Christian rune stones

“Sveriges kyrkohistoria. Missionstid och tidig medeltid” is the first volume in a series of eight books covering the Church history of Sweden. Fortunately or otherwise, only available in Swedish!

This first volume covers the periods known in Swedish historiography as the Viking Age and the Early Middle Ages, more specifically the period from around 800 to 1250. An introductory chapter deals with the Western European theatre circa 500 to 1000. It was during this period that Christianity first became known in Sweden, most notably through the missionary activities of Ansgar (9^th century) who made a famous visit to the Viking trading town of Birka at Björkö in Lake Mälaren. The Christian religion spread wider during the 11^th century, with many of the Viking rune stones actually being Christian. Allying itself with the royal power, the Catholic Church became well-established during the 12^th century, a process concurrent with the slow evolution of a centralized Swedish kingdom. The book also mentions relevant developments in Denmark, since Scania (Skåne) was originally Danish. The story ends immediately before the ascension to power of Birger jarl, the first ruler of something that at least looked like a united “Sweden”.

Very little is *really* known about the period in question, the written sources being sparse, contradictory and not always easy to interpret. 19^th century national romanticism tried to paint the Viking Age as a heroic time of a strong Swedish kingdom, established for centuries, dominated from Old Uppsala by elected kings and a marvelous pagan temple. Non-Swedish Christian sources were often marooned to prove the point. This book is rather based on the new perspectives launched during the 1970´s, according to which no “Sweden” existed during the period in question, the area being divided among a large number of petty “kings” or rulers, some of whom may have been Danish vassals. Old Uppsala may have been important, but the huge heathen temple described by Adam of Bremen (who never visited Sweden) is probably mythological, although both a hall of worship and a royal house may have stood at the location. As already noted, it was to some extent thanks to the alliance between an emerging royal power and the Church that Sweden became a united kingdom, a process culminating only after the Viking Age. Nor did Uppland (the area around Uppsala) play the central role in this process, rather, the earliest “real” kings were from Götaland. The role of Östergötland is emphasized in this book. A funny detail is that the editors seem to believe in the legend of St Erik and his crusade to Finland!

“Sveriges kyrkohistoria” is written in a popular style, but its somewhat obscure subject matter (most people don´t care about Church history) might make it too narrow to most of the educated public anyway. If you are a Church history buff, on the other hand, you will find a lot of interesting info in this volume. Swedish saints, holy kings, the role of women in spreading Christianity (it was considerable), the excavations at Old Uppsala, the various Catholic monastic orders, the conflicts over canon law, Church taxation…well, I say the book is pretty comprehensive. The editors write off Byzantine influences on Sweden, even at Gotland. They speculate that rune stones may have been raised to ease the passage of the deceased through purgatory – rune stones were usually raised to commemorate the deaths of people who for some reason or another couldn´t be given a proper Christian burial (say, slain Vikings in foreign lands). Even “pagan” rune stones are probably often Christian, with mythological motifs from Norse paganism being reinterpreted.

Probably indispensable if you really want to know the above and understand modern non-runic Swedish. Buy it today from the vendor of your choice!