Christianization and the Rise of Christian Monarchy: Scandinavia, Central Europe and Rus' c.900–1200

Cambridge University Press, 11/22/2007
EAN 9780521876162, ISBN10: 0521876168

Hardcover, 460 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 3 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

This 2007 text is a comparative, analysis of one of the most fundamental stages in the formation of Europe. Leading scholars explore the role of the spread of Christianity and the formation of new principalities in the birth of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Bohemia, Hungary, Poland and Rus' around the year 1000. Drawing on history, archaeology and art history, and emphasizing problems related to the sources and historiographical debates, they demonstrate the complex interdependence between the processes of religious and political change, covering conditions prior to the introduction of Christianity, the adoption of Christianity, and the development of the rulers' power. Regional patterns emerge, highlighting both the similarities in ruler-sponsored cases of Christianization, and differences in the consolidation of power and in institutions introduced by Christianity. The essays reveal how local societies adopted Christianity; medieval ideas of what constituted the dividing line between Christians and non-Christians; and the connections between Christianity and power.

1. Introduction Nora Berend
2. From paganism to Christianity in medieval Europe Robert Bartlett
3. The kingdom of Denmark Michael H. Gelting
4. The kingdom of Norway Sverre Bagge and Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide
5. The kingdom of Sweden Nils Blomkvist, Stefan Brink and Thomas Lindkvist
6. Bohemia and Moravia Petr Sommer, Dušan Třeštík, Josef Žemlička (with additional contribution by Zoë Opačíc)
7. The kingdom of Poland, with an appendix on Polabia and Pomerania between paganism and Christianity Przemyslaw Urbańczyk and Stanislaw Rosik
8. The kingdom of Hungary Nora Berend, József Laszlovszky and Béla Zsolt Szakács
9. Rus' Jonathan Shepard
Index.

Review of the hardback: 'This volume constitutes an invaluable resource for our understanding of a crucial period in the formation of Europe.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History