Earliest Possible Conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity

[CaedmonCousland]

So there have been numerous threads discussing the viability of Norse paganism surviving or reforming itself. I guess I just wanted to discuss the opposite, as the thread says.

How early could the Norse be converted, both as a whole and the individual nations? Denmark could obviously be converted far earlier than Sweden.

One scenario that I immediately considered was the alliance between Widukind/Saxony with Denmark against Charlemagne discussed in the other thread to resist Charlemagne backfires. Charlemagne proves victorious, and gives Denmark the Saxon treatment. So Denmark could conceivably be Christianized in the early 800's.

 

[CaedmonCousland]

Okay, I'll bump this in hope of receiving at least one answer. If not, I guess this is a thoroughly uninteresting topic on this site and give it up.

 

[mrmandias]

Sounds plausible.

The Anglo-Saxons christianized much earlier. Have somewhere in Scandinavia undergo some kind of earlier state formation than OTL and/or rule areas with existing Christian populations.

 

[Gasmask134]

I think it is very possible, though I am unfamiliar with Scandinavian history to know of a POD to use.

Perhaps Christian states are a bit better off than OTL, which gives the Scandinavians more incentives to convert?

 

[CaedmonCousland]

Much of the more effective conversion of Scandinavia was done by Danes from the Danelaw who had converted while in England returning home to their extended kin. Maybe we could play on that for an earlier conversion without needing to have a violent conversion like Charlemagne and the Saxons or Olaf Tryggvason in Norway.

Edward the Elder and AEthelstan were the two Kings of Wessex who ended the Danelaw and arguably crafted England as a coherent kingdom. If after the initial success of Edward the Elder against Danelaw, it might be possible that the jarls there would seek aid. Denmark would be a natural choice, but Norway had also united under Harald Fairhair by this point and he hadrule d largely peacefully for decades by this point. If either Denmark or Norway could make one of the Danish kingdoms in England a vassal kingdom or directly incorporate it into the state, more firm trade would follow which could encourage peaceful conversion. It was arguably through their needing to hold onto England after their conquests that Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut the Great officially made Christianity the official religion of Denmark, although Harald Bluetooth had started the conversion beforehand. If Norway was able to claim the Kingdom of York/Jorvik or Denmark East Anglish, there'd be a far greater political pressure to either convert or at least tolerate/allow Christian churches to exist and priests to travel and preach.