National Church Systems






Christianization and Nation Building



When Rollo was enfiefed with the County of Rouen (the nucleus of the DUCHY OF NORMANDY) in 911, he and his men were baptized. Although records report that the Normans continued to practice their (pagan) Normannic traditions, over time they became christianized. Similarly, the Danes of the DANELAW, who submitted to the English in 917-919 had to accept baptism or leave the country.
In principle, Christians were forbidden to trade with pagans. They were also forbidden to intermarry with them, a rule which lasted primarily on noble families; yet in christian central Europe, feudal titles could be gained by marriage.
Scandinavian landscapes with a strong interest in trade, such as GOTLAND (very active in trading) and ICELAND (heavily depending on trade) accepted christianity voluntarily, by decision of the ting. In VARANGIAN RUS, christianity was established as state religion in 988, by princely decision, in Denmark similarily under King Harald Bluetooth 965. In Norway, King OLAF HARALDSSON fought the various landscapes under the pretext of forcing the populace to convert to christianity; he died and was beatified soon afterward (St. Olaf).

The Church regarded Kings as the key to the conversion of peoples. The church had to offer something to kings they hitherto lacked - a firm legitimation, the institutionalization of kingship, at the expense of the country's populace, both noble and freeborn. The king was to receive his crown by divine grace, not as an office of the people. The landscapes' laws had to be revised, as church law had to be integrated, paragraphs refering to paganism adapted; a major revision in progress, it was a great opportunity to improve the position of the king. The introduction of christianity in Denmark (965), Norway (1015/1053) and Sweden (1100/1164) had, on the side of the kings, political rather than religious reasons.
Weakening the landscapes and strengthening the king was a first step towards political integration of the kingdoms.

The decision to adapt christianity had been political. It took the effort of missionaries to convert the pagan Vikings into christian Danes, Swedes or Norwegians (the term "Vikings" is used for pagan Scandinavians only). Centers of mission were MONASTERIES, such as ESROM in Denmark and ALVASTRA in Sweden, and bishoprics.
Christianization in Denmark, Norway, the Kingdom of the Svear and Goetar, enforced by the alliance of king and church, had been more thorough than on Gotland and Iceland, where baptism had been accepted by voluntary decision. Gotlandic and Icelandic law included the right for priests to be married - a provision, which in Catholic Europe was exceptional.







EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Introduction of Christianity, in : History of Denmark, The Viking Age, from Dan. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, scroll down
The Christianization of Iceland at the Althingi in 1000, from Kristni


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 8th 2004

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