The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway
In the early 1980s, a runestone fragment with a Christian inscription from the early eleventh century was discovered in Harstad town, northern Norway, in excavated masses originating from the farm Ervika. Runestones are very rare archaeological finds in this region, but, despite being included in ru...
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ftoslouniv:oai:www.duo.uio.no:10852/107521 2024-09-15T18:25:46+00:00 The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway ENEngelskEnglishThe Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway Spangen, Marte Henriksen, Jørn Erik 2024 http://hdl.handle.net/10852/107521 https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VMS.5.135581 EN eng Spangen, Marte Henriksen, Jørn Erik . The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway. Viking and Medieval Scandinavia. 2024, 19 (2023), 187-224 http://hdl.handle.net/10852/107521 2219179 info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.jtitle=Viking and Medieval Scandinavia&rft.volume=19 (2023)&rft.spage=187&rft.date=2024 Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 19 (2023) 187 224 https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VMS.5.135581 Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 1782-7183 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed AcceptedVersion 2024 ftoslouniv https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VMS.5.135581 2024-08-05T14:09:29Z In the early 1980s, a runestone fragment with a Christian inscription from the early eleventh century was discovered in Harstad town, northern Norway, in excavated masses originating from the farm Ervika. Runestones are very rare archaeological finds in this region, but, despite being included in runological overviews, the Ervika stone has not been studied or published by archaeologists or historians. This reflects a tendency where evidence of early medieval Christian influences and the Christianization processes in northern Norway have been surprisingly little discussed apart from general overviews and some local studies of specific find categories. In this article, we aim to initiate a broader debate about the complexities of the Christianization processes in northern Norway by presenting and evaluating relevant finds. This includes the material that has emerged over the last decade due to increased interest in private metal detecting. We emphasize the particularities of the geopolitical and sociocultural context in the north, where impulses from the Eastern Church and Saami culture and religion may have affected the reception and practice of the new religion. The Ervika runestone fragment serves as a point of departure, and we describe the find and its context in some detail to ensure it is included in future research by runologists, archaeologists, and historians. The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Norway saami Universitet i Oslo: Digitale utgivelser ved UiO (DUO) Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 19 187 224 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Universitet i Oslo: Digitale utgivelser ved UiO (DUO) |
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ftoslouniv |
language |
English |
description |
In the early 1980s, a runestone fragment with a Christian inscription from the early eleventh century was discovered in Harstad town, northern Norway, in excavated masses originating from the farm Ervika. Runestones are very rare archaeological finds in this region, but, despite being included in runological overviews, the Ervika stone has not been studied or published by archaeologists or historians. This reflects a tendency where evidence of early medieval Christian influences and the Christianization processes in northern Norway have been surprisingly little discussed apart from general overviews and some local studies of specific find categories. In this article, we aim to initiate a broader debate about the complexities of the Christianization processes in northern Norway by presenting and evaluating relevant finds. This includes the material that has emerged over the last decade due to increased interest in private metal detecting. We emphasize the particularities of the geopolitical and sociocultural context in the north, where impulses from the Eastern Church and Saami culture and religion may have affected the reception and practice of the new religion. The Ervika runestone fragment serves as a point of departure, and we describe the find and its context in some detail to ensure it is included in future research by runologists, archaeologists, and historians. The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Spangen, Marte Henriksen, Jørn Erik |
spellingShingle |
Spangen, Marte Henriksen, Jørn Erik The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
author_facet |
Spangen, Marte Henriksen, Jørn Erik |
author_sort |
Spangen, Marte |
title |
The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
title_short |
The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
title_full |
The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
title_fullStr |
The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway |
title_sort |
ervika runestone and other evidence for the early christianization of northern norway |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10852/107521 https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VMS.5.135581 |
genre |
Northern Norway saami |
genre_facet |
Northern Norway saami |
op_source |
1782-7183 |
op_relation |
Spangen, Marte Henriksen, Jørn Erik . The Ervika Runestone and Other Evidence for the Early Christianization of Northern Norway. Viking and Medieval Scandinavia. 2024, 19 (2023), 187-224 http://hdl.handle.net/10852/107521 2219179 info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.jtitle=Viking and Medieval Scandinavia&rft.volume=19 (2023)&rft.spage=187&rft.date=2024 Viking and Medieval Scandinavia 19 (2023) 187 224 https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VMS.5.135581 |
op_rights |
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1484/J.VMS.5.135581 |
container_title |
Viking and Medieval Scandinavia |
container_volume |
19 |
container_start_page |
187 |
op_container_end_page |
224 |
_version_ |
1810466247858454528 |