FROM ODIN TO CHRIST

Pagan to Christian

On the most complete ofthe crosses at Middletonin Yorkshire, England, isthis fine representation ofa helmeted Vikingwarrior surrounded byhis weapons.

o the Vikings living and travel-ling in a Europe that wasalmost entirely Christian, con-version did not come äs asingle explosive event. If we

think of the earlier Situation in England,where Christianity obliterated virtually allrecorded knowledge of pagan thought andpractice, the way in which some Norsemenremained coolly balanced between two re-ligions, examining the merits of both, and insome cases trying to get the protective benefitsof both, is a fascinating study. It is presum-ably one of the results of this detachment, thateven after conversion there is still thiswillingness among the converted to re-member and write about paganism ratherthan discarding it simply äs error, idolatryand devil-worship.

The transition period between paganismand Christianity leaves traces in carving,literature and metalwork. Whether Vikingsfirst started to wear a Thor's hammer roundtheir necks because Christians wore pendantcrosses and crucifixes, or whether the tradi-tion is independent of Christian influence,cannot now be determined. But certainlythere was enough of a market for both for oneenterprising smith to leave behind him inDenmark a single soapstone mould for theproduction of both cross and hammer amu-lets. Most of the surviving pendants areclearly identifiable äs either hammer or cross,but there are examples where the design of theone seems to have influenced the other, evenone example where we are not sure which itwas meant to be. Whether the canny Vikingwho wore it intended the ambiguity is notcertain. Among saga characters with suchambivalent attitudes, most noticeable isHelgi, one of the early Icelandic settlers, whonamed his farm Kristnes, Christ's Headland,but did not entirely abandon Thor, whom hewas accustomed to invoke in serious matters.A Viking poet somewhat sadly renounces theheathen gods in his verse. He confesses that hecannot entirely hate them, 'though Christ I

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serve now'. This seems to be exactly theattitude of the men who commissioned orcarved stone crosses such äs those at Gosforthin Cumbria and Middleton in North York-shire. Middleton has several crosses and crossfragments of Viking date with characteristicViking ornamentation. The most impressiveshows on one panel a representation of ahelmeted man surrounded by his weapons. Itis a reasonable supposition that the newlyconverted took time to adjust to the thoughtof burial without grave-goods, and that atleast on this occasion they demonstrated onthe Christian symbol itself the style offurnished burial to which they were accus-tomed. At Gosforth, though again the crossitself is an indication of Christian belief,carvings on it appear to derive from paganmyth and legend: for example, the portrayalof a woman with a drinking hörn, so like hersisters on the Gotland stones, and the figureconf ronting a serpent, perhaps Sigurd, dragon-killer, perhaps Thor and Midgardsorm.

Snorri sees no difficulty in describing the

appropriate nomenclature for Christ along-side that for pagan deities. For example, onesection of his work on poetic diction asks howit is proper to name Freyja, and the answer hegives is that 'She may be called daughter ofNjord, sister of Frey, wife of Öd, mother ofHnoss', and so on. A later section asks how itis proper to name Christ and the answerbegins: 'He can be called creator of heavenand of earth, of angels and of the sun, ruler ofthe world and of the kingdom of heaven andof angels, king of the heavens and of the sunand of angels and of Jerusalem and ofJordan', and so forth. Snorri of course iswriting in a Christian environment well afterthe transition period, but it is interesting thatthe first poet he quotes of those who refer toChrist is Eilif Gudrunarson, an Icelanderliving around the period of Iceland's con-version, who is known to have writtent>6rsdräpa, a poem recounting one of Thor'sadventures against the giants, and whosepoem referring to Christ, quoted by Snorri,uses imagery from pagan myth.

From Hammer to cross:the enterprising loth-century metalworker atTrendgarden in Denmarkwho made the soapstonemould was clearly readyto cater for clients of bothpersuasions.

This Icelandic silverpendant with its fierceanimal-head suspension-loop, could be a stylizedThor's hammer orperhaps a barbaric cross.

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FROM ODIN TO CHRIST

ChristianityLeft Silver crucifixes foundin Sweden display astylized figure of Christwearing trousers andbound to the cross. Thesmall filigree Version isfrom a grave at Birka, theother from a Gotlandicsilver hoard.

Below A gilt brooch fromHedeby also depicts thecrucifixion. The hrstchurches at Hedeby andBirka were built by StAnsgar in the 9th Century,but little progress wasmade with conversionsuntil much later in theViking Age.

he Vikings who settled in suchChristian countries äs Eng-land, Ireland or Normandyrapidly adopted the religion ofthe land they lived in. Danes

who had settled in northern districts ofEngland during Alfred's reign were thought inthe mid-tenth Century to need protectionagainst pagan Norwegian invaders, at anyrate by the writer of one poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The poem, entered in theChronicle under the year 942., claims that theDanes were captive in the chains of theheathen, under the Northmen, until KingEdmund released them; this maybe reflectsthe patriotism and religion of these settlers äsmuch äs it does the writer's view.

The conversion of Scandinavia, Iceland andGreenlandIn the meantime, at hörne in Denmark,Christianity was also making its impact feit.Harald Bluetooth died in 986 and whatHarald believed himself to have achieved inthe Service of the Christian God is proudlyrecorded on the great rune-stone at Jelling,where Harald declares that he 'won forhimself all Denmark and Norway, and madethe Danes Christians.'

It may be noted that though he claims tohave 'won' Norway there is nothing in thisStatement about making the NorwegiansChristian. In fact Earl Hakon, who heldNorway under Harald, was a firm supporterof pagan cults, but in 995 Hakon was

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succeeded by Olaf Tryggvason, a vigorous,even an aggressive Christian. One of his poetsdescribes him äs a destroyer of heathensanctuaries, and a reliable twelfth-centuryIcelandic historian credits him with theconversion of Iceland äs well äs of Norway.Later Icelandic saga-writers attribute to himthe conversion of Greenland äs well. His wasa short rule, four years or five, and there wasundoubtedly much Opposition to his impo-sition of Christianity, especially in the remoteareas of Norway where pagan thought hadscarcely been challenged. But his achieve-ments in that time must have been consider-able, since Olaf Haraldsson — St Olaf — whotook over Norway in 1015, was able toconsolidate the conversion.

On mainland Scandinavia, if we acceptwhat the sagas say about Olaf Tryggvasonand St Olaf, there was inevitable Oppositionto the introduction of Christianity and someferocity, even brutality, in establishing it.There was Opposition in Iceland too, but thestory of the eventual conversion of Icelandbrought about so calmly and rationally makespleasant reading. The twelfth-century his-torian Ari, a good scholar and a man carefulto quote his sources, describes in detailIceland's conversion in the year 1000. Initiallythings did not look too good for Iceland orIcelanders, since the first priest sent by OlafTryggvason to convert them baptized anumber of influential men, 'but when he hadbeen here one year he went away, havingkilled two or three men who had slanderedhim.' A turbulent priest! His report to Olafimplied that the conversion of Iceland wouldbe a problem, and Olaf reacted with violence,threatening to kill or maim all Icelanders thenin Norway. He was persuaded out of this planby a couple of admirably clear-headedIcelanders who put their minds to theconversion of their country and the avertingof Olaf's anger. They returned to Iceland andplanned matters for the next meeting of theAlthing, Iceland's national assembly. HereChristian and heathen might have fought,

but the decision was finally put into the handsof the Lawspeaker, who was at that timestill heathen himself. 'He lay down and drewhis cloak over him and lay there that wholeday and the night after, not speaking a word.'By then he had come to a decision. His firstthought was that the country must not be split- all must agree to follow one law, for divisionof law meant breaking of peace and layingwaste of land. The 'law' he chose for hiscountrymen to follow was that of Christian-ity, and all those in the land who had not yetundergone the baptismal ceremony were todo so. But he also made provision for thosewho were unwilling to forsake their old ways,

On one face of KingHarald's great rune-stoneat Jelling in Denmark isthis representation of thebound Christ. The figureis again formalized withno attempt at naturalisticdetail, the formality beingemphasized by the sym-metrical ribbon interlacearound Christ's body.

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FROM ODIN TO CHRIST/Christianity:

and allowed men still to sacrifice to theirpagan gods in secret if they so wished.

The building of churchesAccording to the saga of Eirik the Red, thediscoverer of Greenland, Eirik's son Leifwas sent by Olaf Tryggvason to preachChristianity in Greenland. Eirik did not wel-come the new faith, but his wife Thjodhild'accepted immediately and had a church built,not too near their home. It was calledThjodhild's church.' When archaeologistsexcavated Brattahlid, the site of Eirik's farmon Greenland (see page 83), they discoveredbelow medieval stone ruins the remains ofThjodhild's small turf-wa^tgd wooden-panelled church, with ffs accompanyingcemetery.

In. Urne the GregWgf^JJÄtlements nwm-addition to Tflfjqdhild's, approxi-

seventeen stpt^Suilt churches LH^w-'

attempts to take Christianity even furtherwest, for the Icelandic annals record that inthe early twelfth Century one bishop tried tosail to Vinland. Among the stories recordedabout the eleventh-century voyages of dis-covery from Greenland along the NorthAmerican coast there is a curiously convinc-ing anecdote concerning friction betweenChristian and heathen. During a food short-age men prayed to God for supplies, but oneunpopulär character called Thorhall dis-appeared to make his own private devotions.When a whale was washed ashore Thorhallclaimed, 'Wasn't the Redbeard of more usethan your Christ? This is my return for thepoem I composed for my patron Thor.' The

writer says that when the men knew thisy threw it over the cliff

andeöiisted in Gda's mercy, but since he has'JYjr sy?* /***also said jftjjj^ating it made jjhyfn ill there

een a stromdy pra^rigaLelement in^faT ®* /V^

ure. Em/^Sßtf rpcondsyliow in the

s^f jr'/^^ *

S^^0^ 0

The tiny Viking church ^x/y^at Brattahlid inGreenland was builtThjodhild, wife ofthe Red, in about 1001.Its bow-sided walls ofturf, wooden panellingand fixed benches arecharacteristic of localbuilding traditions.lnthis sketch oisurroundingxern^tery,the sex of me^keletons(where determined) has;been indicated by the uof different colours : bluefor men and red forwomen. Green denoteschildren and adolescents.

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The i2.th-century tympanum of St Michael's church at Hoveringhamin Nottinghamshire, England, shows St Michael fighting a dragon.But the coils of the beast are so much in the Anglo-Scandinaviantradition that it must have been expecting to confront Sigurdor Thor rather than an archangel.

Right Carved woodenpanels from the farm atFlatatunga in Iceland mayoriginally have been partof an nth-century church.Above are interlacingtendrils in the Ringerikestyle, below, a row ofsaints' heads.

FROM ODIN TO CHRIST/Christianity;

Aboue Eastern influencecan be seen in the designof this silver reliquary,from Gätebo on Oland,although its Urnes-styledetails show that it was infact made in Scandinavia.

Below 'Resurrection' eggsfound in Sweden weremade äs Christian symbolsin the Kiev area.

Greenland colony itself, when the harvest hadbeen poor and food was short, the men askeda pagan prophetess to teil the future for them.What happened next demonstrates again thetolerance that could exist between Christianand pagan. When the prophetess neededsomeone to sing certain specific songs,Gudrid, the only woman present who knewthem, refused, 'for I am a Christian woman'.She was persuaded to do so however by thetelling argument that she could both give help'and be no worse a woman than before'. It ispleasant to note that the prophetess subse-quently foretold for Gudrid a splendid futureback in Iceland, 'and over your descendantsshine brighter rays than I can see with clarity.'Indeed, one of these descendants turned outto be a bishop.

The Eastern influenceThe Christianity of Scandinavia and itsAtlantic colonies came largely from the West,a considerable part being played by Englishand German missionaries and teachers. Butthere was also a strong Viking movementeastward and contacts especially betweenSweden and Byzantium. Swedish rune-stonesrecord men who died in Grikkland and oftenhave a cross äs part of the design äs well äs theformula 'God help his soul' or 'God and

God's mother help his soul.' Here too arerecords of those who died on pilgrimage toJerusalem. One competent woman, Ingerun,had her own memorial stone carved beforeshe left home: 'She intends to go east and outto Jerusalem.' The settlement at Kiev, partSlav and part Viking, was converted toChristianity not from the West but fromByzantium, though at this date there was noformal split between Roman and GreekOrthodox Churches and their differenceswere of ritual rather than theology. Artifactsof religious significance showing the influenceof Byzantine ritual and Byzantine art cameback to Sweden by way of trade or gift, orprivate devout purchase.

The effects of ChristianityAs the countries of Scandinavia becameChristian there followed the inevitable effectson culture, law codes and conduct. Sucheffects do not take place immediately, andindeed it seems to have been a good deal moredifficult for the Vikings to renounce their codeof vengeance, for exa/nple, than to renouncetheir heathen gods. In the Icelandic sagaliterature we find many examples of peopleconscious that their honour and that of theirfamily depends on killing someone who hasslandered or injured them, and some peopleconscious also of the tensions between thedemands of honour and the demands of theirreligion. In N jäh Saga Flosi, not the mostimportant character, but perhaps the onemaking the most important decision, sayssuccinctly:

We have two alternatives, neither ofthem good; the one is to turn back,which will result in our deaths; theother is to kindle fire and burn them intheir house, which is a greatresponsibility in the sight of God andwe are Christians. Now let us kindlefire äs quickly äs possible.

What Christianity would hope to achievewas a modification of the desire for ven-geance, a willingness to allow fine and

192.

compensation to take the place of killing.Christian saga literature sometimes demon-strates and applauds the greater courage andgoodness shown by those willing not topursue vengeance. The passive courage of themartyr is contrasted with the active courageof the warrior. The Njal of Njäls Saga, whosehome Flosi is burning, has words of Christiancomfort for all his household: 'Believe alsothis, that God is merciful and he will not let usburn in this world and in the next.' Hecombines the old heroism and new trust inGod, refusing to accept safe exit from hishouse, 'because I am an old man and unfit toavenge my sons, but I will not live in shame',after which he and his wife lie down in theburning house, cross themselves and com-mend their souls to God. This is of course thesaga-writer's interpretation many years afterthe event, but the tensions inherent in two setsof values must have been a reality for many inthe conversion period and later. The firstsurviving translation into Norse of the Bibledemonstrates how parts of the Old Testamentseemed naturally to accord with Vikingethics, and in particular the translation of theBook of Joshua reads äs if it might well havefitted into the saga of some Christian warriorking such äs Olaf Tryggvason or St Olaf.

Viking saintsThe Viking Olaf was not the only one amongthe first generations of Norse Christians to beawarded the accolade of sainthood, but hewas among the earliest and also among themost populär. In pagan times kings hadsometimes been raised to divine Status aftertheir deaths. In the early Christian period,though missionaries frequently become saintsand martyrs, there is some national prideinvolved in the acquiring of a national andespecially of a royal saint. The NorwegianOlaf seems to fulfil the role of patron saint orfavourite saint for all newly Christian Scan-dinavia. His cult, early established in Norwayand Iceland, is found also in the British Isles,where many churches of an early date are

dedicated to St Olaf. The Anglo-SaxonChronicle has an entry for 1055 which runs:'In this year Earl Siward died in York, and heis buried in the minster which he himself hadbuilt and consecrated in the name of God andOlaf.' A Swedish rune-stone records of oneadventurer that 'He died in Holmgard[Novgorod] in Olaf's church.' Holmgard onthe Viking road east reminds us again ofByzantium at the end of that road. Here theViking mercenaries, the bodyguard of theByzantine Emperor, were said (admittedly äsusual by an Icelandic historian) to have hadtheir own church dedicated to St Olaf, whereabove the altar hung the sword that Olafcarried in his last battle at Stiklestad inNorway in 1030.

St Olaf, King of Norway,was struck down at thebattle of Stiklestad in AD1030. This event isdepicted in an illuminatedinitial from a folio of themanuscript Flateyjarbok,written in Iceland in theI4th Century.

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