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.