Sweartfenn Theod is part of a religious reawakening known
as Theodism. Theodism is a revival of pre-Christian
Germanic religiosity focused on the communal and hierarchal
structure of Germanic spirituality. Garman Lord Gering
began this revivification in the 1970's. Theodism was once
strictly considered a tribal approach to Anglo-Saxon
heathenry. Theodsmen have since reconstructed the customs
of other Germanic people and formed theods that follow
those rediscovered tribal thews. A number of different
groups refer to themselves as Theodish. Each one has its
own unique thew and culture.
"Sweartfenn" means "Black Swamp" in the Anglo-Saxon
language. The founding members of the theod are from
a region of Ohio once known as The Great Black Swamp. The
Great Black Swamp covered a large area of land in what is
now Northeastern Indiana and Northwestern Ohio. The
landscape consisted mainly of marshes with interspersed dry
areas of prairie and forest. The swamp was one of the
last areas of Ohio to be heavily settled and
developed. Once the swamps were drained and the land
cleared, it became a very productive farming region.
Today it is still a farming area with a few cities that are
industrial centers. It was common for the
Anglo-Saxons to give their villages names that described
the local landscape. We have revived this practice in
naming our theod after the place we call home.