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Sacrifice of the Male: Temple at Uppsala

Sylvia Rose

Updated: Jan 20

After three years of famine, legendary King Domalde is sacrificed at Uppsala, Sweden. Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson chronicles the event in Ynglinga Saga. Blood of a king is the ultimate gift to the gods. Domalde, cursed by his stepmother, is just unlucky.



only men were sacrificed at Uppsala temple
Only males are sacrificed at Uppsala

The people link prosperity of the land to fortunes of the king. During the reign of King Domalde crops fail and starvation prevails. The first year, a sacrifice of oxen has no effect. Next year, several men are sacrificed.


The gods are not pleased, and the famine continues. Finally, a citizen assembly decides the king must be sacrificed.


Domalde has been cursed by his stepmother with ósgæssa or bad luck. He's born of his father Visbur's lust for another woman. Visbur disinherits the sons of his first wife, triggering her curse on Domalde.



King of hearts playing card face up on deck of cards
Blood of the King

A curse on the king is a curse on the land. Old Norse blót, blōt or Old English geblōt mean blood sacrifice. In German it's Blut (pron. bloot), meaning blood or geblutet meaning bled.


Blood is the life force, the essence of life. Blood of a king is the highest honor.


Blood spilled on the ground in sacrifice is a ritual of fertility lore and nature magic. Another vital element of creation is semen, thought to run through the bones of animals such as bulls and oxen.



a big bull with curving horns
The Bull's crescent horns associate him with the moon, cosmos and divinity

In people it's initially thought to be stored in the head to flow down through the spine. Semen is associated with life force, power and masculinity.


In some beliefs, ejaculation drains the body of vital energy. In many myths, the god creates life or water with his semen.


The Temple at Uppsala is well documented. Around its roof parapets runs a golden chain. Statues of three gods, Thor, Odin and Freya (Frigg) dominate the space.


Offerings to Thor are made in times of plague or famine. Sacrifice is given to Odin for war, and Frigg for weddings.



lightning storm at night, purple and blue
Power of Thor - an agriculture as well as weather god

According to 11th century historian Adam of Bremen, "every nine years there is a communal festival of every province in Sweden held in Ubsola; and those already converted to Christianity have to buy themselves off from the ceremonies."


Adam continues on to describe activities at the temple, including blood sacrifice of the males of every living species. Dogs, horses and other animals are slain, their corpses hung from the trees of a grove in the temple.



spiral of rope
Hang around ...

Adherents or priests wave sticks dipped in blood, spraying the gathered people. Blood is a blessing of life as well as a symbol of death, a duality found in both pagan nature worship and contemporary philosophies.


Early Germanic people are animists. Spirits reside in all things and dark and light aspects exists for all. Fire can be nurturing or destructive. Water can give life or take it away. Poison can be healing or deadly.



venomous snake
snake venom has been used in medicine

Whether human or other animal, only males are sacrificed at Uppsala. On dying they often release body fluids to the earth. Certain magical plants grow in the nitrogen-rich soil under the bodies of hanged men.


In Scandinavia, the fly agaric mushroom, a hallucinogen, grows in soil near spilled blood and decomposing bodies. At one time it's thought the Viking berserkers use the mushroom to induce their legendary battle rages.



Fly Agaric mushrooms, red with white spots
Fly Agaric Mushrooms are fungi of mortal and magical plant lore

Later evidence points to use of the toxic plant henbane (stinking nightshade), a hallucinogenic, body stimulating plant. Henbane seeds have been found in a Viking grave in Denmark.


Nutritionally, blood is good for the soil. Blood contains nitrogen, copper, iron, chromium, magnesium, manganese, potassium and selenium.


All these elements improve plant health. Blood meal and bone fertilizers are used in gardens today to increase fertility of the earth.



Blood of King Domalde drains into a caldron or vessel
Sacrifice of King Domalde

At Uppsala, the corpses of many men hang among those of the rotting animals. When none of these appease the gods, the next rational step is the life essence of a King.


And so, the King dutifully becomes the sacrificial lamb. He doesn't have much choice. Blood spills, blood sprays, epithets and chants filled the air and the royal corpse hangs on the branch of a tree among the other unfortunate creatures.



Golden wheat in the sunshine
Good Harvest of Golden Wheat

Next year, according to the myth, the crops grow strong and tall, trees are fruitful and the harvest excellent. The people rejoice, justified in spilling the blood of the King.


Adam of Bremen describes an enormous tree with spreading branches, evergreen both in summer and winter. Beneath is a spring or well, where sacrifices are also made. It's custom to throw a man into the well. If he doesn't re-surface, the wishes of the people will be fulfilled.



a woodcut of temple of Uppsala
Woodcut of the Temple of Uppsala, with tree and wellspring

In nature lore, wells and springs are associated with spirits such as nixies and water entities who can pull a person in to drown. In some regions it's customary to toss coins of silver or copper into wells and springs and wish for luck from the resident spirit.


The Spring Equinox marks nine days of sacrifice at Uppsala. Every day, a man is sacrificed with two animals, to a total of twenty-seven sacrifices. Nine is significant, as it's three threes relating to triples, triangles, trinities and triptychs. Three is especially strong in magic.



A die or one of a pair of dice with number three up
Lucky Three - fortunate, mystical, revealing

Due to his efforts to Christianize Scandinavia, King Haakon the Good of Norway causes a religious feud by opposing the blót. While the peasants elected him king, strife breaks out when he won't participate fully in rituals.


Raised at the Anglo-Saxon court to be Christian, he's appalled and refuses to eat of the sacrificial meat. People hurl insults. Humiliated, King Haakon regrets his conversion to Christianity, and later reverts to the Old Ways.



meat on the barbecue

When he dies he's given a proper Norse funeral. By that time, King Haakon the Good has already changed the course of Yuletide.




Non-Fiction Books:


Fiction Books:

READ: Lora Ley Adventures - Germanic Mythology Fiction Series

READ: Reiker For Hire - Victorian Detective Murder Mysteries




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