Tonight we play detectives with a single sentence. In 725, an English monk called Bede wrote a book about calendars. In it he says that the old English name for April came from a goddess called Ēostre. And from that one sentence, people have built a whole mythology.
Learn from Songs · Festivals: Easter · Part 3 of 3 · C1–C2
Easter and Ēostre: What Bede Wrote
Part 3: why is it called “Easter” in English, when almost every other language calls it after the Jewish Passover? One sentence written by the monk Bede in 725 about a goddess called Ēostre, and twelve centuries of argument about it. Weighing evidence: hedging and degrees of certainty (there is no evidence that, it seems likely that, the sole source), past modals of speculation (Bede may have inferred, can’t have invented), reporting scholarly debate, and the language of etymology, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria, and an Easter chant from the Middle Ages.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Wait: so Easter is really a pagan festival?
SOPHIA
That is exactly the question, Marcos, and the answer is more interesting than yes or no. We will read what Bede actually wrote, what other evidence exists, and what people later added. This is good training for the logic lessons to come.
PHILO
One source. Then we must read it very carefully.
Before you listen: the song
Northumbria, 725
Bede (about 673–735) was a monk at Jarrow in Northumbria, in the north of England, and the greatest scholar of his age. In The Reckoning of Time (De temporum ratione, 725), a textbook on calendars and how to calculate the date of Easter, he lists the months of the old English year. Of April, Ēosturmōnaþ, he says it was named after a goddess, Ēostre, in whose honour feasts used to be held; English Christians, he adds, now call their Easter season by her name. He also explains that “Mothers’ Night” began the year at midwinter. This is the only ancient text that mentions Ēostre.
The debate. In 1835 Jacob Grimm, of the fairy tales, argued that Bede’s goddess was real and gave her a German form, Ostara. Some modern scholars have doubted her, suggesting that Bede guessed from the month’s name, which may simply mean “month of the dawn” or “of the east”. Others answer that Bede was usually careful, had no reason to invent a pagan goddess, and that Roman-era inscriptions from the Rhineland dedicated to mother goddesses called the Austriahenae may share the same root. The name is certainly related to old words for dawn: Greek Ēōs, Latin Aurora, Sanskrit Uṣas.
What is not in Bede. Bede says nothing about hares, rabbits or eggs. The Easter Hare is first recorded in Germany in 1682, and the idea that it was “Ēostre’s animal” appeared only in the 19th and 20th centuries. And whatever the English name, the festival itself comes from Passover: Jesus died at Passover time, and in most languages Easter is called after the Hebrew Pesach, through Greek and Latin Pascha: Spanish Pascua, French Pâques, Italian Pasqua. Bede himself also tells the story of the Synod of Whitby (664), where English churchmen argued over how to calculate the date of Easter.
Weigh the evidence before you weigh in.
What Bede wrote
Bede, De temporum ratione (725), chapter 15: Latin, with an English translation for this lesson
Eosturmonath, qui nunc paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum quae Eostre vocabatur et cui in illo festa celebrabant nomen habuit; a cuius nomine nunc paschale tempus cognominant, consueto antiquae observationis vocabulo gaudia novae solemnitatis vocantes.
“Eosturmonath, which is now translated as ‘the month of Easter’, once took its name from a goddess of theirs called Eostre, in whose honour they used to celebrate feasts in that month. Now they name the Easter season after her, calling the joys of the new festival by the familiar name of the old observance.”
Words in the poem
Eosturmonath: the old English name for April
paschalis: of Easter (from Pascha)
quondam: once, formerly
dea: goddess
festa celebrabant: they celebrated feasts
cognominant: they give a name to
solemnitas: a festival, a solemn feast
observance: a religious custom or ceremony
chant: music sung in unison to sacred words, without instruments
“Victimae paschali laudes”: “To the Easter Victim, praises”: a sung Latin text used at Easter since the 11th century
Read and listen
PHILO
Read Bede’s words below, in Latin and in English. What exactly does he claim? What does he not say? Then listen to the medieval Easter chant: what is its mood?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🎶 Listen to an Easter chant from the Middle Ages: “Victimae paschali laudes” (11th century), sung in Latin.Find a recording of the chant →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Victimae paschali laudes”, Gregorian chant.Read the lyrics →
Degrees of certainty
MARCOS
Bede is the sole source for Ēostre. There is no evidence that she was linked to hares. It seems likely that the name is related to the word for dawn. It is far from certain that she was widely worshipped.
SOPHIA
Good scholarship is careful about how sure it is: certainly, almost certainly, probably, possibly, there is little / no evidence that, it remains unclear whether. A strong claim needs strong evidence.
Past modals of speculation
DEMETRIA
Bede may have heard the name from older people. He might have guessed it from the month’s name. He can’t have known about rabbits. He must have had some reason to mention her.
SOPHIA
must have + past participle (I’m almost sure), may / might / could have (possible), can’t / couldn’t have (I’m almost sure it’s not true). Ideal for discussing what happened long ago.
Reporting scholarly debate
PHILO
Grimm argued that Ēostre was real. Some scholars have questioned whether Bede invented her. Others maintain that he had no reason to. The consensus, insofar as there is one, is that…
SOPHIA
argue, claim, maintain, question whether, cast doubt on, lend support to, the consensus is that. Notice lend support to: The inscriptions lend some support to Bede’s account.
The language of etymology
MARCOS
Easter derives from Old English Ēastre. Pascua comes from Hebrew Pesach. The words share a common root. Ostara is a reconstruction, not a recorded name.
SOPHIA
derive from, be derived from, be cognate with, a common root, a reconstructed form, a folk etymology (a popular but wrong explanation of a word’s origin).
Sophia’s comparison: the names of the months
PHILO
Our Hebrew months have Babylonian names, which we brought back from exile: Nisan, Iyar, and even Tammuz, which is the name of a Babylonian god. Yet no one says that Passover is a Babylonian festival. A name can come from one place, and a feast from another.
SOPHIA
And the Athenian months are named after festivals: Anthesterion, the month of the Anthesteria, the flower festival. Names are fossils: they tell us something old was there, but not everything about it.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| the sole source / there is no evidence that | degrees of certainty | Bede is the sole source for Ēostre. |
| must / may / might / can’t have + past participle | speculating about the past | He can’t have known about rabbits. |
| argue / maintain / question whether / lend support to | reporting debate | The inscriptions lend some support to Bede. |
| derive from / be cognate with / a common root | etymology | Easter derives from Old English Ēastre. |
| folk etymology | a popular but wrong origin story | “Ēostre’s rabbit” is modern folklore. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What does Bede say Ēosturmōnaþ was named after?
2. How many ancient texts mention Ēostre?
3. Who invented the German name Ostara?
4. Does Bede mention hares or eggs?
5. Where does Spanish “Pascua” come from?
6. What was the Synod of Whitby (664) about?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Bede is the source for Ēostre. (only)
8. He can’t known about rabbits. (impossible)
9. Bede may have the name from older people. (hear)
10. The inscriptions lend some to Bede’s account.
11. Easter from Old English Ēastre. (comes)
12. Some scholars have questioned Bede invented her.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “Bede must invent the goddess.”
14. “There is no evidence that Ēostre was linked to hares.”
15. “Easter derives of the Old English word Ēastre.”
16. “The inscriptions lend some support to Bede’s account.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Evidence table. In groups, make two columns: what we know (with its source) and what is claimed without evidence. Sort these: the month name, the goddess, the hare, the eggs, the dawn root, the inscriptions, Ostara.
Discuss. 1. Why do popular stories about “pagan Easter” spread so easily online? 2. Does it matter where the name of a festival comes from? 3. What would count as good evidence for an ancient goddess?
Write (240–280 words, C2 essay). “Easter is a pagan festival in disguise.” Evaluate this claim, using Bede’s text, careful hedging, past modals and the language of scholarly debate.
Now play the gamebook: a famous lecturer, a single scroll, and a claim that grows with every telling.Play the gamebook →