Contesting the Semantics of Viking Religion (original) (raw)
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The first time Norse religion saw the shores of the British Isles was at the end of the eighth century, when bands of Viking men pillaged Portland and Lindisfarne. This period of raiding lasted until the middle of the next century at which time Norse people, mostly hailing from Jutland and the Danish islands, came to settle on the British Isles as overlords and farmers. This does not necessarily imply a massmigration from Scandanavia, although as many scholars have made clear it is extraordinarily difficult to be certain. 1 In parts of Northern England it has been argued by scholars such as Julian D. Richards that the Nordic elements were most frequently a higher social strata presiding over Anglo-Saxon peasantry, whereas in other locations like the Isle of Man -a hub for the sea lanes across the Irish Sea -it is possible that the native Manx were more fully supplanted by an incoming Norse population and a diverse array of ethnic hangers-on. 2 The Norse carried their religion over from Scandinavia and although on the Isle of Man they converted to Christianity in a relatively short period of time (as indicated by a shift to unambiguously Christian burials), if we are to take the eleventh century (Christian) King Cnut of England at his word certain of their religious practices lasted on the mainland well past the decline of Norse temporal power and fall of the last pagan king in York, Erik Bloodaxe, in 954. 3
International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2023
This exploration of a pilgrimage site associated with St. Olaf helps to link the legends and sagas associated with early Christianity in the Viking world. Ancient people would only undertake arduous journeys on pilgrimage if there was a good reason to make that trip. It seems quite possible that it was the nature of the people buried here that made S:t Olofsholm a site worthy of pilgrims traveling to it. We find evidence for migration and for weapon injuries in those buried at this pilgrimage site. In view of the historical texts about Olaf’s conversion of Gotland, Geber’s team argue that these individuals may have been involved in the Christian conversion of the island, so making the site worthy of pilgrimage.
Behind Heathendom: Archaeological Studies of Old Norse Religion
Scottish Archaeological Journal, 2005
This paper offers a synthesis of a large body of recent research into the Old Norse religion which has been conducted as part of the multidisciplinary research project Väger till Midgård-Roads to Midgard. Evidence for the Pre-Christian Norse religion is drawn from Medieval Icelandic literature, place-names and the archaeology of ritual sites. The movement from remote, open-air temples (vé) to purpose built ritual houses and finally churches is outlined and the development of a pre-Christian priesthood is explored. Burial archaeology from the Bronze Age to the Christian era provides a vital perspective on changing religious concepts. The prolonged contact with the Mediterranean world during the Roman Iron Age exerted a strong influence on old Norse religion and some of the most distinctively Scandinavian religious features can be seen to be hybrid cultural constructs.
Religious and Cultural Boundaries between Vikings and Irish: The Evidence of Conversion
The March in the Islands of the Medieval West, eds. J. Ní Ghradaigh & E. O'Byrne, 2012
The Scandinavian migrations of the early Viking Age imprinted in European minds an enduring image of vikings as marauding heathens. As descendants of these 'salt water bandits' settled into their new homes, they adopted traits from their host cultures. 2 One such trait was the adoption of Christianity. This was perhaps the biggest change which affected vikings in a colonial situation as it entailed a new system of belief and way of understanding the world. Vikings in Ireland have often portrayed as late converts, with christian ideas only taking hold over a century after vikings settled in the island. Nevertheless in this paper I seek to argue that vikings of Dublin began to adopt christianity at an early stage, although the process of conversion was protracted and possibly uneven across social ranks. The stereotype of Hiberno-Scandinavians as staunch heathens may need revision.
Heathens up North: Politics, Polemics, and Contemporary Norse Paganism in Norway
"The variety of religious positions commonly grouped together under the heading “Neo-Paganism” call for no homogenous reading of that phenomenon. As recent research on contemporary forms of paganism has flowered in recent years, emphasis has been given to the nuances and complexities of this kind of new religious currents. For instance it is clear that contemporary pagan currents, such as Wicca, Ásatrú, and Roman paganism, tend to vary significantly between themselves on matters of theology, sociological profile, and political tendencies. While varieties in the social manifestations of given groups can be partly explained by diverging religious/ideological content, it also holds true that ideological formations will be determined in part by the society in which they emerge. This means that a contemporary pagan current such as “Ásatrú” is not necessarily describable as one single tendency on a global scale, but will unavoidably be shaped by local conditions. Thus varieties within currents will tend to follow national and geographical borders, being always locally situated, and adapted to local political, social, and religious conditions. This article discusses the emergence and development of contemporary Norse paganism in Norway in light of the abovementioned framework. Special notice is given to the interplay between public discourses on issues such as paganism, the occult, neo-Nazism, and the relationship between the church and state in Norway, and the self-fashioning of reconstructionist Norse pagans. Through a partial comparison with the thoroughly discussed American context of contemporary Norse religion an argument is advanced that Norwegian Ásatrú came to bear certain distinct marks that are due to and only explicable by specific, local cultural conditions."