Belief and traditions
Religious hybrids put their stamp on life
At the start of what we call the Viking Age, large parts of Europe had been Christian for several hundred years. For a long time, the lives and beliefs of the Scandinavian people were influenced by both Norse belief systems and Christianity.
This mixture sometimes turned into a kind of religious hybrid. The Norse tradition had many deities, male and female, and built on the collective with a focus on family and kin. Christianity was more individual, hierarchical and patriarchal, with a single god.
This complex mixture was also influenced by mutual and sometimes intensive exchanges with Sámi beliefs and religious practices.
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