Germanic neopaganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic neopaganism - History

Germanic neopaganism - History

The first modern attempt at revival of ancient Germanic religion took place in the 19th Century during the late Romantic Period amidst a general resurgence of interest in traditional Germanic culture, in particular in connection with romantic nationalism in Scandinavia and the related Viking revival in Victorian era Britain. The last traditional pagan sacrifices in Scandinavia, at Trollkyrka, appear to date to about this time.

Organized Germanic pagan or occult groups such as the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft emerged in Germany in the early 20th century. Several early members of the Nazi Party were part of the Thule Society, a study group for German antiquity. The connections of this movement to historical Germanic paganism are tenuous at best, with its emphasis lying on the esoteric as taught by the likes of Julius Evola, Guido von List or Karl Maria Willigut. While occult elements played an important role in the formative phase of Nazism, and of the SS in particular (Nazi use of runes has its origin in these early times), after his rise to power, Adolf Hitler discouraged such pursuits, to the disappointment of Nazi mysticists like Rudolf Hess and Alfred Rosenberg, and Neopagan societies were even exposed to some amount of persecution, with at least one member of List's Armanenschaft killed in a concentration camp, although Heinrich Himmler remained actively interested in Ariosophy and related concepts throughout the war, incorporating the Ahnenerbe into the SS in 1940.

A second revival began in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Ásatrú was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson.

At about the same time, Else Christensen began publishing "The Odinist" newsletter in Canada. In the United States, Steve McNallen, a former U.S. Army officer, began publishing a newsletter titled "The Runestone". He also formed an organization called the Asatru Free Assembly, later renamed the Ásatrú Folk Assembly (AFA) [2], which held annual "Althing" meetings. These early societies went through a series of reformations and splits in 1987/88, resulting in the Ásatrú Alliance [3], an offshoot of the AFA headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the "Vor Tru" newsletter and the Ring of Troth [4]. In the United States, the most prevalent form of Heathen organization is in small groups called Kindreds, sometimes also known as a Hearths, Garths or Steads.

In 1976 Garman Lord formed the Witan Theod, the first aett within the Theodish community, as an apostasy of Seax Wicca; striving to cleave to a more organic and accurate reconstruction of Anglo-Saxon religiosity. Shortly thereafter, Ealdoraed Lord founded the Moody Hill Theod in the same area of upstate New York, Watertown. Unlike the other major Heathen organization of the time in America, the Asatru Free Assembly, which concentrated on the Viking Age, Theodism was focused on Anglo Saxon lore, beliefs, and all its attendant social structures, particularly the concept of thew (customary law). The religion was founded strictly to be a reconstructionist tradition [called often “retro-heathen”], now known as Theodish Belief, theodisic Geleafa (belief of the tribe - in Old English) or simply Þéodism. Angelseaxisce Ealdriht was a confederation promoting Theodish or specifically Anglo-Saxon Heathenry from 1996 to 2004, founded by Swain and Eric Wodening and Winifred Hodge. Since the Anglo-Saxon society was based on sacral kingship, American Theodist Neopagans saw it necessary to elect an Aetheling; this position, king of Winland Rice has been occupied by one Garman since 1995 [5]. Theodism, in the larger sense now encompass groups practicing tribal beliefs from Scandinavia and the Continent, in addition to following in the model set forth by the early Anglo Saxon theods of their insular thew. Theodish aetts include, Dansk-Norman, Frisian, Angle, Saxon, Jutish, Gothic, Alemannic, Frankish, and Swedish, tribal cultures. Theodism places emphasis on oaths and allegiance between members.

The Odinic Rite was established in England in 1972, and in the 1990s expanded to include chapters in Germany (1995) [6], Australia (1995) [7] and North America (1997) [8].

In Germany, Nazism was replaced with Neo-Nazi currents after World War II, with the Artgemeinschaft operating from 1951. A non-political revival began in the wake of the New Age movement, with the Heidnische Gemeinschaft (HG) founded by Géza von Neményi in 1985. Von Neményi in 1991 re-activated the Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft (GGG) and split off the HG. The movement further diversified during the 1990s, with Nornirs Ætt splitting off the universalist Rabenclan in 1997, and the Eldaring, inspired by the US Ring of Troth, founded in 2000. Hostility between factions remains pronounced in Germany, with even Nornirs Ætt and Rabenclan, two expressedly anti-racist organizations, discontinuing their collaboration in 2005.

In the 1990s and 2000s, a variety of Scandinavian associations and networks have formed. Swedish Sveriges Asatrosamfund (since 1994), Norwegian Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost in Norway (1996) and Foreningen Forn Sed (1999), recognized by the Norwegian government as a religious society, allowing them to perform "legally binding civil ceremonies" (i. e. marriages), Danish Forn Siðr (1999) and Swedish Nätverket Gimle (2001), an informal community for individual heathens, primarily living in Sweden with no connection to any formal organisation, and Nätverket Forn Sed (2004), a network consisting of local groups (blotlag) from all over the country. It was recently founded by members from other Forn Sed societies. The network is against racism, sexism and homophobia.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki