Killing the Elderly

[Sibyl Kempson]

Hello, all - 
>From what I've read the tales of the crueler sacrifices were all part of a smear campaign by the Christians to sway public opinion against the ancient practices of worship in Paganism. Even today this stuff gets sensationalized because it's mysterious, the written records still in existence of those actually practicing the rites are rare or nil and so we have to rely on the perspective of their conquerers. The fact that this source you are looking at has the word "barbarians" in the title would render it suspect in my own research. I think what the early Christians did in wiping out an entire culture was the real barbaric practice. If you are interested in writing something factual or even respectful I would not include this - what sounds to me like an accusation - in your novel.





On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 3:01 AM, "d.faltin at hispeed.ch" <d.faltin at hispeed.ch> wrote:
 
  
Hi Tom,
 
this custom is very poorly attested. Procopius mentiones it with regards to the Heruls. But Procopius (who is known for exaggerations and distortions) is doing all he can to make the Heruls look bad and conform as much as possible to ancient mediterranean believes regarding "barbarians".
Clearly, there is evidence of human sarcrifices among the Germanic people and there is even evidence that suggests that at some severe times it may have been an honor to be the victim of such sacrifices. Thus, at those times higher ranking members of society (including elders) may have been the prefered victims. Such practices may have fuelled the ancient mediterranean topoi regarding the barbarians. However, it is in my view very unlikely that the elderly were simply dispatched off because of their age.
 
Cheers,
Dirk
 
 
 
 
 
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