After the Second World War, the question of the religious character of Germanic kingship was no longer prominent - not least because previously excessively hybrid views had been developed on the existence of a Germanic religious kingship. Now that in the meantime important insights have been gained into the practical exercise of power in the early kingdoms, it is time to enquire again into their ideological and religious foundations. The multiple perspectives developed in these papers lead to new insights which differ distinctly from earlier understandings of the early kingdoms. Above all, weight is added to the doubts about the existence of Germanic religious kingship.

Zu allen Zeiten und an allen Orten sind die Herrscher mit dem Numinosen in Verbindung gebracht worden: sei es, dass sie selbst als Sohne, Nachkommen, Schutzlinge oder Stellvertreter eines Gottes galten, sei es, dass sie in einer besonderen Verantwortung gegenuber einer gottlichen Person oder Macht standen."