All those barbarious peoples who in far-distant islands frequent the ice-bound Ocean, living as they do like beasts - who could call them Christians?
Pope Urban II, 1095
Such condescending impressions about the peoples living at the ‘end of the world’ have been adapted by Scandinavian historians who, until recently, have stressed the isolation and the otherness of the North, and ignored the many similarities to the ‘culturally more developed’ Europe. This collection of articles by Nordic scholars is truly interdisciplinary, covering philology, history, archaeology, theology, and other approaches. It is divided into two parts, the first of which addresses conversion from a broad perspective, while the second is devoted to the consolidation of Christianity and ecclesiastical structures. The book investigates from a fresh viewpoint important aspects of Nordic Christianity in the Middle Ages and discusses to what extent ideas and institutions were adapted to local circumstances. It includes a variety of topics, such as the remnants of paganism, medieval saints’ cults, law, and church, to religious warfare, and the use of beer in cult and memory.