Sami and Old Norse Religion/Nordic religions

About the course

This course provides a comparative perspective on Nordic religions, from the Viking Age to the present. Focus is on Old Norse religion around year 1000 and Sami religion in the 17th and 18th centuries. But comparisons are made with ancient religions on the British Isles, continental Germanic and Finnish religions, and the introduction and history of Christianity in Sweden is outlined as well. Topics that are given attention are: sources and source criticism; myth and rite; the cultural and societal context for the different religious traditions; and the indigenous Nordic religions' encounters with Christianity. Further, the different views, interpretations and uses of these religious traditions in the history of research and in popular culture are problematized.