Scandinavian history in the Viking age - Department of Anglo-Saxon ...

Scandinavian History in the Viking Age
The Viking colonies
The fate of the Vikings abroad is of great comparative interest, not least because of the apparent ease
with which many communities accepted Christianity. In addition, it might well be assumed that converts
in the British isles in particular played a role in spreading the new faith back across the North sea.
The British isles and Ireland
[L85] D. Whitelock, ‘The conversion of the eastern Danelaw’, SBVS 12 (1937-45), 159-76
[L86] D. Wilson, ‘The Vikings’ relationship with Christianity in northern England’, Journal of the
British Archaeological Association 30 (1967), 37-46
[L87] D.M. Hadley, ‘The Vikings’ relationship with Christianity reconsidered’, (O78):59-76
[L88] L.J. Abrams, ‘The conversion of the Scandinavians of Dublin’, ANS 20 (1997), 1-29
[L89] J. Jesch, ‘Scandinavians and ‘cultural paganism’ in later Anglo-Saxon England’, The Christian
tradition in Anglo-Saxon England. Approaches to current scholarship and teaching (2004), 55-68
[ASNC]
Russia
Although the conversion of the Rus’ cannot really be conceived of as reflecting a Viking response to
Christianity, the declaration of public conversion by Vladimir in 988 is of particular comparative interest,
in that in terms of chronology and probable motivation it is strikingly similar to royal policy in
Scandinavia itself in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.
[L90] L. Müller, Die Taufe Russlands: die Frühgeschichte des russischen Christentums bis zum Jahre
988, Quellen und Studien zur russischen Geistesgeschichte 6 (1987) [UL 62:57.c.95.40]
[L91] Y.N. Shchapov, State and church in early Russia: 10th-13th centuries, transl. V. Schneierson
(1993) [UL 586:3.c.95.104]
[L92] J. Fennell, A history of the Russian church to 1448 (1995) [UL 67:7.c.95.173]
A further series of conferences held to celebrate the conventional date of 988 for Vladimir’s introduction
of Christianity into Kievan Russia contain a sprinkling of interesting articles:
[L94] K.C. Felmy et al., (edd.), Tausend Jahre Christentum in Rußland: zum Millenium der Taufe der
Kiever Rus’ (1988) [UL 67:7.c.95.145]
[L95] O. Pritsak and I. Sevcenko, (edd.), Proceedings of the International Congress commemorating the
millenium of Christianity in Rus’-Ukraine, Harvard Ukrainian Studies 12-13 (1988-89) [UL
P586.c.146.11], including: O. Pritsak, ‘At the dawn of Christianity in Rus’: East meets West’, 87-113; A.
Poppe, ‘Two concepts of the conversion of Rus’ in Kievan writings’, 488-504; H. Birnbaum, ‘When and
how was Novgorod converted to Christianity?’, 505-30
[L96] H. Goltz et al., (edd.), Tausend Jahre Taufe Rußlands, Rußland in Europa: Beiträge zum
interdisziplinären und ökumenischen Symposium in Halle (Saale), 13.-16. April 1988 (1993) [UL
67:7.c.95.177]
Missionary activity
One of the most frustrating aspects of studying the conversion of Scandinavia is the lack of sources
detailing the activities and methods of missionaries; only Rimbert’s life of Anskar (B72) really comes
close, and this deals only with the very earliest missions that in many ways can be seen as
unrepresentative of the later, more formal, phase of conversion. Comparative material from the Anglo-
Saxon missionaries in Germany is often interesting, see (B81). On the practice of ‘primesigning’, see:
[L100] Å. Sandholm, Primsigningsriten under nordisk medeltid, Acta Academiae Aboensis A:
Humaniora 29:3 (1965) [UL P500.c.165.27]
And on missionary methods more generally:
[L101] R. Sullivan, ‘The Carolingian missionary and the pagan’, Speculum 28 (1953), 705-40; for this
and further studies, see also the collection of reprinted articles in R.E. Sullivan, Christian missionary
activity in the early Middle ages, Variorum collected studies series 431 (1994) [UL 165:3.c.95.65]
[L102] I. Wood, The missionary life: saints and the evangelisation of Europe 400-1050 (2002) [UL
62:1.c.200.4]
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