This article will discuss pre-christian Heathen Saxony’s relationship with three of its Heathen neighbors: The Chatti (who had Donar’s Oak as a holy site), the Frisians, and the Danes. In the end, I give historical evidence, that the Saxon Hero Widukind inspired the Viking river raids and sea raids. Heathen Saxony’s relationship with the Heathen Chatti The Franks destroyed the Saxon Irminsul and Thunar’s Well, two holy sites in southern Saxony. The Saxons clearly were upset with the Franks for destroying Donar’s Oak, a holy site of the Chatti. Sacred Grove veneration was of the utmost importance in Germanic Heathenry. The Scandinavians were also Germanic Peoples, and they had sacred groves and trees such as the holy site in Upsala. Willibald's 8th century Life of Saint Boniface (Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldo), describes the felling of Thor's Oak (Donar's Oak) of the Chatti in a place called Gaesmere. "Now at that time many of the Chatti, brought under the Catholic faith and confirmed by the grace of the sevenfold spirit, received the laying on of hands; others indeed, not yet strengthened in soul, refused to accept in their entirety the lessons of the inviolate faith. Moreover, some were wont secretly, some openly to sacrifice to trees and springs; some in secret, others openly practiced inspections of victims and divinations, legerdemain and incantations; some turned their attention to auguries and auspices and various sacrificial rites; while others, with sounder minds, abandoned all the profanations of heathenism, and committed none of these things. With the advice and counsel of these last, the saint attempted, in the place called Gaesmer, while the servants of God stood by his side, to fell a certain oak of extraordinary size, which is called, by an old name of the pagans, the Oak of Jupiter (Donar/Thor). And when in the strength of his steadfast heart he had cut the lower notch, there was present a great multitude of pagans, who in their souls were earnestly cursing the enemy of their gods. But when the fore side of the tree was notched only a little, suddenly the oak's vast bulk, driven by a blast from above, crashed to the ground, shivering its crown of branches as it fell; and, as if by the gracious compensation of the Most High, it was also burst into four parts, and four trunks of huge size, equal in length, were seen, unwrought by the brethren who stood by. At this sight the pagans who before had cursed now, on the contrary, believed, and blessed the Lord, and put away their former reviling. Then moreover the most holy bishop, after taking counsel with the brethren, built a wooden church from the wood of the tree , and dedicated it in honor of Saint Peter the apostle." Now as a Heathen, I take the last few sentences with a grain of salt. Most likely, there was a detachment of Frankish soldiers with the Frankish bishops, forcing this event; as no crowd would stand by and just "watch" their sacred site be destroyed. Lets put this in a modern context: Would modern Catholics today for example, just stand by to watch priests of a non-Catholic faith just burn down the Vatican? And after the Vatican's destruction, would they just bow down to the priests of their enemies, and just accept their gods? Of course not. Some Heathens for sure lost their lives defending Donar's Oak from Christian aggression. I believe this was not recorded so that the Christian history would not show christians as the aggressors nor their god's word being spread with violence. PS- I have a blog article and a section of my book, showing passages in the Old Saxon Heliand equating Saint Peter with Thunar (Thor). This tactic of equating Uuoden (Odin) with christ, and Thunar with Saint Peter, was used throughout Germanic lands during christianization.
The Saxons had their Irminsul destoyed in 772 CE. The Donar Oak was destroyed in 724 CE, 48 years before the Irminsul was destroyed in 772 CE. In 773 CE, the Saxons attacked the site of the Irminsul, and recaptured it. Then the Saxons marched south into Hesse (the Chatti are called "Hessians" today), to retake the site of Donar's Oak. I am surprised scholars do not discuss this more. This shows Heathen unity between the Saxons and the Chatti, despite a 48 year gap in the destruction of their holy sites. At this time in history, far less people lived to the age of 48 than they do today. Due to the proximity of the Irminsul to both Thunar's Well and the Donar Oak, I believe that both Chatti and Saxons may have visited all three of these sites. Think about that for a moment. In our modern world, there are tensions between Catholics and Protestants, and between Muslim sects as well. However, there was solidarity between the Heathens at this time in history. (Though, in Arminius' time, the German tribes were not united but hopelessly divided. To me, it appears they waited far too long to unite. The unity after Arminius murder, ended, and it should not have ended.)
In 773, it is recorded in the Royal Frankish Annals (the court records of the Frankish Kings): “When the Saxons in their savagery began to burn the houses outside, they came upon a church at Fritzlar which Boniface of saintly memory, the most recent martyr, had consecrated and which he had said prophetically would never be burnt by fire. The Saxons began to attack this church with great determination, trying one way or another to burn it. While this was going on, there appeared to some Christians in the castle and to some Heathens in the army two young men on white horses who protected the church from fire. Because of them the Heathens could not set the church on fire or damage it, either inside or outside. Terror-stricken, by the intervention of divine might, they turned to flight, although nobody pursued them. Afterward, one of the Saxons was found dead beside the church. He was squatting on the ground and holding tinder and wood in his hands as if he had meant to blow on his fuel and set the church on fire.” (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.50)
In short, the Saxons recaptured the site of the Irminsul, and then marched into Chatti lands, ruled by the Franks, to retake the site of Donar's Oak. I have never seen this discussed by modern Heathens nor any scholars in detail. However, I am going to point this out. I do take one issue with the passage above. Angels intervening? When christian scholars argue that the Saxon Wars and the Frankish subjugation of the Chatti was not religiously based, I get frustrated. The records of these events by christians all record miracles of their god and angelic beings defying the laws of nature and supernaturally defeating the Heathens! The recording of these wars was at bare minimum propaganda of religious zeal by the church, and at worst, religious terrorism and forced conversion on behalf of the christians. I think secular people today can look non-biasedly at the sources and see the christian disdain and hatred towards Heathens in the sources. The Saxons showed solidarity and compassion towards the defeated Chatti in 773, even though their attack on Frankish Hesse (Chatti lands) was defeated (militarily, obviously not by angelic intervention.) Heathen Saxony’s relationship with Heathen Frisia One of my christian YouTube detractors, states that the Saxons are at fault for the Saxon Wars, as they raided and picked a fight with the christian Franks. Therefore, the lesson is that the genocides against the Saxons on the part of the christian Franks was just, as the Saxons were the first to loot and murder. The problem with this argument, is that it is Einhard in the 9th century, after the Saxon Wars, that makes the claim that the wars were a Frankish response to Heathens looting. The Frankish court records, known as the Royal Frankish Annals (a century earlier than Einhard), claim that the Franks were the first to attack and raid Saxony, and it was done to gain the wealth at the Irminsul site (offerings deposited by the Saxons) and to destroy the "evil idol." The Royal Frankish Annals begin with Pepin, Charlemagne's Father, and Charles Martel's son. The Annals begin in the year 741 with the death of Charles Martel, and then war between the three sons of Charles Martel (Carloman, Pepin, and Grifo) over the kingdom of the Franks. (Note Charlemagne's Grandchildren also had a civil war after Charlemagne's only surviving son died.) Nonetheless, the Royal Frankish Annals begin with the year 741, and the events recorded in that year are one of the three sons of Charles Martel (Grifo), attacks Pepin and Carloman. After Grifo's defeat, he is imprisoned in a monastery. All entries in the Annals for the year 742 are the two brothers leading armies into Frankish Aquitania to quell Frankish civil war. Then 743, Carloman attacks Bavaria to add it to the Frankish Empire. The Royal Frankish Annals for the year 743 records the following: "That year Carloman alone advanced into Saxony. By treaty he captured the hillfort of Hohensyburg (which had Thunar's Well), and made Theodoric the Saxon submit." (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.38) For the year 744 we read, "Again Carloman and Pepin invaded Saxony and Theodoric the Saxon was captured a second time." (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.38) We then do not see the Saxons mentioned again until 747, when Grifo flees to Saxony and the Saxons gave him refuge. Carloman and Pepin attack the Saxons to get their brother. Therefore, to argue that the Saxons were the aggressors when they clearly did not just murder/kill Grifo, but give him sanctuary, is a stretch. It is clear from the Frankish Court Annals that the Franks were the aggressors and that Heathen Saxons would even give an army-less Frank refuge. It is at this time too, that Carloman, at Cannstatt, commits a massacre against the Heathen Alemanni to force them into the church and allegiance. While scholars today question if 4,500 Saxons beheaded by the Franks in 782 was an over exaggeration in Frankish records, scholars do not question the complete annihilation of Alamanni Heathen counts/cunni, to force the Alemanni to submit. Eventually Carloman "decides" to become a monk and "languishes for many days and dies in peace" (and Grifo is later "killed"), and then Boniface in 750 CE crowns Pepin King of the Franks. Immediately after these events, the Royal Frankish Annals claim "Pepin marched into Saxony, and Bishop Hildegar was killed by the Saxons at the hillfort Iburg." (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.39) PS- In case you can't read between the lines, Pepin most likely had both his brothers killed, and Pepin's son Charlemagne later has his brother killed as well, as sole kingship over the entire Frankish Reich was desired over sharing it with siblings. So much for the love of christ amongst christian brothers and adhering to the biblical commandment "Do not murder" Note the timing of when raids on Saxony happen. Immediately after his brothers are out of the way, Pepin attacks Saxony (in 753 CE). When Pepin dies in 768, Charlemagne and Carloman, sons of Pepin, get to split the empire. However, when Carloman rather conveniently dies in 771 CE, the Irminsul then is immediately attacked in 772 CE, the first war season of a sole Frankish monarch over Frankia emerges amongst brothers. This is not coincidence. When a king dies, we have several years of brothers fighting brothers for power. When one emerges, the Heathen neighbor of the Franks is immediately attacked. Here is where I must point out that Boniface had destroyed Donar's Oak of the Chatti, and crowned Pepin King of the Franks, and sanctioned Pepin's attacks on Saxony. Therefore, it is not hard to draw the lines that when Boniface is killed in Frisia, that the Frisians and Saxons were behind this "assassination" by "fifty-one Heathen bandits." (See the Vita) Nonetheless, Charles Martel (Frankish king) and the Franks constantly attacked Redbad and Frisia, with Redbard initially prevailing. The Saxons and Frisians were clear allies in the fight against the Franks, and both were not for Charles Martel, Pepin, or Charlemagne. On another interesting note, see the Vita (Life of Saint Boniface) that records hypocrisy on the part of Boniface. "The vitae mention that Boniface persuaded his (armed) comrades to lay down their arms: "Cease fighting. Lay down your arms, for we are told in Scripture not to render evil for evil but to overcome evil by good."" So, in short, Boniface overcomes evil with evil when tearing down Donar's Oak and burning down sacred groves, but when the christians record his death, the ones being "destructive" are of course the Heathens. [Talbot, C. H., ed. The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954. The Bonifacian vita was republished in Noble, Thomas F. X. and Thomas Head, eds. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints' Lives in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1995. 109–140.]
Heathen Saxony’s relationship with Heathen Denmark
Heathen Saxony's greatest Heathen hero was Widukind. The very first historical mention of Widukind is that he was amongst the Danes in Nordmannia (Denmark). The Royal Frankish Annals in the year 777 states: "The Lord King Charles (Charlemagne) held an assembly in Paderborn. All the Franks gathered there and from every part of Saxony came the Saxons with the exception of Widukind, who was in revolt along with a few others. He fled with his companions into Nordmannia (Denmark). Many Saxons were baptised and according to their custom pledged to the king their whole freedom and property if they should change their minds again in that detestable manner of theirs and not keep the Christian faith and their fealty to the Lord King Charles (Charlemagne), his sons, and the Franks." (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.55-56)
There is scholarly debate if later sources are correct, that Widukind married Geva of Westfold, daughter of the Danish king Goimo I and sister of the Danish kings Ragnar and Siegfried. These come from later sources, so this is often questioned. However, what is not up for debate, is that the Royal Frankish Annals consistently show the Danes giving refuge to the Heathen Saxons after they were defeated by the christian Franks. Where I think scholars fail, is that the Royal Frankish Annals record that when the Irminsul was destroyed, gold was taken from the Irminsul site by the Frankish armies. Then in the year 778 specifically, when Widukind leaves Denmark to fight for Saxony, the Saxons attack monasteries and churches along a river. It is shortly after this time that the Scandinavians started boat raids on monasteries in Frankia and England. I am beside myself how more scholars do not connect the dots here, that the Saxon relationship with the Danes shows the beginning of "Viking raiding." In my opinion, Widukind was married to the Danish King's daughter. Whether or not this is fact, the relationship with the great Saxon Heathen Hero Widukind with Norse Kings just after the Irminsul and Thunar's Well is destroyed, with Widukind's first act of leaving Denmark to be that of sacking churches and monasteries by river, to not a coincidence. I think the Norse were watching, and were inspired by Widukind's river attack. The Norse knew that the Franks were no match for them at sea, and the Norse knew they had no chance of standing with their shield walls on land in front of Frankish cavalry, the best in the world. Shield walls got crushed by cavalry.
The Royal Frankish Annals begin the Saxon Wars with this entry in the year 772 CE: “The most gracious lord king Charles (Charlemagne) then held an assembly at Worms. From Worms he marched into Saxony. Capturing the hill-fort at Eresburg, he proceeded as far as the Irminsul, destroyed this idol and carried away the gold and silver he found. A great drought occurred so that there was no water in the place where the Irminsul stood. The glorious king wished to remain there two or three days to destroy the temple completely, but they had no water.” (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.48-49) Please note, if I were to continue quoting the passage, the rest of the passage is about the christian god miraculously providing water to destroy the Heathen idol.
The Royal Frankish Annals state in 778 CE (Widukind fled to Nordmannia in Denmark in 777CE) that Widukind left Nordmannia (Denmark) sacking churches and monasteries. "When the Saxons heard that the Lord King Charles (Charlemagne) and the Franks were away (empire whoring) in Spain, they followed their detestable custom (Heathenry) and again revolted, spurned on by Widukind and his companions. The Lord King Charles (Charlemagne) was informed of this revolt at the city of Auxerre. Then the Lord King sent a Frankish host rushing to the defense against the Saxons. But these rebels advanced as far as the Rhine at Deutz (well into Frankia), plundered along the river burning churches and monasteries, and committed many atrocities too loathsome to enumerate." This is the first instance that I see a Norse tactic. The Saxons were clearly along a river, and while boats are not recorded in this event, I would be shocked if Widukind did not have Danish longboats from the King of the Danes. This allowed a Heathen Saxon refugee to plunder churches and monasteries along a river. This is Widukind's first attack mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals. It is beyond my comprehension that other scholars have not connected these dots. While the Saxons were great horsemen, they did not have the concept of cavalry down like the Franks did. Widukind's greatest victories appear here (along the river) and later at the Suntel Mountains (782 CE) when guerrilla tactics were used attacking a Frankish force at night under cover of darkness.
In 782 CE, before the Widukind annihilated a force at the Suntel Mountains, the Royal Frankish Annals record the following: "The Lord King Charles embarked on a campaign and crossed the Rhine at Cologne. He held an assembly at the source of the river Lippe. All the Saxons came there accept the rebel Widukind. Norse emissaries of King Sigifrid, Halptani with his companions, also appeared at this assembly..." (See The Royal Frankish Annals published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz, p.48-49) Notice NORSE EMMISSARIES of KING SIGIFRID, nephew of Widukind's supposed wife (and nephew of Widukind through marriage) are listed immediately after Widukind. I do not think this is an accident. I think this is Widukind showing up through his Danish family's emissaries and allies at this assembly. Therefore, the Danish envoys of Widukind's family and allies represented him and the Danish King. I do not think one can even argue at this point that Widukind's first raid on monasteries and churches was unknown to the Danes. It is the absolute inspiration for them in my opinion. Proving this without doubt is difficult. But it is easily seen that the Heathen Danes had a strong relationship with their southern Saxon Heathen neighbors, and the Danes building the Danish Wall on the border of Saxony after Saxony fell to the Franks, was a sign that they did not want the fate of the Saxons (forced christianization and subjugation) to happen to them.
Conclusion While the Saxons had great relationships with their Heathen neighbors, once Saxony fell and became christian, the Saxons with the Franks were attacking the Danes. Frisia and Hesse fell before Saxony did. I think Widukind was hoping to ally himself with the Scandinavians to save Saxony. While the Danes gave assistance, it is clear that had Denmark sent armies, they may have prolonged their own conversion. In the end, all of Saxony, all of northern Europe, and all of Scandinavia became devoutly christian, and this would have happened no matter if the Danes sent armies to Saxony. Nonetheless, scholars have clearly missed the beginning of the sea and river raids on christian churches and monasteries, which were a direct consequence of the Saxon holy sites of the Irminsul and Thunar's Well being plundered by the Franks, and the Saxons retaliating.
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