Gudars skymning

Towards the end of the Viking Age, pre-Christian religion was replaced by Catholic Christianity in the public sphere across the Nordic region. How did this transition take place, and to what extent did Old Norse worship survive?

The shift from one set of beliefs to another involved a long and complex process of adaptations, negotiations, adjustments and changes. The old religion broke down at different times in different places, and in some cases older religious traditions survived.

In this lecture, Olof Sundqvist, Professor of the History of Religions at Stockholms Universitet, discusses the final phase of Old Norse religion and its disappearance from public life. The focus is primarily on how and why it disappeared, with particular attention to the role of local kings and chieftains in dismantling Old Norse worship.