Viking/Norse Church: A.D. 793 - A.D. 857
In A.D. 793, while participating in a raid on the Christian monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, a young Viking by the name of Ragnaar Thorvald was captured by a few local citizens. For the next twelve years, Thorvald lived as a captive within the rebuilt monastery where he learned to read and write using the Latin alphabet. The monks at the monastery allowed him only one book: The Bible. Although the young Viking was not particularly moved by the book itself, it did give him an idea.
Throvald immediately began compiling the stories of Baldur, who, unsurprisingly, happened to be Thorvald’s favorite Norse god, reorganizing them and writing them down in a book he simply calls, “The Chronicle.” From the time he began writing, in A.D. 797 to the time he stopped, in A.D. 805, Thorvald wrote four copies of his book. The text followed the story of Baldur in Norse mythology. The other gods of Norse mythology made appearances but, with one exception, did not play key roles. The story, as recorded by Thorvald, went as follows:
In A.D. 805, however, Thorvald was moved, along with Harold Bruce, the young monk who had befriended him following the attack on Lindisfarne, to the monastery of St. Columba in the Hebrides islands. The next year, in A.D. 806, the monastery of St. Columba was sacked by another group of Vikings. Thorvald managed to convince the group of raiders to spare the lives of himself, Harold Bruce, and Malcolm Duncan, another young monk at the monastery. Thus, at the age of twenty-eight, Thorvald, accompanied by Bruce and Duncan, both of whom are completely dependent on Thorvald for their well-being, was finally returning to his homeland.
The three men arrived in Stavanger. The port on the North Sea was, at the time, the largest Viking settlement around, with nearly 2,000 inhabitants. Over the years, the port village of Stavanger will become the center of Thorvald’s activities. Thorvald’s first goal upon arrival was the conversion of a group to follow The Chronicle. He began by converting Bruce and Duncan, who, never the most devout of Christians, reluctantly accept the teachings of Thorvald’s Chronicle, mostly out of thanks to the young man who saved their lives.
Thorvald then found a group of eighteen men, all of whom were of above average intelligence. Thorvald, Bruce, and Duncan then set about to teach these eighteen men how to read and write. The process took several years but, by A.D. 811, Thorvald had a loyal following of twenty men, each of whom could read, write, and spread the word within his Chronicle. The next year, at the age of thirty-four, Thorvald and his followers spread out on the Viking trading ships, heading to all parts of the north.
For the next eleven years, the twenty-one men preach The Chronicle to thousands of Vikings and their families, passing out hand-written copies of The Chronicle in most major villages throughout the north. The teachings of The Chronicle and the story of Baldur fit in quite nicely with both the Viking way of life and the older pagan beliefs. The Viking raiders saw themselves as the incarnations of Thor, protecting and striking at the enemies of the Norse people and their guide, Baldur.
By A.D. 823, with converts and ministers throughout Scandia, the seventeen living men of the original twenty-one return to Stavanger, where they set about producing more copies of The Chronicle. By A.D. 839, the time of Thorvald’s death at the age of sixty-one, The Chronicle had spread to every part of Scandia and nearly forty percent of the Viking population were converts to the Scandian Church. By A.D. 857, the date of the death of the last living of “Thorvald’s Twenty,” a full seventy percent of the Vikings were converts to the Scandian Church. It was later revealed that the twenty-one original (incl. Thorvald, Bruce, and Duncan) wrote nearly six-hundred copies of The Chronicle. An amazing feat considering each was handwritten and required two to three years to write a single copy.
More to follow.
I made this section by combining the ideas of DuQuense and Tom B in the "Scandinavian Religion" thread.
In A.D. 793, while participating in a raid on the Christian monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, a young Viking by the name of Ragnaar Thorvald was captured by a few local citizens. For the next twelve years, Thorvald lived as a captive within the rebuilt monastery where he learned to read and write using the Latin alphabet. The monks at the monastery allowed him only one book: The Bible. Although the young Viking was not particularly moved by the book itself, it did give him an idea.
Throvald immediately began compiling the stories of Baldur, who, unsurprisingly, happened to be Thorvald’s favorite Norse god, reorganizing them and writing them down in a book he simply calls, “The Chronicle.” From the time he began writing, in A.D. 797 to the time he stopped, in A.D. 805, Thorvald wrote four copies of his book. The text followed the story of Baldur in Norse mythology. The other gods of Norse mythology made appearances but, with one exception, did not play key roles. The story, as recorded by Thorvald, went as follows:
Baldur was the god of light and joy and the son of Odin and Frigga, king and queen of the gods. Having dreamed that Baldur's life was threatened, Frigga extracted an oath from the forces and objects in nature, animate and inanimate, that they would not harm Baldur, but she forgot the mistletoe. The gods, thinking Baldur safe, cast darts and stones at him. The malicious giant Loki put a twig of mistletoe in the hands of Baldur's twin, the blind Hoder, god of darkness, and directed his aim against Baldur, who fell pierced to the heart.
After the death of Baldur, Odin sent another son, the messenger Hermod, to the underworld to plead for Baldur's return. The god would be released only if everything in the world would weep for him. [Warning: Thorvald was imaginative and young, hence, he changed the story to meet his own needs.] Everything wept and Baldur returned to life. Through the help of his warrior brother, Thor, Baldur manages to trick Loki and, thus, Loki himself is banished to the underworld. Hence forth, Thor and, particularly, Baldur, became the most powerful gods. Baldur spreads light and knowledge to the Norse peoples while Thor strikes down the enemies of Baldur.
After the death of Baldur, Odin sent another son, the messenger Hermod, to the underworld to plead for Baldur's return. The god would be released only if everything in the world would weep for him. [Warning: Thorvald was imaginative and young, hence, he changed the story to meet his own needs.] Everything wept and Baldur returned to life. Through the help of his warrior brother, Thor, Baldur manages to trick Loki and, thus, Loki himself is banished to the underworld. Hence forth, Thor and, particularly, Baldur, became the most powerful gods. Baldur spreads light and knowledge to the Norse peoples while Thor strikes down the enemies of Baldur.
In A.D. 805, however, Thorvald was moved, along with Harold Bruce, the young monk who had befriended him following the attack on Lindisfarne, to the monastery of St. Columba in the Hebrides islands. The next year, in A.D. 806, the monastery of St. Columba was sacked by another group of Vikings. Thorvald managed to convince the group of raiders to spare the lives of himself, Harold Bruce, and Malcolm Duncan, another young monk at the monastery. Thus, at the age of twenty-eight, Thorvald, accompanied by Bruce and Duncan, both of whom are completely dependent on Thorvald for their well-being, was finally returning to his homeland.
The three men arrived in Stavanger. The port on the North Sea was, at the time, the largest Viking settlement around, with nearly 2,000 inhabitants. Over the years, the port village of Stavanger will become the center of Thorvald’s activities. Thorvald’s first goal upon arrival was the conversion of a group to follow The Chronicle. He began by converting Bruce and Duncan, who, never the most devout of Christians, reluctantly accept the teachings of Thorvald’s Chronicle, mostly out of thanks to the young man who saved their lives.
Thorvald then found a group of eighteen men, all of whom were of above average intelligence. Thorvald, Bruce, and Duncan then set about to teach these eighteen men how to read and write. The process took several years but, by A.D. 811, Thorvald had a loyal following of twenty men, each of whom could read, write, and spread the word within his Chronicle. The next year, at the age of thirty-four, Thorvald and his followers spread out on the Viking trading ships, heading to all parts of the north.
For the next eleven years, the twenty-one men preach The Chronicle to thousands of Vikings and their families, passing out hand-written copies of The Chronicle in most major villages throughout the north. The teachings of The Chronicle and the story of Baldur fit in quite nicely with both the Viking way of life and the older pagan beliefs. The Viking raiders saw themselves as the incarnations of Thor, protecting and striking at the enemies of the Norse people and their guide, Baldur.
By A.D. 823, with converts and ministers throughout Scandia, the seventeen living men of the original twenty-one return to Stavanger, where they set about producing more copies of The Chronicle. By A.D. 839, the time of Thorvald’s death at the age of sixty-one, The Chronicle had spread to every part of Scandia and nearly forty percent of the Viking population were converts to the Scandian Church. By A.D. 857, the date of the death of the last living of “Thorvald’s Twenty,” a full seventy percent of the Vikings were converts to the Scandian Church. It was later revealed that the twenty-one original (incl. Thorvald, Bruce, and Duncan) wrote nearly six-hundred copies of The Chronicle. An amazing feat considering each was handwritten and required two to three years to write a single copy.
More to follow.
I made this section by combining the ideas of DuQuense and Tom B in the "Scandinavian Religion" thread.