitus's work to stem from an Indo-European root.^{[4] [5]}

The Latinized name Latin: Mannus is evidently of some relation to Proto-Germanic Germanic languages: mannaz, 'man'.^[6]

Mannus again became popular in literature in the 16th century, after works published by Annius de Viterbo^[7] and Johannes Aventinus^[8] purported to list him as a primeval king over Germany and Sarmatia.^[9]

In the 19th century, F. Nork wrote that the names of the three sons of Mannus can be extrapolated as Ingui, Irmin, and Istaev or Iscio.^[10] A few scholars like Ralph T. H. Griffith have expressed a connection between Mannus and the names of other ancient founder-kings, such as Minos of Greek mythology, and Manu of Hindu tradition.^[11]

Guido von List incorporated the myth of Mannus and his sons into his occult practice, which were later adopted into Nazi occult beliefs.^[12]

See also

• Manu (Hinduism) 'Man', with several theological meanings
• Manu and Yemo – reconstructed Proto-Indo-European creation-myth figures
• Man (word)
• Ask and Embla - the first humans in Norse mythology
• Mannaz – 'man', name of the /m/ rune in the Elder Futhark
• Tvashtr – Vedic artisan god (cognate with Tuisto)
• Frankish Table of Nations - Mannus's sons are mentioned

References

• Book: Grimm, Jacob . Jacob Grimm . Grimm's Teutonic Mythology . Ch. 15, p. 2 . 1888 . 1835 as German: Deutsche Mythologie . Northvegr (2004–2007) . https://web.archive.org/web/20120114045200/http://www.northvegr.org/secondary%20sources/mythology/grimms%20teutonic%20mythology/01502.html . 14 January 2012.
• Tacitus. Germania (1st century AD; in Latin).

Notes and References

1. Book: Mills . Alice . Stanton . Julie . Parker . Janet . Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies . Updated . 2003 . 234 . Global Book / Struik / Sweet Water . 978-1-74048-091-8 . This is a university textbook and exists in several variants printed for different major institutions. Reprinted 2007, .
2. Book: Rauch, Irmengard . The Phonology/Paraphonology Interface and the Sounds of German Across Time . 64 . . 2008.
3. Tacitus, Germania, chapter 2. Quoted in: Book: Woolf, Great . Tales of the Barbarians: Ethnography and Empire in the Roman West . 40 . Greg Woolf . . 2010.
4. Book: Biliarsky, Ivan . Word and Power in Mediaeval Bulgaria . 167 . Leiden . . 2011.
5. Book: Dumézil, Georges . Georges Dumézil . Mitra-Varuna: An Essay on Two Indo-European Representations . 87 . Zone . 1988 . The question remains whether one can phonetically link this Latin Latin: mani- '[dead] man' to the [Proto-Indo-European] Indo-European languages: manu- which, apart from the Sanskrit Sanskrit: manu (both the name and the common noun for 'man'), has given, in particular, the Germanic Germanic languages: Mannus (-nn- from *-nw- regularly), mythical ancestor of the Germans ..., the Gothic Gothic: manna 'man' ... and the Slavic Slavic languages: moⁿžǐ..
6. Web site: Harper . Douglas . man – Origin and meaning . 28 September 2020 . Online Etymology Dictionary . 14 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200814201349/https://www.etymonline.com/word/man . live.
7. Book: Whaley, Joachim . Germany and the Holy Roman Empire . I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493–1648 . 110 . . 2012.
8. Book: Strauss, Gerald . Historian in an Age of Crisis: The Life and Work of Johannes Aventinus, 1477–1534 . 121 . . 1963.
9. Book: Jones, William J. . 1999 . 'König Deutsch zu Abrahams Zeiten': Perceptions of the place of German in the family of languages, from Aventinus to Zedler . Images of Language: Six Essays on German Attitudes . 9 . "Studies in the History of the Language Sciences" series . 89 . . Amsterdam . 978-90-272-4577-9 .
10. Populäre Mythologie, oder Götterlehre aller Völker, p. 112, F. Nork, Scheible, Rieger & Sattler (1845)
11. Book: Garrett, John . A Classical Dictionary of India: Illustrative of the Mythology, Philosophy, Literature, Antiquities, Arts, Manners, Customs &c. of the Hindus . 383 . . Bangalore . 1873.
12. Book: Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas . The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology . 6 April 2014 . 1992 . . 9780814730607 . 56 . 4 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140704131414/http://books.google.com/books?id=9ZzWRz9x8mwC&pg=PA56 . live.