Arc Humanities Press
The Christianization of Scandinavia in the Viking Era
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Lukas G. Grzybowski
About this book
This book discusses Adam of Bremen's perceptions and interpretation of the Christianization of Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages. The views the chronicler presents in the Gesta Hammaburgensis constitute the central element of this analysis. By departing from the historiography—both the older view of the Gesta as trustworthy, and the recent view of the work as unreliable and biased—this book focuses instead on the Christianization of Scandinavia as an authorial concept. What follows is a reevaluation of the Gesta’s significance both to its medieval audience and the modern historian.
Author / Editor information
Reviews
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.
---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.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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CONTENTS
iv -
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Acknowledgements
vi -
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Introduction
viii -
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Chapter 1. Before Christianization
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Chapter 2. The Beginning of Christianization
43 -
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Chapter 3. Ongoing Christianization
65 -
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Chapter 4. Christianization, Ethics, and Identities
89 -
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Conclusion
107 -
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Index
119
