Sven Knippschild is a German researcher and archaeologist who operates Rotergeysir.net, an internet-based project focused on ancient Germanic studies and the topic’s modern influence. In a recent post on the site, Knippschild explains his primary goal for the project as follows:

When I started the ‘Roter Geysir’ project a little over two years ago, my main focus was to bring archaeological finds and topics to the foreground that were previously hardly publicly known. There are innumerable, very exciting topics that practically never leave the academic world, although there are many people who would be potentially interested in them. This is, of course, due to the difficulty of accessing academic publications (what can be found where?), but it is also due to the scarcity of popular scientific publications!

Rotergeysir.net’s approach is therefore closely aligned to Mimisbrunnr.info’s own and, like Mimisbrunnr.info, part of a broader wave of internet-based projects formed to contribute to the advancement of ancient Germanic studies as a field while at the same time providing quality resources approachable to a general audience.

As Knippschild says, Rotergeysir.net places a particular emphasis on rarely discussed material from the ancient Germanic record, such as "Yggdrasil and the Överhogdal Tapestries" on the topic of the all-too-rarely discussed Viking Age Överhogdal Tapestries and their accompanying symbolism, and “Early Thor’s Hammer Pendants outside Scandinavia”, which discusses the little-known history of Thor’s hammers beyond the Nordic countries. Rotergeysir.net also hosts original content on topics such as the influence of historical Germanic Heathenry in modern culture (for example, “The Nine-Worlds-Pillar of Schleswig”), discusses developments in modern Germanic Heathenry (“The Nine Noble Virtues – too short-sighted!”), and interviews with scholars (for example, “A Conversation with Rudolf Simek”).

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the lush Westphalian countryside (the hilly one to the Southwest) always surrounded by fields, forests, and lots of animals.

2. Can you remember when you first encountered Norse mythology or, more generally, Germanic mythology? And what was the context?

Not really, it must have been at a very early age since I grew up right next to the Wodantal. This whole area is full of folk tales about werewolves, sorceresses, and the like. One legend even tells of Wodan casting magic spells against the old local church building!

I do remember, however, when I first developed a certain understanding of what Germanic mythology actually is. It was thanks to my father, who gave me his old Lord of the Rings books to read when I was a child. I was instantly intrigued by Tolkien's world and read everything I could get my hands on, including The Silmarillion of course. At some point then I asked myself where Tolkien actually got all his ideas and inspirations from. That's when I came across Germanic mythology and suddenly I understood how Tolkien's world and the folktales of dwarfs and elves from my early childhood were all connected with each other. The fascination for this topic has never left me since.

3. How would you describe your religious beliefs (or lack thereof)?

I have a hard time describing my own personal philosophy with words like “religion” or “belief”. I don't think such terms are well suited to describe pagan concepts and spirituality, since they are deeply rooted in the (Christian) occidental way of thinking.

Heathendom to me is a cultural framework in which every aspect of human existence and its relation to the outside world has a proper place. For me personally the connection with the land I'm walking on and with the people that have been here before me is very important. In our modern Western societies these things are heavily neglected, which is a serious mistake. It’s like walking around with an open wound we cannot see, but definitely feel. We have to respect this part of our reality and reconnect with it in order to heal this trauma.

About a year ago I was very lucky to get a nice little plot of garden land for a very reasonable price because it was pretty run down and littered. I took care of the challenge and, with a little help from my friends, repaired and cleaned up everything. Especially the cleaning was a nasty affair since plastic bags, sheets and cords—if exposed to wind, weather and UV radiation for a longer time—break down into smaller and smaller pieces. So at some point I found myself in the situation where I was on my knees for many many hours picking up all this little plastic litter. Most people would probably think this is madness, but for me there was really no question that this work had to be done. In the face of global pollution this is of course only a symbolic gesture, but for me it was an expression of respect towards this land (besides, you also get to know it better when you're crawling through it).

4. How would you describe your political beliefs (or lack thereof)?

I do think that imperialism (towards other humans and towards nature), mono-religions, and nationalism are the three most terrible things that have ever plagued mankind. Taken together, they are responsible for the majority of unnecessary human casualties during the last 2000 years. I am extremely opposed to each and every one of these concepts!

That being said, however, I am currently not politically engaged in any way. In fact, the last time I was active was during my school days when I helped some of my classmates leave the church before it would have cost them money (yeah, you heard right, in some German states you have to actually buy your way out of church these days in order to avoid paying this outrageous church tax).

Concerning our modern Western democracies, I do think, that they are by far the best and most just systems of governance we ever had. Period. Nonetheless, there is still a lot (!) of room for improvement. For example, by limiting the power of MPs through the implementation of imperative mandates and by firmly embedding the protection of our ecosphere (which of course also includes us humans) as the supreme directive in every constitution.

5. Do you have a formal academic background in Germanic studies? If not, where do you do your research on the topic?

I did my master's degree in archaeology with a thesis about archaeological evidence regarding the myth of Balder. My bachelor thesis dealt with the Thor's hammer pendants of the Viking Age.

6. How does Norse mythology and/or general Germanic mythology influence your creative output?

That’s pretty hard to say. Heathendom has been an important part of my life since my teenage years and thus, naturally, has a continuous effect on my creative output, for example in the choice of topics for my archaeological theses and online articles. There was never really a point at which this wide field stopped to amaze me. On the contrary, new aspects and perspectives are constantly emerging over time, which keeps me ever excited and inspired!

Joseph S. Hopkins thanks Sven Knippschild for his participation.