Are the Norse still going to be Christianized ITTL?
Some will be converting to Christianity yes but at a much slower process than OTL, others however will remain Norse Pagan but that will be undergoing changes itself.
Speaking of religion, what will be religion like in Vinland? Will we see syncretism between Norse paganism and Mi'kmaq (among other possible tribes, like the Innu) beliefs? If so, I have a few sources (and ideas myself) that might be useful.
Syncretism will be happening for all Vinland Bay/Gulf of St.Lawrence cultures and societies, with a strain of Henotheism that explicitly condemns monotheism.
The 'Vinland Hierarchy of Gods' plan I have at the moment is to have these deities ascendant:
- Rán, Goddess of The Sea
Gefjun, Goddess of Farming
Thor, God of Storms and Friend of Mankind
Odin, The Allfather and Lord of Knowledge
Loki, The Trickster
Eir, The Goddess of Mercy and Medicine
Vár, Goddess of Oaths
Forseti, God of Justice
The expedition by Þordis, the semi-nomadic lifestyles of native cultures and Vinland Bay still being considered a frontier for the Norse, has lead to a 'gender-indifferent' view developing throughout the culture.
That's an interesting development. Will this taboo against monotheism have anything to do with our old friend Jesus?
Ran wasn't really worshipped so much as feared (a prominent theme was her taking sailors into the depths, so she was more of a siren-like than say, Poseidon) among the Norse. IIRC Njord was the more prominent seafaring god. There isn't really a sea god among the Eastern Algonquians (besides a a whale in Mi'kmaq myths that carries Kluskap around the ocean, Horned Serpent/Underwater Panther, though they were feared rather than worshipped, and the legends about underwater people), so any sea god would probably be very Nordic influenced.
Essentially yes, I've been toying with either her or Freyja being the favoured goddess via syncretism with the St.Lawrence Iroquious. The present native cultures are slowly adapting to agriculture, with the norse having a distinct advantage, although I'm 99% sure that none of the cultures the Norse have encountered have maize/cornAgain, she'd probably be very Norse influenced, since the Mi'kmaq didn't have much agriculture in OTL. Maybe we could see syncretism with First Mother, the agricultural deity from their cousins further south, who gave birth to the world and then sacrificed herself (by turning into corn/plants) so that humans could eat?
Thor is an interesting deity, as there's a common lightning god/spirit(s) present throughout most of North America that could easily be identified with him: thunderbirds. They have a surprising amount of themes in common beside being storm deities, down to both their mortal enemies being serpents (Horned Serpent in the case of the Thunderbirds, Jormungandr in the case of Thor). We could see a singular Thor/Thunderbird deity emerge, and I could easily see this syncretized deity becoming very popular.
I could see Odin being syncretized with Kluskap/Glooscap/etc, both being one of, if not the most important members of their pantheons, and they both share a lot of trickster traits.
Loki also has an easy parallel: Luks. Both trickster gods who were seen as manifestations of evil, and are constantly in conflict with the other deities. Luks was usually identified with the wolverine, so you could work that into it too. It's also helpful that the names both sound surprisingly similar (though I wouldn't read much into it).
I toyed with Freyja's role as the most ascendant goddess but thought that the amount of things she would be associated with in this syncretism to many too be believable IMO. The importance of oaths will become paramount at around 900 (Spolilers, I guess)Seems like she's fairly minor (and possibly a manifestation of Frigg/Freya) to be a major player in Vinland, but you never know. Speaking of Freya, why wouldn't her worship spread into Vinland? She was very popular and respected, judging by the way volvas were treated by the Norse.
Var also appears to be minor, as well as being an aspect of Freya. Is there any significance to her being a major goddess, like oaths being very important to the culture of Vinland?
Yes, the cultures that the norse encounter will slowly be shifting towards their own th/tings for law and orderCan't recall any justice/law deities present in the Northeast OTTOMH, so he'll be very Norse influenced.
Could you elaborate on this a bit?
Ascendant doesn't mean worshipped, I've been weighing both Rán and Aegir, with Rán having a slight edge as Aegir was a 'friend of the gods'. The Taboo on monotheism will occur due to events on Vinland in 900
Essentially yes, I've been toying with either her or Freyja being the favoured goddess via syncretism with the St.Lawrence Iroquious.
The present native cultures are slowly adapting to agriculture, with the norse having a distinct advantage, although I'm 99% sure that none of the cultures the Norse have encountered have maize/corn
Yeah, Thor, Loki and Odin are all very easy to syncretise. At present I'm uncertain as to which will be 'chief of the gods' so to speak for this Syncretism
I toyed with Freyja's role as the most ascendant goddess but thought that the amount of things she would be associated with in this syncretism to many too be believable IMO.
Norse-style inheritance laws will start to become the norm throughout the Bay - Children inherit before siblings, sons before daughters but nothing prevents a daughter being the sole heir. I'm not envisioning Shieldmaidens or CK2's Enatic Clans atm, more a 'It works, so who cares' approach towards property and inheritance with both the 'son/'dottir naming following from whichever parent is the higher powered/more prestigious.
That's a whole other belief system than the Algonquian one, but of the top of my head, she could be associated with Sky Mother or Onatah.
By 800 CE, maize was widespread throughout North America, though limited north of Maine and southern Ontario. Even so, the Mi'kmaq had definitely encountered the crop by this point, and there's evidence that they might have engaged in limited horticulture at certain locations.
The Iroquoians OTOH had certainly cultivated the crop, and it was very important
Not necessarily. As anyone who's studied mythology knows, plenty of gods end up in charge of a wide array of very distinct things. Take Apollo for example. In fact, this might even be to her advantage, as gods with a broader scope attract a wider range of followers. It's also easier to have fewer more powerful gods rather than a bunch of gods with relatively small functions.
Freyja also makes since as this type of deity, since she's very easy to syncretise with other goddesses.
That's nothing too out of the ordinary, as cognatic agnatic primogeniture was mostly the norm. Will you explore how this will contrast with the mostly matriarchal Iroquoians, as well as the mostly patriarchal Algonquians?
The matriarchal vs patriarchal will be explored, yes. There will be some matriarchal tings along the St.Lawrence estuary (before the gulf narrows to the river) established by those going a'viking.
If the Mi'kmaq are aware of maize, then the Northern Waterway has a significant boost in trade attraction that will be shown in further updates.
As a side note can I once again mention how infuriating it is trying to find information on native cultures this long before Columbus
Not related, but what will be the fate of the Mississippians? Do you have any plans for them?
So far, everything I've read about the Mississippi culture leads me to believe that the Norse would view it as a complete anathema, so I have plans for them, presently only Niagra Falls is preventing the Norse invading as soon as they learn of them.
What makes you think that? Genuinely curious. Also, why Niagara Falls of all places? Don't recall anything that would make them a good option to resist the Norse. Does that also imply that the Norse will get a more colonialist approach to settlement of the New World later on?
The apparently institutionalised social inequality alongside the 'divine mandates' of their rulers and apparent centralisation of their rulers all coalesce towards something that the 9th century Norse utterly loathe: The trampling over the free-speaking rights
Niagara Falls I placed merely because simply sailing over it is a bad idea.
The Norse will be engaging in colonialism yes but not as it was OTL. The most recent update shows the framework that Norse colonies will take.
Certainly a political contradiction there, but I'm not really sure that the Norse would really care all that much, if trade relations are smooth. If hostilities arise however (which is totally likely), I could certainly see this being used as an excuse to raid and invade Mississippian chiefdoms. Heck, could we see some sort of proto-Communist rebellion backed by the Norse? Stirring up the commoners against the ruling class, promising to redistribute the wealth of the chiefs among the people and installing a Norse-inspired democracy, with a thing and everything? Possibly just as an excuse for the Norse to get better trade deals? However, I think that might lean on the more implausible side of things; though it sounds like a very fun concept to explore.
Speaking of sailing obstacles, How will the Norse get past the Lachine Rapids on the St. Lawrence?
Ooh. Can't wait.