320:, King Björn discussed the arrival of the missionaries with his men, then announced that they were free to preach. Apart from the numerous Christian prisoners at the place, several people seemed interested in the new faith. To these belonged Hergeir, the chief of the port, who was a prominent adviser to King Björn. After having been baptized, he built a church on his personal land. Ansgar stayed in Sweden for one and a half year and then returned to the Emperor's court in 831. Björn gave him a letter to bring to Louis, "written in the particular way of the Swedes", thus presumably with
299:. Among other matters they told the Emperor that many people in their country wished to embrace the Christian religion, and that their king endorsed the arrival of proper teachers. The Emperor summoned Ansgar and ordered him to go the land of the Swedes and investigate whether people were indeed prepared to accept Christianity. Thus Ansgar tread the journey together with his companion Witbert, sailing with a party of merchants. When about half-way, the ships were attacked by
350:, written around the time of Ansgar's visit, has a short description of the Baltic region: "There is a bay which stretches from the western ocean in eastern direction, of unknown length but with a breadth that may not exceed 150 kilometers, while it is less at many sites. Many people live around this bay, Danes and Swedes, which we call Norsemen, live both on the northern shore and all the islands in the bay. The southern coast is however inhabited by
324:. In his stead an auxiliary bishop, Gautbert, was appointed for Sweden. However, his activity was cut short several years later. An anti-Christian riot broke out, not supported by the king. Gautbert's nephew Nithard was killed, and Gautbert and his retainers driven out of the country. It is not explicitly said if Björn was still alive at the time. The account indicates that the Swedish king had limited control over people.
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ipsorum, qui Byrca dicitur, pervenerunt, ubi benigne a rege, qui Bern vocabatur, suscepti sunt"). Some scholars have called Björn "king of Birka", but this has no foundation in
Rimbert's writings, as Rimbert merely writes that Ansgar went ashore in Birka, which was in King Björn's kingdom.
264:. This identification is however considered unverifiable, since Björn at Haugi may have actually been a Norwegian local ruler who was later constructed as a Swedish king. Although the genealogy of early Swedish local rulers is not known, Björn is assumed to have belonged to the
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and those on board had to save themselves on shore. The missionaries lost the gifts and possessions they had carried, but nevertheless decided to proceed. After traveling a long distance, mostly by foot, they arrived to the port of the kingdom which was called
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and a number of other people". This account, together with other sources from the 9th century, seems to indicate that the Danes and Swedes were the main Nordic peoples known to the continental authors, and that Björn's sphere of power was not merely local.
272:, generally considered to be Sweden's first king. The royal names attested in the ninth century, namely, also occur among the kings and princes in the late Viking age, perhaps suggesting a genealogical continuity.
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852. He is in fact the first
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states that "almost the entirety of that land consists of islands", suggesting a mainly coastal and insular polity. The
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Jónsson, Finnur. (1890). "Om skjaldepoesien og de ældste skjalde", in Kock, Axel (Ed.).
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Arkiv för nordisk filologi, sjätte bandet. Ny följd: andra bandet.
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Arkiv för nordisk filologi, sjätte bandet. Ny följd: andra bandet.
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398:Jóhannesson, Jón (1966-69) "Bjorn at Haugi",
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486:C.W.K. Gleerups förlag, Lund. pp. 144-145.
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118:. Relevant discussion may be found on the
45:. Please do not remove this message until
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41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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466:Om skjaldepoesien og de ældste skjalde
472:C.W.K. Gleerups förlag, Lund. p. 144.
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556:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 25
519:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 17
508:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 12
497:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 11
468:", in Kock, Axel (Ed.).
451:Vita Ansgari, Chapter 10
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376:"Early Swedish Kings"
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437:Early Swedish Kings
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