DOCSLIB.ORG

42. ANSGAR. (8 September 801 – 3 February 865) About His Work

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
42. ANSGAR. (8 September 801 – 3 February 865) About His Work 42. ANSGAR. (8 September 801 – 3 February 865) about his work. He saw life as an adventure and It is dark. The people of Corbie, Germany, tired he pursued a life of fun and enjoyment and never from their hard day's work, are asleep. In the local gave death or eternity a thought. monastery near the Weser River, the monks are also sleeping. ANSGAR'S DREAM In our thoughts, we wander through its deserted One evening, tired after a day of strenuous study, passages. Ansgar was soon fast asleep. As he slept, he In one of the many cells, a young monk is sleeping dreamt. In his dream, he is on a long journey on a quietly. wet and slippery path. His feet get stuck in the mud, and he constantly slides out. How annoying! Quietly? No, not at all! He tosses and turns Next to the path he is travelling on is another restlessly on his plain bed. He kicks wildly, and his road. That route is smooth, firm and level, with facial expressions change dramatically. One no mud at all. Laboriously, he heads for that road. moment he's looking tired, but then he suddenly Suddenly he stops. On the level, well-paved smiles. He raises his arms. Then the happy smile street, a group of women, dressed in white, are disappears, and a gloomy expression filled with approaching. Fascinated, he looks at the women disappointment covers his face. He sighs and as they come closer. Suddenly a shock passes restlessly tosses around again. through him. Among those women, he sees his The young monk is dreaming. This dream had a mother, who was taken away from him in his powerful impact on him, and he never forgot it. youth! He wants to call her, but only hoarse Who is this young man? What was his dream? unintelligible sounds come from his throat. He The young monk is Ansgar. works very hard to reach his mother, but he He was born in 801, and his mother died while he makes no headway. Each time he slips back into the mud. All his efforts to get to his mother are in was still quite vain. Suddenly the woman at the front of the young. Poor Ansgar. He missed group stops. She raises her finger warningly and says to him: his dear mother very much. His "Do you want to get to your mother? Then you father sent him to must abandon the way of sin and vanity. If you the monastery, continue on your path, you will never succeed!" where the monks raised him. He The women walk on and finally disappear into the attended the distance. He tries to reach out to his mother, but convent school and she disappears as well. proved to be an That was Ansgar's dream. No wonder he never excellent student. forgot it! God had blessed him with a sharp The message was clear: forsake sin! From that mind, and it wasn't moment, Ansgar changed. God gave him this long before he was dream to bring him to repentance. He became a the highest achiever quiet, serious young man who no longer enjoyed in his class. the vanities of the world. However, Ansgar Ansgar, wikipedia It wasn't long before the monks began to talk wasn't too serious about Ansgar. News of his changed attitude spread to other A young man, Harald, succeeded him. monasteries too. He But one of Harald's brothers also wanted to became an example become king. to others. His ambition resulted in a fierce quarrel between Some time later, he the two brothers. dreamed again. In They gathered their armies and went to battle. Harald’s brother defeated him and threatened this second dream, he dreamt that the him with exile. Lord appeared to Seeing no other way out, Harald asked Louis the Ansgar. him, saying: Pious, king of the Franks, for help. Louis was franciscanmedia.org "Go, teach all the willing to help, but on the condition that Harald nations, baptising them into the name of the would permit missionaries to come into his Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." country. Harald agreed. When Harald returned to Denmark, Ebbo, bishop of Reims, was with him. This second dream also made a deep impression on him. Ansgar had no idea what this dream Full of courage, Ebbo commenced his challenging meant. Daily he asked: task. In the beginning, it seemed as if his work "Lord, what do you want me to do? Show me the was bearing fruit. Ebbo baptised several Danes. way I must go." This progress made him very happy. He took And the Lord did show him the way. several Danish boys into his house, where he But it was not an easy way. cared well for them. He instructed those boys in It was a way full of cares and difficulties, of the Christian doctrine. His aim was that they disappointments, troubles, and sorrows. would turn to the Lord and become Christians. If that was successful, he planned to send them THE POLITICAL SITUATION back to their tribes as missionaries. His plan In the previous chapter, you read about the worked well till the argument between Harald and terrible destruction committed by the Vikings his brother unexpectedly flared up again. For the during their plundering expeditions. second time, Harald's brother threatened to overthrow him and send him into exile. Those Vikings were awful, savage, cruel, murderous people. And so, king Harald leaves Denmark and travels to They knew no pity. Louis the Pious to ask for help again. Bishop Ebbo They were also full of unrestrained hatred also had to leave towards Christianity. the country. He is Odin was the only god they would recognise! profoundly Willibrord (chapter 37) brought God's Word to the disappointed and Danish people in 696. The hatred and enmity he discouraged since experienced were so great that he soon had to many of his plans return, disappointed. It seemed impossible to had not come to bring those headstrong pagans to repentance. fruition. It seems nothing can Charlemagne also thought of sending missionaries conquer the to them, but that powerful emperor also Viking’s hatred, abandoned the attempts, and nothing happened. enmity and Louis the Pious. The When Louis the Pious took over the government aversion for the Viking raids began during from his father, the Viking raids began. During gospel. his reign. Wordpress.com those years, the Danish king died. This time Harald travels to the German city of Mainz, where Louis taken assistants with him, but no one dared to risk the Pious lives. The young Danish king is king that. Only one monk from Ansgar's monastery is Louis' guest for quite some time. During that prepared to go with him. Ansgars' monastic time, Louis and Harald have many discussions. brother Autbertus. Louis the Pious gives Ansgar Those conversations are more than just and Autbertus a new ship to sail to Denmark. So, discussions about politics. Louis speaks to Harald two boats head down the Rhine river: one for about God, and the Lord blesses those Harald and his followers and the other for the conversations. missionaries. Will they be successful this time? The emperor fervently hopes they will be! But at In 826, Harald repents. this stage, no one besides God knows the answer. He rejects paganism and accepts the gospel. The priest baptises him in the city of Mainz. During the voyage to Denmark, Ansgar studies Louis is delighted! hard to learn the Danish language so he can speak He fervently hopes that they can now bring to the Danes in their language. After an Christianity to Denmark! uneventful journey, they land in Denmark and He also hopes an added benefit will be that the step ashore. What will the future hold? horrific Viking invasions will decrease through this conversion. THE VIKINGS FIGHT BACK ANSGAR BECOMES A MISSIONARY A year later, somewhere in Jutland on the Danish peninsula, a sturdy but plain building stands in the When Harald is ready to return to his own middle of a forest. This building is the mission country, he is happy to take a missionary with school founded by Ansgar. The brave missionary, him. But that is easier said than done! No one faithfully assisted by Autbertus, has worked wants to go to Denmark! Who dares take on such tirelessly and passionately for a whole year. a difficult task? Several Danish boys receive regular instruction at the mission school, where they learn about No one… except Ansgar, the pious young monk Christian doctrine. Ansgar also founded a few from the monastery at Corbie! Hadn't the Lord monasteries in Jutland. Indeed, it was a promising Himself called him to that work? Isn't his daily beginning. prayer that God show him the way forward? And But then…? now, unexpectedly, that prayer is answered! A savage cry fills the air. When Emperor Louis asks him, he immediately "Odin! Odin!" consents! But now another problem arises. It was The threatening chant echoes through the forest. a custom in those days for missionaries to take The wild Danes come charging in. Swinging clubs, along twelve assistants. Ansgar would gladly have axes, and bludgeons, they attack. With a thumping crash, a heavy axe smashes into the front door of the mission school. Again, and again they swing their axe down on the heavy door. Finally, the door splinters apart and falls open. The raving mob charges in, and in short order, everything is smashed to pieces and destroyed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • FULLTEXT01.Pdf
    Digitalisering av redan tidigare utgivna vetenskapliga publikationer Dessa fotografier är offentliggjorda vilket innebär att vi använder oss av en undantagsregel i 23 och 49 a §§ lagen (1960:729) om upphovsrätt till litterära och konstnärliga verk (URL). Undantaget innebär att offentliggjorda fotografier får återges digitalt i anslutning till texten i en vetenskaplig framställning som inte framställs i förvärvssyfte. Undantaget gäller fotografier med både kända och okända upphovsmän. Bilderna märks med ©. Det är upp till var och en att beakta eventuella upphovsrätter. SWEDISH NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD RIKSANTIKVARIEÄMBETET Mwtwl ^ bfikj O Opw UmA mwfrtMs O Cme-fou ö {wert* RoA«l O "liWIøf'El'i'fcA Birka Bente Magnus National Heritage Board View from the Fort Hill towards the Black Earth and Hemlanden (“The Homelands ”) at Birka. Birka is no. 2 in the series “Cultural Monuments in Sweden”, a set of guides to some of the most interesting ancient and historic monuments in Sweden. Author: Bente Magnus wrote the original text in Norwegian Translator: Alan Crozier Editor: Gunnel Friberg Layout: Agneta Modig ©1998 National Heritage Board ISBN 91-7209-125-8 1:3 Publisher: National Heritage Board, Box 5405, SE-114 84 Stockholm, Sweden Tel +46 (0)8 5191 8000 Printed by: Halls Offset, Växjö, 2004 Aerial view of Birka, 1997. The history of a town In Lake Mälaren, about 30 kilometres west protectedlocation, it attracted people from of Stockholm, between the fjords of Södra far and near to come to offer their goods Björkfjärdenand Hovgårdsfjärden,lies the and services. Today Birka is one of Swe­ island of Björkö. Until 1,100 years ago, den’s sites on Unesco’s World Heritage List there was a small, busy market town on and a popular attraction for thousands of the western shore of the island.
    [Show full text]
  • Download a Pdf File of This Issue for Free
    Issue 63: How the Vikings Took up the Faith Conversion of the Vikings: Did You Know? Fascinating and little-known facts about the Vikings and their times. What's a Viking? To the Franks, they were Northmen or Danes (no matter if they were from Denmark or not). The English called them Danes and heathens. To the Irish, they were pagans. Eastern Europe called them the Rus. But the Norse term is the one that stuck: Vikings. The name probably came from the Norse word vik, meaning "bay" or "creek," or from the Vik area, the body of water now called Skagerrak, which sits between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In any case, it probably first referred only to the raiders (víkingr means pirate) and was later applied to Scandinavians as a whole between the time of the Lindesfarne raid (793) and the Battle of Hastings (1066). Thank the gods it's Frigg's day. Though Vikings have a reputation for hit-and-run raiding, Vikings actually settled down and influenced European culture long after the fires of invasion burned out. For example, many English words have roots in Scandinavian speech: take, window, husband, sky, anger, low, scant, loose, ugly, wrong, happy, thrive, ill, die, beer, anchor. … The most acute example is our days of the week. Originally the Romans named days for the seven most important celestial bodies (sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn). The Anglo-Saxons inserted the names of some Norse deities, by which we now name Tuesday through Friday: the war god Tiw (Old English for Tyr), Wodin (Odin), Thor, and fertility goddess Frigg.
    [Show full text]
  • The Danish Vikings -- Three Centuries of the Viking
    THE DANISH VIKINGS The three centuries of the Viking era In the year 793 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to a Viking raid on the Lindisfarne Monastery on an island off the coast of northeastern England: “In this year dire forewarnings came over the land of the Northumbrians and miserably terrified the people; dragons were seen flying in the air. A great famine soon followed these tokens; and a little after that, in the same year, on the VIth of the Ides of January (Jan. 8th) the havoc of heathen men miserably destroyed God’s church at Lindisfarne, through rapine and slaughter.” This raid, the first registered Viking raid in Europe, is now traditionally used as the date of the beginning of the Viking era. We do, though, have indirect information about earlier Viking raids on England and in Scandinavia several of the features characteristic of the social order of the Viking era go back to the earlier 700s so that the beginning of the period may well be dated to the first half of the eighth century. During the following three hundred years or so Scandinavia played a prominent part in many important and dramatic events in Europe. In their open square rigged vessels the Vikings plied the coastal waters of Europe and disembarked as traders, buccaneers or colonisers –whichever the scenario might recommend. The word Viking is seen on several contemporary Scandinavian runic stones, probably in the context of “one fighting at sea” or “battle at sea”. Elsewhere in the world the Norsemen were otherwise referred to. The Franks called them “ascomans” or “normanni” while the Anglo-Saxon sources frequently used the designation “dani”.
    [Show full text]
  • Slesvig Och Birka Lindqvist, Sune Fornvännen 21, 245-265 Ingår I: Samla.Raa.Se Slesvig Och Birka
    Slesvig och Birka Lindqvist, Sune Fornvännen 21, 245-265 http://kulturarvsdata.se/raa/fornvannen/html/1926_245 Ingår i: samla.raa.se Slesvig och Birka. Av SUNE LINDQVIST. min föregående uppsats "Hedeby och Birka" (sid.l—26 ovan) utgick jag bl. a. från den förutsättningen, att det vid Danmarks forna sydgräns belägna Hedeby, staden inom halvkretsvallen vid Haddeby Nor, begynnt sin tillvaro som mer betydande handelsort med stadigvarande bosättning omkring år 900, medan det ur 800-talets historia be­ kanta danska Slesvig är att söka inom de äldsta delarna av den nutida staden med samma namn, på norra sidan Slien och en­ dast omkring 2 km. fågelvägen frän 900-talets Hedeby. En övertygande bevisning för denna åsikt är, såsom jag ävenledes nämnde, framlagd i de danska arkeologerna SOPHUS MULLERS och CARL NEERGAARDS värdefulla arbete Danevirke (Nordiske Fortidsminder I, sid. 197—302). En enkel hänvisning till detta för lösningen av hithörande problem grundläggande arbete borde rätteligen i och för sig vara tillfyllestgörande. Emellertid har un­ der senaste tiden en motsatt mening med stor bestämdhet häv­ dats av professor ELIS WADSTEIN i arbetet Norden och Västeuropa i gammal tid (Populärt vetensk. föreläsn. vid Göteborgs Hög­ skola, n. f. XXII), varom jag först tog kännedom, sedan föregå­ ende uppsats i huvudsak fullbordats. Wadstein är övertygad om, att staden inom halvkretsvallen existerat redan omkr. 800 och var det ursprungliga Slesvig, medan staden pä norra sidan Slien uppkommit tidigast under 900-talet genom överflyttning av in­ byggare i halvkretsvallen. Då jag i det följande skall undersöka förhållandet mellan 800-talets Birka och dess danska motsvarig- 246 Sune Lindqvist.
    [Show full text]
  • The Devil in the Writings and Thought of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604)
    The Devil in the Writings and Thought of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) Charlotte Emily Kingston PhD University of York Department of History October 2011 2 ABSTRACT This thesis explores the portrayal of the devil in the writings and thought of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604). It examines his exegetical, hagiographical and homiletic works in addition to his correspondence. It analyses the ways in which Gregory described, understood, and used the figure of the devil, and places this within Gregory's wider conceptual framework. It proposes new ways of approaching the topic, particularly in his exegetical works, and looks as much into the associations that he drew as the doctrines that he preached. By looking at a wide selection of his works, this thesis gives an insight into how this one idea manifested itself across a variety of genres, and also how it affected his practical politics and interpretation of real-life situations. As part of this it explores the relationship between Gregory's diabology and ecclesiology, and the influence of this upon his understanding of the Roman primacy. Whilst Gregory the Great has been subject to vast amounts of scholarship, as of yet no such study has been done which takes into consideration so many of his works. This thesis therefore offers a fresh perspective and provides new ways of thinking about how Gregory used and understood the idea of the devil. 3 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 6 A Note on Translations and Biblical References 7 Author's Declaration 8 1.0 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 Gregory's Writings
    [Show full text]
  • The Life of Ansgar by Rimbert Translation and Footnotes by Scott A. Mellor
    The Life of Ansgar By Rimbert Translation and footnotes by Scott A. Mellor Chapter 1 [The Introduction to the life and conversion of Saint Ansgar, the first archbishop of Nordalbing1 and holy archbishop of the land of the Swedes and the Danes as well as the Slavs.] The sons and disciples of the most reverend Father Ansgar, to whom has been granted everlasting happiness, greet the blessed fathers and brothers who are soldiers for God at the sacred cloister of Corbie. Special veneration and affection out of the love for Christ are due to these soldiers, and we disciples of Ansgar pray for the peace and welfare of those who rule over them in the name of the Lord. ... Chapter 2 [As a child Ansgar lacked an enlightened spirit, but he is inspired by heavenly revelation. Soon after the death of his mother, he was sent to be educated. Ansgar learned that his mother was in the company of Saint Mary through a vision, and through this vision he was reminded of the Lord. Fleeing his own vanity, he began to be serious about life.] Already as a young boy, Ansgar’s sanctity and piety began to increase. The older he grew, the more copious his holiness became. Even in his infancy, he received spiritual revelations from heaven. By the grace of God, he was visited from above and told to turn his thoughts from earthly things and to embrace with all his heart the heavenly. He confessed these revelations to some of us who were close to him with the understanding that they should not be told to others during his life.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded on 2018-08-23T18:10:12Z
    Title National identity, classical tradition, Christian reform and colonial expansion at the ends of the earth: an analysis of representations of the Swedish and Norwegian peoples in Adam of Bremen’s history of the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen and the Irish in Gerald of Wales’s topography of Ireland Author(s) Forde, Britt Publication date 2016 Original citation Forde, B. 2016. National identity, classical tradition, Christian reform and colonial expansion at the ends of the earth: an analysis of representations of the Swedish and Norwegian peoples in Adam of Bremen’s history of the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen and the Irish in Gerald of Wales’s topography of Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2016, Britt Forde. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/3612 from Downloaded on 2018-08-23T18:10:12Z National Identity, Classical Tradition, Christian Reform and Colonial Expansion at the Ends of the Earth: An Analysis of Representations of the Swedish and Norwegian Peoples in Adam of Bremen’s History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen and the Irish in Gerald of Wales’s Topography of Ireland Britt Forde, MA (Hons) January, 2016 A thesis submitted to the National University of Ireland, Cork in fulfilment of the doctorate of philosophy in History School of History Head of School of History: Professor David Ryan Supervisor: Dr. Diarmuid Scully Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter 1: ‘Adam and Gerald in the Context of Church Reform
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography SCANDINAVIA and ICELAND
    'Converting the Isles' Bibliography SCANDINAVIA and ICELAND By Dr Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide The following bibliography lists some important contributions to the study of the conversion of Scandinavia (i.e. Denmark, Norway and Sweden) and Iceland, and does not purport to be exhaustive. The volume of material for each region varies, in regard to both primary and secondary sources. Iceland is well known for its unique medieval literary traditions. Medieval Icelandic documents often describe Norway as well, while our understanding of Denmark can be informed by German sources. Perhaps owing to the vagaries of source survival, Sweden has more conversion studies based on archaeological evidence than Norway or Denmark. Denmark and Norway in particular, had close links to the British Isles in the relevant period. In some of the literature listed below, these relations are studied closely. The bibliography includes literature in vernacular languages, but priority is given to literature in English, when available. My thanks to Dr Brittany Schorn for her contribution to the bibliography. Primary Sources ― Tacitus, Germania, trans. J.B. Rives (1999) ― Ælfric, De falsis diis; http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/aelfric/defalsis.html ― Adam of Bremen, History of the Archbishops of Hamburg;Bremen, trans. F. J. Tschan (1959); rpr. with new introduction and selected bibliography by Timothy Reuter (2002) ― Thietmar, Chronicon, trans. D. A. Warner, Ottonian Germany: The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg (2001) ― The Poetic Edda, trans. C. Larrington (1996) ― Snorri Sturluson, Edda, trans. A. Faulkes (1987) ― The Letters of Saint Boniface, trans. E. Emerton (2000), 26-8; also #167, Letter from Bishop Daniel of Winchester to St Boniface , English Historical Documents Volume 1, c.
    [Show full text]
  • Conquest and Colonization in the Early Middle Ages: the Carolingians and Saxony, C
    Conquest and Colonization in the Early Middle Ages: The Carolingians and Saxony, c. 751–842 by Christopher Thomas Landon A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Christopher Thomas Landon 2017 Conquest and Colonization in the Early Middle Ages: The Carolingians and Saxony, c. 751–842 Christopher Thomas Landon Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto 2017 Abstract This thesis reconsiders longstanding questions regarding the economic and ideological forces that drove Frankish expansion into Saxony in the late eighth and early ninth centuries, Frankish strategies of rule in the newly conquered region, and the effects of conquest and cultural disposession on the Saxons themselves. Specifically, the dissertation seeks to present a new interpretation of this critical historical episode as a process of colonization. After an introduction that briefly outlines various conceptions and definitions of colonization and how these apply to the early medieval period, chapter one provides an overview of the main Latin and Old Saxon sources regarding Saxony and the Saxons in the Carolingian period from the coronation of Pippin III to the suppression of the Saxon Stellinga uprising in 842. The chapter emphasizes the tendentious nature of these sources and the ways in which they reflect the perspective of the colonizer while obscuring the experiences of the colonized. Chapter two looks at the ideological justifications for the conquest advanced in the Frankish primary sources, arguing that the Franks’ forcible Christianization of the Saxons was driven in part by the Carolingian dynasty’s increasingly close ties with the papacy and by ancient imperial prerogatives regarding the extension of the faith.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Ansgar, Bishop
    Ansgar 1 Ansgar For other uses, see Ansgar (disambiguation). Saint Ansgar A depiction of St. Ansgar from the Church Trinitatis, in Hamburg, Germany Apostle of the North Born 8 September 801 Amiens Died 3 February 865 (aged 63) Bremen Honored in Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism, Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion Feast 3 February Attributes dressed in archbishops attire with a model of the Church Saint Ansgar (8 September 801 – 3 February 865), also known as Saint Anschar, was an Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen. The see of Hamburg was designated a mission to bring Christianity to Northern Europe, and Ansgar became known as the "Apostle of the North". Life Ansgar was the son of a noble family, born near Amiens. After his mother’s early death, Ansgar was brought up in Corbie Abbey, and made rapid progress in his education. According to the Vita Ansgarii ("Life of Ansgar"), when the little boy learned in a vision that his mother was in the company of Saint Mary, his careless attitude toward spiritual matters changed to seriousness ("Life of Ansgar", 1). His pupil, successor, and eventual biographer Rimbert considered the visions of which this was the first to be the main motivation of the saint's life. Ansgar was a product of the phase of Christianization of Saxony (present day Northern Germany) begun by Charlemagne and continued by his son and successor, Louis the Pious. When Saxony was no longer the focus of Christianization, what is now Denmark fell under the sweeping missionary gaze, with a group of monks including Ansgar sent back to Jutland with the baptized exiled king Harald Klak.
    [Show full text]
  • Christianization, Female Infanticide, and the Abundance of Female Burials at Viking Age Birka in Sweden Author(S): NANCY L
    Christianization, Female Infanticide, and the Abundance of Female Burials at Viking Age Birka in Sweden Author(s): NANCY L. WICKER Source: Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 21, No. 2, APPROACHES TO CHILDBIRTH IN THE MIDDLE AGES (MAY 2012), pp. 245-262 Published by: University of Texas Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41475079 Accessed: 05-04-2016 02:22 UTC REFERENCES Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41475079?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. University of Texas Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the History of Sexuality This content downloaded from 128.228.173.22 on Tue, 05 Apr 2016 02:22:18 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Christianization, Female Infanticide, and the Abundance of Female Burials at Viking Age Birka in Sweden NANCY L. WICKER University of Mississippi The Swedish Viking Age trading site of Birka, located on the small island of Björkö in Lake Mälar, is considered an area of such out- standing archaeological importance that it has been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list of World Heritage sites.1 This complex of archaeological monuments includes remains of an urban trading center located below a fortification on a rocky outcropping as well as several cemeteries surrounding the occupation area.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Ansgar 9Th Century Scandinavia
    “A Great Cloud of Witnesses” A Historical Series of the Murals on the Walls of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Church Saint Ansgar 9th Century Scandinavia Born in 801 AD in France, St. Ansgar was raised in a Benedictine ab- bey after his mother died. He became a Benedictine monk, and was sent to preach the Gospel in Denmark with the newly-Baptized king. He labored in this primarily un-Christian country until the king was expelled and St. Ansgar with him. He was then sent to Sweden, and although the delegation was attacked on its way and was thought to have abandoned its mission, the determined St. Ansgar succeeded in entering the country. The king of Sweden received him favorably and allowed him to preach the Gospel. Many converted and he established a church there. Returning to Germany, St. Ansgar was made a bishop and the pope put him in charge of the missions in the northern lands. However, the king of the Danes saw Christianity as the religion of his political rival, and he invaded St. Ansgar’s diocese, leaving the entire land in ruins. St. Ansgar labored on, and made frequent trips back to Denmark and Sweden to win the favor of the royalty and to continue the work of the Gospel in these lands. While his original missions in Denmark and Sweden were later completely destroyed, St. Ansgar is considered the “Apostle of the North.” He died in the year 865, regretting that he had never been a martyr. His Feast day is February 3. Each month, this series will feature the murals painted on the walls of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Church along with history and commentary.
    [Show full text]