Kings, Kingdoms, and the Christianization of Scandinavia explores one of the most important turning points in northern European history: the transformation of the Viking world into the Christian kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. From the rise of Scandinavian kingship to the monumental legacy of the Jelling Dynasty, from Harald Bluetooth's conversion of Denmark to the violent missionary campaigns in Norway, this book follows the rulers, battles, saints, and sacred memories that reshaped the North.
At the heart of this story are kings who used faith to build power and kingdoms that used Christianity to enter the medieval world. Harald Fairhair, Gorm the Old, Harald Bluetooth, Olaf Tryggvason, Saint Olaf, and the early Christian rulers of Sweden all appear as central figures in a dramatic age of conflict, conversion, and political change. The old gods did not vanish overnight, but across the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, the cross gradually replaced the hammer as the defining symbol of royal authority.