In Anglo-Saxon folklore the Irminsul was a symbol of life and stability. The Norse refered to it as Yggdrasil. It was said to be the connection between heaven and earth. The Irminsul was venerated by our ancestors and was represented by oak or wooden pillars erected in temples and the ancient groves where religious ceremonies would take place
In 772, at the beginning of his bloody crusade against the Old Saxons, it is known that the emperor Charlemagne destroyed a gigantic pillar or column. This sacred pillar was said to be the symbol of the Saxon people. In destroying the Irminsul at the very start of what would prove to be a savage and genocidal campaign against the heathen Saxons he believed it would symbolise the destruction of the soul of the Saxon people themselves. Unfortunately for Charlemagne our souls and our Irminsul are still here.
