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Trees hold a particular role inGermanic paganism andGermanic mythology, both as individuals (sacred trees) and in groups (sacred groves). The central role of trees in Germanic religion is noted in the earliest written reports about theGermanic peoples, with the Roman historianTacitus stating that Germanic cult practices took place exclusively in groves rather thantemples. Scholars consider that reverence for and rites performed at individual trees are derived from the mythological role of the world tree,Yggdrasil;onomastic and some historical evidence also connects individualdeities to both groves and individual trees. AfterChristianisation, trees continue to play a significant role in thefolk beliefs of the Germanic peoples.

The pagan Germanic peoples referred to holy places by a variety of terms and many of these terms variously referred to stones, groves, and temple structures. FromProto-Germanic*harugaz, a masculine noun, developedOld Norsehǫrgr meaning 'altar',Old Englishhearg 'altar', andOld High Germanharug meaning 'holy grove, holy stone'. According tophilologistVladimir Orel, the term was borrowed from the continentalCeltic *karrikā or, alternately, the same non-Indo-European source as the Celtic source.^[1] A more general term for a sacred place was*wīhą reflected in Old Norsevé.^[2]

The Proto-Germanic masculine noun*nemedaz, which developed intoOld Frankishnimid ('holy grove'), similarly either developed from, or is otherwise connected to,Gaulishnemeton,Latinsacellum andOld Irishnemed 'holiness'.^[3][4]

Another Proto-Germanic masculine noun*lauhaz, has given rise to words with a variety of meanings in various Germanic languages, includingAnglo-Saxonlēah, 'meadow',Middle Low Germanlo, 'bush', andOld High Germanlaoh,löh, 'grove, copse, bush'; it is cognate with Latinlūcus, 'sacred grove'.^[5][6][7]

Scandinavian placenames occur with the name of a deity compounded withlundr, 'grove', orviðr, 'wood'.^[5]

Sacred trees and groves are widely attested among the records of the ancient Germanic peoples. Some scholars hypothesize that they even predated the development of temples (according toRudolf Simek, "there were sacred woods long before there were temples and altars"^[8]).

In hisGermania, Tacitus says that the Germanic peoples "consecrate woods and groves and they apply the name of gods to that mysterious presence which they see only with the eye of devotion",^[9] Tacitus describes the grove of theSemnones and refers to acastum nemus ('chaste grove') in which the image of the goddessNerthus was hallowed, and other reports from the Roman period also refer to rites held by continental Germanic peoples in groves, including the sacrifices in forest clearings of survivors by theCherusci after their victory at theBattle of the Teutoburg Forest, recounted by Tacitus in hisAnnals based on a report by Germanicus.^[10] Such groves were sometimes dedicated to a particular deity: in addition to the case of Nerthus, there was asilva Herculi sacra ('wood sacred to Hercules', aninterpretatio romana) near the RiverWeser, and theSemnones reportedly held their rituals in honor of theregnator omnium deus ('god the ruler of all'). The scholar of Germanic religionJan de Vries noted that placenames such as Frølund (Denmark), and Ullunda, Frösvi, and Mjärdevi (Sweden), in which the name of a deity is compounded with words meaning "grove" or "wood", suggest a continuation of the same practice, but are found almost exclusively in eastern Scandinavia; however, there is aCaill Tomair recorded nearDublin, an oak forest apparently sacred toThor.^[11]

Reverence for individual trees among the Germanic peoples is a common theme in medieval Christian denunciations of backsliding into paganism.^[12][13] In some cases, such asDonar's Oak (according to legend, felled by Christian missionarySaint Boniface), these were associated with particular gods, and the association of individual trees with saints can be seen as a continuation of the tradition into modern times.^[13]

TheLandnámabók, which describes the settlement ofIceland and dates from the 13th century, tells of askáld by the name of Þórir snepill Ketilsson who, after his crew encountered and fended off raiding vikings, arrived in Iceland and founded a sacred grove there:

...Thorir took possession of all of the whole ofFnjoskadale, as far as Odeila. He made his home at Lund [Old Norse 'grove'], and held the grove sacred.^[14]

Sacred trees and groves leave few archaeological traces, but two such sites may have been identified, both in Sweden. A moulderingbirch stump surrounded by animal bones, especially from brown bear and pig, was discovered under the church onFrösön inJämtland in 1984. The finds have been carbon dated to the late Viking Age.^[15] Possible burnt offerings have been found on a hill at Lunda nearSträngnäs inSödermanland; the archeologist Gunnar Andersson has argued that the combination of the finds and the placename—which can mean "the grove"—point to this being the remnants of a sacrificial grove.^[16] Scholars have proposed that publicly revered trees such asthat at the temple in Uppsala were regarded as counterparts to the mythic world tree Yggdrasil.^[12][13]

The present section divides particularly notable examples into texts discussing the religious activities of the ancient Germanic peoples involving trees and groves (Germanic paganism) and their appearance in the myths of the Germanic peoples, particularly theNorth Germanic peoples (Germanic mythology).

Sacred trees and groves are mentioned throughout the history of the ancient Germanic people, from their earliest attestations among Roman scribes to references made by medieval Christian monks. Notable examples of sacred trees and groves in the historical record among the ancient Germanic peoples include the following:

InNorse mythology, the northernmost extension ofGermanic mythology, several sacred trees are mentioned. The most prominent of these trees is the holy tree central to the cosmos,Yggdrasil. Prominent trees mentioned in Germanic mythology include the following:

After the nominalChristianisation of Anglo-Saxons and Saxons in the 7th and 8th centuries, many heathen practices centered on trees such as worship and giving of gifts were made punishable crimes.^[18][19] Despite this, 11th century accounts describe the continuation ofvotive offering deposition at trees in England and worship in groves in Saxony.^[20][21] EnglishPenitential laws made in the 11th century explicitly forbid the use of afriðplott orfriðgeard—a peaceful area around stones, trees or springs.^[19]

In later folklore, offerings are made to tree spirits such asAskafroa in Scandinavia and Germany, and the Women of One Tree Hill in England. In the latter case, gifts to the trees are explicitly linked with a returned gift of increased land fertility.^[22] There exists also a Scandinavian folk tradition of farmers making small offerings to a"warden tree", regarded as exercising a protective function over the family and land.^[13]

• Anthropomorphic wooden cult figurines of Central and Northern Europe, wooden cult images created by the Germanic peoples
• Ask and Embla, the first human beings in Norse mythology, created from trees and whose names may mean "ash" and "elm"
• Dream of the Rood, an Old English poem describing the crucifixion of Jesus from the point of view of a sentient tree
• Hlín, a Norse goddess whose name some scholars have suggested may mean 'maple tree'
• Ilmr, an Old Norse goddess whose name may mean 'elm'

• Palm, Thede (1948).Trädkult: Studier i germansk religionshistoria. Skrifter utgivna av Vetenskaps-societeten i Lund, 33. Gleerup.OCLC 60865210.(in Swedish)

• Trees in Germanic paganism
• Trees in Germanic mythology
• Sacred groves

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