Killing the Elderly

[Tore Gannholm]

Christianity, Judaism or Islam?

When did Christianity or other related religions gain footing on Gotland? We know nothing about it. However, we know that the Gotlanders were tolerant against dissident religions. We must be aware that the Gotlanders had experience of several Christian and non-Christian beliefs. The tribal kindred, the Goths, were early Arian Christians and we have several examples of early Christian symbolism on Gotland and in the rest of southern Scandinavia. Åke Ohlmarks, among others, believes that there is evidence of Arian Christian graves on Gotland as early as the 500s. Gotlandic merchants have sure- ly met with Christians on their trading voyages to the South already in the 300s and came very early in contact with different types of Christianity. This view is supported by the simple and factual story in Guta Saga: “Although the Gotlanders were heathen, they nevertheless sailed on trading voyages to all countries, both Christian and heathen. So the merchants saw Christian customs in Christian lands. Some of them then allowed themselves to be baptised, and brought priests to Gotland”.

To understand the earliest Christianity in the Nordic countries it is also required to answer the question why there are no Christian churches at that time. The answer is very simple. The original Arian Christian church had no church buildings, clergy or a Pope. All this is a compromise in areas where you had to give up old traditions with cult buildings and an autocratic clergy. From this time we find in Gotland and Sweden burial grave orbs with carved patterns which clearly go back to Capernaum, which in 381 is mentioned as an important pilgrimage. Later Syrian stonemasons were fetched to Ravenna for the construction of Theoderic the Great’s grave mausoleum. Characteristic features of the decoration of the mausoleum are found on jewelry in the Nordic countries from the same time. Features of the Baltic Sea Region art, and the archaeological findings, suggest that in the 600s there were trade relations between the British Isles and the Baltic Sea region, mainly Gotland. The peoples along the Baltic Sea coasts were within the orbit of the Iro-Scottish mission in the 700s. The Anglo-Saxon church historian Bede Venerabilis (673- 735) mentions that even the Irish missionary Egbert, a precursor to the Frisian missionary Willibrord, at the end of the 600s had the intention to visit these peoples. The idea was apparently to carry out missionary work and get these peoples to trading partners. From the sources we can see that Willibrord also visited the ‘savage pagans’ of Denmark and tried to convert them, probably about the year 700. Assuming that it was a pretty strong Christian influence from England in southern Scandinavia, Gotland and central Sweden during the 700s, it is much easier to explain the cultural development during the same time. In the 700s there were at Broa in Halla a workshop that produced gilded bronze crosses as components to horse head ornaments. From this it is, however, impossible to determine whether Christianity gained some successes at that time. However, one can detect northwest European elements in the artistic design.
Willibrord represents a style with a braided pattern, which among other things, is found around several of the Gotlandic picture stones. This woven pattern is later known from the Lindisfarne Gospels, an illuminated Latin manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the British Library. The manuscript was produced in Lindisfarne in Northumbria in the late 600s or early 700s, and is generally regarded as the finest example of the kingdom’s unique style of religious art, a style that combined Anglo-Saxon and Celtic themes, what is now called Hiberno-Saxon art, or Insular art. Since Willibrord’s braided pattern style has been so pervasive, it is likely that a number of missionaries appeared simultaneously.

There are many graves without finds on Gotland from the end of the 700s and throughout the 800s. This usually means that Christians were buried, because it is a non-Christian custom to add items to the dead. If finds occur, mostly simple jewelry, they sometimes have Christian motifs. These jewelry come from all the countries with Christian traditions with which the Gotlanders in those days could come into contact. One can thus detect both Irish, Frankish-Carolingian and Orthodox influence. A cist stone from Ire in Hellvi, which is dated to after 600 can be interpreted as a representation of Christ’s resurrection. Even this one is surrounded by a border with the ‘braided pattern style’ (Fig 76). The archaeological finds accept the premise that there has been a period of overwhelming Western-Christian influence in the 800s, which may have begun as early as the end of the 700s.

Using the Guta Saga and treasure and grave finds, the Christianizing sequence can be outlined thus: about 800 the Christian idea is permanently rooted in Gotland, mediated by missionaries and those who the Gotlanders encountered in their international relations. The Christian minority is believed to take the actions it is able to secure for their salvation (e.g. earth free funeral). At the end of the 900s, most population in the upper layer is believed to have become Christians.

In the Gotlandic Merchant Farmers’ Republic the prerequisites for the introduction of Christianity as exclusively a state religion and subservience to foreign masters as bishops on the mainland to the east, west or south is not in their interest. As we have seen the Gotlanders want to put down their own conditions. However, the Christian social group one has apparently still not sufficient means to self-enforce even that a Gotlandic Church is accepted. Byzantine-Christian motives in the tomb finds from this period such as necklaces and painted eggs of clay are found in graves on Gotland, on Helgö and on Björkö from the second half of the 800s.

In the 800s the Gotlanders also had lively contacts with Judaism in Khazaria and Islam in Volga Bulgaria. The later had converted to Islam beginning of 900s. In 912 the Gotlandic merchants in Constantinople embraced the Christian faith according to al-Marwazi and in late 900s Christianity does appear to be well established in Gotland (note 24).
We must also take the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen into account, who had the Pope’s explicit commission to mission in the Scandinavian countries. They had the papal legate for the Nordic countries. It is not possible that they would not have cared to have their version of Christianity spread on Gotland, the most important country for the entire Baltic Sea trade. The Church’s missionary policy has always been that whenever there is a viable Christian community, to appoint a bishop, and to charter the local church organization with ordinances that were only reserved for a bishop. And from this diocese work towards neighboring countries.
The Gotlanders did not accept that any church could indirectly gain power over them through religious blackmail and other such means. Therefore was the Gutna Althingi the higest authority over the Gotlandic Church. Not the Pope.
The Guta Saga remembers very well that bishops came to Gotland, although in memory immediately attach themselves to those who were pilgrims on their way to the holy Jerusalem.
On Gotland, there were different ideas about the dead man’s journey into the kingdom of death (heaven). Then it is not much outside influence needed for a change in form of burial. We find different types of graves, cremations and skeleton graves, abundant food for the journey and equipment and almost no equipment at all, a boat, a symbol of the boat and the direction in which the skeleton lay.
Gotland’s long-distance trade relations from end 700s went largely to the east and southeast. The Gotlanders were known as Varangian businessmen and al-Rus’ from the island in the Baltic Sea, and their trips were in the beginning primarily to the Volga Bulgaria Muslims and the Jewish Khazaria kingdom.
In 911 the Gotlanders signed a trade agreement with the emperor in Miklagarðr Leo VI and during the 900s and 1000s the Gotlanders also served as mercenaries in Miklagarðr and came in close con- tact with the Byzantine religion. The Gotlandic Merchant Farmer was a powerful person who could influence his immediate surroundings with the new ideas he had come in contact with in the East. On Gotland is a find category, called cemetery finds. Since the 1800s, on a wide range of Gotland’s more than 90 rural cemeteries, the grave digging and excavation for lightning conductors, etc. have come across skeletons of corpses. These have been buried with full sets of costume buckles and other jewelry, combs, knives, keys, etc., all in late Viking Age forms.
This find category has puzzled the scientific re- searchers. However the cemetery finds on Gotland seem to be Christian, as evidenced by the fact that one can observe a strict separation of the graves of women north of the church, and the men in the south. This can not be done until there has been a church building (note 25).

Similar tombs are found on Björkö, usually locally separated from the usual non-Christian graves.

The first known Romanesque stone churches on Gotland date to 1029.

We know the inauguration year for 45 Romanesque stone churches from the 1000s:

Fardhem (1029), Hejnum (1029), Stenkyrka (1032 H), Havdhem (1040), Sjonhem (1040 H), Dalhem (1046), Hamra (1046 SB), St Lars Visby (1046), Klinte (1046), Atlingbo (1049 B), Eskelhem (1049 B), Hablingbo (1050), Rute (1050), Väte (1050 B), Dalhem (1052), Follingbo (1052), Gammelgarn (1052), Gothem (1052), Rute (1052), Barlingbo (1058), Lye (1058), Sanda (1058 B), Sproge (1058), Vamlingbo (1058 B), Vänge (1058 H), Ala (1072), Källunge (1072 B), Vamlingbo (1072SB), Garde (1086 B), Lärbro (1086), Roma (1086), Othem (1086), St Drotten Visby (1086), Hejde (1090 B), Grötlingbo (1090 S), Rone (1090), St Mikael Visby (1090), Väskinde (1090 M),  Bara (1091), Burs (1096), Fole (1096), Hörsne (1096), St Nicolai Visby (1097), St Olofs kyrka Visby (1097).

 

http://www.b4press.com/index.php/historia/hela-kategorin/221-gotland-the-pearl-of-the-baltic-sea.html






On 07 Feb 2014, at 15:00, <d.faltin at hispeed.ch> <d.faltin at hispeed.ch> wrote:

> 
> In the vast majority of cases it is non-sensical to speak of Christan smear campaigns or attempts by "the" Christians to wipe out "the" pagans and their culture. The reality is that by far most Germanic pagans voluntarily adopted Christianity. Some earlier, like the Goths and some a lot later like the various peoples of Scandinavia.
> 
> Clearly, conflicts arose from time to time with Christian rulers rallying their troops under the pretence of Christianization or solidifying their rule with the help of the clergy. On the other hand, some missionaries were killed some pagans persecuting Christians (again the Goths under Athanaric serve as example). On the whole, however, it makes no sense to portray history in this Christian-pagan dychotomy. Usually, the pagans shifted to Christianity gradually and voluntarily meaning that they at least considered the gains bigger than the losses. This does not mean that there are people today that clamour for the ancient pagan religions, of which they know so little and which they certainly don't understand.
> 
>  
> Cheers,
> 
> Dirk
> 
>  
> .
>  
> 

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