Chapter XV: Introduction: Of Christianity Into Denmark and Sweden

OBSCURE EFFORTS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON MISSIONARIES TO CHRISTIANISE FRISIA
AND DENMARK.—VICTORIES OF CHARLEMAGNE PREPARE THE WAY FOR A WIDER
DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY.—FEALTY OF HARALD KLAK.—MISSIONARIES SENT
INTO THE NORTH.—ST. ANSCAR.—CREATION OF AN ARCHBISHOPRIC.—ST.
REMBERT.—SUCCEEDING ARCHBISHOPS.—FLUCTUATIONS IN THE STATE OF THE NEW
RELIGION.—ITS ULTIMATE ESTABLISHMENT IN THE KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH.

As the introduction of Christianity into Norway has been already related, we have briefly to contemplate its origin and progress in the two sister kingdoms.

Nothing can be more obscure than the origin of the Christian worship in these regions. Probably it was much more ancient than is generally supposed; but the number of Christians prior to the ninth century must have been exceedingly small; and of these most were probably converts only in name,—joining the adoration of Thor and Odin with that of Christ. We know that in the seventh century Anglo-Saxon missionaries endeavoured to obtain an entrance into Denmark, the contiguity of which to Frisia, and especially Germany, could not fail to attract the pious zeal of those excellent men. St. Wilfrid could do no more than evangelise a few of the Frisians. His successor, St. Willibrod, who in 696 was consecrated archbishop of the Frisias, passed into Jutland. Though the mission failed, the prelate brought away thirty young Danes, whom he designed to send as missionaries into that barbarous region. Wherever this venerable man preached, he attempted to demolish the idols. Even in the sacred island of Heligoland, where a tempest had cast him, he exhibited the same undaunted zeal; and on his death in 739, he had impressed the neighbouring people with much respect for his character. That he escaped martyrdom, which seems to have been his aim, can be ascribed only to that Providence which suffers not a sparrow to fall unheeded to the ground. But ages are required to extirpate an old and to plant a new religion. If many converts were made, they bore little proportion to the bulk of the population; nor could the salutary effects be permanent when there was no church, no succession of missionaries to continue the work. We need not be, therefore, surprised at the martyrdom of St. Boniface, the apostle of Germany, in 755. When the victories of Charlemagne had disposed the Saxons to receive the yoke of Christ, there was a better opening for the gospel, not in Saxony only, but in other parts of the North; for many of the Scandinavians, especially of Denmark, were in the same great confederation. St. Sturm contemplated the conversion of Denmark; but he was prevented by the emperor, who was more anxious for the progress of the truth in his new conquests than in more distant regions.

[Sidenote: 822 to 826.]

During the reign of Charlemagne, no serious effort was made to establish a permanent mission in Denmark or Sweden. Louis le Debonnair had more zeal or better opportunities; and he readily sanctioned the departure of Ebbo, archbishop of Rheims. Ebbo was a Saxon, and more eager for the conversion of the kindred Danes than any of the French prelates. Encouraged by a papal bull, he ventured on the perilous enterprise in 822. Fortunately for him, Harald, surnamed _Klak_, who ruled over a portion, at least, of Jutland, had need of imperial aid to secure himself on the throne. As the condition of such aid, he agreed not only to become a vassal of the empire, but to embrace Christianity, and do all in his power to make his subjects embrace it. The court of Harald was near the present city of Sleswic, in the duchy of that name. Ebbo, accompanied by the monk Halitger, proceeded thither, and was permitted by the royal consent to preach to the people. But the fortunes of Harald were diversified; he was expelled three or four times, and as often enabled to return, as much through foreign assistance as through the efforts of his own partisans. That he was unpopular may easily be inferred from these revolutions in his fortunes. Of this unpopularity one cause was doubtless his profession of the new faith; another was the homage which he had paid to the emperor. Yet the efforts made by the kings who reigned in Zealand to create a monarchy, and consequently to destroy the Reguli, who aimed at independence, was, doubtless, more injurious to his interests, than the disaffection of the pagans. But during his intervals of peace, his patronage of Christianity was serviceable to the cause. Ebbo naturally left the country when the king was expelled; and there was danger of the good seed being choked, when another and more zealous missionary was raised by divine Providence both to continue the work which he had begun, and to extend it to Sweden.

[Sidenote: 826 to 830.]

_Anscar_, a monk of Corbey in Westphalia, was from his youth an enthusiastic churchman. He had dreams and visions, which to him seemed prophetic of his future martyrdom. For that result he accordingly prepared; and soon loved to contemplate it as an object of desire rather than of fear. When, therefore, he heard that missionaries were required to continue the labour which Ebbo had abandoned, and to return again with Harald into Denmark, he readily offered himself, and was joyfully accepted. The perils, indeed, of the enterprise had no charms for the luxurious ecclesiastics of that age,—men whom the favours of succeeding monarchs had enriched; and Anscar with another monk, Aubert, were the only inmates of the great establishment at Corbey that could be induced to go. Indeed the community were not a little amazed to witness the self-devotion of these missionaries. Leaving Corbey, the latter repaired into South Jutland. From Harald, however, they received less assistance than they had been led to expect. Knowing his unpopularity, he remained chiefly in a fortress which the emperor had given him. Of Louis, indeed, he was the vassal, not for Jutland merely, which might never acknowledge him, but for the extensive region on the sea-coast, from Holland to Hamburg. Yet he showed little gratitude to his imperial master. He was suspected,—probably with much justice—of favouring the piratical ravages of the Danes on the Frisian coast. However, he outwardly conformed to Christianity, and was the avowed patron of the missionaries, though he left them to struggle with difficulties which he might have done more to remove. But we must make some allowance for the situation in which he was placed. He had been for many years—he was now—at war with other pretenders to the throne; and as these pretenders (the sons of Gudred) were supported by the influence of the pagan chiefs, he had cares which he deemed more urgent than those of religion. In 828 he was signally defeated, and compelled to seek refuge within the bounds of the fief which he held of the emperor. Probably Anscar retreated with him; and subsequently returned to his post. But the death of his coadjutor, and the desperate state of Harald’s affairs, convinced him that the time for the conversion of Jutland was not yet come; and he listened to a proposal, made by some Swedish ambassadors to the emperor, of introducing the gospel into that country.

According to the Swedish historians, who will not admit that the Danes were converted before themselves, Christianity had been embraced by many of the Goths many years antecedent to the arrival of St. Anscar. They assert that in 813 a church was erected at Linkoping, through the holy zeal of Herbert, a Saxon ecclesiastic. That the gospel was preached in Gothia before it reached Sweden, is probable enough; but we very much doubt whether the result was so great as the national writers would have us believe. However this be, St. Anscar was the first apostle of the Swiar. Reaching Birca, the capital—a place not far distant from the modern Stockholm—he converted some of king Biorn’s council, and was permitted to preach freely. This visit was auspicious; success appeared to be inevitable; but in the midst of his labours, after a residence of six months only, he and his companion returned to Germany. Why? To report what had been effected, says his biographer, Rembert, and to solicit further aid for prosecuting the great work. But it these objects were necessary (which we are unable to perceive), surely _one_ of them might have remained to confirm the new converts. Anscar was the bearer of a letter from Biorn to the emperor, written in runic characters, and bearing testimony to the success of the two monks.

[Sidenote: 830 to 852.]

The pope and the emperor were much gratified by the unexpected opening in the North. To reward Anscar, and stimulate him to greater exertions, he was made archbishop of Hamburg, with a jurisdiction over all the Scandinavian kingdoms, when he should have converted them to Christianity. In addition he was invested with the legatine authority over these regions; but it was shared with Ebbo, who knew less of the people, of their wants, and of their disposition, and who certainly had not either the zeal or the prudence of the other. One of Ebbo’s first acts was to consecrate a bishop, Gansbert, whom he dispatched into Sweden, while Anscar sent a vicar. It was evidently not the saint’s intention to return. He thought, and justly, that Denmark was a field sufficiently wide for his own exertions, and that he might superintend the Swedish mission from his new metropolis. That mission slowly but surely gained ground; while his own exertions in the more southern portion of his immense diocese corresponded, if not with his wishes, probably with his hopes. Both he and Gansbert, however, had the fault of all Roman catholic missionaries; they baptized before they had sufficiently instructed. Hence they had the mortification to see many of their converts join the worship of Odin and Thor with that of Christ; and many to forsake their new profession with as much levity as they had embraced it. Other misfortunes arrived. Hamburg was assailed by pirates: the sacred buildings were consumed by fire; the same fate attended the books which the saint had collected; and would, no doubt, have befallen him and his clergy, had they not fled from the danger. These pirates were headed by a king—Eric of Jutland and Frisia. For some time the work was nearly at a stand. Another disappointment—the loss of a monastery, which Anscar had held with the archbishopric, and from which the chief support of the mission was derived—paralysed his exertions. A misfortune no less serious was the expulsion of Gansbert from Sweden. This event is wrapt in some obscurity. It could not be entirely caused by religious persecution; for the king was still tolerant. Perhaps Nithard, the companion of Gansbert, and the nephew of Anscar, abused the popular deities and their worshippers. There was a great commotion; the mission-house was plundered and destroyed; Nithard was killed; the bishop with his clergy forced to leave the kingdom. All this, however, was “non-jussu regis,” which the Swedish historians convert into “Berone nesciente.” Yet Anscar did not despair. Though poor, he contrived still to instruct some of the Danish children, whom he designed as missionaries for both kingdoms. Being afterwards sent ambassador to Eric—the very prince who had burned his cathedral, and who by Harda-Canute’s death had become king of all Denmark—he so far softened that monarch as to obtain permission to preach without hinderance. At Sleswic he was allowed to build a new church; the number of converts increased; and their ardour was increased by the extension of their commerce with the Christian empire. Such converts, indeed, could do little credit to religion; still toleration was an advantage which in time might, he hoped, effect all that could be desired.

[Sidenote: 852.]

Unfortunate as had been the issue of the mission to Sweden, _Ardgar_, a hermit of much sanctity, was persuaded to renew it. He was soon joined by some Danish converts. By Herigar, one of the chief nobles of the country, who had sincerely embraced Christianity at the first preaching of Anscar, they were received with joy. Through his influence the infant worship was again permitted at Birca; but it made little progress; and Ardgar, whose heart yearned for his old anchoretical life, at length resigned his missionary office, and left the country. Still Anscar was not discouraged. The see of Bremen being united with that of Hamburg, offered him more ample means to prosecute his meritorious enterprise. In the same view, he prevailed on the German sovereign to send him ambassador to both kingdoms. From Eric, the Danish king, he bore a letter to Olaf[127] of Sweden, containing an honourable recommendation of his character and conduct. Eric asserted that he had never known so good a man as the archbishop; he had therefore allowed him to labour in his own way for the good of the people. But on his arrival in Sweden he found new obstacles. The Odinic priests were seriously alarmed at the efforts which during above twenty years had been made to establish Christianity in the North. The imposture to which they had recourse affords a good illustration of the popular character, no less than of their religious notions. Just as Anscar and his clergy arrived at the capital, a man suddenly appeared there, who asserted that he was the bearer of a communication from the gods to king Olaf and his people. The substance of it was, that the ancient deities had conferred great prosperity on Sweden; that hitherto they had no reason to complain of ingratitude in their worshippers; that now, however, there was a sad lack of zeal, their altars being comparatively deserted for those of a new and hostile divinity; that if the people were anxious for another god, why go out of their own country for one? “If,” added they, “you really wish for another, we will readily admit your late king, Eric, to the honours of deification!” Gross as the imposture was, it was undisputed; the hearts of the Swedes began to warm towards the Aser, and a temple was erected to Eric, when altars smoked with continued sacrifices.

[Sidenote: 853 to 865.]

The aspect of affairs was so unfavourable, that the companions of the archbishop urged him to leave the country. But he would not a second time abandon his post. He had been successful with Eric of Denmark, and he endeavoured to be equally so with Olaf. Inviting that king to a feast, he redoubled his attentions, which coming as they did not merely from an archbishop, but from the ambassador of a powerful monarch, were peculiarly grateful to Olaf. Yet Olaf was a limited sovereign; though he readily promised to afford the missionaries all the liberty he could, he was bound to consult the will of the people, and even that of the gods. In the true pagan spirit, he believed that other countries might have local deities as well as Scandinavia,—deities as powerful and as able to protect their worshippers. He advised the archbishop to send a deputy to the next Al-Thing, or general meeting of the freemen, promising that he would use his influence to obtain the requisite licence for the celebration of the new worship. “Olaf first mentioned the subject to his chiefs; lots were cast; and the gods were declared—probably through some intrigue of the king’s—not to be unfavourable to the preaching of Christianity. When, according to the Germanic custom, the people were assembled in their annual plaids, Olaf caused the subject of the French embassy to be proclaimed by a herald. In the discussion which followed, much murmuring was heard; one party condemning the innovation as disrespectful to their ancient gods; another vindicating it as necessary to the well-being of the kingdom. A venerable old man at length spoke:—‘King and people, listen to me! The worship of this new god is already known to us, and we also know that he often assists those who call on him. This many of us have experienced amidst the perils of the deep, as well as on other occasions: why then should we reject what we know to be useful? Formerly many of our people went to Dorstadt, to embrace this advantageous faith; now, as the passage thither is dangerous, why should we reject a good which is brought to our own doors?’—‘We have often found our own gods unpropitious: let us cultivate the favour of this god, who is as willing as he is able always to aid his servants.’ The shrewd barbarian succeeded, because he touched in the hearts of his hearers a chord that responded to his own. Neither he nor they had much notion of a religion which did not confer temporal blessings; all had been disappointed at one time or other in their invocations for them; all, therefore, were disposed to receive favourably proposals from a god who promised them a constant succession of such blessings. This was a poor foundation on which to build; but it was better than none. A proclamation was now made that churches might be built, and that whoever pleased was at liberty to embrace the faith of Christ. While these things were passing in Sweden, a revolution in Denmark was fatal to Eric, and, for a time, to the new religion, which the next king prohibited. But this time was a brief one; for the prudence of Anscar, who now returned from Sweden, fully repaired the disaster. The ecclesiastics whom he sent to both countries he enjoined to imitate the example of St. Paul,—to labour for their own maintenance, so as to be chargeable to no one. It was probably this necessity of manual labour that rebutted many, even more than the persecutions they endured; for during the whole of his pontificate, he had great difficulty in providing the infant churches with pastors.”[128]

[Sidenote: 865 to 889.]

The work which Anscar had so well commenced, was as well continued by his disciple, his companion, his friend, his biographer, _St. Rembert_, who immediately after his death succeeded him in the archiepiscopal dignity, with the full approbation of the pope and the Germanic sovereign. He had, indeed, indicated to the clergy the propriety of electing his friend, to whose merits he had borne this splendid testimony:—“Rembert is more fit to be archbishop than I am to be a humble deacon.” To the success of this prelate’s labours, ample testimony is borne by writers nearly contemporary. He founded several churches, not in Sweden and Denmark only, but among the Slavi. His virtues equalled his zeal. To redeem Christian captives from pagan thraldom, he sold the very plate of the altar. One day, for the redemption of a virgin, he gave the horse on which he was riding. His time was always occupied; scarcely did he allow himself leisure for eating or sleep. During the twenty-three years that he presided over the united sees of Hamburg and Bremen, he was no less zealous than he had been in company with his predecessor. Towards the close of his life he chose as his coadjutor _Adalgar_, a monk of New Corbey, whom he wished to succeed him.—Of this eminent ecclesiastic, as many miracles are recorded as he himself had related of his predecessor, St. Anscar. That he believed them is certain; that his biographers believed those recorded of him, is equally so. We should have been glad to perceive them wrought for nobler occasions. With all their zeal, Anscar and Rembert left few native Christians in Sweden,—few, we mean, compared with the population, and scarcely perhaps with the advantages they possessed. But to them be due praise! If they did not effect all that we could wish, probably they effected all that they could. Their sense of responsibility was strong enough; but their diocese was too extensive, their duties too numerous, to allow of their devoting as much time as they would otherwise have done, to the Northern mission. Nor must we omit the inveterate bigotry of some pagans, the indifference of others, and (a still worse evil) the hardness of heart which a vicious system of religion had engendered.

[Sidenote: 889 to 936.]

The successor of St. Rembert did not imitate the zeal of his predecessors. To extend his authority was apparently a dearer object than to extend religion. It is certain that he never visited Sweden: it is probable that he sent no missionaries to that kingdom; nor do we read that he showed any zeal in regard to Denmark. _Hoger_, his successor, was not more active. Of him the canon of Bremen expressively says: “Unde fuerit, aut qualiter vixerit, Deo cognitum est.” Yet Hoger was half a saint; he prayed and read when he should have slept, and still more, when he should have attended to urgent duties. Too many have been the churchmen of this selfish character,—esteeming every moment lost that was not devoted to their own salvation; and expressing only barren wishes for that of others. It is, however, but justice both to Adalgar and Hoger to observe that their pontificate was very brief; and that, had their lives been prolonged, history might have left some record of their zeal, if not of their success. _Unnus_, the next archbishop (916–936), was of a different character. When the invasions of the Huns and the pagan Northmen had been repressed by his imperial master, he proceeded to the court of Gorm, king of Denmark, whom, however, he vainly endeavoured to dispose in favour of the Christians. With Harald; the son of Gorm, he was more successful. Though this prince did not immediately embrace Christianity, he viewed it with a favourable eye; and he protected, as far as he could, all who professed it, especially the priests. From Denmark he proceeded into Sweden, which had not been visited by any Hamburg archbishop, for above sixty years. No wonder then that, as Adam of Bremen informs us, he found Christianity nearly extinct. Still he did find Christians, whom he endeavoured to establish in the faith. As Helmold asserts, whatever might be the persecution of the Swedish kings towards their pagan subjects, from the first dawning of the gospel, there was never an entire cessation of Christian worship. This excellent prelate died in the vicinity of Birca. His best eulogium is in the words of the canon Adam, who advises the idle, luxurious, worldly-minded bishops of the time to follow his example: “Look, ye bishops, who constantly remain at home, wholly given to pomp, lucre, eating and sleep, and who have no delight in the most urgent duties of your post—look, I say, at this ecclesiastic, poor in the world’s estimation, but rich in the sight of God,—one whose end was so glorious, and who has left an example to posterity that no disasters of the times, no distance of place, can be an excuse for idleness.” But what except idleness, except indifference could be expected at a period when the popes themselves were so worthless?

[Sidenote: 936 to 988.]

During the pontificate of _Adalrag_, the successor of Unnus, Christianity made greater progress in Denmark than it had ever yet made. This ecclesiastic was a canon of Hildesheim; he was subsequently, we are told, the chancellor of two, or even of three, Othos. But this is incorrect. He was never at any time arch-chancellor, and was vice-chancellor only during a short period of the first Otho’s reign. Probably he was secretary to one or more of those emperors; he was certainly high in their favour. Through his influence, three bishoprics were established in Jutland,—Sleswic, Rypen, and Aarhus, and one in Holstein, that of Altenburg,—all subject to the metropolis of Hamburg. This result, as we have before related[129], must be attributed to the victories of Otho I., who subdued the whole of Holstein and Jutland. Harald would have had no peace had he not consented to reign as Otho’s vassal for the southern part at least of Jutland; to pay an annual tribute; to sanction the creation of these bishoprics; to embrace Christianity with the whole of his family; and to aid in its diffusion throughout his dominions. If, on this occasion, he was an unwilling convert, subsequently he became a sincere believer in its doctrines, which he openly and constantly professed. At the time he transferred his government from Ledra, the ancient seat of the Odinic superstition, to Roskild, he erected in the latter place a church to the most Holy Trinity. It was attachment to Christianity, even more than ambition, in his son, that led to his tragical death. The old pagan party were resolved to have a king of their own creed: hence the accession of Sweyn. Though Sweyn was an enemy of the new faith, he could not undo the work of his father, and of the Christian missionaries: the converts were too numerous to be exterminated. In a few years he himself became conqueror of England, and found it convenient to embrace the Christian faith, which from his death was the dominant faith of Denmark. Nor did the archbishop, Adalrag, lose sight of Sweden, which his predecessor had done so much to reclaim. At his instance, Liafdag, bishop of Rypen, and a Dane, Odincar the elder, laboured in the kingdom, and probably in some parts of Norway. Hako the Good was at this time the ruler of the latter kingdom, and he naturally wished to confer on his subjects the blessings which he had received.

[Sidenote: 988 to 1026.]

_Libentis_, the successor of Adalrag, was also an honour to his dignity. Fit missionaries were despatched by him into both Denmark and Sweden; and if their progress was slow, it was steady. Their efforts were much assisted by Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastics, who inspired less jealousy than those of Germany, and who had the happiness to baptize the Swedish king, Eric _Arsael_. This monarch, it is said, was the victim of his zeal. Not satisfied with encouraging the diffusion of Christianity throughout his states, he laid violent hands on the holy temple of Upsal; and for this last act fell in a tumult of the populace (1001). On the death of Libentis, in 1013, his successor, archbishop _Unver_, trod in his steps. In the time of this latter prelate, Denmark, which obeyed Canute the Great, became decidedly Christian. The same blessing was in preparation for Sweden. Olaf, surnamed Scot-Konung, or the Tributary, because he sanctioned a yearly tribute to the pope, established three bishoprics, and was enabled to ensure a preponderance to the religion which he had embraced. From his death, in 1026, Sweden may therefore be regarded as a Christian state. Thus all the three kingdoms forsook idolatry for the truth about the same period, viz., the commencement of the eleventh century. This revolution, as we have had many opportunities of observing, was exceedingly progressive. In Norway it continued during three quarters of a century; in Denmark, from the mission of St. Anscar to the reign of Canute the Great; in Sweden, from the same event to the reign of Olaf Skotkonung,—in both instances about a century and a half. Yet we must not forget that paganism _lingered_ in all three, especially Sweden, down to the twelfth, or even the thirteenth, century.

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