183:(Life of Ansgar) relates that the Archbishop arrived to Birka after having sailed for 20 days. The year is not certain but seems to have been 851 or 852. There he found that King Olof and a large part of the people were affected by a pagan counter-movement. A seer asserted that he had participated in the council of the
247:
When the Swedes and King Olof heard of the Danish failure, they decided to win the reputation that the Swedes could do what the Danes could not and to make the
Curonians pay tribute again. Consequently, the Swedes gathered an enormous army and attacked Curland. The first town they attacked was called
198:
Having installed himself in Birka, Ansgar invited King Olof to his place and feted him with a meal and gifts. The king announced that he would be glad to assist Ansgar, but dared not undertake anything before he had searched the will of the people, and divination had been carried out. "It is, namely,
203:
was held in Birka, where a herald announced Ansgar's request to missionise among the Swedes. After due deliberation, the thing agreed to allow
Christian priests and holy sacraments among them. A second thing, which was held at a different place in the realm, confirmed what had been said. The king
279:
When the
Curonians saw that the Swedes were about to resume their attack, they gave up and offered to the Swedes all the gold, silver, and weapons that they had taken from the Danes the previous year. They also offered to pay half a pound of silver for every man in the town and to resume paying
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The Swedes stormed the town but it was ferociously defended, and after eight days of battle many men had fallen without result. By the ninth day, the Swedes were weary of the battle and discussed whether to pursue it. They decided to cast lots with
252:. It had 7,000 armed men, but the town was pillaged, ravaged, and burnt by the Swedes. The Swedes left their ships at the coast and started out on a five-day expedition into the hinterland. They reached the town of
276:
faith and they decided to cast lots asking the
Christian god about how to proceed. They interpreted the results as full support from the Christian god and decided to attack the town once again.
236:
instead. The
Curonians gathered forces from all five of their towns and butchered half the Danish army, after which they plundered the Danish ships, gaining a great deal of
187:
who had expressed their dissatisfaction with the
Christian god. In case the current gods were not sufficient to the people, the gods decided to accept the former King Eric (
195:?) in their abode. The seer's vision was widely believed, a sanctuary was built in the honour of the long-deceased Eric, and people performed sacrifices to him.
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tribute to the Swedes and to give hostages as a warrant for paying. They declared that they wished to be the subjects of the
Swedish kings as in former times.
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common among them, that every public issue is decided more through the unanimous will of the people, than through royal exertion of power." Some time later a
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Ansgar had undertaken missionary work among the Swedes in 829-831, and laid the foundations to a fragile congregation based in the important merchant town
228:. At the time of Ansgar's second visit to Birka, They marshalled a great fleet and sailed to Courland in order to take over their goods and to make the
525:
520:
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these indicate
Swedish presence in the region in c. 650-800. Moreover, Nerman discovered arrows and other traces of a 9th century battle in
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335:
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summoned Ansgar and enjoined the construction of churches, providing the
Archbishop with a piece of land in Birka for a chapel.
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had once been under the
Swedish realm. However, they had rebelled against the Swedes a long time ago and refused to pay them
140:, and the 11th-century account of Adam of Bremen both mention him and are generally seen as more reliable than the sagas.
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of the 12th and 13th century, which give a different line of succession of supposed Viking Age Swedish rulers, but the
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made his second voyage from Germany to Birka in about the year 851 or 852 A.D. He had an ambivalent attitude to
28:
156:, began to worry about the future of the community which was without a priest. He received the consent of the
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has been tentatively combined with archaeological findings in Latvia. According to the archaeologist
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King Olof granted their request, and the Swedes returned home with treasures beyond count and thirty
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to go to Sweden in person and received a personal letter to the Swedish king Olof. When he came to
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provided him with an envoy and a message which asked Olof to allow Ansgar to missionise freely.
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224:. The Danes, being aware of this, saw the opportunity to take over the Swedish dominions in
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358:(c. 1075), who gives the order of succession as Anund - Björn - Olof. Adam drew from the
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314:. There are nevertheless other interpretations of the place names mentioned in the
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which was also known as Ampule, while Seeburg could be Seleburg at the
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at the coast which has graves which indicate connections with
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but might also have heard the name from the Danish King
136:, the near-contemporary writings of Ansgar's companion
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then relates that some of the Swedes had heard of the
119:, and was known as a successful warrior king in the
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370:. Stockholm: Proprius, p. 60 (Book I, Chapter 61).
287:as a security for the Curonians' future loyalty.
368:Historien om Hamburgstiftet och dess biskopar
260:). The town had as many as 15,000 armed men.
8:
18:
152:. By the early 850s Ansgar, who was now
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103:, an important port town, and possibly
485:Swedish Museum of National Antiquities
7:
302:, while Seeburg was identified with
394:. Stockholm: Proprius, p. 103, 228.
14:
16:Proto-historic King of the Swedes
526:9th-century monarchs in Europe
521:Semi-legendary kings of Sweden
477:Odelberg, Maj (1995), "Olof",
464:. Stockholm: Proprius, p. 106.
99:or local ruler who ruled over
1:
366:; see Adam av Bremen (1984),
208:Viking expedition to Courland
126:Olof is not mentioned in the
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318:; Apulia might be Pilten at
154:Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen
547:
531:9th-century Swedish people
437:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 30
426:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 27
415:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 26
404:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 26
380:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 25
290:The information in the
268:, but without results.
244:, and other valuables.
449:När Sverige kristnades
447:Nerman, Birger (1945)
144:Religious dispositions
354:Olof is mentioned by
336:Early Swedish history
175:Ansgar's biographer
232:pay tribute to the
109:Catholic missionary
29:King of the Swedes
480:Vikingatidens ABC
256:(probably modern
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128:Icelandic sagas
97:Swedish monarch
27:Proto-historic
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356:Adam of Bremen
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189:Erik Björnsson
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451:. Skoglunds.
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360:Vita Ansgari
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181:Vita Ansgari
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133:Vita Ansgari
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117:Christianity
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46:Predecessor
515:Categories
505:2007-08-18
494:9171929843
472:Literature
342:References
320:Ventspils
274:Christian
230:Curonians
214:Curonians
179:, in his
89:Old Norse
56:Successor
330:See also
310:and the
285:hostages
226:Courland
95:) was a
326:River.
324:Daugava
308:Gotland
304:Grobiņa
270:Rimbert
250:Seeburg
222:tribute
177:Rimbert
170:Horik I
168:, King
166:Denmark
138:Rimbert
105:Uppsala
491:
300:Apuole
258:Apuole
254:Apulia
242:silver
218:Latvia
160:ruler
113:Ansgar
111:Saint
266:runes
234:Danes
201:thing
191:, or
185:Aesir
150:Birka
101:Birka
93:Óláfr
76:Munsö
71:House
35:Reign
489:ISBN
316:Vita
292:Vita
238:gold
212:The
85:Olof
60:Ring
50:Eric
22:Olof
216:in
78:(?)
41:852
517::
487:,
483:,
240:,
123:.
91::
39:c.
87:(
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