History of English Day Names

I have been fascinated by calendars since I was a child. It seemed very important to me to be able to keep track of each and every piece of time -- to know for sure what day & date it was. During my free time in class I often made calendars and thereby learned patterns in the numbering of days. But I took the names of the days for granted. It wasn't until recently that I realized we have three days named for Roman gods and four days named for Norse gods! How did that happen?

The Romans invaded England in the 1st century B.C., bringing with them strange customs such as the Greek/Roman pantheon, the public forum, and even public baths. At that time England was occupied by the Celtic tribes. The Romans gradually established themselves just as they had done over much of Europe, spreading the Roman gospel of civilization. Some of the Celtic leaders even traveled to Rome to be educated, further entrenching Roman culture. At that time the days of the week would have been entirely Latin, as follows: solis dies, lunae dies, martis dies, mercurii dies, jovis dies, veneris dies, saturni dies (Sun's day, Moon's day, Mars' day, Mercury's day, Jove or Jupiter's day, Venus's day, Saturn's day)

We can immediately spot the origin of Sunday, Monday, and Saturday (even though the words for 'sun' and 'moon' are different). But what happened to Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus? Actually, most of them are still there, but in slightly different forms.

Mars, the Roman god of war, was named Tiw (tee-you) in Germanic/Norse mythology. Thus we have "Tiw's day" or Tuesday. Thor, who gives his name to Thursday, was a thunder god for the Germanic tribes. Guess what? Jupiter or Jove was a thunder god too! Friday may be named for either Freya or Frigg, both of whom were Germanic goddesses related to love. This corresponds to the Roman goddess Venus, likewise honored on the sixth day of the week.

Wednesday is the only day that doesn't seem to fit. In Latin, this day is named for Mercury, the messenger of the gods. However, Wotan or Odin, named in Wednesday, is king of the gods in the Germanic/Norse pantheon, so I honestly don't see him carrying messages. Some have speculated that Odin, being the god of wisdom also, is matched with Mercury due to the latter's association with learning. I'm a bit doubtful though. I think it's just one of those oddities of the English language.

We return to the history of England. When the Romans left, the Celtic towns (where the upper class used Latin day names) were subjected to frequent invasions by various groups including Vikings, Picts, and Scots. According to some sources, they sought help from Anglo-Saxon mercenaries in northern Germany. In return for protecting the Celts, they were allowed to settle and farm in England. Other sources state that there was a forceful invasion by the Anglo-Saxons. No one is certain, really, because there are few written accounts and the archaeological evidence is subject to wide interpretation.

In any case, the Anglo-Saxons spread throughout England. There followed a series of Viking invasions, some of which were successful. Thus, the earlier Roman influences became mixed with Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) and Norse (Viking) influences. The current "mixed" state of the days of the week in English is a fine example of this mixing of cultures. Even the Norman invasion of 1066 (which brought back Roman culture in the form of French day names) could not erase the Anglo-Saxon influence completely.