Ásatrú (Icelandic "Æsir faith") is a new religious movement which is attempting to revive the pre-Christian Viking Age Norse religion as described in the Eddas.
Ásatrú was established in the 1960s and early 1970s in Iceland, by the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið an organization founded by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. Ásatrú was recognized as an official religion by the governments of Iceland (in 1973), Denmark (in 2003) and Norway. The United States government does not officially endorse or recognize any religious group; however, numerous Ásatrú groups have been granted nonprofit religious status going back to the 1970s.
While the term Ásatrú originally referred specifically to the Icelandic adherents of the religion, Germanic neopagan and reconstructionist groups widely identify themselves as Ásatrú, particularly in the USA. In this wider sense, the term Ásatrú is used synonymously with Germanic Neopaganism or Germanic Paganism, along with the terms Forn Sed, Odinism, Heithni, Heathenry and others
Ásatrú is an Old Norse term consisting of two parts. The first is Ása (genitive of Áss) referring to one of two families of gods in the myths. The second part, trú, literally means "troth" or "faith". Thus, Ásatrú means "faith in the Æsir." The term is the Old Norse/Icelandic translation of Asetro, neologism coined in the context of 19th century romantic nationalism, first used by Edvard Grieg in his 1870 opera Olaf Trygvason. The use of the term Ásatrú for Germanic paganism preceding 19th century revivalist movements is an anachronism. Likewise, use of Ásatrú as a synonym of Germanic Neopaganism, while widespread in the USA, can be misleading. Groups identifying themselves as Ásatrú cover a wide political spectrum, ranging from left-wing environmentalist groups, New Agers, universalists, tribalists, reconstructionists, folkish groups and even neonazi (e.g. Artgemeinschaft) movements.
Members of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið are somewhat unhappy with the semantic widening of the Icelandic term Ásatrú, and would prefer its usage to specifically apply only to reconstructed medieval Norse paganism.
Ásatrúar, sometimes used as a plural in English, is properly the genitive of Ásatrú.
Ásatrú originated as a second (or third) revival of Germanic paganism in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið was founded on summer solstice, 1972, and was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. At about this time, in the United States, Stephen McNallen, a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, began publishing a newsletter titled The Runestone. He also formed an organization called the Asatru Free Assembly, later renamed the Ásatrú Folk Assembly which is still extant. Else Christensen's Odinism, which sometimes identified with the term Asatru, originated around the same period. An offshoot of McNallen's group is the Asatru Alliance, headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the "Vor Tru" newsletter. The Asatru Alliance held its 25th annual "Althing" gathering in 2005.
Ásatrú organizations have memberships which span the entire political and spiritual spectrum. Many adherents are solitary practitioners who practice their religion alone with their family or a small local community, and are not involved with organized Ásatrú. Despite the wide divergance of beliefs and politics, the sole common denominator amongst adherents of Ásatrú is the goal of reconstructing and practicing the historical pre-Christian religion of the Eddas.
While Ásatrú is generally a tolerant religion, in the USA neo-nazis and advocates of white power are ostracized and shunned by most organizations.[1] The three largest American Ásatrú organizations specifically have denounced association with racist groups.[2] There is actually an antagonistic relationship between many neo-nazis and the membership of most Ásatrú organizations in the USA, who view "national socialism as an unwanted totalitarian philosophy incompatible with freedom-loving Norse paganism".[3]
[edit]
Notes
↑ Gardell, Matthias (2003). Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, p. 269-283, Duke University Press. ISBN 0822330717.
↑ The positions of the AA, the AFA and the Troth:
From the Asatru Alliance's Bylaws: "The Alliance is apolitical; it is not a front for, nor shall it promote any political views of the 'Right' or 'Left'. Our Sacred temples, groves and Moots shall remain free of any political manifestations." [1]
From the Asatru Folk Assembly's Bylaws: "The belief that spirituality and ancestral heritage are related has nothing to do with notions of superiority. Asatru is not an excuse to look down on, much less to hate, members of any other race. On the contrary, we recognize the uniqueness and the value of all the different pieces that make up the human mosaic." [2]
From the Troth's Bylaws: "Discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation shall not be practiced by the Troth or any affiliated group, whether in membership decisions or in conducting any of its activities." [3]
↑ Gardell, p.276. Referring to Stephen McNallen, Valgard Murray and Edred Thorsson; the respective founders of the AFA, the AA and the Troth, which are the three largest Ásatrú groups in the USA.
[edit]
See also
Asatru Folk Assembly
Eldaring
Germanic Neopaganism
Heathenry
Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið
Neopaganism
Reconstructionism
Stephen McNallen
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
Theodism
The Troth
Odinic Rite
Irminenschaft
[edit]
External links
[edit]
Neutral descriptions
Asatru (Germanic Paganism) - ReligionFacts
[edit]
Organizations
Iceland / Scandinavia
Ásatrúarfélagið Iceland (since 1972)
Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost Norway (since 1996)
Sveriges Asatrosamfund Sweden (since 1994)
Asatrofællesskabet Denmark (since 2003)
North America
Asatru Folk Assembly (since 1974, albeit the Asatru Free Assembly initially)
The Troth (since 1987)
Asatru Alliance (since 1988)
Germany
Eldaring (since 2000)
Australia
The Assembly of the Elder Troth (since 1990 ?)
Belgium
Asatrú-Werkgroep Traditie
The Netherlands
Het Rad
[edit]
Other links
HuginnHof Kindred (since 2005)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asatru
Archaeological Sources
Many sites in Scandinavia have yielded valuable information about early Scandinavian culture. The oldest extant cultural example are in the form of petroglyphs or helleristninger [1]. These are usually divided into two categories according to age: "hunting-glyphs" and "agricultural-glyphs". The hunting glyphs are the oldest (ca. 9,000 -- 6,000 B.C.) and are predominantly found in Northern Scandinavia (Jämtland, Nord-Trøndelag and Nordland). These finds seem to indicate an existence primarily based on hunting and fishing. These motifs were gradually subsumed (ca. 4,000 -- 2,000 B.C.) by glyphs with more zoomorphic, or perhaps religious, themes. Animals were often illustrated from an "x-ray perspective" very similar to the Indigenous Australian petroglyphs. The glyphs from the most Southern region (Bohuslän) are later complemented with younger agricultural glyphs (ca. 2,300 -- 500 B.C.), which seem to depict an existence based more heavily on agriculture. These later motifs primarily depict ships, solar and lunar motifs, geometrical spirals and anthropomorphic beings, which seem to ideographically indicate the beginning of Norse religion.
Other noteworthy archaeological finds which may depict early Norse religion are the Iron Age bog bodies such as the Tollund Man, who may have been ritually sacrificed in a religious or cultic context.
Later, in the Pre-Viking and Viking age, there is material evidence which seems to indicate a growing sophistication in Norse religion, such as artifacts portraying the gripdjur (gripping-beast) motifs, interlacing art and jewelry, Mjollnir pendants and numerous weapons and bracteates with runic characters scratched or cast into them. The runes seem to have evolved from the earlier helleristninger, since they initially seemed to have a wholly ideographic usage. Runes later evolved into a script which was perhaps derived from a combination of Proto-Germanic language and Etruscan or Gothic writing. However, this origin has not been proven, and many runic origin theories have been advocated.
Many other ideographic and iconographic motifs which may portray the religious beliefs of the Pre-Viking and Viking Norse are depicted on runestones, which were usually erected as boundary markers or memorial stones. These memorial stones usually were not placed in proximity to a body, and many times there is an epitaph written in runes to memorialize a deceased relative. This practice continued well into the Christian era.
Like most ancient and medieval peoples, Norse society was divided into several classes and the early Norse practiced slavery in earnest. The majority of interments from the pagan period seem to derive primarily from the upper classes, however many recent excavations in medieval church yards have given a broader glimpse into the life of the common people.
[edit]
Literary Sources
Most, if not all, of the written material about the Norse religion are derived from written accounts far later than when the religion was practiced, and well into the Christian period. This is when the lines blurred between Norse pre-Christian religion and a demonized or romanticized Norse mythology. Norse religion was a cultural phenomenon, and like most pre-literate folk beliefs, the practitioners probably did not have a name for their religion, until they came into contact with outsiders or competitors. Therefore, the only titles bestowed upon Norse religion are the ones which were used to describe the religion in a competitive manner, usally in a very antagonistic context. Some of these terms were hedendom (Scandinavian), Heidentum (German), Heathenry (English) or Pagan (Latin). A more romanticized name for Norse religion is the medieval Icelandic term Forn Siðr or "Old Custom".
Whatever, the Norse religion was called by it's adherents, we only know of it from the manuscripts of medieval historians, most notably Snorri and Saxo. However, there is an extremely large corpus of written and comparative historical materials which have gone unstudied or ignored up until fairly recently, and the breadth of knowledge about this topic is growing exponentially.
[edit]
Worship
[edit]
Centres of faith
Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed the late 11th century.The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blót, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people resembled that of the Celts and Balts : it could occur in sacred groves. It could also take place at home and/or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "horgr". However, there seems to have been a few more important centres, such as Skiringsal, Lejre and Uppsala. Adam of Bremen claims that there was a temple in Uppsala (see Temple at Uppsala) with three wooden statues of Thor, Odin and Freyr.
[edit]
Priests
While a kind of priesthood seems to have existed, it never took on the professional and semi-hereditary character of the Celtic druidical class. This was because the shamanistic tradition was maintained by women, the Völvas. It is often said that the Germanic kingship evolved out of a priestly office. This priestly role of the king was in line with the general role of godi, who was the head of a kindred group of families (for this social structure, see norse clans), and who administered the sacrifices.
[edit]
Human sacrifice
Carl Larsson, "Midwinter Sacrifice", 1915: the sacrifice of King Domalde at Gamla Uppsala.A unique eye-witness account of Germanic human sacrifice survives in Ibn Fadlan's account of a Rus ship burial, where a slave-girl had volunteered to accompany her lord to the next world. More indirect accounts are given by Tacitus, Saxo Grammaticus and Adam von Bremen. The Heimskringla tells of Swedish King Aun who sacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his life until his subjects stopped him from killing his last son Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala. The Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but also to depose them, and both king Domalde and king Olof Trätälja are said to have been sacrificed after years of famine. Odin was associated with death by hanging, and a possible practice of Odinic sacrifice by strangling has some archeological support in the existence of bodies perfectly preserved by the acid of the Jutland (later taken over by Danish people) peatbogs, into which they were cast after having been strangled. An example is Tollund Man. However, we possess no written accounts that explicitly interpret the cause of these stranglings, which could obviously have other explanations.
[edit]
See also
Norse mythology
Germanic paganism
Germanic mythology
Ásatrú
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_religion
Ásatrú was established in the 1960s and early 1970s in Iceland, by the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið an organization founded by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. Ásatrú was recognized as an official religion by the governments of Iceland (in 1973), Denmark (in 2003) and Norway. The United States government does not officially endorse or recognize any religious group; however, numerous Ásatrú groups have been granted nonprofit religious status going back to the 1970s.
While the term Ásatrú originally referred specifically to the Icelandic adherents of the religion, Germanic neopagan and reconstructionist groups widely identify themselves as Ásatrú, particularly in the USA. In this wider sense, the term Ásatrú is used synonymously with Germanic Neopaganism or Germanic Paganism, along with the terms Forn Sed, Odinism, Heithni, Heathenry and others
Ásatrú is an Old Norse term consisting of two parts. The first is Ása (genitive of Áss) referring to one of two families of gods in the myths. The second part, trú, literally means "troth" or "faith". Thus, Ásatrú means "faith in the Æsir." The term is the Old Norse/Icelandic translation of Asetro, neologism coined in the context of 19th century romantic nationalism, first used by Edvard Grieg in his 1870 opera Olaf Trygvason. The use of the term Ásatrú for Germanic paganism preceding 19th century revivalist movements is an anachronism. Likewise, use of Ásatrú as a synonym of Germanic Neopaganism, while widespread in the USA, can be misleading. Groups identifying themselves as Ásatrú cover a wide political spectrum, ranging from left-wing environmentalist groups, New Agers, universalists, tribalists, reconstructionists, folkish groups and even neonazi (e.g. Artgemeinschaft) movements.
Members of the Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið are somewhat unhappy with the semantic widening of the Icelandic term Ásatrú, and would prefer its usage to specifically apply only to reconstructed medieval Norse paganism.
Ásatrúar, sometimes used as a plural in English, is properly the genitive of Ásatrú.
Ásatrú originated as a second (or third) revival of Germanic paganism in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið was founded on summer solstice, 1972, and was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973, largely due to the efforts of Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. At about this time, in the United States, Stephen McNallen, a former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, began publishing a newsletter titled The Runestone. He also formed an organization called the Asatru Free Assembly, later renamed the Ásatrú Folk Assembly which is still extant. Else Christensen's Odinism, which sometimes identified with the term Asatru, originated around the same period. An offshoot of McNallen's group is the Asatru Alliance, headed by Valgard Murray, publisher of the "Vor Tru" newsletter. The Asatru Alliance held its 25th annual "Althing" gathering in 2005.
Ásatrú organizations have memberships which span the entire political and spiritual spectrum. Many adherents are solitary practitioners who practice their religion alone with their family or a small local community, and are not involved with organized Ásatrú. Despite the wide divergance of beliefs and politics, the sole common denominator amongst adherents of Ásatrú is the goal of reconstructing and practicing the historical pre-Christian religion of the Eddas.
While Ásatrú is generally a tolerant religion, in the USA neo-nazis and advocates of white power are ostracized and shunned by most organizations.[1] The three largest American Ásatrú organizations specifically have denounced association with racist groups.[2] There is actually an antagonistic relationship between many neo-nazis and the membership of most Ásatrú organizations in the USA, who view "national socialism as an unwanted totalitarian philosophy incompatible with freedom-loving Norse paganism".[3]
[edit]
Notes
↑ Gardell, Matthias (2003). Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism, p. 269-283, Duke University Press. ISBN 0822330717.
↑ The positions of the AA, the AFA and the Troth:
From the Asatru Alliance's Bylaws: "The Alliance is apolitical; it is not a front for, nor shall it promote any political views of the 'Right' or 'Left'. Our Sacred temples, groves and Moots shall remain free of any political manifestations." [1]
From the Asatru Folk Assembly's Bylaws: "The belief that spirituality and ancestral heritage are related has nothing to do with notions of superiority. Asatru is not an excuse to look down on, much less to hate, members of any other race. On the contrary, we recognize the uniqueness and the value of all the different pieces that make up the human mosaic." [2]
From the Troth's Bylaws: "Discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnic origin, or sexual orientation shall not be practiced by the Troth or any affiliated group, whether in membership decisions or in conducting any of its activities." [3]
↑ Gardell, p.276. Referring to Stephen McNallen, Valgard Murray and Edred Thorsson; the respective founders of the AFA, the AA and the Troth, which are the three largest Ásatrú groups in the USA.
[edit]
See also
Asatru Folk Assembly
Eldaring
Germanic Neopaganism
Heathenry
Íslenska Ásatrúarfélagið
Neopaganism
Reconstructionism
Stephen McNallen
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
Theodism
The Troth
Odinic Rite
Irminenschaft
[edit]
External links
[edit]
Neutral descriptions
Asatru (Germanic Paganism) - ReligionFacts
[edit]
Organizations
Iceland / Scandinavia
Ásatrúarfélagið Iceland (since 1972)
Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost Norway (since 1996)
Sveriges Asatrosamfund Sweden (since 1994)
Asatrofællesskabet Denmark (since 2003)
North America
Asatru Folk Assembly (since 1974, albeit the Asatru Free Assembly initially)
The Troth (since 1987)
Asatru Alliance (since 1988)
Germany
Eldaring (since 2000)
Australia
The Assembly of the Elder Troth (since 1990 ?)
Belgium
Asatrú-Werkgroep Traditie
The Netherlands
Het Rad
[edit]
Other links
HuginnHof Kindred (since 2005)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asatru
Archaeological Sources
Many sites in Scandinavia have yielded valuable information about early Scandinavian culture. The oldest extant cultural example are in the form of petroglyphs or helleristninger [1]. These are usually divided into two categories according to age: "hunting-glyphs" and "agricultural-glyphs". The hunting glyphs are the oldest (ca. 9,000 -- 6,000 B.C.) and are predominantly found in Northern Scandinavia (Jämtland, Nord-Trøndelag and Nordland). These finds seem to indicate an existence primarily based on hunting and fishing. These motifs were gradually subsumed (ca. 4,000 -- 2,000 B.C.) by glyphs with more zoomorphic, or perhaps religious, themes. Animals were often illustrated from an "x-ray perspective" very similar to the Indigenous Australian petroglyphs. The glyphs from the most Southern region (Bohuslän) are later complemented with younger agricultural glyphs (ca. 2,300 -- 500 B.C.), which seem to depict an existence based more heavily on agriculture. These later motifs primarily depict ships, solar and lunar motifs, geometrical spirals and anthropomorphic beings, which seem to ideographically indicate the beginning of Norse religion.
Other noteworthy archaeological finds which may depict early Norse religion are the Iron Age bog bodies such as the Tollund Man, who may have been ritually sacrificed in a religious or cultic context.
Later, in the Pre-Viking and Viking age, there is material evidence which seems to indicate a growing sophistication in Norse religion, such as artifacts portraying the gripdjur (gripping-beast) motifs, interlacing art and jewelry, Mjollnir pendants and numerous weapons and bracteates with runic characters scratched or cast into them. The runes seem to have evolved from the earlier helleristninger, since they initially seemed to have a wholly ideographic usage. Runes later evolved into a script which was perhaps derived from a combination of Proto-Germanic language and Etruscan or Gothic writing. However, this origin has not been proven, and many runic origin theories have been advocated.
Many other ideographic and iconographic motifs which may portray the religious beliefs of the Pre-Viking and Viking Norse are depicted on runestones, which were usually erected as boundary markers or memorial stones. These memorial stones usually were not placed in proximity to a body, and many times there is an epitaph written in runes to memorialize a deceased relative. This practice continued well into the Christian era.
Like most ancient and medieval peoples, Norse society was divided into several classes and the early Norse practiced slavery in earnest. The majority of interments from the pagan period seem to derive primarily from the upper classes, however many recent excavations in medieval church yards have given a broader glimpse into the life of the common people.
[edit]
Literary Sources
Most, if not all, of the written material about the Norse religion are derived from written accounts far later than when the religion was practiced, and well into the Christian period. This is when the lines blurred between Norse pre-Christian religion and a demonized or romanticized Norse mythology. Norse religion was a cultural phenomenon, and like most pre-literate folk beliefs, the practitioners probably did not have a name for their religion, until they came into contact with outsiders or competitors. Therefore, the only titles bestowed upon Norse religion are the ones which were used to describe the religion in a competitive manner, usally in a very antagonistic context. Some of these terms were hedendom (Scandinavian), Heidentum (German), Heathenry (English) or Pagan (Latin). A more romanticized name for Norse religion is the medieval Icelandic term Forn Siðr or "Old Custom".
Whatever, the Norse religion was called by it's adherents, we only know of it from the manuscripts of medieval historians, most notably Snorri and Saxo. However, there is an extremely large corpus of written and comparative historical materials which have gone unstudied or ignored up until fairly recently, and the breadth of knowledge about this topic is growing exponentially.
[edit]
Worship
[edit]
Centres of faith
Gamla Uppsala, the centre of worship in Sweden until the temple was destroyed the late 11th century.The Germanic tribes rarely or never had temples in a modern sense. The Blót, the form of worship practiced by the ancient Germanic and Scandinavian people resembled that of the Celts and Balts : it could occur in sacred groves. It could also take place at home and/or at a simple altar of piled stones known as a "horgr". However, there seems to have been a few more important centres, such as Skiringsal, Lejre and Uppsala. Adam of Bremen claims that there was a temple in Uppsala (see Temple at Uppsala) with three wooden statues of Thor, Odin and Freyr.
[edit]
Priests
While a kind of priesthood seems to have existed, it never took on the professional and semi-hereditary character of the Celtic druidical class. This was because the shamanistic tradition was maintained by women, the Völvas. It is often said that the Germanic kingship evolved out of a priestly office. This priestly role of the king was in line with the general role of godi, who was the head of a kindred group of families (for this social structure, see norse clans), and who administered the sacrifices.
[edit]
Human sacrifice
Carl Larsson, "Midwinter Sacrifice", 1915: the sacrifice of King Domalde at Gamla Uppsala.A unique eye-witness account of Germanic human sacrifice survives in Ibn Fadlan's account of a Rus ship burial, where a slave-girl had volunteered to accompany her lord to the next world. More indirect accounts are given by Tacitus, Saxo Grammaticus and Adam von Bremen. The Heimskringla tells of Swedish King Aun who sacrificed nine of his sons in an effort to prolong his life until his subjects stopped him from killing his last son Egil. According to Adam of Bremen, the Swedish kings sacrificed male slaves every ninth year during the Yule sacrifices at the Temple at Uppsala. The Swedes had the right not only to elect kings but also to depose them, and both king Domalde and king Olof Trätälja are said to have been sacrificed after years of famine. Odin was associated with death by hanging, and a possible practice of Odinic sacrifice by strangling has some archeological support in the existence of bodies perfectly preserved by the acid of the Jutland (later taken over by Danish people) peatbogs, into which they were cast after having been strangled. An example is Tollund Man. However, we possess no written accounts that explicitly interpret the cause of these stranglings, which could obviously have other explanations.
[edit]
See also
Norse mythology
Germanic paganism
Germanic mythology
Ásatrú
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_religion
