Christianization of Scandinavia

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For the purposes of this article the Christianization of Scandinavia refers to the process of conversion to Christianity of the Scandinavian people, starting in the 8th century with the arrival of missionaries in Denmark and it was at least nominally complete by the 12th century, although the Samis remained unconverted until the 18th century.

In fact, although the Scandinavians became nominally Christian, it would take considerably longer for actual Christian beliefs to establish themselves among the people. The old indigenous traditions that had provided security and structure since time immemorial were challenged by ideas that were unfamiliar, such as original sin, the Incarnation, and the Trinity. Archaeological excavations of burial sites on the island of Lovön near modern-day Stockholm have shown that the actual Christianization of the people was very slow and took at least 150-200 years, and this was a very central location in the Swedish kingdom. 13th century runic inscriptions from the bustling merchant town of Bergen in Norway show little Christian influence, and one of them appeals to a Valkyrie. At this time, enough knowledge of Norse mythology remained to be preserved in sources such as the Eddas in Iceland.

It may be a sign of the slowness of the conversion that many elements of the old faith, even several of the gods, would stay alive in Scandinavian folklore until modern times.

Moreover, the early Christianity that established itself was a syncretic brand different from that of modern days. It was a Germanic Christianity where Jesus was a conquering warlord.

Christianization of Denmark

Recorded missionary efforts in what is today Denmark started with Willibrord, Apostle to the Frisians, who preached in Jutland around 700 with little success. A century later Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims, baptized a few men during his 823 sojourn. A few years later, in 826, the exiled Jutish king Klakk-Harald forged an alliance with Louis the Pious and was baptized along with his family and court in Ingelheim am Rhein. As Harald returned to Jutland, Louis assigned the monk Ansgar to follow him and oversee Christianity among the converts. Ansgar proved an effective missionary who extended his work to Sweden. Nevertheless Christianity had made mostly a surface impression and the majority of Jutes and Danes remained pagan. In 831 the Archbishopric of Hamburg was founded and assigned responsibility for Christianity in the north. Over the following century Christianity made slow inroads in Denmark. The semi-legendary king Gorm the Old was said to be "hard and heathen" but his son, Harald Bluetooth (ca. 911 - ca. 986) boasted on the Jelling stones that he had "made the Danes Christian". Some sources report that his son, Svein Forkbeard, relapsed into paganism but in the early 11th century Denmark can be said to be a Christian country.

Christianization of Norway

The first recorded attempts at spreading Christianity in Norway were made by King Haakon the Good (reigned 934-961), who was raised in England. His efforts were unpopular and met with little success. The subsequent King Harald Greyhide (reigned 961–976), also a Christian, was known for destroying pagan temples but not for efforts to popularize Christianity.

He was followed by the staunchly pagan Haakon Sigurdsson Jarl (reigned 971-995) who led a revival of paganism with the rebuilding of temples. When Harold I of Denmark attempted to force Christianity upon him around 975, Haakon broke his allegiance to Denmark. A Danish invasion force was defeated at the battle of Hjörungavágr in 986.

In 995 Olaf Tryggvason would become King Olaf I of Norway. Born ca. 960, Olaf had raided various European cities and fought in several wars. In 986 however, he (supposedly) met a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly. This seer told him:

Thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. Many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens. When thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptized.

The legend continues that, as the seer foretold, Olaf was attack by a group of mutineers upon returning to his ships. As soon as he had recovered from his wounds, he let himself be baptized. He then stopped raiding Christian cities and lived in England and Ireland. In 995 he used an opportunity to return to Norway. When he arrived, Haakon Jarl was already facing a revolt, and Olaf Tryggvason could convince the rebels to accept him as their king. Haakon Jarl was later betrayed and killed by his own slave, while he was hiding from the rebels in a pig sty.

Olaf I then made it his priority to convert the country to Christianity using all means at his disposal. By destroying temples and torturing and killing pagan resisters he succeeded in making every part of Norway at least nominally Christian. Expanding his efforts to the Norse settlements in the west the kings' sagas credit him with Christianizing the Faroes, Orkney, Shetland, Iceland and Greenland.

After Olaf's defeat at the Battle of Svolder in 1000 there was a partial relapse to paganism in Norway under the rule of the Jarls of Lade. In the following reign of Saint Olaf, 1015-1028, pagan remnants were stamped out and Christianity entrenched.

Christianization of Iceland

Irish monks known as Papar are said to have been present in Iceland before its settlement by the Norse in the 9th century.

Following King Olaf I 's taking of Icelandic hostages, there were similar tension between the Christian and pagan factions in 10th century Iceland. Violent clashes were avoided by the decision of the Althing in AD 1000 to put the arbitration between them to Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, the leader of the pagan faction. He opted, after a day and a night of meditation, that the country should convert to Christianity as a whole, while pagan worship in private would continue to be tolerated.

Christianization of Sweden

The first known attempts to Christianize Sweden were made by Ansgar in 830, invited by the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Setting up a church at Birka he met with little Swedish interest. A century later Unni, archbishop of Hamburg, made another unsuccessful attempt. In the 10th century English missionaries made inroads in Västergötland.

The historical tradition by Adam of Bremen mentions a pagan Temple at Uppsala in central Sweden. By 2001, the existence of this temple had not been confirmed by archaeological findings. Whether the remains of several large wooden constructions, found by excavations under the present church, are from a pagan temple or from an earlier church build in the same place, is disputed.

The adherents of the pagan temple drew a mutual agreement of toleration with Olof Skötkonung the first Christian king of Sweden who succeeded to the throne in the 990s. Christianity and paganism coexisted on an official level until the end of the 11th century.

Sources on Swedish history from this time are scant. What may be the one of the most violent occurrences between Christians and pagans was a conflict between Blot-Sweyn and Inge the Elder in the 1080s. This account survives in the Orkneyinga saga and in the last chapter of Hervarar saga where the saga successively moves from legendary history to historic Swedish events during the centuries before its compilation. The reigning king Inge decided to end the traditional pagan sacrifices at Uppsala which caused a public counter-reaction. Inge was forced into exile, and his brother-in-law Blot-Sweyn was elected king on condition that he allow the sacrifices to continue. After three years in exile, Inge returned secretly to Sweden in 1087, and having arrived at Old Uppsala, he surrounded the hall of Blot-Sweyn with his húskarls, and set the hall on fire, slaying the king as he escaped from the burning house. Hervarar saga reports that Inge completed the Christianization of the Swedes, but the Heimskringla suggests that Inge could not assume power directly, but had to dispose of yet another pagan king, Eric of Good Harvests. Inge's return to power is generally held to be the time of the destruction of the Temple at Uppsala, and in 1164, the Swedish archdiocese was established at the location.

The reason why the Swedish core provinces had coexistence between paganism and Christianity throughout the 11th century was because there was a general support for the transition towards the new religion. However, the old pagan rites were important and central for legal processes and when someone questioned ancient practices, many newly Christianized Swedes could react strongly in support of paganism for a while. Consequently, the vacillation between paganism and Christianity that are reported by the sagas and by Adam of Bremen were not very different from vacilations that appear in modern ideological shifts. It would have been impossible for king Inge the Elder to rule as a Christian king without strong support from his subjects, and a Norwegian invasion of Västergötland by Magnus Barefoot put Inge's relationship with his subjects to the test: he appears to have mustered most of the Swedish leidang, 3600 men, and he ousted the Norwegian occupation force.

Although Sweden was officially Christianized by the 12th century, the Norwegian king Sigurd the Crusader undertook a crusade against Småland, the south-eastern part of the Swedish kingdom in the early 12th century, and officially it was in order to convert the locals.

Christianization of Gotland

The Gutalagen (an Gotlandic law book from the 1220s) officially in use until 1595, but in practice until 1645, stated that performing blóts was punishable by a fine.

Christianization of Jämtland

On the northernmost rune stone of the world standing on the island Frösön in central Jämtland, the Frösö Runestone, it is said that a man called Austmaðr Christianized the region, probably in the period 1030-1050 when the rune stone was risen. Who Austmaðr was is unknown but he is believed to have been the lawspeaker of the regional thing Jamtamót.

Christianization of Finland

Judging by archaeological finds, Christianity gained a foothold in Finland during the 11th century. It was strengthened with growing Swedish influence in the 12th century and the Finnish "crusade" of Birger Jarl in the 13th century.

The last pagans

In the 18th century(1721 AD) a new Danish colony was started in Greenland with the objective of converting the inhabitants to Christianity. Around the same time efforts were made in Norway and Sweden to convert the Sami(Lapps}, who had remained pagan long after the conversion of their neighbours.

Notes

References

Bæksted, Anders (1986). Goð og hetjur í heiðnum sið, Eysteinn Þorvaldsson translated to Icelandic. Reykjavík: Örn og Örlygur.
Christianization of Sweden Encyclopædia Britannica article
Kaufhold, Martin (2001), Europas Norden im Mittelalter, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
Lagerquist, Lars O. (1997). Sveriges Regenter, från forntid till nutid. Norstedts, Stockholm. ISBN 91-1-963882-5
Larsson, M. G. (2002). Götarnas riken. Upptäcksfärder till Sveriges enande. Atlantis, Stockholm. ISBN 91-7486-641-9.
Schön, Ebbe. (2004). Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo. ISBN 91-89660-41-2

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