Note 142 — Chapter IX · THE AGE OF CHARLEMAGNE

A prominent characteristic of the early Teutonic religion was that its ceremonies were invariably conducted out of doors. Tacitus, in the Germania (Chap. 9), tells us that the Germans had no temples or other buildings for religious purposes, but worshipped in sacred groves. The "Irmensaule," probably a giant tree-trunk, was the central shrine of the Saxon people, and Charlemagne's destruction of it in 772 was the most serious offense that could have been committed against them.