VV king king HeritageHeritagemagazine 3/2005 Högskolan på Gotland Gotland University Viking Heritage Magazine 3/05 Editorial IN THIS ISSUE Choosing Heaven The Religion of the Vikings 3–8 THE CHANGE OF RELIGION in the Viking Age – illustrated on the front page – is the subject of the two opening articles in this autumn issue. When the The Cross and the Sword – Viking Age began around 750 AD, most of Europe had already been Strategies of conversion converted to Christianity. In Scandinavia this process of transformation went in medieval Europe 9–13 on for several hundred years and the first churches were not built until The tidy metalworkers around 1100. of Fröjel 14–17 In the article Choosing heaven Gun Westholm tells about the Viking-age Norse Aesir cult – that, in turn, replaced an older fertility religion – and The Worlds of the Vikings about its origin and myths that might very well be depicted on Gotlandic – an exhibition at picture stones. Gotlands Fornsal, Visby 18–21 But how was the change from the old pagan faith into Christianity brought about? You will find some answers in the article The cross and the NEW BOOKS 21, 30–31, 35 sword where Alexandra Sanmark discusses the strategies of conversion in DESTINATION VIKING different places in medieval Europe. From Orkney we have received an interesting contribution to the debate The Fearless Vikings… 22–24 about whether the Vikings integrated with the indigenous Pictish people on Genocide in Orkney? the island or slaughtered them, when they took over the islands. Perhaps The fate of recent excavations can lead to new approaches to this debate. the Orcadian Picts 25–27 But who actually were the Vikings? To find the answer to this question Theatre and re-enactments you must read the article, The Worlds of the Vikings, by Malin Lindquist! at Gene Iron-age farm in And as usual, you will find plenty of good reading for the dark autumn northern Sweden 28–30 nights in this issue, so curl up and enjoy it! Marita E Ekman Editor Heritage News Email: [email protected] HERITAGE NEWS 32–34 The ignorant booby had best be silent when he moves among other men, No one will know what a nit-wit he is until he begins to talk; No one knows less what a nit-wit he is, than the man who talks too much. From Hávámal (Words from “The High One”) Drawing by Lou Harrison, [email protected] About the front page The religion of the Vikings. Human sacrifices and weapon offerings from Lillmyr in Barlingbo parish and Möllegårds in Hörsne parish, Gotland, Sweden. In front: The Madonna from Viklau church (copy) is dated to the end of the 12th century. These objects are exhibited in the County Museum of Gotland, Sweden. Photo Raymond Hejdström. GODRINGS TRYCKERI,Visby GODRINGS TRYCKERI,Visby 2005 www.hgo.se/viking 2 Viking Heritage Magazine 3/05 By Gun Westholm When the Viking Age began in Choosing about 750 AD, Scandinavia was among the last of the heathen outposts in Europe along with Heaven the Baltic, Russian and Slavic areas east of the Elbe. The Religion of the Vikings Fig 1. The spread of Christianity and Islam at the beginning of the Viking Age, around 750 AD. White: Pagan region Grey: Christian region Black: Islamic region Map by Maria Westholm. Christianity had slowly spread from the during 11th century. Many believe that change seems to have begun. The fertile Middle East, Egypt, the Roman Empire the religion of the Vikings arose as a areas of the plains people were taken over and the Byzantium area (4th century), to unique phenomenon in northern Europe. by warlike nomads and cattle herders the realm of the Franks and, during the But the Aesir cult was a warrior from the mountain regions. These tribes 6th century, further to England and religion that had several equivalents in had male chief gods who honoured Ireland. Parts of the Germanic area were both Europe and Asia, religions that had warring activities and warriors who had Christianised during 7th century, and in replaced other much earlier, peaceful fallen in battle. Later on some of the war the middle of 8th century the large beliefs with clear ties to agriculture and gods came to be called Zeus, Jahve and Carolingian kingdom was created forming fertility. In these very old forms of Odin. a cohesive Christian area from Italy in the religion, the chief god was often of the Outside Scandinavia, Odin was called South to the Slavonian region in North female sex – Mother Earth – and a good Wodan/Wotan among the Germanic (fig. 1). yearly crop and high yields from the tribes, Godan among the Langobardi and livestock were the main purpose for Woden in England. Both Woden and Before the Aesir Gods worship. Donar – Thor – are mentioned as early as In Scandinavia belief in the Aesir gods Female goddesses dominated Europe’s the 6th century on the continent. Odin was the prevailing religion before the and Asia’s religious beliefs until and Zeus have many common qualities, as Christian message slowly won territory approximately 5000 BC, then a slow do their respective wives Frigg and Hera. 3 http://viking.hgo.se Viking Heritage Magazine 3/05 There are also resemblances between other as symbol. She has been assumed to be worship Nerthus. It has been possible to Aesir gods and the Greek gods of the model for the goddesses Frigg and locate only one of the names with any Antiquity. Freyja in the North. According to certainty – the Angles. They lived in the The story of creation in our Nordic mythology, Freyja was the daughter of northern part of Germany, on the border mythology has many parallels in the Njord of the Vanir race, and a sister to to Denmark on a peninsula that was ancient myths of India and Iran. Frey, who owned the remarkable ship called Angeln. Two of the other names According to the poetic Edda, a human- Skidbladne. bear similarities to those in Schleswig – like giant is created – Ymer – from the Holstein. vapour from the huge cold abyss “Nerthus, who is the same as Mother Earth, Ginnungagap and the heat of its opposite believes that she intervenes in people’s lives Tacitus tells about how Nerthus’ annual Muspelhem. At the same time the first cow and travels in procession among the people. journey ends: Audhumbla is created. The equivalent to Ymer in the old “Then the wagon and cloth are cleaned, and Indian Veda manuscripts is if you can be believe it, the goddess’ called Yama, and Yima in picture in a distant sea. The slaves the ancient Persian legends that do this are then swallowed but it is still the same story! up by that sea. From this grows a In India the cow is referred to secret dread and a pious uncertainty as the source and mother of life. about what that is, that only the to In the Indian epic Mahabharata the dead are allowed to see.” portrays two heirs – the blind Dhritarashtra and the honest This cult of the northern Vihura bearing close similarities Germanic tribes can be linked to the to Odin’s sons, the blind Höder peat corpses that have been found and the honest Balder. In the within Danish and North German Nordic story, the blind Höder is territory in silted-up lakes. persuaded to shoot an arrow of Nerthus – Njärd (the Aesir Njord) mistletoe at his brother, while the seems to be a Nordic fertility goddess Indian equivalen tells about a and the first ancestress of the Vanir. dice game that ended with catastrophic consequences. In Picture stones as sources of both cases the situation leads to knowledge the disintegration of the whole The oldest Gotlandic picture stones world order. from the period approximately After the end of the world – 400–600 AD have symbols that can Ragnarök – a new world is born. be linked to an old agricultural cult The same cyclic view of time rather than a warrior religion. exists in Iran and Greece as well These feature sun discs with as in India. One can also see swirling wheels that seem to stand linguistic resemblances between for movement, pairs of animals Greek, ancient Indian languages and the Fig 2. The partly reconstructed picture that symbolise rites unknown to us, Germanic languages. stone from Austers in Hangvar parish, at possibly illustrated to promote a plentiful It is obvious that the Aesir cult derived the bottom a ship’s stem, a sun wheel crop or show ritual animal baiting. its main features from many religions in and on the top a man in front of the Another motif on the picture stones Southern Europe and Asia. It is uncertain gaping mouth of a beast. from this period is fine-looking boats with Photo Raymond Hejdström. where the cumulative faith originated, but high stem-or sternposts and rudders. we can be very sure that it is a religion Above the ships’ middle section there is a that immigrated to Scandinavia! superstructure with circles on it. The sun But there was a religion in Scandinavia that fills nature with new life every spring even before the Aesir cult. We know about There is a holy grove on an island in the probably became a symbol of resurrection this religion only through sacrificial finds, ocean and on this a blessed wagon, covered even for the dead people, perhaps the graves and from illustrations on the with cloth,” struggles of the animal pairs is meant to Gotlandic picture stones.