Religion In Viking Society

Different Religions in Viking Society

In the viking age, there were many religions over time. Everyone who lived in Viking Age society believed in the Norse gods and goddesses. But, Scandinavia in the Viking Age, had a very dramatic religious change.

Norse Religion

The Vikings had many gods; Odin, Frøya, etc. The vikings believed that if they died in battle; they would come to Valhalla, where they would live perfectly, feast with the gods, and simply have a perfect life.

Odin was the allfather of the gods, and ruler of Asgard. Odin in Old Norse, actually means “The Furious One”. Odin presides over Valhalla, the most prestigious of the dwelling-places of the dead. After every battle, he and his helping-spirits, the valkyries (“choosers of the fallen”), comb the field and take their pick of half of the slain warriors to carry back to Valhalla. Frøya (goddess of love, beauty, sorcery, fertility, gold, war and death) then claims the remaining half.

He’s the indefatigable defender of the Aesir gods and their fortress, Asgard, from the territory of the giants, who are usually the enemies of the gods. No one is better suited for this task than Thor. His courage and sense of duty are completely unshakeable, and no one can match his physical strength. His most famous possesion, is his hammer, Mjöllnir (“Lightning”). He hardly goes anywhere without it. For the Scandinavians, thunder was the embodiment of Thor, however, lightning was the emboidment of Mjöllnir, slaying giants as he rode across the sky in his goat-drawn

In this battle, King Olav II was killed, and was later canonized (when a dead person is officially declared as a saint). Olav’s younger half brother; Harald Sigurdsson, was also present at the battle and in 1047 would go on to become the King of Norway, only to die in a failed invasion of England in the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. When the battle of Stiklestad took place, Harald was only 15 years old.

According to saga sources, Olav traveled with his 3,600 man army through Sweden and crossed the mountains into the valley of Verdal, about 80 kilometres north of Trondheim. Olav and his army arrived at Stiklestad, a farm in the lower part of the valley. This was the place where the Battle of Stiklestad took place, as described by Snorri Sturlason, written about 200 years later.

At Stiklestad, Olav met an army led by Harek of Tjøtta, Thorir Hund from Bjarkøy, and Kálfr Árnason, a man who had previously served Olav. The peasant army consisted of 14,400, according to Snorri. He states that the battle cries of Olav’s men were; “Forward! Forward! Men of Christ, men of the cross, men of the king!” While the other army’s battle cry was; “Forward! Forward!