Editing Animal sacrifice (section)

==Germanic peoples==
{{further|Germanic paganism}}
Animal sacrifice, or ''[[blót]]'', was an important ritual in [[Old Norse religion]]. The blood was sprinkled on altars, idols and the walls of [[Heathen hof|temples]]. A ''blót'' was made at seasonal festivals as well as at funerals, before battles and perilous journeys, or after the conclusion of business between traders.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=The Ritual Killing and Burial of Animals: European Perspectives |last=Magnell |first=Ola |year=2012 |editor-last=Pluskowski |editor-first=Aleksander |publisher=Oxbow Books | title = Sacred Cows or Old Beasts? A Taphonomic Approach to Studying Ritual Killing with an Example from Iron Age Uppåkra | page = 195 | isbn = 978-1-84217-444-9}}</ref>

In the 11th century, [[Adam of Bremen]] wrote that human and animal sacrifices were made at the [[Temple at Uppsala|Temple]] at [[Gamla Uppsala]] in Sweden. He wrote that every ninth year, nine men and nine of every animal were sacrificed and their bodies hung in a [[Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology|sacred grove]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davidson |first=Hilda Ellis |author-link=Hilda Ellis Davidson |title=Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions |date=1988 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |page=59}}</ref>