Explore the fascinating spiritual landscape of the ancient Germanic-speaking world (Anglo-Saxon, Continental Germanic, Scandinavian), where gods, myths, and nature were deeply woven into the cultural fabric. This crash course will dive into the rich traditions of paganism in Northern and Central Europe, from the Bronze Age era to its lasting influence in medieval sagas.

We will engage with a variety of sources ranging from written texts such as Latin histories, heroic or skaldic poetry, Germanic law codes, to archaeological findings such as wooden idols, golden bracteates or bog bodies. Study cases will be analysed in their respective historical context, such as the cult of mother-goddesses from the Rhineland or remnants of pagan beliefs in healing charms.

Through discussions of cosmology, rituals, and the role of myth, we will examine how these early belief systems shaped the cultural and socio-political life in pre-Christian Central and Northern Europe, discover potential continuities, but above all else, uncover a great temporal and geographic diversity with plenty of unanswered questions.

Session Outline:

• Lecture 1: Religions in the Bronze Age – stone pictures, megalithic cultures
• Discussion 1: Class discussion on Lecture 1 material.
• Lecture 2: Ritual and sacrifice – Iron and Viking Age public and private sacrifices
• Discussion 2: Class discussion on Lecture 2 material.
• Lecture 3: Pantheons, cosmogonies, eschatologies – Pre-Norse and Norse deities, fate, death
• Discussion 3: Class discussion on Lecture 3 material.
• Lecture 4: Conversion stories – phases, peoples, syncretism
• Discussion 4: Class discussion on Lecture 4 material.
  
  Nota bene: The course serves as an overview of sources for pre-Christian practices and the evolution of religious ideas in Northern Europe over a timespan of 1000 years – there was never a homogenous, continuous and unchanged strain of “Germanic” paganism. The term remains controversial in scholarship due to its political misuse.