Nordic Religions in the Viking Age (review)

In Nordic Religions in the Viking Age, Thomas DuBois takes on the task of recontextualizing the sagas of Icelandic literature. DuBois argues that most previous saga scholars have romanticized the Viking Age, describing the Vikings as "vastly more numerous, technologically superior, or somehow inherently more warlike" than their neighbors (p. 11). DuBois intends to cut through these stereotypes using what he calls a "geographical method" (focusing on every group within a certain area) because, he argues, we cannot truly understand the religious traditions of the Nordic peoples in isolation. A folklorist by training, he draws on textual evidence, archaeology, the anthropology of religion, and the study of Nordic oral tradition to provide a more complete picture of the Nordic peoples of that era.

He begins his analysis by reconstructing a nonromanticized version of Nordic history. Chapter 1, "The Cultures and History of the Viking-Age North," contains a brief description of the history and cultures of the three main groups of Nordic peoples: the Scandinavians, the Balto-Finnic peoples, and the Sám. Although the cultural boundaries of these groups remained stable, there existed a flourishing trade of goods and cultural traits both between the groups and with outsiders from the east, west, and south. Along the way, he dispels several previous beliefs about the Nordic peoples, stating, for example, that the Finno-Ugric peoples lived in northern Europe as early as 3300 B.C.E. DuBois also includes a brief history of the Viking colonies in the British Isles and Greenland, which play a large role in the Christianization of northern Europe.

Chapter 2, "Religions in the Viking Age: Contexts and Concepts for Analysis," discusses the relationships between the Nordic religions. DuBois emphasizes the plural because of the extremely wide variation of beliefs within the pagan communities as well as between the Nordic Christians. He attributes at least some of this variation to the fact that the majority of Nordic peoples did not read Latin, so the practice of and belief in Christianity had to be translated for the Nordic peoples by the priests. DuBois also describes the connection between Nordic peoples to eastern Christianity and compares the western Christian attitudes toward Nordic pagans and other non-Christians such as Jews and Moslems. For their part, the Nordic pagans, though admittedly ethnocentric themselves, were aware of the diversity of belief that was within their general geographic area. DuBois states that this awareness of other religions eventually led to a "convergence of religious outlook," which he argues is one of the main findings of his research (p. 41).

DuBois goes into greater detail regarding the religious beliefs of the Nordic pagans and Nordic Christians in chapter 3, "Gods, Guides, and Guardians: Spiritual Aids." As he attempts to cover a great deal of material, this chapter is very general, providing the foundations for his later analyses of the connections between Nordic paganism and Christianity. He argues that the most unique idea the Christians brought to the Nordic worldview was the concept of one omnipotent deity, for while the various individuals and sects of Nordic paganism each had their own patron deity(ies) and spirit(s), and an underlying core of beliefs, they did not believe in the overarching power of one deity or another.

In chapter 4, "Visitors from Beyond: Death, Afterlife, and the Problem of Ghosts," DuBois delves deeper into the specific beliefs of the pagan and Christian communities. He specifically compares differences in the types of burials and the ideas of "the good death" that each group adhered to, and the negotiation believers went through in order to ensure a proper burial and afterlife during the long process of converting northern European peoples to "full" Christianity. Chapter 5 continues a more detailed examination of Nordic beliefs during the Viking Age in a discussion of healing practices ("Concepts of Health and Healing"). The area of healing, especially, shows the influence of the continental and classical modes of thought upon Nordic authors, who often...