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Norsery Rhymes from A to Z
Matron Cisa, Protector of Cisaris
Happy Thorsday! - Here’s another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s the Cisa / Zisa / Ciza / Ziza. A controversially named Matron (Mother) and Goddess, found Mentioned in the in the largely unsupportable Viennese manuscript Excerptum ex Gallia Historia. She is attributed as the name of the hill Cisunberc and as the name of the area of Cisaris, or Cisberg, or Zizarim.
She is thought to have defended this town of Swabian peoples from Roman invasion. Similar to other tales that could have pulled from other Mountain / Hill Goddesses and town protectors who defeated or led the Roman astray or to defeat. The tale is that all of the towns warriors felt the need or call to be back in town in Autumn for her festival. So when the Romans attacked they faced a full defense and were driven away.
The city’s symbol of the pinecone is associated with the goddess. As she symbolically protects the seeds inside as she protects the city. She is also associated with knots, as the untie-er of said knots. Removing the troubles and barriers to happiness and prosperity. Though both of these symbols are likely pulled from a cult devoted to Mary from the same region, conflating the two. Her wearing of a red dress and crown is probably of heathen origin and likely tied to earlier cult to the Goddess worshiped in that area whose name we don’t know.
It seems to me that while modern scholars believe her to be a more recent Post Medieval creation, it’s just as likely, she is a way to bridge missing details in a way that were never meant to go together:
- The missing name of Deity of the local known goddess cults in the area.
- The missing name of Tyr’s wife.
- What the name of the usual Matronae for their hill and related town would be.
- How the later local cults to Mary and their specific icons are tied together with their earlier influences.
Interestingly regardless of where she originated she is now considered the patron goddess of the town for some time now with an annual festival in her honour.

Description

Norsery Rhymes from A to Z
Matron Cisa, Protector of Cisaris
Happy Thorsday! - Here’s another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s the Cisa / Zisa / Ciza / Ziza. A controversially named Matron (Mother) and Goddess, found Mentioned in the in the largely unsupportable Viennese manuscript Excerptum ex Gallia Historia. She is attributed as the name of the hill Cisunberc and as the name of the area of Cisaris, or Cisberg, or Zizarim.
She is thought to have defended this town of Swabian peoples from Roman invasion. Similar to other tales that could have pulled from other Mountain / Hill Goddesses and town protectors who defeated or led the Roman astray or to defeat. The tale is that all of the towns warriors felt the need or call to be back in town in Autumn for her festival. So when the Romans attacked they faced a full defense and were driven away.
The city’s symbol of the pinecone is associated with the goddess. As she symbolically protects the seeds inside as she protects the city. She is also associated with knots, as the untie-er of said knots. Removing the troubles and barriers to happiness and prosperity. Though both of these symbols are likely pulled from a cult devoted to Mary from the same region, conflating the two. Her wearing of a red dress and crown is probably of heathen origin and likely tied to earlier cult to the Goddess worshiped in that area whose name we don’t know.
It seems to me that while modern scholars believe her to be a more recent Post Medieval creation, it’s just as likely, she is a way to bridge missing details in a way that were never meant to go together:
- The missing name of Deity of the local known goddess cults in the area.
- The missing name of Tyr’s wife.
- What the name of the usual Matronae for their hill and related town would be.
- How the later local cults to Mary and their specific icons are tied together with their earlier influences.
Interestingly regardless of where she originated she is now considered the patron goddess of the town for some time now with an annual festival in her honour.