\[ **BT: [[religion]]** ] --- # Eostre [[Bede]] writes: [[‘Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month.’]][^1] --- [[Fell reminds us that Bede was hardly an impartial commentator; it isn’t impossible that his comments on Eostre are designed to draw contrast between ‘a false goddess of spring and Christ the sun of righteousness’ (rather than a factual statement).]][^2] [[Eostre may have been a pagan goddess. Although Bede’s reliability on the matter is questionable, a related word can be found in some Germanic dialects for the spring festival.]][^3] [^1]: Bede, *[[Bede, The Reckoning of Time, trans. Wallis, 1999|Bede: The Reckoning of Time]]*, ed. and trans. Faith Wallis (Liverpool University Press, 1999), p. 53. [^2]: Christine Fell, *[[Fell, Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066, 1984|Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066]]* (Colonnade, 1984), pp. 28–29. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/embed/womeninanglosaxo0000fell>. [^3]: Christine Fell, *[[Fell, Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066, 1984|Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066]]* (Colonnade, 1984), pp. 28–29. Internet Archive, <https://archive.org/embed/womeninanglosaxo0000fell>.