Behind Heathendom : Archaeological Studies of Old Norse Religion

• This paper offers a synthesis of a large body of research into the "Old Norse religion" which has been conducted as part of a multidisciplinary research projekt - Vägar till Midgård - Roads to Midgard. Evidence for Pre-Christian Norse religion is drawn from Medieval Icelandic literature, place-names and the archaeology of ritual sites. The movement from open-air sites to purpose built ritual houses and finally churches is outlined. The prolonged contact with the Mediterranean world during the Roman Iron Age exerted a strong influence on Old Norse religion and some of the most distinctively Scandinavian religious features can be seen to be hybrid cultural constructs.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Scandinavia

Old Norse religion

Christianity

ritual

Roman hybridisation

Archaeology, North European

Arkeologi, nordeuropeisk

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)