Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [8]
* * *
The Roman historian Tacitus (AD 56-120) first mentions the Svea, a ‘militant Germanic race’ strong in men, ships and war gear.
* * *
As the climate improved between 1800 BC and 500 BC, Bronze Age cultures blossomed. Their hällristningar (rock carvings) are found in many parts of Sweden – Dalsland and Bohuslän are particularly rich areas (Click here). The carvings provide tantalising glimpses of forgotten beliefs, with the sun, hunting scenes and ships being favourite themes. Huge Bronze Age burial mounds, such as Kiviksgraven in Österlen, suggest that powerful chieftains had control over spiritual and temporal matters. Relatively few bronze artefacts are found in Sweden: the metals had to be imported from central Europe in exchange for furs, amber and other northern treasures.
After 500 BC, the Iron Age brought about technological advances, demonstrated by archaeological finds of agricultural tools, graves and primitive furnaces. During this period, the runic alphabet arrived, probably from the Germanic region. It was used to carve inscriptions onto monumental rune stones (there are around 3000 in Sweden) well into medieval times.
* * *
The Vikings, by Magnus Magnusson, is an extremely readable history book, covering their achievements in Scandinavia (including Sweden), as well as their wild-natured doings around the world.
* * *
By the 7th century AD, the Svea people of the Mälaren valley (just west of Stockholm) had gained supremacy, and their kingdom, Svea Rike (or Sverige), gave the country of Sweden its name. Birka, founded around 760 on Björkö (an island in Mälaren lake), was a powerful Svea centre for around 200 years. Large numbers of Byzantine and Arab coins have been found there, and stones with runic inscriptions are scattered across the area; Click here for more details.
Return to beginning of chapter
VIKINGS & THE ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY
Scandinavia’s greatest impact on world history probably occurred during the Viking Age (around 800 to 1100), when hardy pagan Norsemen set sail for other shores. In Sweden it’s generally thought that population pressures were to blame for the sudden exodus: a polygamous society led to an excess of male heirs and ever-smaller plots of land. Combined with the prospects of military adventure and foreign trade abroad, the result was the Viking phenomenon (the word ‘viking’ is derived from vik, meaning ‘bay’ or ‘cove’, and is probably a reference to their anchorages during raids).
The Vikings sailed a new type of boat that was fast and highly manoeuvr-able but sturdy enough for ocean crossings, with a heavy keel, up to 16 pairs of oars and a large square sail (the Äskekärr ship, Sweden’s only original Viking vessel, is in Göteborg’s Stadsmuseum, Click here). Initial hit-and-run raids along the European coast (often on monasteries and their terrified monks) were followed by major military expeditions, settlement and trade. The well-travelled Vikings penetrated the Russian heartland and beyond, venturing as far as America, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and Baghdad.
* * *
You can see Erik XIV’s bedroom at Kalmar Slott complete with a secret passage to escape from his brother Johan.
* * *
In Sweden the Vikings generally cremated their dead and their possessions, then buried the remains under a mound. There are also several impressive stone ship-settings, made from upright stones arranged in the shape of a ship. If you’re interested in Viking culture, Foteviken Viking Reserve on the southwestern Falsterbo Peninsula is a ‘living’ reconstruction of a Viking village.
Early in the 9th century, the missionary St Ansgar established a church at Birka. Sweden’s first Christian king, Olof Skötkonung (c 968–1020) is said to have been baptised at St Sigfrid’s Well in Husaby in 1008 – the well is now a sort of place of pilgrimage for Swedes – but worship continued in Uppsala’s pagan temple until at least 1090. By 1160, King Erik Jedvarsson (Sweden’s patron saint, St Erik) had virtually destroyed the last remnants of paganism.