The Conversion of Scandinavia

Viking Krallar Niye Hristiyanlığı Kabul Etti?

In each of the Scandinavian kingdoms, unification goes hand in hand with conversion. By officially accepting and imposing Christianity, kings achieved two goals. First, they removed the ability of their competitors to use religion to build networks of friendship and spiritual relationships. The competitors were unable to use paganism for that purpose, since public pagan rites were outlawed, as well as Christianity, since the kings controlled the bishops and thus access to the rituals of that religion. Second, they acquired all the advantages of Christianity, including its legitimizing power, the administrative know-how of its clergy, and its prestigious international connections.

In the competition for power among chieftains, some came out on top, with the result that the first millennium saw fewer and fewer serious contenders as the centuries passed, until only three remained in the early second millennium. They were the kings of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and, not coincidentally, all of them were Christians. They needed Christianity and the church, for they had become so powerful that they were unable to create personal relationships with their followers and subjects because there were too many of them. At that point, Scandinavian kings institutionalized their power. They used the church to help create and legitimize structured kingdoms that were held together by more than gift exchange relationships. The church provided an ideology of kingship that emphasized, among other things, that there could be only one king, just as there was only one God and only one church.

Mezarın Pagan Viking mi, Hristiyan mı Belirleme Yöntemi

Archeologists look at six or more criteria to determine whether a grave is Christian or pagan. First, Christian burials were almost without exception inhumations, that is, the body was not burned before it was buried. Cremation was taboo among early medieval Christians. For instance, around 780 Charlemagne legislated the death penalty for those burning their dead. He did so because cremation was intimately associated with paganism. This does not necessarily mean, however, that every inhumation is Christian, for pagans also sometimes buried their dead without burning them.

Viking Townların Organik Değil Planlamayla Büyümesine Kanıt

Most Scandinavian trade towns were laid out in regular lots, with straight streets organized on a grid system. This suggests that they did not come about spontaneously or grow organically but rather were established and controlled by a governing authority.

Vikinglerin Ticaretle Uğraşma Motivasyonu

Trade turned out to be a profitable pursuit for Scandinavians. Profit and the desire for exotic goods explain the flourishing trade of the Viking Age. It came about because of the political needs of Scandinavian chieftains.

Viking şefler ticaretle egzotik malları ülkesine getiriyor ve bunları gifting ile savaşçı retinue toplamak için kullanıyor.

Viking ve Bozkır Göçebelerin Benzerliği

The strategy of the Vikings was similar to that employed by many nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppes: ensure that you are swift in appearing and disappearing, acquire a reputation for being dangerous and cruel, and people will be willing to pay you when you suddenly appear at their gates.

Charlemagne Döneminin Vikinglere Taraflı Yaklaşımı

Yet, Charlemagne’s exploits are generally presented in a positive, almost triumphal light in medieval sources, as well as in modern accounts. Charlemagne was the victorious, strong emperor, who has now even become the symbol of the European Union, which has borrowed his name for a huge office building in Brussels. Almost all the medieval sources for his exploits, however, were produced by his subjects, some of the same writers who were greatly dismayed by the violence of the Vikings. The difference is one of perspective. As long as the violence was directed outwards, Frankish writers did not mind it, but when the Franks themselves became the victims of violence, they protested loudly. The same may be said about others who suffered Viking aggression. Since Scandinavians did not have much of a written culture in the Viking Age, the perspective of their victims on the Continent has dominated the modern view of the period, inspiring an understanding of Viking violence as unique and extraordinary.

Viking Evlerinde Fireplace’in Önemi

Fireplaces at or close to their centers were not used for cooking or handicraft but provided light and heat. The real center of gravity in the hall was, however, the richly decorated high seat of the chieftain.19 Here the chieftain sat, looking out over his guests and followers, whom he led in feasting, mead drinking, and sacrifices inside the hall, and in war outside it. It was here that the relationships that kept the group together were manifested and maintained.