The Missionary Frontier: Anskar and the Challenges of Conversion

The story of Europe’s Christianization reaches its final frontiers in the 9th century with the remarkable efforts of Anskar, the missionary dispatched by Louis the Pious to Scandinavia. From 826 until his death in 865, this Frankish monk undertook intermittent missions to Denmark and Sweden, encountering political landscapes vastly different from the Carolingian world he knew. His contemporary biographer Rimbert provides rare documentation of what was essentially a failed mission, offering invaluable insights into the religious and political dynamics of northern Europe.

In Denmark, Anskar found temporary success under the protection of Kings Horik I (r. 827-854) and Horik II (r. 854-c.870), neither Christian themselves but displaying curious sympathy toward the new faith. The missionary’s achievements, however, proved superficial – limited to royal and aristocratic patronage without securing any genuine conversions among the power elite. Only among Hedeby’s merchant class did Christianity take tentative root. Following Horik II’s death during political upheavals, Anskar’s Danish mission collapsed completely.

Sweden presented different challenges. During the 840s at the trading hub of Birka, Anskar encountered King Olaf, who articulated a distinctly Scandinavian approach to religious adoption. The king insisted on consulting his native gods through divination and securing approval from the assembly (placitum in Rimbert’s Latin), explaining that “in matters of public concern, the unanimous will of the people carried more weight than royal authority.” When the divination opposed conversion, an elder intervened, suggesting the Christian God might protect seafarers – an argument that swayed the assembly.

This episode reveals fundamental differences between Scandinavian and Carolingian political cultures. Swedish assembly politics demonstrated greater popular influence than their Danish counterparts (though Denmark certainly had assemblies too). Crucially, these debates concerned permission for missionary activity rather than wholesale religious conversion. Neither kingdom experienced mass conversion at this stage. Even Christian kings like Norway’s Hákon I (r. c.934-961) found themselves constrained by traditional religious expectations, as evidenced by contemporary poetry praising Hákon for not imposing Christianity on his subjects. Large-scale conversions only began in late 10th-century Denmark, with Sweden and Norway following even later – a process tied to royal power consolidation, though Scandinavian kings remained weak by continental standards.

Fragile Kingdoms: The Political Landscape of Peripheral Europe

Understanding Europe beyond the Carolingian sphere requires recognizing the weakness of political structures in these peripheral regions. Until the late 10th century, royal authority played no sustained significant role in Scandinavian or Slavic history. Even the consistent use of royal titles remains uncertain, despite external sources like Anskar’s vita applying them liberally.

In northern Norway’s Trøndelag region, jarlar (earls) maintained independent power well beyond 1000 CE. Slavic rulers employed mixed terminology, suggesting fluid boundaries between kings, aristocratic leaders, and various grades of dependent rulers. The term “aristocracy” itself often denoted leaders of armed followings rather than landlords controlling tenant farmers. As discussed in Chapter 7, Welsh, Scottish and Irish rulers before 800 were frequently called reges (kings), but their miniature kingdoms (except Scotland) resembled Scandinavian petty rulers more than Anglo-Saxon or Frankish monarchs.

Between 950-1000, some peripheral regions developed more centralized power structures: Poland, Bohemia, early Russia, and Denmark. By contrast, Norway, Scotland, Wales and Ireland remained far from completing their “state-building” processes, while Sweden (and smaller Slavic communities) hadn’t even begun. This transformation occurred slowly and unevenly – Denmark’s 9th-century kings were stronger than their 10th-century successors. Nevertheless, measuring royal power provides a useful comparative framework for these diverse cultures.

Viking Expansion: Raiders, Traders and State-Builders

The Viking phenomenon emerged from this complex Scandinavian world. Between the 9th-10th centuries, Scandinavian expansion took multiple forms:

1. Colonization: Norwegian settlement of Scotland’s islands (9th century) and Iceland (from 870)
2. Raiding: Danish attacks on Frankia and England (from 830s)
3. Trade Networks: Swedish establishment of Russian river trade posts
4. State Formation: Norse dynasties in Dublin, York and Normandy

Viking activities reflected Scandinavian society’s internal dynamics. Shipbuilding advances enabled oceanic travel, while political exiles (especially from Danish royal conflicts) provided leadership for larger expeditions. However, as historian Peter Sawyer observed, Viking raids represented “an extension of normal Dark Age activity, made possible and profitable by special circumstances.”

Impacts varied dramatically by region. In Ireland, limited Norse numbers led to trade town networks embedded within existing petty kingdoms. Russia’s disorganized political landscape allowed relatively few Scandinavians to form a new ruling class. In England and Frankia, Viking leaders transitioned from raiding to settlement, culminating in the 865 Great Heathen Army’s conquests.

Notably, Denmark’s monarchy faltered for two generations during this expansion. Viking leaders like Ívar (d. 873) and later Rollo of Normandy created new political entities without traditional power bases, mirroring 5th-century figures like Geiseric and Clovis. However, most Viking political creations proved ephemeral – only Dublin and Normandy endured long-term, with Norse culture largely assimilated into local societies.

Slavic Worlds: Between Tribal Societies and State Formation

The Slavic territories present even greater historical challenges than Scandinavia. Occupying vast areas of central and eastern Europe, early Slavic societies left few written records before Christianization. Modern scholarship must carefully distinguish between:

1. Byzantine/Latin terms like Sklavenoi
2. Archaeological cultures with common features
3. Areas where Slavic languages were spoken

By the 6th century, archaeological evidence shows expanding cultural features across this zone: small villages with single-room semi-subterranean houses, distinctive women’s ornaments, cremation practices, and limited social stratification. These characteristics spread steadily, with sunken-floor houses appearing in Elbe valley regions by the late 6th century, replacing Frankish-style settlements.

Contemporary Roman/Byzantine writers consistently described Balkan borderland “Sklavenoi” as having weak political leadership, suggesting small-scale tribal organization. Like 4th-century “Germans,” they were grouped together by external observers lacking detailed knowledge. No pan-Slavic identity existed in this period – only local tribal loyalties connected by material culture similarities.

From the 8th century, hillforts appeared across German, Polish and Ukrainian territories, indicating growing social complexity. This fragmented political landscape made Slavic groups vulnerable to Frankish expansion under Pippin III and Charlemagne. The Carolingian frontier stretched from the Abodrites on the Baltic to the Carantanians near the Adriatic. While never attempting permanent conquest, Frankish raids and the growing Slavic slave trade (particularly to the Arab world) created pressure for political reorganization.

Christianization’s Legacy: The Transformation of Europe’s Periphery

By 1000 CE, Europe’s periphery had undergone profound changes. The late adoption of Christianity in Scandinavia and Slavic lands created societies blending indigenous traditions with new religious and political models. Key developments included:

1. Monarchical Consolidation: Denmark’s Harald Bluetooth (d. 986) and Poland’s Mieszko I (r. 962-992) built more centralized states
2. Cultural Synthesis: Rus’ combined Scandinavian, Slavic and Byzantine elements under Vladimir I (r. 978-1015)
3. Social Stratification: Everywhere, stronger governments meant increased control over and exploitation of peasant populations

Remarkably, half of modern Europe’s nations trace their origins to kingdoms or principalities existing by 1000 CE. This represents a dramatic expansion of state power beyond the old Roman frontiers, achieved through complex interactions between local initiatives and influences from the Carolingian and Byzantine cores.

The Christianization of Europe’s periphery wasn’t merely a religious transformation – it reshaped political structures, social hierarchies, and cultural identities across the continent, creating the foundations for medieval and modern Europe.