Read The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction for Free Online Page A
Authors: Julian D. Richards
church in Birka in the 9th century, the earliest churches found archaeologically belong to late 10th and 11th centuries. Following a pattern seen slightly earlier in England, many rural churches in southern Scandinavia appear to have started life as private estate chapels built of timber in the 10th century, followed by a documented explosion of stone church building in the 12th and 13th centuries. In some cases there is extraordinary evidence for continuity of sacred places. At Mære, for example, in the Trøndelag district of mid Norway the present stone church was built c .1150–1200. It was preceded by a wooden 11th-s
century church, which itself overlay Christian burials suggesting a g
kin
still earlier church. The first church lay on top of a cultural layer e Vi
with four post-holes and 19 gold foils, maybe the location of the Th
high seat of a 9th-century hall or hof site.
In conclusion, although ‘pagan’ practices and belief systems have become an essential part of the modern definition of Vikings, for 9th-century Scandinavians pre-Christian beliefs provided just another aspect of life. These beliefs were not exclusive and early Scandinavian kings soon embraced Christianity as another means by which they could legitimize their rule. In later chapters we shall see, however, that in some situations Scandinavian colonists overseas used burial rites as a means by which they could maintain a distinct identity, in the face of indigenous pressure to assimilate.
First, we need to examine changes in Scandinavian rural settlement.
28
Chapter 4
Changes in the countryside
Archaeologists studying the development of early states in Scandinavia during the Viking Age have argued that their origins lay in social and economic processes already under way in the late Iron Age. Major excavations in advance of development, as well as the archaeological recording of metal-detected finds, particularly in southern Scandinavia, have revealed a process of gradual settlement evolution, as well as a growing complexity of settlement types.
In Norway and the Swedish interior a pattern of isolated farmsteads, with small clusters of dwellings and outbuildings, was established during the Iron Age. In Denmark and southern Sweden there were relatively mobile villages as well as individual farms before the 9th century, but there is evidence for new patterns of landholding during the 10th and 11th centuries, and the establishment of the modern settlement pattern by the 12th century, reflected in place names ending in -toft , -torp , or -by .
Denmark and southern Sweden
In Denmark the period 500–800 was once seen as a period of decline, but more recent excavations show this was a prosperous age with growing social stratification; they demonstrate that the apparent desertion of settlements actually represents localized settlement movement. Archaeological work and metal detecting 29
has also revealed a much more complex system of settlement hierarchies.
Throughout southern Scandinavia a number of more specialized sites begin to emerge from the 6th century. Some appear to have functioned as production sites and landing places, established by aristocratic families who were looking for the opportunity to exchange production surplus for prestige goods. Many also incorporated religious functions. They include sites such as Helgö in Uppland; Paviken in Gotland; Gudme, Strandy Gammeltoft, and Fyn’s Hoved in Fyn; Boeslunde, Vester Egesborg, and Næs in Sjælland; Sebbersund and Bejsebakken in northern Jutland.
At Gudme, in South-East Fyn, an Iron Age settlement complex of over 50 farms covered a square kilometre. Over 7,000 metal objects s
dated 200–1000 have been found within the settlement area, g
kin
including six gold and five silver hoards, testament to the power e Vi
base of the local aristocracy. Many of the farms belonged to Th
craftsmen, on which goldsmiths and silversmiths worked, and where bronze casting was carried out.
century church, which itself overlay Christian burials suggesting a g
kin
still earlier church. The first church lay on top of a cultural layer e Vi
with four post-holes and 19 gold foils, maybe the location of the Th
high seat of a 9th-century hall or hof site.
In conclusion, although ‘pagan’ practices and belief systems have become an essential part of the modern definition of Vikings, for 9th-century Scandinavians pre-Christian beliefs provided just another aspect of life. These beliefs were not exclusive and early Scandinavian kings soon embraced Christianity as another means by which they could legitimize their rule. In later chapters we shall see, however, that in some situations Scandinavian colonists overseas used burial rites as a means by which they could maintain a distinct identity, in the face of indigenous pressure to assimilate.
First, we need to examine changes in Scandinavian rural settlement.
28
Chapter 4
Changes in the countryside
Archaeologists studying the development of early states in Scandinavia during the Viking Age have argued that their origins lay in social and economic processes already under way in the late Iron Age. Major excavations in advance of development, as well as the archaeological recording of metal-detected finds, particularly in southern Scandinavia, have revealed a process of gradual settlement evolution, as well as a growing complexity of settlement types.
In Norway and the Swedish interior a pattern of isolated farmsteads, with small clusters of dwellings and outbuildings, was established during the Iron Age. In Denmark and southern Sweden there were relatively mobile villages as well as individual farms before the 9th century, but there is evidence for new patterns of landholding during the 10th and 11th centuries, and the establishment of the modern settlement pattern by the 12th century, reflected in place names ending in -toft , -torp , or -by .
Denmark and southern Sweden
In Denmark the period 500–800 was once seen as a period of decline, but more recent excavations show this was a prosperous age with growing social stratification; they demonstrate that the apparent desertion of settlements actually represents localized settlement movement. Archaeological work and metal detecting 29
has also revealed a much more complex system of settlement hierarchies.
Throughout southern Scandinavia a number of more specialized sites begin to emerge from the 6th century. Some appear to have functioned as production sites and landing places, established by aristocratic families who were looking for the opportunity to exchange production surplus for prestige goods. Many also incorporated religious functions. They include sites such as Helgö in Uppland; Paviken in Gotland; Gudme, Strandy Gammeltoft, and Fyn’s Hoved in Fyn; Boeslunde, Vester Egesborg, and Næs in Sjælland; Sebbersund and Bejsebakken in northern Jutland.
At Gudme, in South-East Fyn, an Iron Age settlement complex of over 50 farms covered a square kilometre. Over 7,000 metal objects s
dated 200–1000 have been found within the settlement area, g
kin
including six gold and five silver hoards, testament to the power e Vi
base of the local aristocracy. Many of the farms belonged to Th
craftsmen, on which goldsmiths and silversmiths worked, and where bronze casting was carried out.
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