Germanic Paganism

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The Evolution of and Destruction of Germanic Paganism

Franz Hofler

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FOREWORD

• The book which you are about to read is a survey of what I find to be the most important aspects of Germanic Pagan and its History. In addition it should be noted that the study is more specific in the cases of the northern Germanic tribes, including the Saxon’s, Angle’s, Teuton’s, Cimbri, and Franks.

It is the study of the Northern Germanic form Paganism, with which we are primarily concerned. I will discuss these tribes according to the ways in which their culture, religion, and their warrior ethos interact throughout History.

Although we will be examining the use of warfare it will be brief, it is the study of religion and its affect on culture which is our main subject of study. The development, establishment and transformation of Germanic paganism in Saxony, Anglo-Saxon England, and The Nordic lands later referred to as Holland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden.

When I remember My studies of any of the before mentioned Gods, elves, dwarves, folk lore, romanticism, and Religious rituals, people, places. I feel that for the past fifty years Germanic culture has been misrepresented and resented by certain factions of society for obvious reasons related to W.W.II.

However I also feel it is in the best interest of all peoples to investigate and enjoy the great wealth of culture and marvelous tales of the ancient Germanic peoples. I have a sense of pride and honor for my ancestral heritage and feel that all Germanic peoples should not concentrate on the negative aspects of history. Rather, we should set our gaze toward those miraculous sagas, stories, and religious writing such as the Eddas, for these are the literary bases for all truly

European forms of Enlightenment. Furthermore resources such as the Germania, the gothic bible, the writings of Caesar’s Gaelic wars and other scholarly materials can assist us in understanding “who” the Germanic people really were Historically.

I hope the reader will take away from this reading a sense of pride in his/her heritage or a fairly accurate understanding of the Pagan Germanic experience. While all of the information found in folklore, legend and Saga’s may not all be 100 % “Historically” true, this in this is not to the point, for the truly moving aspect of these writings is that, in the midst of a growing

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anti-German/Germanic form of historical research, I have tried my best to present something of the Noble, Heroic, and Magical within Germanic culture to the reader.

In addition the Historical validity of this text is based upon archeology, linguistics, anthropology, and history, they are tools for forming hypotheses into certain behaviors and supplying specific information lacking in the archeological and historical record. Any literary supplements used as tools in understanding the cultural landscape, specific habits or rituals of the religion in question are not meant to replace or be taken for historical fact, only as witness to facts already known or in support of views already given credence through archaeology.

We, as a people, and as the descendants of the Germanic tribes, should not be made to suffer for the crimes of madmen of the past. I do not hate all people who have done wrong to myself in the past. And in asking the reader to keep an open mind when studying the History of my people I would also ask them to have the same sort of patience, open mind, and consideration which I have given to those who have chastised myself because of my heritage.

These myth’s, folk tales, epics, and legends have been included in my research in order to present an more accurate and fair view of every possible aspect in the evolution of Germanic Paganism. Indeed they are indispensable, because of the fact that they are grounded in our Historical past for over four thousand years. our oral history as well as our written history has come to be something which we, and the world can be very proud of. Not only living along side our History as a great hord of literary gems, but also adding a glimpse into the culture of our people.

If anything has been proven in this book, it is that the Germanic peoples are and always have been equal contributors to the European continent and its peoples, as much as any Roman, Celt, Iberian, Slav, or Greek.

In conclusion it is this contribution which has brought forth a great sense of pride in the

Germanic people. It has installed in us a self confidence which the Germanic people have handed down as one of our true legacy’s to the world. This is a legacy of Honor, glory, heroic Journeys and Legends, which can inspire and enlighten the minds of many. May this be , only the

beginning, of many enjoyable and exciting journeys into the study of Germanic History, legend and poetry for you! Franz Hofler.

CHAPTER ONE

Indo-Aryan origins

. The burial mounds and hieroglyphs they left behind testify to their affiliation to this group. The caucuses near the Volga river (the Yamina), the Kurgans on the steppes of Russia, and the Indo-Aryan remains of Kazhakstan, Uzbeckistan, and Shing-Jiang in China, are all laid out in a route

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by which the earliest ancestors of the European peoples migrated from Asia to Europe.

The evidence found in Taklamakhan desert of northern central asia provides a strong repository of proof for the existence of a separate community of Indo-Europeans prier to the settlement of the area of Europe, these people established a large group of communities and lived there for over two thousand years. It is my hypotheses that these Indo-Aryans from the Tarim Basin split into two groups. One of them migrated to Europe. Around 1650 BCE, this tribe had evolved into a various Indo-European tribes:

“In its general outlines this picture is one of a patriarchal, semi-nomadic, Indo-European-speaking group of stockbreeders who originated in the vicinity of the lower Volga and migrated westward across much of Europe, …In the process, they or related splinter groups achieved military and/or political hegemony over many other cultures. (Anthony 1986, 291)”

The particular group which I wish to focus on as an example are the group of Caucasoid bodies found in a dried-up river bed at Lop Nor along the Konch Darya river in Tarim Basin.

One important point which should be mentioned here is that those bodies were all of the

Caucasoid race with their typical features, even though the settlements in the area were of three different racial groups from varying time periods, with independent settlements including Mediterranean, Mongoloid, and Proto-European Caucasoid. One of these groups which I will refer to as the EUROPIDS were of the Nordic body type.

“The well-preserved desiccated Caucasoid human remains unearthed from these tombs had deep-set eyes, pointed noses, thin lips, and light brown hair over their shoulders. ?.The skulls were definitely Europoid and closely resemble the Proto-European pattern with some Nordic features.” 1

Therefore it is clear from those physical features that the early inhabitants of the Tarim Basin were primarily Caucasoid, Not only were the earliest mummies found in Central Asia are of the Caucasoid race, but in addition nearly all of them are clothed in cloth known in Europe after the migration.

Those woolen textiles, multi-colored robes, trousers, boots, stockings coats, various kinds of felt hats, golden ornaments used by these Caucasoid people were similar to those of Indo-Europeans who would be their children and grand children. In addition to this, the cloth found among these peoples were so complex in their construction that they are among the oldest examples of finely woven materials. These cloths bear remarkable resemblance to Germanic woolen fabrics and Celtic Tartans.

The burial objects and ritual artifacts found in the graves of Taklamakanian’s are similar or identical to those in the Kurgan graves. They lead to a better understanding of the Indo-European branch of the Aryan language family and the peoples who used them between 3000 and 1000 BCE. The drinking vessels found next to the Taklamakanian bodies were virtually identical to

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those used by Germanic tribes from their earliest times. It suggests that Taklamakanian people used the same identical cattle horns as drinking vessels in ritual practice as the ancient Germanic tribes. These same types of horns were also in use in Denmark as late as the twelfth century. The geographic locations of those graves suggest a possible migration route from central Asia to Europe. Although earlier indigenous tribes, who are only known through their Neolithic sites, were pre-existent and can be dated back to the late Neolithic and early bronze age, these tribes were unrelated to the speakers of Indo-Aryan who evolved culturally into the Indo-Europeans. The before mentioned Kurgan graves extend all along the route which ancient German myth states brought the Germanic tribes into Europe, from beyond the Russian steppes, across the steppes, through the Caucasus and into Prussia and Saxony. This myth of the ancient Germanic tribes tells of a homeland in Asia:

“First he journeyed west to Garthariki [Russia], and then south, to Saxland [Northwestern

Germany]…He took possession of lands far and wide in Saxland and set his sons to defend these lands. Then he journeyed north to the sea and fixed his abode on an island. That place is now called Othinsey [Othin’s Island], on the island of Funen.” 2

This illustrates that the story of a migration west from Asia has been preserved orally for centuries, and that the god Odin is reputed to have come from east of Russia and is associated with the sun disk. The same sun disk shape can be seen in the wooden pillars surrounding the Taklamakanian tombs and painted on the faces of the Taklamakanian mummies. This symbol could be associated with the same God or archetype.

Kurgan shamanism and cosmography

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THE INDO-EUROPEAN’S

Although the Indo-Europeans were in some respects connected with the Taklamakanian’s, they were not the only culture to contribute to the development of the Germanic tribes. The Kurgans, Scythians, Saro-Sarmatian Scythians, bask, all in turn contributed to the culture which we now refer to as the Germanic peoples.

One of these groups were known as the Germani, the Germani were one of the last tribes to invade Europe. It was the Germani who gave their name to the land of Germany. The Germani were however only one part of the Proto-Germanic tribe’s who invaded continental Europe and then Scandinavia, these people are known as the corded battle axe or boat-ax culture. The eminent historian Marija Gimbutas in her book “bronze age cultures in central and eastern Europe” states that the Abosheva culture of the eastern Russian steppes were contemporary in their birth as a culture with decline of the timber grave culture (pokrovsk phase) when seen in conjunction with the article “Kurgan culture” by david.w.anthony in his reference to Gordon child’s use of the timber grave culture in which he states:

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“the spread of what was then conceived as the corded ware-battle axe tumulus burial complex, at the beginning of the bronze age, ?he saw this complex as originating in the Ukrainian north Pontiac steppes, a region favored by some linguist as the home for Proto-Indo-European languages.”

When seen together these two theories can be taken to illustrate the connection between the Taklamakhanians (a Caucasian people who’s tribes inhabited what is now eastern Turkistan) and the corded battle axe complex (a Caucasian group who lived in Northern europe), which would explain the arrival of at least one branch of the Proto-Germanic peoples.

Although we may not at this time be able to provide a answer to where all of the Proto-Germanic tribes originated, what we can say with 100% assurety is that all across the steppes of eastern Russia and central Asia as well as Siberia are the graves of Indo-European’s, some of which must have been the Proto-Germanic peoples and that this representation of a Indo-European population pre-dates the population of Indo-Europeans in Europe. Furthermore it is clear that a fare lesser number of similar graves can be found in Europe from the same time period, and almost no graves of this type from previous periods.

What this implies is that in all probability the Indo-Europeans peoples invaded Europe, and that the Proto-Germanic peoples were one such group of Indo-Europeans.

The Proto-Germanic tribes evolved from the timber grave complex into the Germanic tribes. These were the first people in Scandinavian areas to illustrate their religious beliefs on stones with what we call ex-ray art motifs.

These Indo-Arans refered to as the “corded battle ax people” were the first to bring both a more developed form of animistic religion into Europe in addition the also brought the Indo-Aryans language. This migration/invasion took place in two successive waves, in 3000 BCE the proto-Celtic, from 2000-1600BCE the Proto-Germanic.

The first traces of a post Neolithic Nordic civilization are in the Bronze Age 1600 to 450 BCE. This was a time of religious, agricultural and social advancements, when a second wave of Germanic tribes from the south invaded and subdued the boat-ax people, producing a new Germanic culture known today as the early Proto-Germanic culture. The graves of the Corded Battle Axe people or the Tumulus began the tradition of the Aryan burials in Scandinavia Following the iconography of the Bronze Age, we can see a very clear picture of vast religious and artistic advancements. The art work alone was elevated from pictographs to the later Bronze Age art which illustrates not only beautiful two-dimensional images from an otherwise the war-like time, but is also the first ritualistic use of pictographs as representations of their gods. Bronze Age Scandinavia was removed from Viking Age Scandinavia by several centuries. During this time period the Germanic tribes divided and developed new tribal affiliations old tribes disappeared and split into smaller ones, while new tribes rose from the fragmented older

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tribes and sometimes came to dominate older tribes. It was during this time which the Goths, Cimbri, Teutons, Vikings, Visigoths, Vandals, Saxons, Angles, Friesians, franks, Austri, and other’s founded their own peoples. This was also a time of religious reformation and

reconstruction, when the groves, while still hallowed were secondary in importance to the

wooden temple now known as a Hof or Hov. But it is Only after the late Bronze Age that we first began to recognize some of characteristics that the rest of the worldwould later associate with the Vikings, their warrior vigor, their taste for battle, and their furious faith in belligerent gods. The Bronze Age Scandinavians were by that time distinctly Germanic, sharing an identifiable Germanic culture and religion including divinities such Odin, Thor, and Heimdal, etc.

During the Migration Age, an intensely violent era, when wars were raging all over Europe, the Norse were developin the elder futhark a form of runic alphabet, and the evolution of the Nordic mythology had begun. Throughout the Migration Age the warrior archetypes of gods like Odin, Thor, and Heimdal dominated the warrior pantheon of the Pagan Nordic temples and by 800 CE the earliest pagan Gothi (priests) were passing down Nordic mythology orally. It was the

Migration Age from which “Viking Age” Germanic paganism took root. PROTO-GERMANIC PAGANISM

Paganism was a very complex and culturally enriching religion which dominated Nordic society for about fifteen centuries, from 450 BCE to 1050 CE It emerged from the Steppes of Russia and was brought into North-western Europe by the Germanic tribes. The particular myth which supports the concept of a Germanic migrations from the Russian/Central Asian steppes comes from the Heimskringla (history of the kings if Denmark) by Snorri Sturluson.

The power to perform such a deed as a warrior on the move from across the mountains, without support or reinforcements, with no former knowledge of the terrain in which he was fighting clearly illustrates that this warrior chief Woden was in fact a great warrior.

Other sources document this same warrior chieftain as being a historical figure who has passed totality into obscurity, and is remebered only through his tales which have been assimilated as a part of the Odin archytype.

ANIMISM

Animism was the original religious belief among the Germanic people, Shamanism was their indigenous religion prier to migration into Europe, which developed out of the earliest form of animal and nature-spirit worship. It originated in Siberia and later spread to Central Asia where it became the dominant form of worship between 3,000 BCE and 1,000 CE. This early form of Shamanism utilized animals as totems and worshipped the “chi” or energy in everything, such as animals, mountains, the sky, the earth, all of nature. There are many notable examples

throughout the steppes of shaman who dressed in animal skins and horns in order to absorb the energies of those animals. 3

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The Shaman were also medicine men who healed people through their magic powers and

sometimes with herbal remedies or sweat lodges. A Shaman was a Psychopomp who could travel to other worlds and communicate with the dead. It was believed that the spirits of disease,

illnesses, or other difficulties would manifest themselves to the shaman while on his trip to the spirit world. The way in which the shaman traveled to the land of the spirits or dead was through a type of transcendental meditation, induced through dancing and chanting, this sometimes involving the use of alcohol or hemp. Belief in Shamen was gradualy replaced when a more sophisticated and ritualistic form of polytheism which emerged in the bronze age.

Germanic paganism, as a religion was the dominant belief of the Northern European peoples for fifteen centuries. Paganism experienced its development, its golden age, and its decline from 450 BCE to 1050 CE. After the conquest of Europe these newly arrived Indo-Europeans assimilated the earlier arrivals who were in most likelihood a true life historical people who were physically and culturally related to the Celtic tribes. Among these peoples the earliest were those

indigenous tribes who have no descendants, the closest known would be an ancient people who lived in Spain and were known as bask. In fact the very earliest indigenous inhabitants who were the ancestors of the Vanir/Celts have been shown by archeological digs to have been definitively followers of a fertility cult who worshiped the gods of the earth and harvest. This is not

surprising when one takes into account that these people were all agriculturist and very homogeneous staying on their farms and never wandering far enough to encounter any significant form of warfare exept in a group as seen during the Celtic iron age.

After the assimilation of the descendants of the Vanir the Vanir cult was combined with that of the Aesir (historically the invading Indo-Aryans), thus producing the historical incident/war which presented the Germanic people with a folklore which would latter evolve into the basses for a Germanic pagan pantheon. While the Vanir cult was sit very much alive well into the eleventh century, it had changed dramatically by the Viking age, often taking on the violent character of its Aesir compatriot.

One thousand years later in the Viking Age, Nordic paganism developed into its highest form with ritual practices divination and temple worship. The decline of Nordic paganism came about at the end of the Viking era as a direct result of vast economic, political and ideological

interaction with Christians and the subsequent empowerment of Christian priests by the Nordic kings. However, many aspects of Nordic paganism continued to survive through its literary legacies, as well as in Scandinavian folk tradition. Nordic culture can give us valuable insight into the formation and development of the Germanic people as a whole. In turn, understanding Nordic culture can assist us in examination of the Germanic scriptures known primarily as the Eddas. This in turn enables us to examine the hero archetypes of Germanic Paganism.

Furthermore these hero’s were the models from which many medieval epics came. THE AESIR

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and warlike people. Their lives were centered around the glory of battle and the honor of victory, it is only natural that a people who lives and livelihood depended upon victory in battle would worship gods of war. Within the Aesir we find the Noble ethic or ethos, the call for Honor, glory in battle, and finally justice, for themselves and for their people. All of the noble ethics would latter be inherited and emulated by the knights of medieval Europe. Th Aesir are the indisputable source of the warrior ethos or “warrior path” in Europe, this is proven in the literary, historical, and archeological record.

The Aesir include fourteen principle gods and goddesses who all have designated abilities and responsibilities, although freedom and wandering are often mentioned throughout the Eddas along with occasional humor, myths, legends, etc; the need for responsibility is also stressed repetitively throughout Germanic literature. Odin or Woden was their king according to the Elder Eddas he led them across the Caucus mountains and into Europe. Once in Europe they conquered all of the surrounding territory’s setting Wodens sons on the throne of the Saxon lands. Next we hear of many tales discussion their lives the manner in which the sit in council etc. Here is the divergence of what we know as the historical Woden and the mythological Odin as well as the mythological god’s from the Disr or priest and other followers who were the companions of the Historical Woden. The historical Woden was in all likelihood a Kurgan chieftain under pressure from other warlike political powers moving into the central Asian plains, perhaps the Greek’s or Assyrian’s. In any event this historical migration legend is found best preserved in the

Hymskringla, in the section of the Ynlinga saga at the beginning, and became the seed of future legends about Odin. Adam of Bremen, a twelfth century German cleric, also advocated the concept of a historic Odin. Unfortunately Adam of Bremen’s description of Germanic paganism and the migration legend it extremely bias in favor of Christianity and he makes no secret of that. Moving on, we see that the most philosophical or moral teachings are those espoused in the book of Hvarmal, which is in the elder Eddas. These discourses by Odin in the form of a wise man speaking to us in the second person. These are the strongest proof we have that Germanic paganism was not only a primitive form of folklore, but a living and practiced religion with a serious form of morality and a code of behavior. In addition to the Hvarmal there are many other documents which discuss the knowledge of the gods, for example the use of dedicated a books of herbs to Woden in England namely the Anglo-Saxon herbal. The text states at the opening that Woden is the god of herbs and to him came the craft of healing. Further more we find countless nuggets of invaluable importance throughout Germanic historical literature which shed light upon the character and ritual worship of the Germanic gods. Jacob Grimm’s Teutonic mythology is a veritable treasure of such nuggets of information. When all compiled we find are selves not looking a primitive form of tribal superstition, no, but looking at a very creative and imaginative Pagan pantheon worshiped in the manner and through the ritual which suited its people best. Keeping this in mind let me turn to the character of each individual god and goddess before going on to the religion its self.

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ODIN — Odin, Woden, Wotan, Tiwaz, Tyr, Jolnir, Gondllr, etc.

He is the ruler of the gods, a godhead , the "allfather, a incarnation of ultimate power in the form of a wizard king, a wanderer, and cleric, a warrior, a charioteer, and many others. Several

different aspects of the early predecessors of Woden which date back to the third millennium BCE support the connection between Woden and the earliest of the Indo-Aryan tribesmen who migrated into Europe. These are:

1. the sky wheel

2. Association with warfare

3. The power to control the elements, especially the thunder, and therefor fire as well. The next form of Woden known, which I will examine here, is “Tiwaz”, Tiwaz was the name given to the god of the late Neolithic/early bronze age Proto-Germanic tribes. Tiwaz’s name varied as does Woden’s, and he was associated with all of the same traits previously discussed for the sky god. In addition to this Tiwaz was also a god of the sword/spear and of using the sword/spear in ritualistic displays. This act is illustrated by various physical objects which show horned men holding spears sometimes when dancing, also the remnants of bronze age rock drawings show a god with a spear existed among the bronze age battle axe people. Tiwaz became Tyr, Woden usurped Tyr’s position and absorbed into his archetype Tiwaze’s traits and Tyr became a secondary god in the widening pantheon of Germanic mythology. Woden is the primary the god to which most noble’s, warrior hero’s; bards/ poets, priest, commerce and cargoes, shamanism, the berserker cult and many others worshiped. Woden was god of wisdom, truth, clever or stealthy/cunning achievement of ends, wealth, good fortune, asceticism, judges, the wayfarers, and many other desire’s, goals and professions. Woden’s priest, were dedicated to and being in his service, this meant performing duty’s including but not limited to: marrying, burring and judging the people., the art of divination, reciting the holy Eddas in song, performing ritual sacrifices, for example the sacrifice of a wether (a young black male goat) , cow or other animal for the price of wodans assistance.

The Performance of the blot or sacred blessing was performed by sprinkling blood upon the intended object or person. This act was latter replaced by the concept of sprinkling holy water, usually from a sacred pagan spring or river, other holy sites include pagan groves, hills and other sites which can still be found in Germany, England and Scandinavia through their place names. Names such as Ingas, ham, bryeg, burh, burg, berg, peper Harow, Besingaheard (Pagan Temple), weoley (lay with a pagan temple), hoe, wielle, aewiell, Camberwell (known for medicinal hot springs), etc… .

Wodan was also known as Wod “lord of the wild hunt”, lord of the gallows, the green man, lord of the Hof’s (fanem tectum)or groves (Hofgoth) 4, Lord of the wind etc. Odin has more names, more literature and more deeds recorded than any other Germanic deity. His position as king of the gods and war leader of the gods is a direct mirror image of the historical image of the warrior

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chieftains or Drohtin of the Germanic peoples.

Shamanistic wizard, king of the gods, Odin enjoys wandering, his possessions include the great spear Gugnir which can destroy anything or any one it is directed towards, a blue cloak, gray clothing, a hood or hat pulled down over his missing eye to hide his identity, a magic staff carved with runes he use’s when traveling , a long well groomed gray beard. His purpose is to educate men in the ways of knowledge and wisdom, to create a cast of professional wizard priest. These priests are to guard the kings from evil and guide the people to good rather than evil. Odin’s destiny is to fight the final battle of the world, a battle between ultimate good and ultimate evil, and through the sacrifice of his life and the lives of all the heroes who were ever born, in order to save the world. Woden is the god about whom the vast majority of prestige, history, myth and physical evidence has been preserved. Odin was the father of many of the gods, famous kings and hero’s, his position in the Germanic pantheon is paramount to the axis-mundi of the Germanic form of cosmography.

Thor

Thor — Son of Odin-God of thunder, warrior par excellence, a giant sized god with a perfect muscular physique, Thor is the soldiers god the god of common men of war, he who confronts and destroys evil Thor is particularly interested in destroying giants the arch enemies of the Aesir, Thor hates giants, he is the archetype of the later “giant killers” in fact Thor kills more giants in the Eddas than any hero in Germanic poetry or epics. Thor is honorable and just, good and strong. However Thor is brash and temperamental, he carries the mighty hammer Mjolnir that can destroy any foe and return to its owner, but no one can wield it but Thor. Thor also possesses a magic belt which gives him great strength, his physical appearance is that he has long red hair and a full red beard, he is very muscular and wears animal skins, his manner is that of the haughtiest of proud warriors striding forth with pure pride. When flying through the air as the thunder god does often Thor is pulled on his chariot by four giant rams. He is the son of Odin and Jord the goddess of earth (now know by the name “mother nature”). Although in ancient times he was worshipped a separate king of the gods among some of the Nordic tribes, this was a position which was usurped by the cult of Odin. Thor is most famous for his courage and his fighting abilities, although in the view of some poets not so much for his mind. This is especially true in the lay of Harbard (long beard-a synonym for Odin) in this lay he maligned by a skald who apparently didn’t wish Thor to be placed on a equal bases with Odin. In addition to Thor’s conquest in battle he is also a god of farmers (common men of the classical Germanic age were usually farmers).

The cult of Thor was a cult of laymen, men who fought for nobles, who tilled the land, who provided for their family’s and owed allegiance to the nobility of the Germanic world. They were in a secondary cast, not necessarily a “lesser” cast, but more similar to the latter vassalage system of feudal Europe, in that they were free men who valued courage, strength, fertility in the land, and forthrightness in their dealings. A simple strait forward way of life. Therefor it is not

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with these qualities and governs the issuance of blessing on the land, battle, and everyday life. Thors cult was the most popular in scandinavia, and among Germanic freemen, Thor is probably one of the longest lasting Germanic gods in the history of Germanic paganism. Thor was so popular that there is not a single Germanic nation among all that existed who didn’t have the cult of Thor long after the rise of christianity. In fact when christianity conquered Iceland in 1100 the cult of Thor remained strong

Balder

Second son of Odin — God of celestial light, brilliance of purity, justice and valor, the patron of pure hearted heroes which was latter idealized by the cliché “the white knight”. Balder is also a symbol of sacrifice and tragedy, yet his resurrection illustrates his connection with eternal life. Balder was the least violent and the most beautiful of the gods. He was patron of pure and honest causes, true love, the purity of youth, innocence.

Heimdal- Heimdal, faithful friend of Odin and guardian of the rainbow bridge bifrost, Heimdal has always been a somewhat shadowy figure for historians as there exist very little literary material written about him. Heimdal’s greatest lay seems to be the lay of Rigspula in which he creates the cast of mankind and imparts the art of runes to a young prince. He possesses a great and mighty sword and is honest, wise and creative. On the day of Ragnarok Heimdal will sound his great horn and alert the gods of the coming of the giants and the end of the world. Not much is said about his appearance.

THE VANIR

Chief among the Vanir gods was Njord-God of the sea and master of the Vanir, Njord was father of Freya and Frey who were later married a deed found to be very controversial to the Aesir who had strict rules against incest. Yet the Vanir did not view the act in this way.

Frey

Son of Njord, god of the fields and nature as a whole- the god of fertility, Frey is the gentle god, he who cares for and protects the earth, spring, a nature god, he is the protector of peace and balance in nature (on earth), Frey is Freya’s brother and a Vanir god. Frey is often thought also to be similar and possible connected with the Celtic figure the “green man”.

Freya/Nerthus/Frigga/Jord — the lady, Freya-daughter of Njord/wife to Odin, after Frey and Freya were broken up, the King of the Aesir Odin married Freya goddess of the earth (literally mother nature) also known as Jord and Frigga. Freya is also the goddess of love, feminine strength, intelligence, kindness, and gentle persuasion. She is the patron goddess of cats and animals. Freya is mistress of Asgard, Frey is often seen as wearing armor or holding weapons although I find no proof for her having actually wearing this apparel in any myth. It is possible that during her journeys to receive her half of the chosen slain warriors of battles fought on earth,

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that she may have worn armor, although such myths do not appear to have survived. If in fact they ever did exist? However it is not her typical attire, typically she is portrayed as wearing the usual feminine form of Germanic dress for a lady of high social standing. Cats draw her chariot and her magic which she is reputed to have taught to Odin known as seith (along with his many other forms of magic.) is second only to Odin’s.

The Proto-Germanic tribes were beginning a religious evaluation, This evolution resulted in the development of the Germanic tribes, and was responsible for the assimilation of the indigenous fertility cult.

One story in the elder Eddas no doubt recalls the meeting of these two peoples ??

This war was ended by the exchange of gods between the two groups and eventually the wedding of Odin to Freya, and so once again we see the mirror image of the Historical imperical world in that of myth.

OTHER GODS

Bragi — also son of Odin and god of skalds, this seldom seen god is said to have actually been a living historical figure named Baggi skrinalsson. In most ways the role of bragi is that of a germanic priest. His role as one of the gods of priest, bards, and other poets is his chief position in the Germanic pantheon.

Sif — goddess of the harvest and of happiness, and family, her golden hair is supossed to be a bright as sunshin and when lokie cut it, thor was so furious that lokie was forced to go to the dwarves who were thoe only smiths capable of reproduceing a replacment. The dwarved replaced hair with hair thin stings of gold and the aiser were appeased.

Idun — Goddess of immortality and protector of the golden apples of immortality, there is a strong possiblity that this tale is actually an import from the mediteranian world. The figure idun is another godess who we know very little about.

Loki — the deceiver, the evil one, blood brother to odin. Lokie is not aesir, he is of giant blood and the sworn enemy of the gods. Loki hides his hate for the gods through stelth and trikery, he is the very essense of a manipoulative coniving thief, lier, and backstber. The tale of lokies flyting is the tale which gives the best summery of his evil deeds. he will lead his son fenrriss and the other evil giants/demonds against the gods. In the end it is lokie who will ultimatly bring death and destruction to the gods and man at ragnarock

Hod-the blind — Son of Odin he is said in one rendition of the death of balder to have been tricked into killing his brother balder. Hod is blind, and is the god of darkness, sadness, tragic acidents.

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mountains and that their powers of magic and propheses are sureme. However reports on this varie. The Norns are three??..,??., and verthandi. These three prophetesses have been acnoledged as the very finnal source on destiny, some say they decide the futures of men, and others say they simply see the destonies of god and men. They live next to one of the roots of yggdrasil and tend the wounds of the life tree.

Ull — Ull is the god of winter he enjoys wandering the cold snowy north and assisting those who live there with travel and survival in the north. Winter is the season of ull, it is said that when Odin goes wandering in the summer , ull comes to the north. Agani little is said of ull, another intersting fact is that there is also a celtic god named ull and there is a possibility that the two are related.

Hell — Hell is the daughter of Lokie she was thrown into Hellheim by Odin and made the ruler of Hellheim, her name is the root of the European christian term Hell and Hellheim was the orginal version of hell although it was not considered hot, it was supossed to be very cold and dreary. Hell herself had the beutyful body of a woman from her head to her waist, but from below the hips to her feel was rotting flesh.

Ivaldi — one dwarf in particular was very famous for creating the weapons and favored possessions of the gods, his name was Ivaldi. Ivaldi made a deal to help Loki to create hair for Sif from gold to replace the hair which he had cut from Sif as a very rude “joke”, one which her husband Thor was not willing to forgive until rectified.

Other famous dwarves include Alvis, Durin, and Dvalin

The Germanic Pagan Priest

The priestly cast or class who maintained Hof temple among the Saxons were called Gothi or Gothar, who were either chiefs of a tribe or land owning Nobles lords.

“Any landholder could have his own temple on his estate, where he himself sacrificed to whatever gods he honored most. At the regular general sacrifices the chief performed the office and was known as the Gothi.” 5

Saxon societywas a stratified hierarchical class system of nobles, priest, warriors, commoners and slaves. The nobles, warriors, and priests were in what is referred to as the Jarl class, which was the highest class. Saxon society was under the political control of Noble families. Nobles directed work on their own farms during the fertile periods of the year and led raiding parties into the territory of their enemies’ tribes. Warriors followed the chief or “Drohtin”. Priest presided over the courts. They offered ceremonial prayers, performed divination, and functioned as advisers to the Drohtin.

The priests and their power in the tribes were very well documented. The first of the early

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“Capital punishment, imprisonment and even flogging are allowed to none but the priest, and are not inflicted merely as punishments or on the leaders’ orders, but in obedience to the god whom they believe to preside over battle. 6”

According to Tacitus, the position of priest of Hof temple was a multi-facetted occupation: Then the priest of the State if the consultation is a public one, the father of the family if it is private, after a prayer to the gods and an intent gaze heavenward, picks up three, one at a time, an dreads their meaning from the runes scored on them. 7

From this statement by Tacitus, we can see that the priest of the Hof temple clearly had a great deal of power in the first century. But did the same amount of power exist in the sixth century’s Hof temple in Saxony with which we are concerned? Yes, there are several examples from reputable sources, which tell us that, not only did the priest keep this power in Saxony but also carried it from their homeland to distant tribal lands such as Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. In the sixth century, priests of the Saxon Hof temple had already assumed a very large degree of power and authority. The priest were of several types, the judges, the chiefs, the landed Nobles, ascetics, and priestesses. The term judge here is referring to the presiding head wise man, a Gothi, who is also a judge, and therefore he is titled Gothar. Priest who were civil administrators and priest of the Hof temple were initiated into their positions, while common priest were like lay priest. The Germanic tribes during sixth through the eleventh centuries CE, were at the eventual zenith of Pagan Germanic law. The Gothar of Iceland produced an entire nation centered and controlled by the Allthing, a national council or court. The system functioned through a judiciary system, which was composed of five courts. Each of them represented the jurisdiction of a locality roughly equivalent in size and organization to the German burgs. The head of each Aett (clan) and its kindred (members of family and clan) were individually represented by the head of their family who was a Gothi (household priest and nobleman). The exeption would be if another more qualified or more experienced Gothi were requested by the individual. The employing of a separate Gothi from outside the family or Aett, however, would then obligate the recipient to remain loyal to that Gothi for a certain amount of time. This would place the person represented under the local jurisdiction of the Gothi representing him/her rather than the Gothi whom served their own Aett. In this way a necessity for political allegiances among various groups of nobility were created. A brief description of the court system can be seen through Njals Saga.

“the plaintiff and defendant shall each have the right to challenge six of the four dozen judges [Gothi] appointed to the fifth court?those who are chosen to make the law ?only the wisest and most sensible shall be chosen?the issues all be decided by a majority vote.?Later people assembled at the law rock to institute the new chieftanships.” 8

From this we see the structure, relative fairness and organized nature of the Germanic court system, which was in reality extremely different from the barbaric way pictured by Christians

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when writing their history.

These priests held feast at the Hof temple during the solstices and in recognition of ancestors who had been deified. They were charged with the upkeep and restoration and or any other aspects of the temple preservation. It was the responsibility of the local members of the temple to donate enough of an equal share of the cost in purchasing a golden or copper ring, one of the principle alter symbols in the Hof temple. However, soothsayers and witches cannot be placed in this category due to the fact that they had no authority concerning social matters and were not allowed to practice their magic in the temple. The witches of this time period should not be confused with the practitioners of Wicca. The name Wicc originates from the root word Wod, which in Saxon is a abbreviation for Wodan or Odin. It is therefor possible that the practitioners of Wicca originated as followers of Odin. However the witches mentioned here are far more likely to have been followers of Finnish shamanism, a late surviving form of animism.

WARFARE, SOURCE OF THE SAXON ECONOMY

The Saxons were sea faring men who were capable of raising livestock, doing business abroad and pirating.

This pirating profession came to be the most profitable and therefore the primary form of supporting the people of the old Saxony. Saxon raiding parties brought back vast fortunes. Undoubtedly, these vast hordes of booty from both war and trade were the sources which financed the start of many Saxon Vrund or kindred’s.

Among the Saxons, being sea faring raiders, which modern historians call “pirates”, was in reality no different than the Viking which their northern brothers, the Danes were doing. Saxon Vikings or black Vikings as they were known due to their black hair were quite infamous for their exploits at sea. They were very capable seamen, so capable that the Gothic army enlisted their assistance against the British coast in their battles with the Romanized Celtic tribes of Britain.

The Saxon seamen were also very active in trade between the Baltic coast and the Scandinavian lands of their Nordic brothers. In fact, they were the last link for support or assistance which the Nordic tribes, particularly Denmark, had on the continent primarily because of their shared culture and their common religious beliefs. It was for this reason that the Danes helped the Saxons in their bid for freedom from the franks.

The Saxon warriors defeated countless enemies in battle when they were caught in the middle of the Vikings, Franks, Romans and Huns, in both the continent and in Britain. The allegiance of the Saxon warriors was to their tribal chieftains. This can be clearly seen in the example of their commitment to Wittican, the pagan chieftain priest who fought with Charlemagne in the

following century. This war continued long after the surrender of Wittekind, until all of the Saxon lords were either dead, in exile with Viking allies or converted to Christianity. However,

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there were repeated incidents of Saxons accepting Baptism from the Franks and then immediately rising again to revolution.

SAXON SOCIETY

In language, the Old Saxons spoke a Germanic dialect, just as their neighbors and other Nordic relatives did. The Saxons and Danes especially were very compatible speakers of two similar dialects and were able to communicate with only minor language difficulties.

“German splits into low Franconian, which becomes Dutch (including Flemish) and low Saxon?which in turn becomes modern low German? Their spoken Dutch has a number of dialects as well as an official spoken form. Written Dutch evolved from the Flemish spoken in Flanders. 9”

Saxons of the sixth century owed their allegiance to an Vrund or clan, which acted in the role of protector and political advocate, similar to the role played by Liege lords of the middle ages. The Vrund provided food, housing, and protection from the armies of foreign warriors, and a social solidarity which would assist in grooming young children in how to survive in a hostile world. In some ways, the Saxons may appear quite normal to us modern people. They enjoyed winter sports such as ice skating, skiing, tobogganing, and indoor games such as dicing, a type of primitive checkers, and were fond of hearing heroic tales from Gothi, tales similar to Beowulf accompanied by a lyre and recorder. Both lyre and recorder have been found by archeologist and has been reconstructed. The lyre in particular has been identified specifically with the Saxon tribe through motifs on the instrument.

It is a belief among many folklorists and historians that the lyres, lurs and drums were used in the recitation of the Eddas, as indicated, for example, in Brian Branston’s Gods of the North and Haakon Shetelig’s Scandinavian archeology. This accompaniment assists in proving that the Saxons were a “kulture” rather than simply a tribe. The religious significants of this is paramount when on considers that the Germanic form of polytheism is comparable to that of the Hindus and that the “singing” of chants is a paralel development of two separate Indo-Aryan peoples and could be a sign that the act its self ows its origins to a common origin, that is a common indo-aryan form of early polytheism based on animistic or shamanistic worship.

Saxon polytheism

The dominant religion in Saxony was Gemanic paganism which came to Saxony with the sixth century migration and existed there to the ninth century CE when it was destroyed by Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Saxon chiefs were usually the official priests to the entire community. The duties of them were to officiate in all pubic functions, to make seasonal sacrifices, to read the runes, and to be the representative of the gods.

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within the Saxon tribe, so did the development of Paganism. By the eighth century, the Saxons were worshipping in wooden Hof temples, with their own hierarchy mirrored in the examples of the gods they worshipped. They maintained an extensively detailed mythology and folklore. “In the north and west of Germany Odin was raised above daemonic rank and became a god of war and victory and intellectual accomplishments. In the course of the migration period the cult of this culture-god made its way into Scandinavia also, principally from the Saxons (compare with the epithet Saxa Goth). 10”

The worship of these gods existed on many levels, the main three of which were divination, ritual, and temple worship. Divination was practiced by using runes, a divination tool created and commonly used by Germanic tribes. The runes were letters inscribed onto stones, talismans, swords and anything else one might wish to affect through sorcery. In time the runic alphabet evolved and was manifest into several different forms of runes, including the Saxon runes. These runes were included in many of the alphabets of European languages such as Gothic, Frank, and Old English.

SAXON RELIGION

The introduction and development of the Hof temple in Old Saxony had a significant impact upon the people of early Saxon society from the seventh century through the ninth century. Many aspects of Saxon culture, warfare, and religion were all affected and altered by this temple and the class which ran it. The hierarchical stratified clan system was a direct result of Germanic paganism and the class system established by the religion of the Hof temple.

THE HOF TEMPLE

The Germanic Hof temple was introduced into what is now referred to as “lower” Saxony in the sixth century CE and existed there to the ninth century CE when it was destroyed by Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne.

The Germanic Hof Temple took its roots in the ancient Shamanism which in turn developed out from earliest form of animism and nature-spirit worship. This worship originally occurred in the groves and forest of the Germanic world:

“Their Holy places are the woods and groves, and they call by the name of god that hidden presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence.” 11

These groves were known as “Hof”. The modern translation of this word in Scandinavian sub-dialects of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family is Hov (pronounced Hof).

12

There is evidence to support a theory that the archetype of Odin, the father of the gods was imported to Scandinavia from Saxony.

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also, principally from the Saxons (compare the epithet Saxa Goth). According to the current interpretation, the myths about the war of the AEsir with the Vanir and their final reconciliation reflect the introduction of the Othin cult and its union with the native worship of the gods of fertility. 13”

Hof temple in what is now refered to as northern Germany evolved into a wooden temple structure quite similar to the Nordic Hofs sometimes between the sixth century and the seventh century. The wooden structure was symbolic of the wood of the forest where Germanic people once worshipped in.

Irminsul has also been considered by many scholars such as ?..

It is also a well-known tradition to plant the sacred ash trees next to the Germanic Hof temple. One of the best examples of this tradition is the record of a visit made by Adam of Bremen, a German Christian, to the Great temple at Uppsala in Sweden where he regards the trees as being the place of sacrifice dedicated to Odin.

In reference to the construction of the Hof temple from wood as a structure which developed sometimes between the sixth and seventh century in Saxony, some historians suggest that the temple may have been modeled on early Irish Christian churches. However, this is highly impractical, given that, the structural designs of long houses, forts, and a variety of other structures had previously existed among the Germanic tribes, far prior to the introduction of church buildings by the Irish. It therefore could not be the proto-type of the earliest Hof temples. The use of wood as the primary material necessary in every element of the temple including very detailed carving designs elude that these temples may have been the product of centuries of shamanistic and early Paganistic tree veneration. In addition, implementation of the

woodworker’s craft was identical in nature and origin to that of the evolving Scandinavian craftsmanship in building. This craft developed in northern Europe and was exemplified in the ninth and tenth century Hof temples, stave churches, and long boats of the Vikings.

By the seventh century CE, the Saxon Hof temple had evolved into a long building comprised of a hall and an altar area which was located at the end of the hall. The alter is where the images of their gods were placed upon a seperat pedistool enclosed by a rounded enclosure. 14 Many differing forms of statues have been suggested, such as wood, gold, earthen, etc. However, the most historically convincing statues are those which were made of either bronze castings in the larger temples or made of wood in smaller and more remote temples. Bronze figures have been found in Schleswig-Holstein and date back to the late bronze age, which is prior to the departure of the Saxons and would place the statues in Saxon territory during the late bronze age. These images are small and would fit in the palm of any adult’s hand, which infers that they may have been a traveling man’s image, small size being due to the need for mobility. However, the important point here is that the Saxons did apparently have knowledge of bronze casting techniques and therefore may have caste their temple gods in the same manner.

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“They also carry into the fray [battle] figures and emblems taken from their sacred groves.” 15 It is quite possible that their god were made from wood, as we know wood was extremely holy among the ancient Germans including the Saxons. In addition, several small wooden figures were found in Scandinavian Pete bogs which date from the late Bronze Age. Another example which is often unnoticed is that of the Gorbunovo culture, a branch of Indo-European people in Russian Steppe, possessed identical idols made of wood which were used for ceremonial purposes. 16 This illustrates that the use of wood in the making of this specific type of idol was existent long before the disintegration of the Indo-Europeans. Therefore due to the pre existence and identical appearance of these two idols, we may propose that its use was probably known to the German tribes in the early centuries of the common era. Unfortunately, if any large idols belonging to the Saxons or any other German or Germanic people existed, they have either been lost or destroyed by Christians.

Below Alter was the stone table where the ritualistic objects were placed upon the stone table. One of these objects was a gold or copper ring which was used for swearing oaths upon. This ring was representative of “Draupnir”, an arm ring believed to belong to Odin. The stone table was also where animal sacrifices were made. The ritual tools on the table included a blood bowel and blautteinar or sprinkler for sprinkling the blot. It is important to note here that in many ways the Nordic and Saxon Hof’s will be identical, with exeption to the naming of certain ritualistic items and place names, this is more pronounced in the section on Anglo-Saxon Pagans.

PRIEST, RITUAL, AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

The animistic fertility gods of indigenous population in Bronze Age northern Europe later refered to as the Vanir were replaced when these indigenous tribes had been assimilated into the tribes of the Corded Battle Axe culture who worshiped the gods now refered to as the Aeisir, together these constituted a new people known as the Germanic tribes and a new religion which is now called “Germanic paganism”.

It was during the Migration Age from 500CE to 700CE, that the refined and final form of Saxon Paganism began to flourish. Throughout the Migration Age, which was an intensely violent era when wars were raging all over Europe, the warrior archetypes of gods like Odin, Thor, and Tiwaz/Tyr dominated the warrior pantheon of the Pagan Saxon temples.

Paganism was a very complex and culturally enriching religion which dominated Saxon society for about one thousand years. The Saxon polytheistic system consisted of thirteen gods and goddesses. The worship of these gods existed on many levels, the main three of which were divination, ritual, and temple worship.

Divination was highly respected by the Saxons. During the Migration Age, the Saxons were creating one of several Germanic runic alphabets. The runes, which were letters inscribed on wood or stone, served as the primary divination tool of Hof temple. These letters were also used

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for inscribing large stones to mark graves, as decoration and protection on talismans, and for healing. In this way, the creation of runes also contributed to the evolution of Saxon mythology, even though by 100CE, the earliest Pagan Gothi (priests) were still passing down Saxon

mythology orally.

Ritual in the Saxon Hof temple as in many other Germanic tribes, consisted of hallowing or blessing through the sacrifice of the animal’s life, and the value which the life force within its blood held. Whenever a sacrifice took place, the blood was retained in a bowel and sprinkled onto an object or person as a blessing. Indeed, the very word blessing is taken from the original root word “blot ” which meant blood:

The technical term for sacrifice is blot, properly only the name for the slaughter of the sacrificial beast and the sprinkling of its blood. 17

In addition, the blot was the sacrifice of a life belonging to a young animal which would have evoked enormous difficulty in the emotions of the individual killing the animal, and more so when it was a human. My hypothesis is that the true meaning of the sacrifice is in the sacrificing of ones own will and feelings for the good of the tribe, and as a show of trust and faith in the supreme powers of the gods.

Temple worship in Saxon Hof temple was demonstrated as in other Germanic tribes by Galdr, which was the chanting runic mantras, prayers, and incantations by Gothi (priests) as described in Scandinavian Archeology:

“Like other magical figures the runes were usually associated with charms (Galdr), the recital of rhythmic formulas of magic…Such magic songs were used for various purposes: to make a man invulnerable, loose bonds, heal wounds, abate fire or storm, rouse love, wake the head in order to find out future events, and many others. 18”

Heimskringla, the twelfth century text which had been passed down orally from the ninth century Denmark, describes about the Yule ritual that has its origin in a common Germanic form. 19 The Yule celebration was held in the Hof temple and dedicated to the Saxon god Odin. Although Danish Vikings were

not Saxons, these two tribes shared a boundary in what is now called Schleiswig-Holstein for over 1,000 years, and were very closely related religiously and culturally through Hof temple, and because both tribes originally Cheruchi.

Yule was originally a Pagan holiday, and was later renamed Christmas by the Christians. Vivid descriptions of this holiday celebration can be found in Heimskringla:

“It was the ancient custom that when sacrifice was to be made, all farmers were to come to the heathen temple and bring along with them the food they needed while the feast lasted. Also all kinds of livestock were killed in connection with it, …and all the blood from them was called

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blot [sacrificial blood]…Fires were to be lighted in the middle of the temple floor …The Odin’s toast was to be drunk first, that was for victory and power to the king.” 20

THE DESTRUCTION OF GERMANIC PAGANISM

From 700 – 882 CE, Saxon paganism developed into its highest form with ritual practices, chanting, divination and temple worship. Ironically, the period preceding the Viking age (700-900CE) was a time of conquest for the Franks, a Christian Germanic tribe, whose desire to forcibly convert, and murder Pagans, was nothing short of horrible. They Saxon of this time period were not a political grouping, But rather a religious fellowship which was comprised of confederates with a common religious belief which bound them to common beliefs. They fought to preserve these beliefs. The Saxon’s had no choice, in fact all Germanic peoples who were still pagans had no choice, their culture and way of life depended on it.

When in 782 CE, Charlemagne forced most of the Saxon chiefs to convert to Christian. By 800 CE, all remaining Pagans were dead or refuges with their northern neighbors the Vikings, which can be seen through the increasing numbers of Saxons who appear in Viking tales of the early Viking age.

Ultimately, the decline of Saxon Hof temple came about as a direct result of the genocide committed against the Pagan Saxons, Friesians and Thuringians by Charlemagne and his Frankish Christian army.

“in September, 774, at which it was decided that the Saxons (Westfali, Ostfali, and Angrarii) must be presented with the alternative of baptism or death?then divided the Saxon territory into Missionary districts?.in 777, many Saxon converts were baptized; Wittekind (Widukind), however, already the leader and afterwards the popular hero of the Saxons, had fled to his brother-in-law, Sigfrid the Dane.”

But this was only the beginning of the Christian genocide against pagans, a foreshadowing of the oncoming xenophobic Christian paranoia toward pagans. The Pagan Saxons possessed a very different religion from the christian franks and time after time had refused to submit to

charlegmane’s religion. The Saxons along with their Scandinavian cousins and the other Germanic tribes were a people who’s tribes were held together not through any hierarchical government, but through simple worship of their gods, and the respect which they had for their gods. Christians among the franks were told that these gods were demons and that the

government of the franks should destroy the Pagans. This is obvious in the letters of monks and the the history of charlesemagne by arnhard his biographer (himself a christian priest). In ____ charlegmangne ordered the decapitation (removal of ones head) of over 3,500 men women and children who refused to become christian. This slaughter was the result of the frankish army’s failure to completely crush the Pagan religious following which was responsible for the rebellion among the Saxons and the cohesion among the Saxons who rebelled. The new direction of the christion “holy roman empire” was one of pacification, the deliberate manipulation and

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occupation of the Saxon people, to subdue their native culture, religion, and tribal affiliations, in order to gain economic and governmental control over the Saxon people through the use of religion Charlemagne’s war of massacre and attrition inevitably brought about genocide of Saxon people. It also brought about the death of Saxon culture. As the Socio-cultural life of the clans was changed forever with the death of the commitatus and Paganism, the Saxon people were plunged into feudalism and Saxon lords had to pay homage to the Carolingian court until a day when they would be able to rule themselves. This set the stage for a hierarchical form of Christianity which would reign over Saxony for over 1,000 years. The most clearly devastating fact concerning all of the hostilities of the Saxon-Frankish war was that this was a “Religious” war, not only for the Saxons but also for the Franks as well. For the Franks this war was known as the Saxon crusade. But despite the Christian title, this war had become nothing less than massacre of Saxons by the year 882 CE. During the ninth century the Saxons were often religiously oppressed and violently forced to convert. These conversions would become the destruction of the religious based clan system and thereby altering forever the economic, political and ideological bases of the Saxon tribe as an independent culture, despite the revolution of trying to preserve the old tradition were repeatedly raised afterwards.

Feudalism came to dominate Saxon Society as the Socio-economic system. Trade, education and political interaction with Christians were the activities which brought about the destruction of Paganism and the rise of Christianity in Saxony. The weakening of tribal society due to the dominance of Franconian Christians created a far more intricate division of labor. Former Drohtin now became vassals or Vassals (warriors owing allegiance to another warrior king), skilled tradesmen and trade guilds came into being, and social divisions were born. The

combination of a trade-based economy which was almost completely in the hands of the emperor and his vassals, and the urbanization of a formerly farm based economy, produced a stratified society which was static, evolving and eventually brought about the existence of a more advanced, class-bases society. In this sort of society, far more power rested in the hands of the kings who were by this time no longer only war-chiefs, but kings with primary control over entire kingdoms, and serving the king or one of his vassals was the only inroad to success. This eventually destroyed the Saxon traditional tribal lifestyle, replacing it with a Christianized feudalistic oligarchy.

As for the question of how the Christian religion came to be embraced by pagans as their own, it is fundamentally an amalgamation of traits, which occurred. The aspects of the Pagan Germanic Saxons and Germanic peoples in general were assimilated into the archetype of “the Christ” figure by early Christians in order to captivate and intimidate the Pagans into maintaining Christianity rather than returning the faith of their fathers. Two figures who figure prominently in this are Odin and Frey, Odins is obviously the “Grey bearded old wise man on the thrown” pictured in all of the mythological representations of God. God the wise, miraculous, lord of Heaven, lord of “host”, and many others are epitaphs of the Wodan or Odin archetype which are very often found attached to the God figure. One especially important one is God “the Wise” who is very well represented in the Christian churches association of God and Germanic

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expectations as seen in the writings of G. Ronald Murphy,s.j.:

“Woden the wise will be devoured at the twilight of the gods?[by]the great wolf?Thor will be killed by the poison of the great world serpent?The analogous Gospel incidents by which the Heliand ingeniously selects and interprets to show Christ superiority to both the wolf and the serpent are the resurrection and the walking on water. ?the Heliand author begins the northern Germanic transformation as Christ who knows the secret runes(and teaches them to his

disciples)”

This interpretation of the Heliand codex, referred to as manuscripts M, C, S, and V, are dated back as far as the ninth century and were according to Murphy arranged in a traditional manner into “fitts” or song unites. The Heliand was composed by a Saxon monk and was given to

Christians as a way of persuading them and pressuring them not to becomes apostates, something which Saxon pagan’s were famous for after being forcible converted.

The second figure which figures prominently in the early Christian church of Germans was the figure Frey, in all likelihood Frey was an import from the eastern part of Saxony which was populated by Friesians.

The most solid form of evidence for a connection between Frey and the Christian church is his association with Jesus as the god of kindness and gentility, and the attachment of his name to the Christian churches in the early ninth and tenth centuries through the place name “freyhof” which taken literally would mean Freys Temple, the term was however known to be rather another term for church, the two obviously having become virtually synonymous.

The Woden, Wodan or early Odin figure is very frequently seen as a leader of warriors or a clan head.

The shadow of this figure is seen in interpretation of A.F.C Vilmar’s Christ . Vilmar interprets the Christ figure of the Heliand as being almost identical to Odin in this respect and if his

interpretation of this Saxon document from the ninth century vellum is correct then the Christian identification of Odin is complete. As one of the first representations of the Christ figure in the land of Old Saxony we now have God the war leader of the “righteous” (a foundation for the coming crusades) , God the wise, god the all powerful, and god the forgiver and gentle caring one.

The distinction of this form of Poetic tradition and its use in the dialect of old Saxon adds great credence for the argument that the Saxons were first forcible converted and then persuasively kept Christian by a series of compromises in the translation and conduct of Christian ethics, ceremony and mythology. In addition it the first of two separate missuses of the archetype Woden for the purposes of the catholic church. After Woden has been replaced by the new “Christ/Woden” archetype of Jesus including certain traits of Frey as well, then the stage is set for the first series of witch hunt which occur in the early middle ages. The second stage of the misuse of Wodens name comes in the latter middle ages when the archetype of Woden is vilified

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as seen in chapter 8.

However, in the eleventh century, a Saxon king “Henry the Fouler” became the first king of Germany. And this would be the beginning of the end of Papal power over the Saxon people.

Nordic Paganism

Divination was very highly respected by the Norse. The runes (letter inscribed on wood or stone) served as the primary divination tool. These letters were also used for inscribing large stones to mark graves, as decoration and protection on talismans, and for healing.

When used for divination these letters were thought to reflect the will of the gods,

“…the Stone of Noleby (Sweden, C. 600 CE) says explicitly that the runes come from the gods.” Ritual in the Norse religion consisted of Galdre. “Runes were usually associated with charms (galdre), the recital of rhythmic formulas of magic…Such magic songs were used for various purposes. 21”

This practice included but was not limited to, publicly chanting charms, which was performed by priests. These priests also performed the role of soothsayer. The Gothi or Priest would read the runes and then relate the meaning to other members of the tribe.

Although these priests were members of the Jarl class,

Apparently by the Viking period all privileges allowed to the Gothi (priests) were also open to tribal chieftains because they too were Jarls. One example of this privilege is that chieftains of a tribe or Aett (clan) were allowed to perform Galdre rituals on behalf of their Aett. The Temple in which most of these rituals took place in the Viking Age was called the Hof. Originally the Norse and all other Germanic tribes worshipped in wooded groves. (Tacitus, p. ) This was a part of their original animistic beliefs.

“Their holy places are the woods and groves, and they call by the name of god that hidden presence which is seen only by the eye of reverence. 22

By the ninth century the Norse Hof had evolved into a long tall building being comprised of a Skalli (hall) and a Afhus (alter) which was located at the end of the hall. The Afhus is where the images of their gods were placed. Below this was the altar where the ritualistic objects were placed upon the stone table. Also placed upon this table was a gold or copper ring which was used for swearing oaths upon. The ritual tools on the table included Blotbolli or “blood bowel” and Blautteinar or sprinkler for sprinkling the blot. This was their way of hallowing through the sacrifice of the animal’s life, and the value which the life force within its blood held.

The twelfth century text known as the Heimskringla passed down orally from the ninth century, and includeds tales such as, the Ynlinga saga speaks about some of these rituals associated with the Yule celebration. In the saga of Hakon the Good, one of the sagas in the Heimskringla, we