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How did the vikings influence christianity
Christianity and norse mythology essay
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The Christianization of the Norse took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. It was a gradual process that took considerable effort converting the Norse, as they did not wish to convert and in many cases conversion was by force. The traditional religion of the Norse people wasn't just a form of worship, it was apart of their culture and way of life. A belief system that was deeply rooted that made the concept of the original sin and other Christian beliefs just too hard for the Norse people to understand or believe. Because of this, converting the Norse was a task that took Christendom a relatively long time to achieve and was done by any and all means possible, including converting Norse beliefs, practices, and culture into Christian ideology in order to allow the Norse to relate and understand it and then eventually accept Christianity. So conversion of the Norse was done by relating Christian concepts as closely to Norse practices as closely as possible. Conversion attempts were also usually done by means of mass communities rather than taken in by individual conversion. This was done by methods of demanding conversions through subjugation. The Monarch would convert and as an opportunity to solidify their power, force their subjects to convert as well. So instead of trying to convert individuals to become Christians, the community would be ordered to convert. Entire regions would become converted by order of the King. Missionaries, priests, and monks would then come in to finish the process. Once converted, the old gods and practices would be outlawed as entire communities would be baptized and swear oaths to forsake the old gods and take in Christ as their only god. Further subjugation would take place thro... ... middle of paper ... ...tory over Satan to play a central part in the spread of Christianity among the Vikings, whom looked to Odin and Thor for such attributes. Even still, completely converting the Norse to true monotheistic Christianity was an extremely difficult task. The Norse never had anything against the Christians or their religious beliefs. The notorious Viking attacks on monasteries were due to the fact that they were rich and poorly defended. These raids were nothing more than opportunities for a Viking raid and had nothing to do with the Christian religion itself. Even many Norse monks didn't take the whole religious life all that seriously. Becoming a monk at the time was seen more as a means of acquiring an education and learning to read and write. The strict conversions did not take place until later, especially when the age of Protestantism was sweeping across Europe.
To help convert the Norse to Christian ways, many pre-existing Norse practices and customs were converted into Christian practices, such as the Christening of a child.
In addition, there was a moral base where honor and fair dealings, along with personal connections influenced the day-to-day lives of a society. Although the Christian influence almost brought Iceland to civil war, they accepted an arbitrator who decided that all Icelanders were to convert to Christianity. This conversion however was not an easy step to take, as evidenced in the sagas; with the still Paganist ways of killing each other for revenge. Njal's Saga reveals the realism concerning stories about individuals and families during a period of settlements in the late ninth and tenth centuries stretching to just after the conversion to Christianity around 1000 A.D. However, they are not actual histories since they were written long after the events occurred.
Christianity had recently took hold in England at the time of the writing of Beowulf. Many people believe that Beowulf is a Christian story, when in fact it is not. Instead, the poem reflects a society that has a deep pagan background and has brought with it stories from its pagan past. Beowulf is a Germanic tale that was likely first composed in the first half of the eighth century, but it was not until the late tenth century that it was committed to parchment. At the time of its writing, the Germanic tribes were clearly pagan, as seen by such evidence in the text as Beowulf’s cremation at the end of the epic and the direct reference to swearing oaths at “pagan shrines” (line 175). As Christianity’s teachings and values began to take root in these pagan societies over the decades and eventual centuries, the stories of the Bible began to be worked into the tale as it was told, retold, and retold even again. When it came time to be written—probably by a Christian monk (or monks) whose beliefs, it is fair to say, flavored the work—the bards and storytellers had crafted an epic with the Christian permutations already in it. However, that is not to say that the writer was ignorant when it came to what message he desired to relate to the reader.
There was a huge influence of both paganism and christianity that can be noticed in Old English Poetry. To better understand these two values, let us explain what paganism and christianity mean. Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. As presented in New Thestament, Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the Messiah prophesied in The Old Testament. Christianity began in the 1st century AD as a Jewish sect, and shares many religious texts with Judaism, specifically the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. The name Christian means belonging to Christ or partisan of Christ. As far as Paganism is concerned, the word comes from latin paganus and means a country dweller, rustic. It is a term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or cultic practises or beliefs of any folk religion a nd of historical and contemprorary polytheism religious in particular. (...) Characteristic of pagan traditions in the anscence of proselytisation and presence of a living mythology which explains religious practice. The term Pagan is a Christian adaptation of the goy of Judaism.
I believe the word “convert” is unfitting to describe those who define themselves as Pagans, yet were born into other religions. Most Pagans describe their embracing of a Pagan religion as a feeling of coming home. Even in my personal experience, I was born into this belief, yet strayed for a few years into Christianity, but felt as though I was out of place. I became increasingly aware of a calling within myself, a calling to define my beliefs and feelings. Coming back to the Pagan religion was simply a revelation that others shared these beliefs and feelings. Therefore, I truly believe that Pagans do not by definition “convert” to Paganism but through self-revelation and hearing their calling, they make their journey home.
"Norse Mythology: The Valkyries: The Chooser of the Slain." Norse Mythology. Accessed May 29, 2014. http://www.viking-mythology.com/valkyries.php.
Williams, a historian, talks about the coins the Vikings used, “One coin type carries the name of St. Peter, rather than the ruler. This seems very obviously Christian, but on many of the coins, the final 'I' of 'PETRI' takes the form of Thor's hammer, and some of these coins also have a hammer on the reverse. These coins seem to carry a deliberate message that both paganism and Christianity were acceptable” (Williams). Not all Vikings were pagan or Christian; the Vikings practiced both religions separately and simultaneously.... ... middle of paper ...
To distinguish the changeover from the two religions (Paganism and Christianity) it is unquestionably vital to understand what Paganism actually is. “Sometimes at pagan shrines they vowed/offerings to idols, swore oaths/that the killer of souls might come to their aid/and save the people. That was their way,/their heathenish hope; deep in their hearts/they remembered hell.” (Heaney 170-180). The Danes engaged in several pagan practices such as idol...
Vikings were a Norse-speaking, seafaring people who lived from the 8th to 11th centuries, mainly in Scandinavia. They were expert sailors who, starting in late 700s, looted and burned civilizations along rivers and coasts of Europe and Asia. They traded, sailed and explored across the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, opening trade routes that connected Europe to the Mediterranean lands. During this time, some of the population settled in the kingdoms that they were exploring; namely England, Ireland, northern France and Russia. One of the main influences that the surrounding cultures had on them was through religion. As the Vikings came in contact with Christianity through their raids, it began to form a unique fusion of Christian influence, while still holding on to many aspects of their pagan lifestyle. Not many primary sources remain from pre-Christian Viking society as much of their culture was destroyed during the Christianization process. The extremely strong oral tradition and the artifacts that remain are what the knowledge of the culture is based on. The pagan culture interests me, as I can still examine influences of it on my Scandinavian family today.
...tled in Italy and Judea. Many Roman rulers persecuted Christians, under Diocletian they weren’t even considered human, and outlawed from the Roman Empire. Diocletian claimed Christians as reprehensible for the fall of the Roman Empire. When Diocletian retired, Constantine took power and legalized Christianity, then became one himself. Christianity remained perennial even after the Empire fell because once it became widely accepted, due to its teachings on equality, forgiveness, and eternal happiness, many people enjoyed the idea that Jesus accepted sinners, and forgive them for their actions. This led many people to switch from polytheism to monotheism. Many people switched because they no longer believed in relying on pleasing the Gods to make their lives happier, but to figure out to make it better on their own. Christianity gave followers a sense of community.
Anglo-Saxons, was known as the Dark Ages, In the Anglo- Saxon society there people cherished family and values. The Anglo-Saxon aspiration was to have power and honor the actions of a hero. Although there society got introduced to Christianity this did not stop their, beliefs they had about a historic hero and their epic values. The Anglo-Saxons was a blend of Christian like traditions and Paganism. In Beowulf the story consist of both views of both Christianity and Paganism all throughout, the poet shows us how he uses his Christian beliefs to make an allusion of the bible by referring to Grendel as a “ monster born of Cain, murderous creatures banished by God”(21) the poet uses Christianity to describe Grendel as the devil in biblical terms.
...after death. Note the contrasting between Christian holidays and Pagan ones. Note their wavering loyalty between Almighty God and ‘the old stone gods’ that they sacrificed to and made heathen vows to when things became desolate. In conclusion, Christianity is made up of more than its own traditions and, back then, the transition sometimes faltered. Sometimes, people would fall back to what they knew before: Paganism.
What was the history behind these men called vikings? Around A.D. 800 to the 11th century, a large amount Scandinavians left their homes in search of riches. These men eventually gained the name Vikings or Norsemen which come from North Man, a homage to their homeland. Viking raids started small, pillaging structures around the coast, particularly undefended monasteries, in the British Isles. Over the next three hundred years, they would be known far and wide as pirates, raiders, traders and settlers. Contrary to popular belief, Vikings were not a race, linked by ties of common ancestry or patriotism, and could not be defined by any single definition. Most of the Vikings, whose accomplishments are best known to come from Denmark, Norway and
The most accepted official start of the Viking Age is recorded to have begun on June 8th, 793 AD when Norse raiders landed on the island of Lindisfarne and attacked the Christian Monastery located there, killing the monks and seizing the valuables. Viking raids by op...
http://www.pentheon.com/articles/o/odin.html 1 page, accessed April 7, 2004. Created on March 3 1997, Modified Feb. 12, 2004. Encyclopedia Mythica 1995-2004