seems that islam is not the only use of religious names
The first monks came to Denmark in the 8th and 9th centuries. Ansgar is the most well known of these. At first the missionaries had no great success, but they did contribute to spreading knowledge of Christianity. As a consequence, it was easier for later missionaries to convince the Vikings that the Christian God, The White Christ, was the strongest.
Many Vikings encountered Christianity abroad. They saw that the Christian countries were large and strong and had many riches in their stone churches.
It was often a requirement at foreign trading places that merchants was Christian. Otherwise they couldn't trade there. Consequently, some Viking merchants let themselves be baptised. Christianity was permitted at the Danish trading places, as perhaps was the building of churches which made it was easier to attract Christian merchants to Denmark from abroad.
Whether the Vikings became Christians at once, just because they had been baptised abroad, seems doubtful. Many were probably persuaded because fine white cloth was given as a gift at the baptism.
There is a story concerning a Viking representative to the Frankish court who let himself be baptised. Many people were to be baptised that day and when it came to his turn there was no more white cloth. He was, therefore, given something much poorer and coarser. He protested vociferously – he had now been baptised 20 times, and each time he had been given a fine set of white clothes! Who were these misers who baptised him now?
The Christian Harald Bluetooth
The first Danish king to convert to Christianity was Harold Bluetooth. The monk Widukind writes in his Saxon Chronicle that Harold was baptised around AD 965. In order to convert him, it was necessary for a monk called Poppo to endure an ordeal by fire. That is, Poppo had to carry a piece of red-hot iron in his hands. If he was then able to show that he had not suffered burns, this was an indication that the Christian God was the strongest.
Fact: There are still people today who believe in gnomes, elves, subterranean spirits and holy trees. Perhaps these are surviving vestiges of the old beliefs. Some Scandinavians practise the Asa-belief, which woship the old Nordic goods and customs.
By: Kristian Helmersen
Denmark - Contacts with Christianity
http://vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/index....> | </a>&md5=c448cc556705c5217e04abb44493f09d
4B. Missionaries going on own account or invited in
Many of the missionaries who attempted to convert the Danes from the eighth to the tenth century were met with some tolerance by the Danish kings. Still, none were invited to Denmark, with the exception of Ansgar, whose mission was a consequence of the conversion of King Harald Klak in 826. Having been exiled, Harald Klak sought to retrieve his kingdom with the aid of the German emperor. Whether from political need or actual desire Harald was baptised at Mainz. Ansgar travelled with him back to Denmark, and started working as a missionary. We know his activities were tolerated by Harald Klak's successors Horik I and Horik II, but since neither king chose to be baptised, there is no reason to believe that anything more than tolerance was at play.
Likewise, the early eighth-century missionary Willibrord was merely tolerated by the otherwise unknown Danish king Ongendus, as was Ebo of Rheims by Harald Klak who had yet to be baptised. According to Adam of Bremen, Archbishop Unni of Hamburg-Bremen recieved a somewhat better welcome at the Danish court from the young Prince Harald (Bluetooth) than from his father, King Gorm the Old (c. 935/36). Yet, neither prince nor king was convinced by his efforts to convert the Danes. Despite Adam of Bremen's insistence that the young Harald was kindly inclined towards Christianity, the young prince and later king never actively sought religious enlightenment. As successful as he may have been, Poppo had not been invited by the Danish king either. He is likely to have visited the Danish court on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the regent of Germany, Archbishop Bruno of Cologne (c. 963).
All of these missionaries came to Denmark by decision of the ecclesiastical or secular authorities in their place of origin. After Harald Bluetooth's conversion, the three bishops that had been ordained to Danish sees at the synod of Ingelheim in 948 are likely to have taken up residence in Denmark. A fourth see in Odense was added at some point before 988. By 988, all of these German bishops had been expulsed, probably in connection with Sven Forkbeard's revolt against his father Harald. In their place, King Sven relied upon itinerant bishops from England (although carrying German names).
The last internal missionaries in Denmark were St Theodgar (Thøger) of Vestervig and Bishop Egino of Dalby/Lund. According to his legend, Theodgar seems to have come to Thy on his own initiative. Bishop Egino was appointed by the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in connection with the reorganization of the Danish church c. 1059. Besides working in Sweden, he evangelized the province of Blekinge (in present-day southern Sweden) and the island of Bornholm, probably in the 1060s. It is likely that this indicates that these peripheral provinces were only then coming under the Danish kings' control.
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Magistri Adam Bremensis Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae Pontificum, MGH SS IUS, 3. Aufl., hrsg. von Bernhard Schmeidler, Hannover und Leipzig, 1917
Rimbert, Vita Anskarii, Monumenta Germaniae
Vitae sanctorum Danorum, ed. M. Cl. Gertz.
4C. Outcome of missionary activity
St Ansgar was allowed to build churches in the emporia of Haithabu and Ribe, but it is impossible to tell whether these churches only catered for visiting Christian merchants, or whether they also gathered native Christian communities. According to Widukind, the Danes had worshipped the Christian god alongside their own pagan deities for some time before Harald Bluetooth's conversion. This may indicate that the mission had met with some limited success; however, it is also possible that Widukind was simply harmonizing reports about the mission's success in the ninth century with the patent fact that the Danish kings remained pagan until Harald's conversion. In any case, archaeological evidence makes it quite clear that massive conversion did not occur until Harald had accepted Christianity. Harald's own statement on the larger Jelling rune-stone describes the Christianization of Denmark as having taken place by order of the king. Apart from the legend of St Theodgar, which does not go into any great detail, no written sources describe the conversion process in the late tenth and early eleventh century.
4D. Evidence of individual conversions
None.
4E. Signs in art/archaeology
A few rune-stones carry Christian invocations. In mainland Denmark, these stones probably date from the late tenth and early eleventh century. On Bornholm, the rune-stone fashion seems to have been introduced at the same time as the island's conversion in the 1060s; several of the rune-stones from Bornholm carry Christian invocations.
Cross-shaped amulets have been found in several locations; they all seem to belong to the period after Harald Bluetooth's conversion.
A type of late tenth-century coins without legend, but carrying a Christian cross, is usually ascribed to Harald Bluetooth. An early coinage was struck, probably in Haithabu, in the early ninth century. Part of the dies imitate Frankish coins, but others have independent motifs, some of which may have carried Christian symbolic connotations (fish, deer, etc.). Since this coinage was probably linked to the international trade of Haithabu, it cannot be interpreted as an indication of widespread conversion.
Remains of a large wooden church at Jelling should probably be dated to the reign of Harald Bluetooth. It seems that the body of King Gorm († c. 958) were transferred from his burial mound to a large chamber grave under the church. Early churches (end of the tenth century and beginning of the eleventh) have been identified in Lund and at the coastal market place of Sebbersund. Otherwise, most of the wooden churches whose remains have been identified under medieval parish churches seem to be datable to the second half of the eleventh century. A few stone churches seem to have been built already under the reign of Knud (Cnut) the Great (1018-1035), but most of the extant parish churches were not (re)built in stone until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
An interesting case, somewhat parallel to the presumed Christian reburial of King Gorm in Jelling, is represented by the church of Hørning near Randers: a mid-tenth-century burial mound was razed in order to give room for a wooden church that was placed so that the pagan chamber-grave (containing the remains of an aristocratic woman) was situated under the nave of the church. Probably the church was built shortly after the middle of the eleventh century.
4F. Burial practice
Inhumation became dominant during the ninth century, but the custom of burying the dead with grave goods in the pagan way continued until the third quarter of the tenth century. A few burial grounds from the late Viking period are interpreted as Christian because of the absence of grave goods and the east-west orientation of the graves. Due to the absence of artifacts, these burial grounds can only be dated very loosely. Moreover, the scarcity of such finds makes it difficult to follow the changes in burial customs. An exception is the city of Lund, where an unusually large cemetery from the end of the tenth and the first half of the eleventh century has been excavated. The number of graves seems out of proportion with the population size that may be estimated for the city at this stage, and it has been suggested that Lund functioned as a central burial place for Christians from all of south-western Scania during the conversion period.
4G. Christian cult objects
A church bell, probably from the ninth century, has been found in the harbour of Haithabu. Otherwise no certain finds of Christian cult objects have been reported before the twelfth century.
4H. Marriages to Christian princesses converting their husbands
None.
4I. Trade
In the 820s St Ansgar was allowed to build churches in the two most important commercial centres of Denmark, Haithabu and Ribe. This indicates that trade was important in bringing Christian influence to Denmark. However, no significant spread of the new religion from these centres can be detected. The conversion of Denmark seems to have been essentially a political process.
© Michael Gelting
The Danes, a homogeneous Gothic-Germanic people, have inhabited Denmark since prehistoric times. Danish is the principal language. English is a required school subject, and fluency is high. A small German-speaking minority lives in southern Jutland; a mostly Inuit population inhabits Greenland; and the Faroe Islands have a Nordic population with its own language. Education is compulsory from ages seven to 16 and is free through the university level.
Although religious freedom is guaranteed, the state-supported Evangelical Lutheran Church has a membership of 83% of the population. Several other Christian denominations, as well as other major religions, find adherents in Denmark. Islam is now the second-largest religion in Denmark, with the number of Muslims in Denmark estimated at slightly more than 4% of the population.
The first monks came to Denmark in the 8th and 9th centuries. Ansgar is the most well known of these. At first the missionaries had no great success, but they did contribute to spreading knowledge of Christianity. As a consequence, it was easier for later missionaries to convince the Vikings that the Christian God, The White Christ, was the strongest.
Many Vikings encountered Christianity abroad. They saw that the Christian countries were large and strong and had many riches in their stone churches.
It was often a requirement at foreign trading places that merchants was Christian. Otherwise they couldn't trade there. Consequently, some Viking merchants let themselves be baptised. Christianity was permitted at the Danish trading places, as perhaps was the building of churches which made it was easier to attract Christian merchants to Denmark from abroad.
Whether the Vikings became Christians at once, just because they had been baptised abroad, seems doubtful. Many were probably persuaded because fine white cloth was given as a gift at the baptism.
There is a story concerning a Viking representative to the Frankish court who let himself be baptised. Many people were to be baptised that day and when it came to his turn there was no more white cloth. He was, therefore, given something much poorer and coarser. He protested vociferously – he had now been baptised 20 times, and each time he had been given a fine set of white clothes! Who were these misers who baptised him now?
The Christian Harald Bluetooth
The first Danish king to convert to Christianity was Harold Bluetooth. The monk Widukind writes in his Saxon Chronicle that Harold was baptised around AD 965. In order to convert him, it was necessary for a monk called Poppo to endure an ordeal by fire. That is, Poppo had to carry a piece of red-hot iron in his hands. If he was then able to show that he had not suffered burns, this was an indication that the Christian God was the strongest.
Fact: There are still people today who believe in gnomes, elves, subterranean spirits and holy trees. Perhaps these are surviving vestiges of the old beliefs. Some Scandinavians practise the Asa-belief, which woship the old Nordic goods and customs.
By: Kristian Helmersen
Denmark - Contacts with Christianity
http://vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/index....> | </a>&md5=c448cc556705c5217e04abb44493f09d
4B. Missionaries going on own account or invited in
Many of the missionaries who attempted to convert the Danes from the eighth to the tenth century were met with some tolerance by the Danish kings. Still, none were invited to Denmark, with the exception of Ansgar, whose mission was a consequence of the conversion of King Harald Klak in 826. Having been exiled, Harald Klak sought to retrieve his kingdom with the aid of the German emperor. Whether from political need or actual desire Harald was baptised at Mainz. Ansgar travelled with him back to Denmark, and started working as a missionary. We know his activities were tolerated by Harald Klak's successors Horik I and Horik II, but since neither king chose to be baptised, there is no reason to believe that anything more than tolerance was at play.
Likewise, the early eighth-century missionary Willibrord was merely tolerated by the otherwise unknown Danish king Ongendus, as was Ebo of Rheims by Harald Klak who had yet to be baptised. According to Adam of Bremen, Archbishop Unni of Hamburg-Bremen recieved a somewhat better welcome at the Danish court from the young Prince Harald (Bluetooth) than from his father, King Gorm the Old (c. 935/36). Yet, neither prince nor king was convinced by his efforts to convert the Danes. Despite Adam of Bremen's insistence that the young Harald was kindly inclined towards Christianity, the young prince and later king never actively sought religious enlightenment. As successful as he may have been, Poppo had not been invited by the Danish king either. He is likely to have visited the Danish court on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the regent of Germany, Archbishop Bruno of Cologne (c. 963).
All of these missionaries came to Denmark by decision of the ecclesiastical or secular authorities in their place of origin. After Harald Bluetooth's conversion, the three bishops that had been ordained to Danish sees at the synod of Ingelheim in 948 are likely to have taken up residence in Denmark. A fourth see in Odense was added at some point before 988. By 988, all of these German bishops had been expulsed, probably in connection with Sven Forkbeard's revolt against his father Harald. In their place, King Sven relied upon itinerant bishops from England (although carrying German names).
The last internal missionaries in Denmark were St Theodgar (Thøger) of Vestervig and Bishop Egino of Dalby/Lund. According to his legend, Theodgar seems to have come to Thy on his own initiative. Bishop Egino was appointed by the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in connection with the reorganization of the Danish church c. 1059. Besides working in Sweden, he evangelized the province of Blekinge (in present-day southern Sweden) and the island of Bornholm, probably in the 1060s. It is likely that this indicates that these peripheral provinces were only then coming under the Danish kings' control.
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Magistri Adam Bremensis Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae Pontificum, MGH SS IUS, 3. Aufl., hrsg. von Bernhard Schmeidler, Hannover und Leipzig, 1917
Rimbert, Vita Anskarii, Monumenta Germaniae
Vitae sanctorum Danorum, ed. M. Cl. Gertz.
4C. Outcome of missionary activity
St Ansgar was allowed to build churches in the emporia of Haithabu and Ribe, but it is impossible to tell whether these churches only catered for visiting Christian merchants, or whether they also gathered native Christian communities. According to Widukind, the Danes had worshipped the Christian god alongside their own pagan deities for some time before Harald Bluetooth's conversion. This may indicate that the mission had met with some limited success; however, it is also possible that Widukind was simply harmonizing reports about the mission's success in the ninth century with the patent fact that the Danish kings remained pagan until Harald's conversion. In any case, archaeological evidence makes it quite clear that massive conversion did not occur until Harald had accepted Christianity. Harald's own statement on the larger Jelling rune-stone describes the Christianization of Denmark as having taken place by order of the king. Apart from the legend of St Theodgar, which does not go into any great detail, no written sources describe the conversion process in the late tenth and early eleventh century.
4D. Evidence of individual conversions
None.
4E. Signs in art/archaeology
A few rune-stones carry Christian invocations. In mainland Denmark, these stones probably date from the late tenth and early eleventh century. On Bornholm, the rune-stone fashion seems to have been introduced at the same time as the island's conversion in the 1060s; several of the rune-stones from Bornholm carry Christian invocations.
Cross-shaped amulets have been found in several locations; they all seem to belong to the period after Harald Bluetooth's conversion.
A type of late tenth-century coins without legend, but carrying a Christian cross, is usually ascribed to Harald Bluetooth. An early coinage was struck, probably in Haithabu, in the early ninth century. Part of the dies imitate Frankish coins, but others have independent motifs, some of which may have carried Christian symbolic connotations (fish, deer, etc.). Since this coinage was probably linked to the international trade of Haithabu, it cannot be interpreted as an indication of widespread conversion.
Remains of a large wooden church at Jelling should probably be dated to the reign of Harald Bluetooth. It seems that the body of King Gorm († c. 958) were transferred from his burial mound to a large chamber grave under the church. Early churches (end of the tenth century and beginning of the eleventh) have been identified in Lund and at the coastal market place of Sebbersund. Otherwise, most of the wooden churches whose remains have been identified under medieval parish churches seem to be datable to the second half of the eleventh century. A few stone churches seem to have been built already under the reign of Knud (Cnut) the Great (1018-1035), but most of the extant parish churches were not (re)built in stone until the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
An interesting case, somewhat parallel to the presumed Christian reburial of King Gorm in Jelling, is represented by the church of Hørning near Randers: a mid-tenth-century burial mound was razed in order to give room for a wooden church that was placed so that the pagan chamber-grave (containing the remains of an aristocratic woman) was situated under the nave of the church. Probably the church was built shortly after the middle of the eleventh century.
4F. Burial practice
Inhumation became dominant during the ninth century, but the custom of burying the dead with grave goods in the pagan way continued until the third quarter of the tenth century. A few burial grounds from the late Viking period are interpreted as Christian because of the absence of grave goods and the east-west orientation of the graves. Due to the absence of artifacts, these burial grounds can only be dated very loosely. Moreover, the scarcity of such finds makes it difficult to follow the changes in burial customs. An exception is the city of Lund, where an unusually large cemetery from the end of the tenth and the first half of the eleventh century has been excavated. The number of graves seems out of proportion with the population size that may be estimated for the city at this stage, and it has been suggested that Lund functioned as a central burial place for Christians from all of south-western Scania during the conversion period.
4G. Christian cult objects
A church bell, probably from the ninth century, has been found in the harbour of Haithabu. Otherwise no certain finds of Christian cult objects have been reported before the twelfth century.
4H. Marriages to Christian princesses converting their husbands
None.
4I. Trade
In the 820s St Ansgar was allowed to build churches in the two most important commercial centres of Denmark, Haithabu and Ribe. This indicates that trade was important in bringing Christian influence to Denmark. However, no significant spread of the new religion from these centres can be detected. The conversion of Denmark seems to have been essentially a political process.
© Michael Gelting
The Danes, a homogeneous Gothic-Germanic people, have inhabited Denmark since prehistoric times. Danish is the principal language. English is a required school subject, and fluency is high. A small German-speaking minority lives in southern Jutland; a mostly Inuit population inhabits Greenland; and the Faroe Islands have a Nordic population with its own language. Education is compulsory from ages seven to 16 and is free through the university level.
Although religious freedom is guaranteed, the state-supported Evangelical Lutheran Church has a membership of 83% of the population. Several other Christian denominations, as well as other major religions, find adherents in Denmark. Islam is now the second-largest religion in Denmark, with the number of Muslims in Denmark estimated at slightly more than 4% of the population.