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Old Norse religion, also known as Norse paganism, is a branch of Germanic religion which developed during the Proto-Norse period, when the North Germanic peoples separated into a distinct branch of the Germanic peoples.
The fylki were divided into fourths or eighths and a church of minor rank was established in each subdivision. [39] Wealthy people were allowed to build private churches, known as convenience churches. [39] The earliest churches were built by the monarchs or noblemen and the builders' successors insisted on the appointment of the local priests ...
It is known that different types of divine forces were tied to different places and that there were different rituals connected to them. In addition to sacred groves , texts mention holy wells and the leaving of offerings at streams, mountains, waterfalls, rocks, and trees; these may have been to the landvættir as well as, or rather than, the ...
The Viking raids were, however, the first to be documented by eyewitnesses, and they were much larger in scale and frequency than in previous times. [87] Vikings themselves were expanding; although their motives are unclear, historians believe that scarce resources or a lack of mating opportunities were a factor. [90]
The border between the Norsemen and more southerly Germanic tribes, the Danevirke, today is located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of the Danish–German border. The southernmost living Vikings lived no further north than Newcastle upon Tyne, and travelled to Britain more from the east than from the north. [citation needed]
The first recorded attempts at spreading Christianity in Norway were made by King Haakon the Good in the tenth century, who was raised in England. His efforts were unpopular and were met with little success. The subsequent King Harald Greyhide, also a Christian, was known for destroying pagan temples but not for efforts to popularize Christianity.
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Viking expansion was the historical movement which led Norse explorers, traders and warriors, the latter known in modern scholarship as Vikings, to sail most of the North Atlantic, reaching south as far as North Africa and east as far as Russia, and through the Mediterranean as far as Constantinople and the Middle East, acting as looters, traders, colonists and mercenaries.