Olof Sundqvist, Gävle

An Arena for Higher Powers. Cult buildings and Rulers in the Viking Age and Medieval Scandinavia

2007-2012

The aim of the project was to investigate the pre-Christian and medieval cult buildings in Scandinavia from an ideological perspective. The specific purpose was to study how rulers used these buildings to express and reinforce their political power. The study involved a long-term perspective, AD 800-1200. The purpose of this long-term perspective was to investigate continuity and change in the context of the conversion from the pre-Christian halls and cult houses to their replacement by churches. Unlike previous scholarship on this topic, this project had a contextual perspective, with regional variations also in focus. In this study, therefore, cult buildings were examined from four geographical areas.
The project followed to a great extent the initial project plan, but some limitations were defined as work progressed. The empirical study was delimited to the Lake Mälaren area, Trøndelag and Iceland. The project also shifted focus somewhat. In the resulting monograph, the regional perspective gained greater weight than the diachronic dimensions of the study. Focus was placed on the pre-Christian contexts, specifically on the issue of regional similarities and differences. The diachronic dimension of the study, i.e. the development from pre-Christian to Christian contexts, was published in an article, with focus placed on the Mälaren region.
The three main results of the project were (1) the method, that is the contextual perspective and the formulation of the general hypothesis, (2) the regional survey, which indicated that both similarities and differences in the three areas were observable when it comes to the ruling ideological expressions of halls and cult buildings, and (3) that there was both an ideological continuity and discontinuity in relation to the pre-Christian ceremonial buildings and the early churches in the Mälaren region.
(1) In the monograph I examined the social and political structure and historical development in the three regions. There was a tendency towards centralization of power from the Migration Period onwards in the Mälaren area. A similar centralizing tendency was observable in Norway and Trøndelag from the early Viking Age onwards. As a result of this power concentration involving kings and earls, Norwegian magnates emigrated to Iceland. There the Icelandic Free State was established, which had a decentralized power structure. A concentration of power did not appear there until the 1200s. In connection with this investigation, I also did a case study, where I studied how three families legitimized power by applying religious strategies. The case study included the royal family named Ynglingar from the Mälaren region, the earls of Lade from Trøndelag, and the chieftain family named Thorsnesingar from Iceland, i.e. representatives from the three regions addressed in the monograph. The kings and earls from the Mälaren region and Trøndelag claimed to have a divine origin. This strategy was not seen among the chieftains in Iceland. They argued, however, that they were the deity Thor's dearest friend. The conclusion was that the centralizing tendencies which were observed in the societies of the Mälaren region and Trøndelag had generated a type of monumental ruler ideology which was not as visible in the more decentralized Icelandic chieftain society. This conclusion constituted the fundamental hypothesis of the entire monograph.
(2) The hypothesis of the monograph was that the political-structural differences in the three regions must have had consequences for the ruler ideological expressions associated with cult places and cult buildings. Expressions in Sweden and Norway (among earls and kings) would therefore be different from those found in Iceland (among chieftains). The investigation of the source material showed that this hypothesis was partially confirmed, but perhaps not as significantly as expected.
In the case of religious organization connected to the cult buildings, there were clear differences between Iceland, on the one hand, and Sweden and Norway, on the other hand. In Iceland, cult buildings and cult places were controlled by local chieftains. No central cult sites for all Icelanders appeared there. In the Mälaren region and Trøndelag, there were cult places aimed at different levels of society. In addition to more local shrines, there were also some regional and even inter-regional cult sites, such as Uppsala, Mæri and Hlaðir. These cult places were ruled and exploited by the society's uppermost elite.
There were also regional differences in the ritual strategies at cult sites. In Norway and Sweden, large burial mounds often were placed adjacent to halls. Such monuments were lacking in the cult places in Iceland. This difference may be related to the general ruling ideology. There is evidence that Swedish and Norwegian kings and earls were worshiped with offerings at the tomb monuments, as after their deaths they were seen as mythical beings. A similar cult involving dead chieftains was missing in Iceland.
Another regional difference is the distribution of gold foils. They are often found in connection with halls in Sweden and Norway, but so far none have been found in Iceland. The reason for this is probably linked to chronology. When Iceland was settled c. AD 870, the tradition of depositing gold foils in connection with the high-seat had subsided. There may also be another explanation. Gold foils, with a couple depicted on them, may have symbolized the mythical ancestors of the rulers. The belief that the royal families were closely related to the gods may be the reason why they were deposited at the high-seat. This type of monumental ruler ideology existed in Norway and Sweden, but does not seem to have occurred in Iceland.
The similarities between the three regions proved to be striking, especially when it comes to ritual and symbolic expressions. In all three regions, halls were often topographically in strategic locations adjacent to transport routes. They were often built on terraces or in topographical positions symbolically expressing an elevated position. The majestic impression this gave was also reinforced by the architecture and size of the building. The halls were also impressive inside, with open rooms and high ceilings. There were also places in the hall that were specially destined for the rulers/magnates. During the rites, they would sit in the high-seat, looking down on those who sat in the long benches. Sources indicate that the ruler/magnate controlled the cult on the hall. During ceremonial feasts, he could manifest his generosity and express his wealth in a concrete way.
The investigation revealed that certain cult places in the three regions can be based on a common model. Adjacent to the hall, there has sometimes been a smaller more specific cult house and an outdoor place of worship. These cult places were sometimes marked with a center symbol, e.g. a tree. This model may correspond to a mythical structure. It is possible that a micro-macrocosmic-relationship existed at these sites, which may have been used for power legitimacy. When the ruler appeared in the hall, he was in a room that had mythical dimensions.
(3) The diachronic study indicated that there was an ideological and functional continuity from pre-Christian halls to the early churches in the Mälaren area on two levels: (a) both before and after Christianization, rulers controlled cult buildings/churches and used them as a place to take tributes; and (b) both the hall and the church also served as a venue for the elite where the magnates in a ceremonial form could demonstrate their supremacy in front of an audience. There were also ritual-ideological expressions of discontinuity. The architectural expressions were different in the pre-Christian and Christian buildings, as were interiors and the symbolic objects. The rituals and ceremonies that were applied there to create a legitimacy of power were also different in the pre-Christian and Christian contexts. However, there is a continuity from pre-Christian to Christian times in the volition of the political power to create monumental buildings, and to place them centrally in the cultural landscape and at topographical heights. The rulers also appeared on an elevated position within the hall and the church, in the high-seat and the western gallery (emporium).
The project opens the possibility for new regional studies of cult sites, but also to regional-contextual studies on other religious phenomena in ancient Scandinavia. A new issue that appeared during the project work is the relationship between religion and locality, especially in the places that served as shrines of the three great royal saints (St. Olaf, St. Erik and St. Canute), namely, Trondheim, Uppsala and Odense. Such a study could involve an even longer timeframe, 800-1600, where religious developments at each site in conjunction with radical ideological changes could be investigated.
Regarding the project's main publications, I want to highlight one article and a forthcoming monograph. In the article "Religious Ruler Ideology in pre-Christian Scandinavia: A Contextual Perspective" (2012) the hypothesis of the project was outlined. This article was published in English by a publisher which has a good international reach. The most important publication of the project will be the forthcoming monograph An arena for higher powers. The project has been presented at several seminars at University of Gävle and at CAS in Oslo (2007-2008). Its hypothesis was presented as a paper in Copenhagen, 2008: "Religious Ruler Ideology in pre-Christian Scandinavia". Some results of the project appeared in a paper given in Schleswig, 2010: "Gudme on Funen: a main sanctuary with cosmic symbolism?" In addition, I spoke about "The custodian of the sanctuary" at the international Saga-conference in Aarhus (2012), and at an international conference in Södertörn (2012).

Publications

- 2009. “The question of ancient Scandinavian cultic buildings: with particular reference to Old Norse hof.” I: Temenos Vol. 45 No. 1 (2009), 275-294.
- 2011a. “An Arena for Higher Powers. Cultic Buildings and Rulers in the Late Iron Age and the Early Medieval Period in the Mälar Region.” I: Ideology and Power in the Viking and Middle Ages: Scandinavia, Iceland, Ireland, Orkney and the Faeroes. Red. G. Steinsland et al. Leiden, 163-211. (Arbetet med denna publikation inleddes under mitt år vid CAS i Oslo 2007-2008. Det fullbordades under RJ-projekttiden 2008-2011. I artikeln tackar jag RJ för detta i not 4).
- 2011b. “Gudme on Funen: a central sanctuary with cosmic symbolism?” I: The Gudme/Gudhem
Phenomenon. Red. O. Grimm & A. Pesch. Neumünster, 63-76.
- 2011c. ”Vi-platsernas väktare: till frågan om kultledare i det förkristna Mälarområdet.” I: Makt, kult och plats. Rapport från arkeologiska seminarier vid Stockholms läns museum. Red. P. Bratt &R. Grönwall. Stockholm, 90-95.
- 2012. “Religious Ruler Ideology in pre-Christian Scandinavia: A Contextual Perspective.” I: More than Mythology. Narratives, ritual practices and regional distribution in pre-Christian Scandinavian religions. Red. Catharina Raudvere &Jens Peter Schjødt. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 225-261.
- 2013MS. An arena for higher powers. Cultic buildings and religious ruler ideology of the Late Iron Age in Scandinavia. (15 kapitel, 470 sidor) (forthcoming).