A historical book about the Four Great Princes, a series of Swedish kings that resisted the initial attempts to Christianize the kingdom. The first, known to history as Bern of the Barrow, killed the first major attempt at converting Swedes when he had Archbishop Angar of Bremen killed for preaching in his Kingdom. The reasons for this are unknown, especially since some sources suggest it was Bern himself who invited Angar. However, the execution of Angar warded off further attempts for a few centuries until the 1100s when English merchants, through their connections in Denmark, began to slowly convert their trading partners in Sweden. This was countered by Magnus I or Sverker I, depending on the exact time-frame given by the source. English merchants were expelled for converting, and a few even killed which caused a deep row between Sweden and England that lasted for years. The third, Eric, allegedly killed Sverker and seized power. A Christian himself, like a growing (if still small) number of Swedes Eric is known for reforming Norse practices in Sweden, molding it into a hybrid of ancient Norse beliefs of a plethora of Gods, and Christian beliefs of one primary God (Odin) and his son (Thor) forming hte core of the pantheon. This Hybridization of Sweden as its known today formed what is termed by modern historians as Christartu relgion. As a blend of Christian themes and Norse myths it served as bridge that brought Sweden closer to Christian Europe. Relations with other Christian kingdoms normalized and Swedish trade began to pick up. The last of the Great Princes, Canute I fully integrated Sweden into Christian Europe. It was during his reign that Christianity achieved plurality status in the Kingdom and Canute worked hard to integrate his Kingdom into the larger Western European system. He even went so far as to become a noted supporter of the Crusades, though the story of him dying while on his way to join the First Crusade is likely false.
I Just Wanna Grill!
"Who knew a slice of pizza could cause all of this."
Duke Dynasty
