Holy Tree

Trees were incredibly important to the tribal peoples of Europe: they provided building materials, fuel and sites of worship. The Celts use of tree groves as sacred spaces was well documented, and a little sensationalised, by Roman writers like Pliny and Lucan. They were described as mystical places where animals dared not tread, where the silence was all consuming and where every tree was stained with sacrificial blood. The Irminsul of the Germanic tribes were less well known, though it is thought they may have been tree trunks erected by the tribes in honour of their gods. Historians have related them to the ‘Pillars of Hercules’ discussed by Tacitus in his work 'Germania'. Unfortunately these 'pillars' were never actually seen by Roman eyes and have never been explained or described since.