Irmin was the war god of the Saxons, son of Mannus, and ancestor of the tribe of the Herminones. The Old Norse form of Irmin was Jörmun and interestingly, just like Ygg, it was one of the names of Odin. Yggdrasil was the yew or ash tree from which Odin sacrificed himself, and which connected heaven and earth. It appears, thus, that Irminsul may have represented a World tree corresponding to Yggdrasil among the Saxon tribes of Germany. The holy yew at the temple at Uppsala mentioned by Adam von Bremen (11th centur ...

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Irminsul, Irminsul - Overview, Irminsul - Neopaganism, Irminsul - Literature

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Proto-Germanic religion, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

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Donar (Scandianvian Norse), or Thunar, Thor. In the North the God of Thunder. He was the Jupiter Tonans of Scandinavia. Like as the oak was devoted to Jupiter so was it sacred to Thor, and his altars were over shadowed with oak trees. Thor, or Donar, was the offspring of Odin, "the omnipotent God of Heaven", and of Mother Earth.

(See also: Donar, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Germanic paganism - Tacitus. The first description of Germanic religion is Tacitus' Germania, dating to the 1st century. Tacitus describes both animal and human sacrifice. The chief Germanic god he identifies with Roman Mercury, who on certain days receives human sacrifices, while gods identified by Tacitus with Hercules and Mars receive animal sacrifice. The Suebians also make ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Proto-Germanic religion, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period

Germanic paganism - Caesar. The earliest forms of Germanic religion can only be speculated on based on archaeological evidence and comparative religion. The first written description is in Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico. He contrasts the elaborate religious custom of the Gauls with the primitive German traditions. The Germans differ much from these usages, for they have neither Druids to preside over sacred offices, nor do they pay great regard to sacrifices. They rank in the ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Sources, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Caesar, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Reconstruction, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period

During the Migration period, Germanic religion was subject to syncretic influence from Christianity and Mediterranean culture (see also Runes, Erilaz). Jordanes' Getica is a 6th century account of the Goths. According to the Getica, the chief god of the Goths was Mars, who they believed was born among them. Now Mars has always been worshipped by the Goths with cruel rites, and captives were slain as his victims. They thought that he who is the lord of war ought to be appeased by the shedding of human bloo ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Sources, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Caesar, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Reconstruction, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Migration Age

In 1000 AD, Iceland became nominally Christian, although continuation of pagan worship in private was tolerated. Most of Scandinavia was Christianized during the 11th century. Adam von Bremen gives the last report of vigorous Norse paganism. Sometimes, the subjects of a lord who converted to Christianity refused to follow his lead (this happened to the Swedish kings Olof of Sweden, Anund Gårdske and Ingold I) and would sometimes force the lord ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Sources, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Caesar, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Reconstruction, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Main articles: Norse paganism and Norse mythology Early medieval Scandinavian (Viking Age) paganism is much better documented than its predecessors, notably via the records of Norse mythology, recorded in the Edda, and the Sagas, written in Iceland during 1150 - 1400. Sacrifices were known as Blót, seasonal celebrations where gifts were offered to appropriate gods, and attempts were made to predict the coming season. Similar events were sometimes arrange ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Sources, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Caesar, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Reconstruction, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Viking Age

Early medieval Scandinavian (Viking Age) paganism is much better documented than its predecessors, notably via the records of Norse mythology, recorded in the Edda, and the Sagas, written in Iceland during 1150 - 1400. Sacrifices were known as Blót, seasonal celebrations where gifts were offered to appropriate gods, and attempts were made to predict the coming season. Similar events were sometimes arrange ...

See also:

Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Proto-Germanic religion, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Viking Age

Germanic paganism seems to have begun developing sometime during the 2nd millennium BC, during the Nordic Bronze Age, with influences from neighboring cultures, notably the Celts, and possibly Finnish and Baltic mythologies. The Proto-Germanic pantheon was divided into two classes, the *Ansuwaz (cognate to Asura) and the *Wanisaz (cognate to *Wenos, a name of *Hausos; see also Vanadis, Wynn, and possibly *Wanax). Members included *Tiwaz, *Wodinaz, *Nerþuz (either a god or a goddess), and *Frijja. Some natural pheno ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Proto-Germanic religion, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Proto-Germanic religion

In 1000 AD, Iceland became nominally Christian, although continuation of pagan worship in private was tolerated. Most of Scandinavia was Christianized during the 11th century. Adam von Bremen gives the last report of vigorous Norse paganism. Sometimes, the subjects of a lord who converted to Christianity refused to follow his lead (this happened to the Swedish kings Olof of Sweden, Anund Gårdske and Ingold I) and would sometimes force the lord ...

See also:

Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Proto-Germanic religion, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Most sources documenting Germanic paganism have been lost and it is only from Iceland that there is a substantial literature, namely the Sagas and the Eddas. Some information is found in the Nibelungenlied and in Beowulf. Limited information also exists in Tacitus' ethnographic work Germania, although some preface is necessary due to context. Further material has been deduced from folk customs found in surviving rural folk traditions that have either been mildly superficiailly Christianized or lightly modified, including ...

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Germanic paganism, Germanic paganism - Sources, Germanic paganism - Pre-Migration Period, Germanic paganism - Caesar, Germanic paganism - Tacitus, Germanic paganism - Reconstruction, Germanic paganism - Migration Age, Germanic paganism - Viking Age, Germanic paganism - Middle Ages

Read more here: » Germanic paganism: Encyclopedia II - Germanic paganism - Sources