Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum, Vol. II, 39.3-6:
“Within the shrine stood a huge effigy, its size surpassing the height of any human figure, and it was amazing to look upon in that it possessed four heads and necks, two of which looked over its chest, two over its back. They were so arranged that, before and behind, one head appeared to direct its gaze to the right, the other to the left. They were fashioned with shaved beards and cropped hair, so that you would have thought the sculptor had tried hard to imitate the Rügen style of head adornment. In its right hand the idol carried a horn embellished with various types of metal, into which the priest who was versed in the god’s rituals would once a year pour wine, and from the appearance of the liquid would predict the degree of plenty in the coming year. […] Its attendant worship was observed in this manner: once every year, after the crops had been harvested and when beasts had been offered as sacrificial victims, a milling throng from the whole island celebrated a ritual feast at the front of the temple to pay reverence to this idol. […] The next day, while the populace kept watch in front of the doors, the priest would intently examine the drinking-vessel, which he had taken down from the statue, and if the quantity of fluid there had at all diminished, he concluded that it pointed to scarcity in the following year. Once he had perceived this, he would give orders for some of the latest crops to be stored away against the future. However, should he have observed no decrease in its usual level of fullness, he foretold a coming season of agricultural fertility. As a consequence of the omen, he used to advise the people to avail themselves of the present year’s resources, sometimes more sparingly, sometimes more lavishly, as the case might be. Then, having poured away the old wine as a libation at the image’s feet, he filled the empty receptacle with the new vintage and, going through the motions of offering the god a drink, paid homage to the statue; afterwards, pronouncing a solemn formula, he begged prosperity for himself and his country, and increases in wealth and victories for its citizens. As soon as this was ended, he put the vessel to his lips and with great speed drained it in one uninterrupted draught, whereupon he replenished it with wine and restored the horn to the idol’s right hand. A round cake baked with honey was also brought as an offering, of such vast proportions that it almost matched the height of a man. Placing it halfway between himself and the crowd, he would ask whether he was visible to the islanders. When they answered that he was, the priest expressed the hope that they would not be able to see him in twelve months’ time. By this manner of request, he was not asking for his own or the people’s deaths, but for an increase in the harvest to come. Immediately after that in the name of the effigy he greeted the multitude assembled there, further urging them to complete their obeisance to this god by scrupulously carrying out the ceremonial rites and guaranteed that they could absolutely depend on land and sea victories as a reward for their piety. Once these procedures were accomplished, they passed the rest of the day consuming a sumptuous banquet, turning the sacrificial feast into an entertainment in which they gratified their stomachs, and making the victims consecrated to the god serve their own self-indulgence. At this festive meal it was thought devout to abandon all temperance, but wicked to observe one’s normal decorum.”
“Within the shrine stood a huge effigy, its size surpassing the height of any human figure, and it was amazing to look upon in that it possessed four heads and necks, two of which looked over its chest, two over its back. They were so arranged that, before and behind, one head appeared to direct its gaze to the right, the other to the left. They were fashioned with shaved beards and cropped hair, so that you would have thought the sculptor had tried hard to imitate the Rügen style of head adornment. In its right hand the idol carried a horn embellished with various types of metal, into which the priest who was versed in the god’s rituals would once a year pour wine, and from the appearance of the liquid would predict the degree of plenty in the coming year. […] Its attendant worship was observed in this manner: once every year, after the crops had been harvested and when beasts had been offered as sacrificial victims, a milling throng from the whole island celebrated a ritual feast at the front of the temple to pay reverence to this idol. […] The next day, while the populace kept watch in front of the doors, the priest would intently examine the drinking-vessel, which he had taken down from the statue, and if the quantity of fluid there had at all diminished, he concluded that it pointed to scarcity in the following year. Once he had perceived this, he would give orders for some of the latest crops to be stored away against the future. However, should he have observed no decrease in its usual level of fullness, he foretold a coming season of agricultural fertility. As a consequence of the omen, he used to advise the people to avail themselves of the present year’s resources, sometimes more sparingly, sometimes more lavishly, as the case might be. Then, having poured away the old wine as a libation at the image’s feet, he filled the empty receptacle with the new vintage and, going through the motions of offering the god a drink, paid homage to the statue; afterwards, pronouncing a solemn formula, he begged prosperity for himself and his country, and increases in wealth and victories for its citizens. As soon as this was ended, he put the vessel to his lips and with great speed drained it in one uninterrupted draught, whereupon he replenished it with wine and restored the horn to the idol’s right hand. A round cake baked with honey was also brought as an offering, of such vast proportions that it almost matched the height of a man. Placing it halfway between himself and the crowd, he would ask whether he was visible to the islanders. When they answered that he was, the priest expressed the hope that they would not be able to see him in twelve months’ time. By this manner of request, he was not asking for his own or the people’s deaths, but for an increase in the harvest to come. Immediately after that in the name of the effigy he greeted the multitude assembled there, further urging them to complete their obeisance to this god by scrupulously carrying out the ceremonial rites and guaranteed that they could absolutely depend on land and sea victories as a reward for their piety. Once these procedures were accomplished, they passed the rest of the day consuming a sumptuous banquet, turning the sacrificial feast into an entertainment in which they gratified their stomachs, and making the victims consecrated to the god serve their own self-indulgence. At this festive meal it was thought devout to abandon all temperance, but wicked to observe one’s normal decorum.”