Research project Twilight of the Gods: On the Disintegration and Demise of Old Norse Religion
Historiography has often taken place from the winner’s perspective. In the writing of history where Christianity has been involved, its successes has often been emphasized. This perspective has often obscured the topic of the present project.
Project description
It is a common opinion in research that the Scandinavians officially changed religion during the late Viking Age (900–1050/1100 AD), when the Old Norse religion was replaced by Christianity. When describing this transition in recent studies, the concept “Christianization” is often applied. To a large extent this historiography focuses on the outcome of the encounter, i.e. the description of early Medieval Christianity and the new Christian society. The purpose and aims of the present study are to concentrate more exclusively on the Old Norse religion during this period of change and to analyze the processes behind its disappearance. While some previous studies also mention such aspects, few of them are interested specifically in the vanishing religion. To generalize, there is a lack of studies that investigate how and why religious traditions disappear. This study intends to bring findings from the field of Old Norse religion, with particular focus on the role of kings in this process.
Project members
Project managers
Olof Sundqvist
Professor
Publications
Monography (forthcoming)
Approximately 250 pages.