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For the purposes of this article the Christianization of Scandinavia refers to the process of conversion to Christianity of the Scandinavian and Nordic peoples, starting in the 8th century with the arrival of missionaries in Denmark and ending in the 18th century with the conversion of the Inuits and the Sami.

Contents 1 Denmark 2 Christianization of Norway 2.1 Christianization of Iceland 3 Christianization of Sweden 3.1 Christianization of Finland 4 The last pagans 5 See also 6 References

Recorded missionary efforts in Denmark started with Willibrord, Apostle to the Frisians, who preached in Jutland around 700 with little success. A century later Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims, baptized a few men during his 823 sojourn in Denmark. A few years later, in 826, the exiled Danish king Klakk-Harald forged an alliance with Louis the Pious and was baptized along with his family and court in Ingelheim am Rhein. As Harald returned to Denmark, Louis assigned the monk Ansgar to follow him and oversee Christianity among the converts. Ansgar proved an effective missionary who extended his work to Sweden. Nevertheless Christianity had made mostly a surface impression and the majority of Danes remained pagan. In 831 the Archbishopric of Hamburg was founded and assigned responsibility for Christianity in the north. Over the following century Christianity made slow inroads in Denmark. The semi-legendary king Gorm the Old was said to be "hard and heathen" but his son, Harald Bluetooth (ca. 911 - ca. 986) boasted on the Jelling stones that he had "made the Danes Christian". Some sources report that his son, Svein Forkbeard, relapsed into paganism but in the early 11th century Denmark can be said to be a Christian country.

See also: History of Norway

The first recorded attempts at spreading Christianity in Norway were made by King Haakon the Good (reigned 934-961), who was raised in England. His efforts were unpopular and met with little success. The subsequent King Harald Greyhide (reigned 961–976), also a Christian, was known for destroying pagan temples but not for efforts to popularize Christianity.

He was followed by the staunchly pagan Haakon Sigurdsson Jarl (reigned 971-995) who led a revival of paganism with the rebuilding of temples. When Harold I of Denmark attempted to force Christianity upon him around 975, Haakon broke his allegiance to Denmark. A Danish invasion force was defeated at the battle of Hjörungavágr in 986.

In 995 Olaf Tryggvason would become King Olaf I of Norway. Born ca. 960, Olaf had raided various european cities and fought in several wars. In 986 however, he (supposedly) meet a Christian seer on the Isles of Scilly. This seer told him:

Thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. Many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens. When thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptized.

As the seer foretold, Olaf was attack by a group of mutineers upon returning to his ships. As soon has he had recovered from his wounds, he let himself be baptized. He than stopped raiding Christian cities and lived in England and Ireland. In 995 he used an opportunity to return to Norway. When he arrived, the Haakon Jarl was already facing a revolt. Olaf Tryggvason could convince the rebels to accept him as their king. (And Haakon Jarl was betrayed and killed by his own slave, while he was hiding from the rebels in pig sty.)

Olaf I then and made it his priority to convert the country to Christianity using all means at his disposal. By destroying temples and torturing and killing pagan resisters he succeeded in making every part of Norway at least nominally Christian. Expanding his efforts to the Norse settlements in the west the kings' sagas credit him with Christianizing the Faroes, Orkney, Shetland, Iceland and Greenland.

After Olaf's defeat at the Battle of Svolder in 1000 there was a partial relapse to paganism in Norway under the rule of the Jarls of Lade. In the following reign of Saint Olaf, 1015-1028, pagan remnants were stamped out and Christianity entrenched.

See also: History of Iceland

Irish monks known as Papar are said to have been present in Iceland before its settlement by the Norse in the 9th century.

Following King Olaf I 's taking of Icelandic hostages, there were similar tension between the Christian and pagan factions In 10th century Iceland. Violent clashes were avoided by the decision of the Althing in AD 1000 to put the arbitration between them to Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði, the leader of the pagan faction. He opted, after a day and a night of meditation, that the country should convert to Christianity as a whole, while pagan worship in private would continue to be tolerated. ^[1]

See also: History of Sweden

The first known attempts to Christianize Sweden were made by Ansgar in 830, invited by the Swedish king Björn at Haugi. Setting up a church at Birka he met with little Swedish interest. A century later Unni, archbishop of Hamburg, made another unsuccessful attempt. In the 10th century English missionaries made inroads in Västergötland while central Sweden, with the Temple at Uppsala, was a centre of pagan resistance. The first Christian king of Sweden was Olof Skötkonung who succeeded to the throne in the 990s but conflict between Christians and pagans continued till the end of the 11th century.

It was brought to a point between the pagan king Blot-Sweyn and his Christian brother-in-law Ingold I in the 1080s. After Ingold was forced into exile, he returned to Sweden in 1087, and having arrived at Old Uppsala, he surrounded the hall of Blot-Sweyn with his húskarls, and set the hall on fire, slaying the king as he escaped from the burning house. The burning of the Temple at Uppsala probably dates to the same time. However, this particular conflict more closely resembles the classical feud found in Scandinavian sagaic literature rather than religious fanaticism.^{[original research?]}

The Gutalagen (an early Swedish law book) officially in use until 1595, but in practice until 1645, stated that performing blóts was punishable by a fine.^[2]

See also: History of Finland

Judging by archaeological finds, Christianity gained a foothold in Finland during the 11th century. It was strengthened with growing Swedish influence in the 12th century and the Finnish "crusade" of Birger Jarl in the 13th century.

In the 18th century a new Danish colony was started in Greenland with the objective of converting the inhabitants to Christianity. Around the same time efforts were made in Norway and Sweden to convert the Sami, who had remained pagan long after the conversion of their neighbours.

• Germanic Christianity
• Christianization of Kievan Rus'
• Persecution of Germanic Pagans

1. ^ Christianity, from a site on the Icelandic parliament.
2. ^ Gutalagen

• Bæksted, Anders (1986). Goð og hetjur í heiðnum sið, Eysteinn Þorvaldsson translated to Icelandic. Reykjavík: Örn og Örlygur.
• Christianization of Sweden Encyclopædia Britannica article