Early Germanic culture

ethnic religion practiced by the Germanic peoples from the Iron Age until Christianisation

component of early Germanic culture

archaeological culture

obsolete Germanic calendars

In historical Germanic society, ' (Old Norse, pronunciation: , in runic: , ; ) was a term for a social stigma implying the loss of honour and the status of a villain. A person affected with the stigma is considered a nithing' (, in runic: , , ).

Friedelehe meaning "lover marriage" is a term for a postulated form of Germanic marriage said to have existed during the Early Middle Ages. The concept was introduced into mediaeval historiography in the 1920s by Herbert Meyer. There is some controversy as to whether such a marriage form, a quasi-marriage, existed but historians who have identified it agree that it was not accepted by the Church.