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

Scandinavian History in the Viking Age
particular U.E. Hagberg, ‘Öland during the Iron age and early middle ages: an archaeological survey’ in
the latter volume, 12-34
Bornholm
The island of Bornholm can clearly not really be considered ‘Swedish’, but is at least in the Baltic and
surrounded by water; the ninth-century merchant Wulfstan (B106) recorded that it then had its own king.
The material culture is again rich, particularly from the early Viking age and before.
[F80] J.A. Jørgensen, Bornholms historie, I (repr. 1980) [UL 598:6.d.95.7]
[F81] M. Watt, ‘A Viking age settlement at Runegård (Grødby), Bornholm’, JDA 2 (1983), 137-48
[F82] M. Watt, ‘Bornholm mellem vikingetid og middelalder’, (O50):105-22 (E.s.)
The formation of Sweden
[F90] A vast debate has raged over the course of the century as to when ‘Sweden’ can be held to have
come into existence in any meaningful way. Among the various points of contention can be included the
growing scepticism with which the various literary sources are interpreted (B341, B101, B679), the sheer
diversity of the political geography of Sweden (F44 ff.), and the lack of any institutional definition of
Sweden until the establishment of the Church. A major body of source material comes from runic
inscriptions (B800 ff., C90 ff.). For surveys of the question see (F1 ff., particularly F7-F8). Earlier
scholarship followed mediaeval historians in identifying the heartland of Sweden among the Svear and in
dating the formation of a united Sweden to the very beginning of the Viking age, if not before. This view
has more recently been replaced by the idea that Sweden cannot be considered any kind of single state
until the late twelfth century at the earliest, and that the first moves in this process are to be located
instead among the Götar. A compromise view might employ the following arguments. Although
mediaeval authors mention the Svear and Götar as separate peoples, they are not recognised as having
separate kings; the references to kings specifically of the Götar in papal correspondence imply nothing
more than that the term Gothi was most familiar to European authors, whose interest was also largely
ecclesiastical and confined to the bishopric of Skara in Västergötland; and that when Magnus Nielsen
was elected king of the west Götar in the early twelfth century, this did not reflect traditional political
divisions, rather the ensuing uproar suggests that it was relatively unprecedented. The question remains
fairly intractable, but while there can certainly be no talk of an organised Swedish ‘state’ in the eleventh
century, the activities of various kings seem to suggest that there was broad recognition of a single
figurehead
Olaf skötkonung
[F91] This is suggested by our reports of king Olaf skötkonung, who reigned (roughly) from 995 to 1022
and who is widely (although not necessarily correctly) credited with being the first Christian king of
Sweden; this latter point can to some extent be borne out by his royal Christian town at Sigtuna (N290
ff.) and his Christian coins (C275 ff.). Olaf was clearly a king of, or at least among, the Svear, but also
established some form of missionary bishopric at Skara in Västergötland. For his foreign connections,
and the possible implications of his nickname as a king tributary to Danish overlordship, see (D100 ff.)
[F92] E. Gamby, ‘Olof skötkonung, Sven tveskägg och Ethelred den rådville’, Scandia 56 (1990), 19-29
(E.s. p. 113)
[F93] B. Malmer, ‘Numismatiken, Olof skötkonung och slaget vid Svolder’, Scandia 59 (1993), 5-14
(E.s. p. 137)
The eleventh-century kings
[F95] Our basic narrative source for the eleventh century is Adam (B73), whose accounts can be
supplemented by various regnal lists (B341, B679), but the information contained in these sources often
seems ill-informed and confused. The picture presented is one of dynastic shifts and stubborn resistance
to royal authority, manifested particularly through the pagan uprising at Uppsala (K115 ff.), but
runestones and burials give the impression of a more Christian society than might otherwise be expected
(L165 ff., M170 ff.); the runic material is particularly important for understanding Swedish society at this
point. On numismatic evidence from Sigtuna beyond Olaf skötkonung under his successor Anund Jakob,
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