Irminenschaft
Encyclopedia
Irminenschaft is a current of Ariosophy
based on a Germanic deity Irmin
which is supposedly reconstructed from literaric, linguistic and oonomastic sources. Among other sources the Prefix "Irmin" is well documented in the from Irminsul
"great pillar that supports all"/"Columna Universalis Sustenans Omni", as described in Einhards 'Vita Karoli Magni', and informed by Tacitus (~1st century) via a mentioned germanic tribe name of Hermiones; The Old Saxon
adjective irmin being synonymous to "great, strong". As such it may also have been an epithet of later deities like Ziu (Týr) or Wodan (Odin
)). Strong scientific evidence also stems from the occurrence of the word "Irmingot", found in the Old High German
"Hildebrandslied", which reports on events in the 6th century. The text sequences mentioning the god are:
10
"fireo in folche, ...................
.................. 'eddo hwelihhes cnuosles du sis.
ibu du mi enan sages, ik mi de odre uuet,
chind, in chunincriche: chud ist mir al irmindeot'.
Hadubrant gimahalta, Hiltibrantes sunu:[...]"
and
30
" ' wettu irmingot obana ab hevane,
dat du neo dana halt mit sus sippan man
dinc ni gileitos'...
want her do ar arme wuntane bauga,
cheisuringu gitan, so imo se der chuning gap,[...]"
Notably the Nazi occultist Karl Maria Wiligut
claimed a historical Irminism, established in 12,500 BC, later ousted by Wotanism
.
had originally been written in Germanic
, and testified to an "Irminic" religion (Irminenreligion) that contrasted with Wotanism. Wiliguts was influenced by Ernst Bethas "Die Erde und unsere Ahnen", which wrote of a Kristgermanentum with reoccurring crucifixions of some germanic Baldur Chrestos at Goslar. He claimed to worship a Germanic god "Krist", which Christianity was supposed to have later bootlegged as their own saviour Christ
. Germanic culture and history according to Wiligut would reach back to 228,000 BC. At this time, there would have been three suns, and Earth would have been inhabited by giants, dwarfs and other mythical creatures. By 12,500 BC, The Irminic religion of Krist was revealed and from that time became the religion of all Germanic peoples, until the schismatic adherents of Wotanism gained the upper hand. In 1200 BC, the Wotanists succeeded in destroying the Irminic religious center at Goslar
, following which the Irminists erected a new temple at the Externsteine
, which was in turn appropriated by the Wotanists in AD 460. Wiligut's own ancestors are protagonists in this setting: the Wiligotis were Ueiskunings ("Ice kings") descended from a union of Aesir and Vanir. They founded the city of Vilna as the center of their Germanic empire and always remained true to their Irminic faith. Wiligut's convictions assumed a paranoid trait in the 1920s, as he became convinced that his family was the victim of a continuing persecution of Irminists, at present conducted by the Catholic Church, the Jews, and the Freemasons, on which groups he also blamed the loss in World War I and the downfall of the Habsburg Empire.
Irminism as a holistic philosophy and syncretistic
religion was extensively discussed in correspondences between participants of the Edda Gesellschaft and published in Hagal, Nordische Welt, as well as in early Odal publications. The most comprehensive collection of documents concerning Irminism can be found in the literary estate (Nachlass) of:
a) Emil Rüdiger (last reported to be with the later Graf Manfred Keyserling)
b) Werner von Bülow of the Edda Gesellschaft.
The latter contains the Edda Gesellschaft's correspondence with Weisthor Wiligut, Else Baltrusch, Gabriele Dechend, Karl Nüse, Richard Anders
, Emil Rüdiger and many others. As the whereabouts of this Nachlass are unclear this information has to be taken with care. The last owner of the literary legacy of Werner von Bülow was Ekkehard Hieronimus, who investigated these beliefs in the 1980s for the Christian church to take countermeasures against uprising pagan belief-systems.
During the 1920s, Wiligut had written down 38 (out of a number claimed to exceed 1000) verses or sayings, the so-called Halgarita Sprüche, that Wiligut said he had memorized as a child, taught by his father. Wiligut had his own Runic style, frequently applying binding-runes "runic alphabet
" for this purpose.
Werner von Bülow and Emil Rüdiger of the Eddagesellschaft translated, interpreted and annotated many of these verses. They claimed that numbers 27 and 1818 are connected with the Black Sun.
Verse number 27, according to Willigut, is a "solar blessing" aged 20,000 years:
Werner von Bülow translates
Santur is interpreted as a burnt-out Sun that was still visible at the time of Homer
. Rüdiger speculates that this was the center of the solar system hundreds of millennia ago, and he imagines a fight between the new and the old Suns that was decided 330,000 years ago. Santur is seen as the source of power of the Hyperboreans.
In some esoteric currents of Neo-Nazism
, Neofolk
, National Socialist Black Metal
and Nazi paganism, Wiligut's writings enjoyed a renewal of interest in the 1990s, when this research topic was made public by the emerging Internet as an uncontrolled mass medium, as well as opened archives and Hans Jürgen Langes Biography on Wiligut, which extends an earlier Wiligut Biography written by Rudolf Mund, the last prior of the 'Neutemplerorden' (ONT).
Ariosophy
Armanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', meaning wisdom concerning the Aryans, was first coined by Lanz von Liebenfels in 1915 and...
based on a Germanic deity Irmin
Irmin
Irmin may be*Old Saxon irmin "strong, whole", maybe also "strong, tall, exalted" , from Proto-Germanic *erminaz, *ermenaz or *ermunaz, in personal names *An alleged Germanic deity in some currents...
which is supposedly reconstructed from literaric, linguistic and oonomastic sources. Among other sources the Prefix "Irmin" is well documented in the from Irminsul
Irminsul
An Irminsul 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...
"great pillar that supports all"/"Columna Universalis Sustenans Omni", as described in Einhards 'Vita Karoli Magni', and informed by Tacitus (~1st century) via a mentioned germanic tribe name of Hermiones; The Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
adjective irmin being synonymous to "great, strong". As such it may also have been an epithet of later deities like Ziu (Týr) or Wodan (Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
)). Strong scientific evidence also stems from the occurrence of the word "Irmingot", found in the Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
"Hildebrandslied", which reports on events in the 6th century. The text sequences mentioning the god are:
10
"fireo in folche, ...................
.................. 'eddo hwelihhes cnuosles du sis.
ibu du mi enan sages, ik mi de odre uuet,
chind, in chunincriche: chud ist mir al irmindeot'.
Hadubrant gimahalta, Hiltibrantes sunu:[...]"
and
30
" ' wettu irmingot obana ab hevane,
dat du neo dana halt mit sus sippan man
dinc ni gileitos'...
want her do ar arme wuntane bauga,
cheisuringu gitan, so imo se der chuning gap,[...]"
Notably the Nazi occultist Karl Maria Wiligut
Karl Maria Wiligut
Karl Maria Wiligut was an Austrian Ariosophist- Biography :...
claimed a historical Irminism, established in 12,500 BC, later ousted by Wotanism
Wotanism
Wotanism is the name of an American Heathen religion or socio-political current based on Germanic paganism and the doctrines of David Lane. Wotan is the German name for the Germanic god known in Norse as Odin...
.
Wiligut's Irminenschaft
Wiligut, aka Weisthor, claimed that the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
had originally been written in Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, and testified to an "Irminic" religion (Irminenreligion) that contrasted with Wotanism. Wiliguts was influenced by Ernst Bethas "Die Erde und unsere Ahnen", which wrote of a Kristgermanentum with reoccurring crucifixions of some germanic Baldur Chrestos at Goslar. He claimed to worship a Germanic god "Krist", which Christianity was supposed to have later bootlegged as their own saviour Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. Germanic culture and history according to Wiligut would reach back to 228,000 BC. At this time, there would have been three suns, and Earth would have been inhabited by giants, dwarfs and other mythical creatures. By 12,500 BC, The Irminic religion of Krist was revealed and from that time became the religion of all Germanic peoples, until the schismatic adherents of Wotanism gained the upper hand. In 1200 BC, the Wotanists succeeded in destroying the Irminic religious center at Goslar
Goslar
Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...
, following which the Irminists erected a new temple at the Externsteine
Externsteine
The Externsteine are a distinctive rock formation located in Ostwestfalen-Lippe of northwestern Germany, not far from the city of Detmold at Horn-Bad Meinberg. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills...
, which was in turn appropriated by the Wotanists in AD 460. Wiligut's own ancestors are protagonists in this setting: the Wiligotis were Ueiskunings ("Ice kings") descended from a union of Aesir and Vanir. They founded the city of Vilna as the center of their Germanic empire and always remained true to their Irminic faith. Wiligut's convictions assumed a paranoid trait in the 1920s, as he became convinced that his family was the victim of a continuing persecution of Irminists, at present conducted by the Catholic Church, the Jews, and the Freemasons, on which groups he also blamed the loss in World War I and the downfall of the Habsburg Empire.
Irminism as a holistic philosophy and syncretistic
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
religion was extensively discussed in correspondences between participants of the Edda Gesellschaft and published in Hagal, Nordische Welt, as well as in early Odal publications. The most comprehensive collection of documents concerning Irminism can be found in the literary estate (Nachlass) of:
a) Emil Rüdiger (last reported to be with the later Graf Manfred Keyserling)
b) Werner von Bülow of the Edda Gesellschaft.
The latter contains the Edda Gesellschaft's correspondence with Weisthor Wiligut, Else Baltrusch, Gabriele Dechend, Karl Nüse, Richard Anders
Richard Anders
Richard Anders was a German Luftwaffe reconnaissance pilot and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II...
, Emil Rüdiger and many others. As the whereabouts of this Nachlass are unclear this information has to be taken with care. The last owner of the literary legacy of Werner von Bülow was Ekkehard Hieronimus, who investigated these beliefs in the 1980s for the Christian church to take countermeasures against uprising pagan belief-systems.
During the 1920s, Wiligut had written down 38 (out of a number claimed to exceed 1000) verses or sayings, the so-called Halgarita Sprüche, that Wiligut said he had memorized as a child, taught by his father. Wiligut had his own Runic style, frequently applying binding-runes "runic alphabet
Wiligut runes
The Wiligut runes are a runic row developed by Karl Maria Wiligut in 1934. Wiligut rejected Guido von List's Armanen runes and his overall philosophy.Wiligut claimed to have been initiated into "runic lore" by his grandfather Karl Wiligut ....
" for this purpose.
Werner von Bülow and Emil Rüdiger of the Eddagesellschaft translated, interpreted and annotated many of these verses. They claimed that numbers 27 and 1818 are connected with the Black Sun.
Verse number 27, according to Willigut, is a "solar blessing" aged 20,000 years:
- Sunur saga santur toe Syntir peri fuir sprueh Wilugoti haga tharn Halga fuir santur toe
Werner von Bülow translates
- "Legend tells, that two Suns, two wholesome in change-rule UR and SUN, alike to the hourglass which turned upside down ever gives one of these the victory / The meaning of the divine errant wandering way / dross star in fire's sphere became in fire-tongue revealed to the Earth-I-course of the race of Paradise / godwilling leaders lead to the weal through their care in universal course, what is visible and soon hidden, whence they led the imagination of mankind / polar in change-play, from UR to SUN in sacrificial service of waxing and waning, in holy fire Santur is ambiguously spent in sparks, but turns victorious to blessing"
Santur is interpreted as a burnt-out Sun that was still visible at the time of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. Rüdiger speculates that this was the center of the solar system hundreds of millennia ago, and he imagines a fight between the new and the old Suns that was decided 330,000 years ago. Santur is seen as the source of power of the Hyperboreans.
In some esoteric currents of Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
, Neofolk
Neofolk
Neofolk is a form of folk music-inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles. Neofolk can either be solely acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instrumentation aided by varieties of accompanying sounds such as pianos, strings and elements of industrial...
, National Socialist Black Metal
National Socialist black metal
National Socialist black metal is black metal that promotes National Socialist beliefs through their lyrics and imagery. These beliefs often include: white supremacy, racial separatism, antisemitism, heterosexism, and Nazi interpretations of paganism or Satanism...
and Nazi paganism, Wiligut's writings enjoyed a renewal of interest in the 1990s, when this research topic was made public by the emerging Internet as an uncontrolled mass medium, as well as opened archives and Hans Jürgen Langes Biography on Wiligut, which extends an earlier Wiligut Biography written by Rudolf Mund, the last prior of the 'Neutemplerorden' (ONT).