The magical past, the term forneskja and the Christianization of Iceland in 13th and 14th century history writing

Abstract

In 13th and 14th century Icelandic historiography the Christianization of Iceland and Scandinavia around the millennium of 1000 seems to have been of paramount interest. Thus, most historical narratives from the period (such as the Íslendingasögur and Konungasögur) are partly concerned with this period of upheaval, which is often depicted as a giant leap into a new era with the pagan religions consequently becoming symbolic for the past itself. This very interest is a testament to the pivotal importance of the pagan past in defining the Nordic Christian self. At the same time, with the gradual institutionalisation of Christianity from ca. 1000 to the end of the 13th century, other religious practices get equated with magic, which is often termed forneskja ‘oldness’, a word that appears in several medieval Icelandic prose narratives. In this study, this term is explored in detail along with its relationship to other terminology that it is often linked to it in the narratives (e.g. fjölkynngi, hindurvitni, heiðni, and galdrar). The equation between the past and paganism, and the last decades of pagan worship in Iceland in particular, have held a powerful attraction for historians several centuries after this great shift to the more unified behavioural system of Christianity. An important issue to consider is whether the significant social changes of the 13th and 14th century lead to an idea of that Christianization constituted an absolute break with the past and its ways. This is an elusive issue but a careful textual examination of the 13th and 14th century historical sources may shed light on it, thus helping to determine how the past, the pagan religions and magic were intertwined in the mind of the historiographers of that era.