The destruction of the tree of Thor and its associated grove, an important pagan centre for worship in Hesse, Germany by St. Boniface was arguably the start of the largescale conversion of the Germans by either peaceful means or by force by Charles Martel, Charlemagne and others. Boniface was elevated to the status of 'apostle of Germany' for this act and others in destroying paganism in large areas of the country.

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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:14 I’d prefer embracing my ancestors in hell
02:19 The sacred groves
04:26 Frankish expansion
06:38 The use of persuasion and force to convert
08:14 The life of Boniface
16:47 Destroying the tree of Thor
18:11 Did the pagans convert en masse?
19:14 The reticence of pagans to instigate violence
20:07 The end of Boniface
20:41 The site now
21:23 Summing up



Images
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Alois Dirnberger, PD by age., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Peter Nicolai Arbo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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Bernhard Rode, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...\_Boniface\_\_BaptisingMartyrdom\_\_Sacramentary\_of\_Fulda\_\_11Century.jpg Illustration from the Sacramentary of Fulda (Fuldaer Sakramentar), fol. 126 v. See here for more information on the manuscript.
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