Read The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction for Free Online
Authors: Julian D. Richards
only comes later, and that women played an important role in the Christianization of Scandinavia. Some aspects of Christianity would have been attractive to them, including the prohibition of infanticide, the equality of the sexes before God, and belief in a paradise from which s
women were not excluded, unlike Valhalla. The majority of the g
kin
pendant crosses and Tating-ware jugs come from female graves and e Vi
women had a key role in dedicating rune stones (see below).
Th
Christianization is generally visible in the burial record. Christian burials may still have contained dress items, but there was a decrease in grave-goods. A rich 10th-century Danish grave recovered from Mammen in 1868 is characteristic of the transition to Christianity. The grave-goods included a gaming board and a famous silver-inlaid axe but there were no other weapons, and a large candle had been placed in the chamber. Tree ring dating of the burial chamber places it in 970–1, just five to ten years after the conversion of the royal Jellinge dynasty.
Cremation was prohibited by the early church as a pagan practice and declined during the 10th century, although in some areas it continued to be practised. At Valsta, in the Uppland region of Sweden, there is a typical farm cemetery of the Mälaren valley comprising c .70 burials, the majority dating to c .800–1150. During the 9th and 10th centuries all graves were cremations, and there is 26
no indication of any Christian influence from Birka, although the grave-goods indicate broad contacts including a glass beaker, Frankish, Frisian, and Slavonic pottery, Arabic coins and weights, and continental sword types.
Around 950 the inhumation rite was introduced, but cremation continued to be used in parallel until at least the mid-12th century.
The inhumations may represent the introduction of Christian beliefs, and although they are orientated east–west, they also still contain pagan elements, including grave-goods, Thor’s hammer amulets, and food offerings. Around 1100 a third group of graves was established on the northern plateau at the top of the cemetery.
Secondary inhumations were inserted into a large mid-9th-century barrow by removing a 6m-diameter area from the centre of the barrow and inserting three cist burials. The earlier cremation layer P
was placed around the insertions and a kerbstone added to the agans an
mound. Unfortunately all three cist burials were later robbed, but a small iron cross was recovered, as well as a rock crystal and white d Christians
quartz beads. The symbolic placement of the burials indicates a strong identification with the earlier chiefly burial, but also clear Christian symbolism coexisting with 12th-century cremation.
The 10th-century introduction of monumental rune stones provided a new means of commemoration of the dead. There are 2,500 Viking Age runic inscriptions in Sweden, c .250 in Denmark (including southern Sweden), and c .65 in Norway. The densest distribution is in the Uppland region of central Sweden, with 1,300
rune stones, over 60 per cent of which date to the establishment of a diocese there in the late 11th century. Birgit Sawyer has argued that rune stones had a secular function in ensuring inheritance and marking individual claims to land and this is certainly true, but the vast majority of rune stones are also Christian monuments. Over half are decorated with a cross, and over 200 contain prayers in the form of ‘May God help his/her soul . . . ’ Several rune stones mention the conversion of whole regions (p. 16). The early church incorporated bridge building into a system of indulgences, 27
comparable to the giving of alms or going on a pilgrimage. Around 150 rune stones were erected as monuments close to bridges; of these it is notable that 55 per cent were erected by women.
The dating of the rune stones emphasizes that Christianization was a long-drawn-out process. Although it is believed that Ansgar established a
women were not excluded, unlike Valhalla. The majority of the g
kin
pendant crosses and Tating-ware jugs come from female graves and e Vi
women had a key role in dedicating rune stones (see below).
Th
Christianization is generally visible in the burial record. Christian burials may still have contained dress items, but there was a decrease in grave-goods. A rich 10th-century Danish grave recovered from Mammen in 1868 is characteristic of the transition to Christianity. The grave-goods included a gaming board and a famous silver-inlaid axe but there were no other weapons, and a large candle had been placed in the chamber. Tree ring dating of the burial chamber places it in 970–1, just five to ten years after the conversion of the royal Jellinge dynasty.
Cremation was prohibited by the early church as a pagan practice and declined during the 10th century, although in some areas it continued to be practised. At Valsta, in the Uppland region of Sweden, there is a typical farm cemetery of the Mälaren valley comprising c .70 burials, the majority dating to c .800–1150. During the 9th and 10th centuries all graves were cremations, and there is 26
no indication of any Christian influence from Birka, although the grave-goods indicate broad contacts including a glass beaker, Frankish, Frisian, and Slavonic pottery, Arabic coins and weights, and continental sword types.
Around 950 the inhumation rite was introduced, but cremation continued to be used in parallel until at least the mid-12th century.
The inhumations may represent the introduction of Christian beliefs, and although they are orientated east–west, they also still contain pagan elements, including grave-goods, Thor’s hammer amulets, and food offerings. Around 1100 a third group of graves was established on the northern plateau at the top of the cemetery.
Secondary inhumations were inserted into a large mid-9th-century barrow by removing a 6m-diameter area from the centre of the barrow and inserting three cist burials. The earlier cremation layer P
was placed around the insertions and a kerbstone added to the agans an
mound. Unfortunately all three cist burials were later robbed, but a small iron cross was recovered, as well as a rock crystal and white d Christians
quartz beads. The symbolic placement of the burials indicates a strong identification with the earlier chiefly burial, but also clear Christian symbolism coexisting with 12th-century cremation.
The 10th-century introduction of monumental rune stones provided a new means of commemoration of the dead. There are 2,500 Viking Age runic inscriptions in Sweden, c .250 in Denmark (including southern Sweden), and c .65 in Norway. The densest distribution is in the Uppland region of central Sweden, with 1,300
rune stones, over 60 per cent of which date to the establishment of a diocese there in the late 11th century. Birgit Sawyer has argued that rune stones had a secular function in ensuring inheritance and marking individual claims to land and this is certainly true, but the vast majority of rune stones are also Christian monuments. Over half are decorated with a cross, and over 200 contain prayers in the form of ‘May God help his/her soul . . . ’ Several rune stones mention the conversion of whole regions (p. 16). The early church incorporated bridge building into a system of indulgences, 27
comparable to the giving of alms or going on a pilgrimage. Around 150 rune stones were erected as monuments close to bridges; of these it is notable that 55 per cent were erected by women.
The dating of the rune stones emphasizes that Christianization was a long-drawn-out process. Although it is believed that Ansgar established a
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