The community
Our cynn
Whitemarsh is the Baltimore cynn of the Fyrnsegen; one of the founding cynnas of the tradition.
White waters widenwhere wind bends the sedge;marsh-grass murmursat the meeting of tides.Bay-born billowsbear inland the salt;rivers run seawardthrough reed-shadowed ground.Herons hold watchwhere high grasses whiten;moonlight moveson the mouths of the creeks.Land leans to waterand water to land;at the hinge of the twohere Hwítmersc stands
A founding cynn
Our home lies upon the Chesapeake and among the rivers, tidal creeks, marshes, and shores that gather around that great inland estuary. Our folk are found throughout Maryland and beyond it into Delaware, southern New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania.
Fyrnsegen is practised in fellowship. A cynn is a community formed through shared practice, obligation, worship, and time; its life rests upon the relationships of those who keep it.
Hwítmersc belongs to the wider Fyrnsegen tradition. The account of our name, our place, and our éadgiefa gives this cynn its particular expression within that shared inheritance.
Read the meaning of our name
Approaching Hwítmersc
Those within our region who are seriously interested in Fyrnsegen are welcome to contact us. You do not need to arrive already knowing the Old English words, the rites, or the theology; you should arrive willing to learn what the tradition asks of those who approach it.
Our community takes shape through acquaintance and shared practice. An introduction begins that acquaintance and gives us an opportunity to learn something of one another.
Introduce yourself