The Lex Saxonum are a series of laws issued by Charlemagne between 782 and 803 as part of his plan to subdue the Saxon Tribal Confederation. Some scholars believe the Lex Saxonum is a compromise between the laws of the Heathen Saxons and the laws of the Frankish Empire. As a lay scholar, I feel that the victors typically do not compromise with the defeated, and these laws are the harsh laws of the Franks pushed on to the defeated Saxons, who had no say in the matter, being the clear losers in a 33-year long struggle known as the "Saxon Wars. These laws are clearly punitive to a losing Tribal P ..read more

Did Santa come from Odin? Did pre-Christian Germanic Peoples use symbols of rabbits and eggs near the first full moon after the equinox? Did the Xmas tree descend from Donar's Oak, the Irminsul, or Yggdrasil? (etc etc etc.) There are myths and misinformation out there that many things in the church today have Germanic Heathen origins. Scholar Ronald Hutton states the following in regards to the Maypole: "There is absolutely no evidence that the maypole was regarded as a reflection of the Irminsul or Donar's Oak."  (Hutton, Ronald (1996). Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year i ..read more

Orthodoxy: dictionary.com defines "Orthodoxy" as "beliefs, ideas, or activities considered traditional, normal, and acceptable..." or as "following generally accepted beliefs or standards." Orthopraxy: Wikipedia defines orthopraxy as both "correct conduct" and "ὀρθοπραξία (orthopraxia) meaning 'right practice'." Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy: While orthodoxies make use of commonly accepted beliefs, orthopraxy focuses on adherence to common rituals, the transmission of tradition, sacrificial offerings, concerns of purity, and ethical systems. Dogma: Vocabulary.com defines "dogma" as "the doctrine of ..read more

Normally, I do not discuss Asatru's issues on an Aldsidu blog. Due to the number of IMs I have received about The Troth and Diana Paxon, I have decided to make this one response. Aldsidu is against all forms of bigotry and hate. Aldsidu is also against misinformation. I have written a blog article about historical Heathen Thing. I suggest my readers check that out. The Saxons had local Things, as well as Althings. Lebuini Antiqua 4, THE LIFE OF ST. LEBUIN, 9th Century CE: “In olden times the Saxons had no king but appointed rulers over each village; and their custom was to hold a general meeti ..read more

Aldsidu is against all forms of bigotry and hate.  However, I have realized that too many “Asatruar” are not actually Heathens having new ways or Old Ways as their faith.  Anti-racism is their religion, not Heathenry.  A true Heathen would not try to change other cultures.  Historical Heathens did not have beliefs of conversion. The world was fine being multi-cultural, and multi-religious.  When Saxon Heathens traveled in pre-christian times, they used terms like “landuuise” to describe the customs of the people living in other lands.  They did not try to change o ..read more

While this is not necessarily a topic of Saxon Heathenry, the Saxons did have trade and an economic infrastructure before forced Christianization which came along with the Saxon Wars. The Saxons, before christianization, did not mint coins. While they certainly came across coins minted elsewhere, metal was the common form of currency. The Saxon merchants had developed a so-called bullion economy. When paying, silver (sometimes other metals, silver was the most common) was cut into the form of ingots and weighed with scales and weights. The same was done with coins and jewelry. [Walther Haupt ..read more

Widukind was a Saxon Heathen noble, without a doubt the most famous Saxon Heathen in history. Widukind was known as one of two Saxon nobles who fought Charlemagne and the Frankish forced christianization of the Heathen Saxons in Saxony. Many scholars are unsure if Widukind was captured, killed in battle, or if he surrendered. Frankish christian writings claim that Widukind freely surrendered and was baptized after fourteen years of fighting, with Charlemagne being his "godfather." Scholars debate how "christian" and "propagandized" the Frankish writings are. What is for sure, is the Frankish w ..read more

The word "rune" (or "runes") occurs 43 times in the Elder Edda, as opposed to 4 times in the Younger Edda. Most scholars, like Dr. Jackson Crawford consider the Elder Edda to be a Primary Source on Norse Heathenry, and the Younger Edda a secondary source. I agree. The attestations of Runes do occur more in the Codex Regius (The Elder Edda) than in Snorri's Edda, even if one were to take into account that the Elder Edda is almost four times the size of the Prose Edda. Snorri's frequency (or lack thereof) continues into his Heimskringla, where Snorri uses the word "Runes/Runes" a whopping one ti ..read more

Let me start with post by thanking Snorri for his Edda and his Sagas. We would know less if it were not for Snorri's efforts. Snorri Sturluson (born in 1179, died in 1241) was elected law-speaker of Iceland's Althing for two different terms. In addition to being a politician, Snorri was a poet, credited with writing the Prose Edda, the collection of Sagas known as Heimskringla, and many scholars feel Snorri is the author of Egil's Saga. There is high praise for Snorri amongst historians. Halvdan Koht described Snorri's work as "surpassing anything else that the Middle Ages have left us of hist ..read more

Historical Pre-christian Heathenry, has the same weakness that modern Heathenry has. Historical Heathenry's Weakness The tribes in Northern Germany who became the Saxons were united twice in history: 1. The pre-Saxon tribes allied with Arminius to defeat the Romans. These tribes had no kings, and eventually, Arminius was killed for trying to be a Kaiser (king) over these tribes. The unity was short lived. 2. The Saxon Tribal Confederation was born in response to Christian Frankia to the south and west of Saxony. The Frankish King Clovis, of the Merovingian family who united the Frankish people ..read more