Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
'From Runes to Ruins' a documentary film by Thomas Rowsell, about Anglo-Saxon paganism.
Independently produced and funded, it is the first documentary to cover the topic of English paganism specifically.
All over Britain there are people whose lives are influenced by the largely forgotten culture of the Anglo-Saxon barbarians who founded England. There are landmarks, place names and aspects of our language which are remnants of Anglo-Saxon paganism. It is from Woden, the god of war, that we take the name for the third day of the week, Wednesday (Woden’s day). There are many places around England named after Woden, like the ancient earthwork of Wansdyke which was probably a cult-centre of the god. In this film, Tom Rowsell, an expert in the paganism of early medieval England, travels around the country looking at places like Wansdyke and talking to people whose lives are influenced by the Anglo-Saxons and their pagan religion. The film features all kinds of peculiar characters; like neo-pagans worshipping Thor in Oxfordshire, the leader of the London Longsword Academy and historical re-enactors who like nothing more than to get dressed up in armour and swing axes at each other.
From Runes to Ruins combines amusing and characterful interviews with informative history all presented with beautiful cinematography and an original and haunting synth soundtrack.
Despite the significance of Anglo-Saxon paganism to the history of Britain, no one has ever made a documentary exclusively on this subject. In this film, Thomas Rowsell reveals a forgotten aspect of English history that many are oblivious to, by uncovering paganism in runes and ruins
Angelsächsisches Heidentum - Mit Untertitel in Deutsch.
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'From Runes to Ruins' a documentary film by Thomas Rowsell, about Anglo-Saxon paganism.
Independently produced and funded, it is the first documentary to cover the topic of English paganism specifically.
All over Britain there are people whose lives are influenced by the largely forgotten culture of the Anglo-Saxon barbarians who founded England. There are landmarks, place names and aspects of our language which are remnants of Anglo-Saxon paganism. It is from Woden, the god of war, that we take the name for the third day of the week, Wednesday (Woden’s day). There are many places around England named after Woden, like the ancient earthwork of Wansdyke which was probably a cult-centre of the god. In this film, Tom Rowsell, an expert in the paganism of early medieval England, travels around the country looking at places like Wansdyke and talking to people whose lives are influenced by the Anglo-Saxons and their pagan religion. The film features all kinds of peculiar characters; like neo-pagans worshipping Thor in Oxfordshire, the leader of the London Longsword Academy and historical re-enactors who like nothing more than to get dressed up in armour and swing axes at each other.
From Runes to Ruins combines amusing and characterful interviews with informative history all presented with beautiful cinematography and an original and haunting synth soundtrack.
Despite the significance of Anglo-Saxon paganism to the history of Britain, no one has ever made a documentary exclusively on this subject. In this film, Thomas Rowsell reveals a forgotten aspect of English history that many are oblivious to, by uncovering paganism in runes and ruins
Angelsächsisches Heidentum - Mit Untertitel in Deutsch.
This channel depends on your support:
Patreon: patreon.com/survivethejive
SubscribeStar: subscribestar.com/survive-the-jive

![Roots of the Saxons // History Documentary
The English have roots in Northern Germany. But what was life like for the Saxons in the old country? Why did they want to go to Britain? And what was the relationship of the Old Saxons to the Roman Empire? Find out in this travel documentary in which I visit Lower Saxony and interview a local archaeologist on these important matters.
This channel depends on your support:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/survivethejive
All Links: https://linktr.ee/SurvivetheJive
Learn to be Heathen: https://startingheathenry.thinkific.com
Special thanks to Daneil Nösler and the camera assistants
Art:
CGI Odin by Skellyboi
Kivik CGI by Robert Molyneaux
Hengist and Horsa and Sutton Hoo funeral by Graman
Wading through Hell by Jack Jones
Historical reconstruction art and photography by Samson Goetze, Joan Oliveras, Jonas Radtke
Nordic Bronze age map by Maptism
Migration map animation by 1st Aquarian
Music in order:
Kulturgeist - nevermore a slave
The Whole Other - Ether oar
Freond - Ancient Rock Formations
11 Eastern - Churches
Freond - Saxon
Freond - Let’s go back to the forest
Faunus Amadeus Loki - The Emerald Isle
White Hex - The Void
Khan Kurra - Little Dragon
Freond - Long Dead Warriors
97 Sound Signal - Markagunt Plateau
Bark sound productions - Vlv
Halindir - Comfy XXV
Sources:
-Hesse, Stefan. (2009). Grenzen in Archäologie und Geschichte.
-Hauck. K., Die Goldbrakteaten der Völkerwanderungszeit (1985)
-Skre, Dagfinn. (2024). The Northern Routes to Kingship: A History of Scandinavia AD 180–550
-Taayke, E. (2024) “Meanwhile, in the North...Handmade Pottery beyond the Roman Frontier,” ROMAN POTTERY IN THE LOW COUNTRIES
-Holst and Nielsen (2020) ‘Excavating Nydam: Archaeology, Palaeoecology and Preservation. The National Museum [of Denmark]’s Research Project, Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries and University Press of Southern Denmark
-McLaughlin, R. (2025) ‘Germania: the Ancient Germans in Greek and Roman Sources: Geography, Society, Warfare, Religion, and Customs’
-McColl, Hugh et al (2024). Steppe Ancestry in Western Eurasia and the Spread of the Germanic Languages. 10.1101/2024.03.13.584607.
00:00 Introduction
06:35 Issendorf burial ground
23:34 Bronze age barrows in the forest
25:36 Anderlingen barrow and cist
32:39 Saxon archaeological finds
39:43 Roman Iron Age fort
48:26 Migration Era fort
54:28 Conclusion Roots of the Saxons // History Documentary](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RCciXiHIH-A/mqdefault.jpg)








