Book Series Studies in Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, vol. 2

The Viking Age as a Period of Religious Transformation

The Christianization of Norway from AD 560 to 1150/1200

Saebjorg Walaker Nordeide

  • Pages: xx + 396 p.
  • Size:156 x 234 mm
  • Illustrations:70 b/w, 14 tables b/w.
  • Language(s):English
  • Publication Year:2012

  • € 130,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-53480-0
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  • ISBN: 978-2-503-55998-8
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Review(s)

"Insgesamt liegt eine ertragreiche Studie vor, die man auch als Historiker mit Gewinn liest." (Roman Deutinger, in: Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelaters, Bd. 69.1, p. 278-279)

"(...) ce livre constitue à la fois un catalogue précieux et une synthèse bonne à penser (...)" (Alban, dans: Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale, 58.230, 2015, p. 195-196)

Summary

This volume is the first to delve into Norway’s history of Christianization since 1973 when Fridtjov Birkeli published his book on the topic. For the first time in over thirty years, Dr Nordeide illuminates the change from non-Christian to Christian rituals by analysing archaeological resources from c. AD 560 to c. 1150/1200. This book both asserts and challenges previous hypotheses of the chronology of Christianization, as well as offering fascinating new versions of the Norway’s eventual conversion.  As well as asserting that local history leads Norway along chronological lines typical of its peripheral location, the author argues that in some ways, Norway’s history of Christianity is best located within the history of central European regions even more than has ever been suggested before.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

List of Abbreviations

List of Illustrations

Part I: Scholarship on the Christianization of Norway

1. Scholarship on the Christianization of Norway: An Introduction

2. Religion: Action and Belief

3. The Christianization Process: An Overview

Part II: Analytical Results

4. The Christianization Process from a Regional Perspective

5. A Perspective Across Norway 2

Part III: Cult(ural) Change: From Norse to Christian Cult

6. Interpreting the Evidence: The Process of Christianization in Norway

7. Conclusion

Appendix

Glossary of Terms

Bibliography

Index