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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. It was replaced by Christianity and forgotten during the Christianisation of Scandinavia.
Old Norse philosophy was the philosophy of the early Scandinavians. [a] [b] [c] Similar to the patterns of thought of other early Germanic peoples, Old Norse philosophy is best attested in the Poetic Edda, particularly Hávamál, which is a poem attributed to Odin, the leading deity in Norse mythology. It emphasized that happiness could only be ...
The history of Christianity in Norway started in the Viking Age in the 9th century. Trade, plundering raids, and travel brought the Norsemen into close contacts with Christian communities, but their conversion only started after powerful chieftains decided to receive baptism during their stay in England or Normandy .
Norse religious worship is the traditional religious rituals practiced by Norse pagans in Scandinavia in pre-Christian times. Norse religion was a folk religion (as opposed to an organized religion), and its main purpose was the survival and regeneration of society. Therefore, the faith was decentralized and tied to the village and the family ...
The Christianization of Scandinavia, as well as other Nordic countries and the Baltic countries, took place between the 8th and the 12th centuries. The realms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden established their own archdioceses, responsible directly to the pope, in 1104, 1154 and 1164, respectively.
Hutton calls this Christianity with a Neoplatonic twist. However, secondly, the Ainur are not pure and virginal, but live in the world (Arda), have sex and quarrels, and make mistakes. This, he writes, is like the pagan Norse gods, or the classical era gods of Mount Olympus: "a full-blown pagan Neoplatonism".
Some adherents are deeply knowledgeable as to the specifics of northern European society in the Iron Age and Early Medieval periods; [16] however for most practitioners their main source of information about the pre-Christian past is fictional literature and popular accounts of Norse mythology. [17]
Stave churches in Norway represent a unique synthesis of Christian and Norse cultural influences, evident in their architectural and ornamental features. [25] These wooden structures, characterized by intricate carvings, serve as tangible artifacts linking contemporary communities to historical narratives.