The Christianization of Scandinavia in the Viking Era

Lukas G. Grzybowski obtained his doctorate at the Universität Hamburg, conducted research projects in São Paulo and Londrina, in Brazil, and is the founder and coordinator of the Leituras da Escandinávia Medieval international research group. He is Professor of Medieval History at the Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Brazil.

This short book is a tightly focused study of Adam of Bremen’s Gesta Hammaburgensis, drawing on the history of ideas/mentalities as a methodological frame to interpret the text, situate its author, and assess its significance for the history and historiography of the conversion period in Scandinavia. [...] [It provides a solid historiographical sketch of the field of Adam of Bremen studies in the twenty-first century. It is recommended reading for anyone interested in the spread of Christianity in the north of Europe, and also to those interested in church history and medieval historiography.

Boris Gübele:

Sein knapper Band möchte die Wahrnehmung und Deutung der Christianisierung Skandinaviens innerhalb der wichtigen Chronik Adams von Bremen herausarbeiten. Der Verfasser grenzt sich also dezidiert von einer positivistischen Geschichtsforschung in der Tradition Leopold von Rankes ab, fragt nicht nach realem Geschehen, sondern wendet sich im Sinne von Hans-Werner Goetz einer „Vorstellungsgeschichte“ zu, die Ideen und Konzepte besser verstehen möchte, unter deren Einfluss eine Quelle entsteht.