Sundays Art: The destruction of the Irminsul by Charlemagne

Artist Heinrich Leutemann in 1882. Since I am currently reading Pope Joan I felt that it was necessary to bring to light my love of all forms of mythology, Egyptian, Roman, Greek, and now added Germanic Paganism. My mother had read stories of Thor and other Greek gods to me as a child. Kind of an unusually bedtime story but it sprouted my dear fondness for mythology.

Irminsul "The universal tree" Old Saxon, probably "great or mighty pillar" or "arising pillar" was a kind of pillar which is attested as playing an important role in the Germanic paganism of the Saxon people. The oldest chronicle describing an Irminsul refers to it as a tree trunk erected in the open air.

According to the Royal Frankish Annals CE 772, during the Saxon wars, Charlemagne is repeatedly described as ordering the destruction of the chief seat of their religion, an Irminsul. The Irminsul is described as not being far from Heresburg now Stadtbergen , Germany.

Whether it was a tree or a column it was sadly destroyed to oppress the "heathen" religion.