The Conversion of Scandinavia
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Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries in the Remaking of Northern Europe
Anders Winroth
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In this book a MacArthur Award-winning scholar argues for a radically new interpretation of the conversion of Scandinavia from paganism to Christianity in the early Middle Ages. Overturning the received narrative of Europe's military and religious conquest and colonization of the region, Anders Winroth contends that rather than acting as passive recipients, Scandinavians converted to Christianity because it was in individual chieftains' political, economic, and cultural interests to do so.
Through a painstaking analysis and historical reconstruction of both archeological and literary sources, and drawing on scholarly work that has been unavailable in English, Winroth opens up new avenues for studying European ascendency and the expansion of Christianity in the medieval period.
“Winroth’s is a fresh take on the Vikings, showing people with agency and voices. Sometimes violent, they preferred negotiation. Gift-getting and gift-giving drove their politics. When, in the centuries around 1000, Scandinavians opted into Europe, Christianity was a gift they chose.”—Jinty Nelson, Professor Emerita, King’s College London
"This is a very significant contribution that stands out among the crowded field of Viking history. Admirably balancing the expected features of a survey work with a new orientation, Winroth does a superb job of uniting the history of the Norse in the East (Russia and the Byzantine and Arab world) with the history of the Scandinavian homeland and its expansion to the West."—Anthony Perron, Loyola Marymount University
“Historical writing does not get any better than this vivid, masterly and profoundly original account of a transformation not only fascinating in itself but of real and enduring importance in the shaping of Europe.”—R.I. Moore, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
“Challenging the stereotypical master narrative of zealous evangelicals and active missionaries converting an at best passive, at worst resistant, native heathen population, he [Winroth] is able to substitute a fascinating description of the distinctive political dynamics that characterised all of Western Europe after the barbarian invasions […]”—Patrick Madigan, Heythrop Journal
“Winroth has eminent insight into the wide-ranging research within different disciplines and discusses not least the written sources. […] He is well acquainted with the comprehensive and varied research and guides the reader to synthesizing conclusions and wider perspectives. […] Winroth has made a fine and stimulating synthesis of Viking Age Scandinavia and its place within European history.”—Thomas Lindkvist, University of Gothenburg, The Journal of English and German Philology
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
24 b/w illus.
