publicly revered trees such as that at the temple in Uppsala were regarded as counterparts to the mythic world tree Yggdrasil. Notable examples The present section divides particularly notable examples into texts discussing the religious activities of the ancient Germanic peoples involving trees and groves (Germanic paganism) and their appearance in the myths of the Germanic peoples, particularly the North Germanic peoples (Germanic mythology). Germanic paganism Sacred trees and groves are mentioned throughout the history of the ancient Germanic peoples, from their earliest attestations among Roman scribes to references made by medieval Christian monks. Notable examples of sacred trees and groves in the historical record among the ancient Germanic peoples include the following: Germanic mythology In Norse mythology, the northernmost extension of Germanic mythology, several sacred trees are mentioned. The most prominent of these trees is the holy tree central to the cosmos, Yggdrasil. Prominent trees mentioned in Germanic mythology include the following: Post-Christianisation After the nominal Christianisation of Anglo-Saxons and Saxons in the 7th and 8th centuries, many Heathen practices centered on trees such as worship and giving of gifts were made punishable crimes. Despite this, 11th century accounts describe the continuation of votive offering deposition at trees in England and worship in groves in Saxony. English Penitential laws made in the 11th century explicitly forbid the use of a friðplott or friðgeard - a peaceful area around stones, trees or springs. In later folklore, offerings are made to tree spirits such as Askafroa in Scandinavia and Germany, and the Women of One Tree Hill in England. In the latter case, gifts to the trees are explicitly linked with a returned gift of increased land fertility. There exists also a Scandinavian folk tradition of farmers making small offerings to a "warden tree", regarded as exercising a protective function over the family and land. See also Anthropomorphic wooden cult figurines of Central and Northern Europe, wooden cult images created by the Germanic peoples Ask and Embla, the first human beings in Norse mythology, created from trees and whose names may mean "ash" and "elm" Dream of the Rood, an Old English poem describing the crucifixion of Jesus from the point of view of a sentient tree Ilmr, an Old Norse goddess whose name may mean 'elm' Notes References Andersson, Gunnar. 2006. "Among trees, bones, and stones: The sacred grove at Lunda" in Andrén, Anders, Kristina Jennbert, and Catharina Raudvere. Old