In this last post in the theme “From Freyja to Mary”, about the Christianization and early version of Christianity in Scandinavia, where we’ll discuss the final stages of implementation of the new religion as well as consequences of this change for the lives of women.
It is generally accepted that Christianity was established in most of the Nordic region by the 12th century, with exceptions being Finland and northern Sweden. Swedish kings conducted crusades against Finland during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries.
According to the legend of Sweden’s patron saint, Saint Erik, he led a campaign against Finland in the 1150s, where he converted the population and left behind a bishop to establish the Christian church. This bishop, Henrik, eventually became Finland’s national saint after being killed by a pagan. How much of this story is true remains unclear, but the spreading of Christianity in Finland appears to have occurred between the 12th and 14th centuries.
In northern Sweden, the Sámi people held onto their religion until the 1600s, when a major missionary effort began.
Iceland stands out from the rest of the Nordic countries as it adopted Christianity through a decision by the Althing in the year 1000. The decision was made more out of pragmatism than piety, as it was believed that a country should have a common religion and common laws. However, three exceptions were made: it would remain legal to set out newborns in the forest, people could continue eating horse meat, and the old gods could still be worshipped in secret.
So, who won and who lost with the implementation of Christianity in Scandinavia?
Clearly, the monarchy benefited. The kings were now chosen by God and could not be easily deposed as before. Nation-states slowly began to emerge, and the kings gained a firmer grip on the population through the administrative support provided by the Church.
It can be argued that children were better off, at least in the sense that they could no longer be abandoned to starve to death in the woods. However, if they were illegitimate, they didn’t receive much protection from the Church. While they were no longer allowed to be killed, they couldn’t inherit and lived with low status throughout their lives.
The Church did not permit slavery, and it played a key role in the eventual abolition of slavery in the Nordic region. Additionally, the idea that thralls were of equal value in God’s eyes and could enter heaven must have been a social elevation for the unfree, even if the change came gradually.
So, what about the women? Did Christianity make their lives better or worse?
As is often the case with history, it’s hard to say. Women undeniably participated in the Christianization of the North, likely drawn by the message that everyone was welcome in the Christian community and could enter Paradise.
Women, more than men, were buried in Christian fashion, regardless of social standing. Women from the upper classes raised runestones, built bridges, and founded churches. They gained new rights—while losing others.
A right gained was the strengthening of the wife’s status and the status of her children bort within wedlock. And of course – the equality in the eyes of God and the equal chance of a happy afterlife.
A right lost however were the possibility of leaving a bad marriage, trapping women who previously could divorce. Another is the right to be religious leaders, such as the previously respected völva. Women who had knowledge of nature and healing, and was considered to have supernatural powers became feared, ostracized and even persecuted – setting the stage for the witch trials centuries later.
But the women of the Viking Age could not have known this. And in the first few centuries, they had opportunities to create a space for themselves, to gain influence and prestige through the new religion. Mary, Mother of God was venerated and powerful. Later, when the church became more patriarchal, her role changed from the Mother to the Virgin – leading to a new type of role model for women; the chaste, virginal, humble woman.
Ultimately, the era of Odin and Freya was over, and the time of Christ and Mary had come.
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