Mycket läsvärd artikel om vår krokiga väg till kristendom här i norden, från Crisis Magazine.

Vill särskilt belysa två episoder, som både motsäger och konkluderar varandra. Den första:

”There was to be a debate between the pagans and the Christians and, as representative of the traditional faith, the pagan was permitted to speak first. He gave a long and passionate defense of the old religion which had brought the Vikings such great success, and which had been the faith of their fathers. When he concluded, Olaf arose from his throne, complimented the speaker, took out his sword and clove him in twain, settling the matter in favor of Christianity.”

Detta ledde dock inte till något bestående, utan man återföll snart i hedendom. Olafs våld, ledde inte till förändring.

”As could be expected, Olaf’s high-handedness brought him hatred. In the year 1000 he perished in a sea battle, and immediately the Vikings reverted to paganism. The raids resumed.”

Under en sådan räd i Canterbury togs ärkebiskopen Alphege till fånga, för att hålls tills dess man betalat ut en lösensumma.

”All winter he stayed with them, treated with honor in the ancient Viking tradition of hospitality. Eventually Alphege tired of all this. He began to assail them, during one of their drinking bouts, that he had forbidden his Church to pay one penny for his release. The intoxicated Vikings grew restless, and began to throw plates at Alphege. One of the more sober ones, Thorkell the Tall, saw where this was going. He stood up to interpose himself, reminding the Vikings of their obligations of hospitality. While he was speaking the plates turned to axes, and Alphege, later a saint, died.”

Thorkell (Torkjell på norska, Torkel på svenska), förfärad över sina fränders brutala dåd, det kollektiva mordet av en oskyldig fånge, påbörjar där och då sin omvändelse:

”Thorkell was disgusted at this breach of Viking custom, and he took 45 ships along with his lieutenant, Olaf Haraldson, to fight on the side of Ethelred the Unready in England. Even with this help, Ethelred was still Unready, and he and Thorkell were driven from England to France. There Thorkell and Olaf were baptized, genuinely and completely converted to Christianity.”

Jag kan heller inte undvika att se parallellerna mellan Alpheges död, och myten om Balders död. I myten framställs kollektivet av gudar som oskyldiga, fastän de alla deltar i ”leken” att kasta spjut, stenar och annat mot den ”osårbare” Balder. Girard har en läsning av myten i ”The Scapegoat” (sid 66 – 69). Faktumet att den finns i två helt skilda versioner, återgivna av Snorre Sturlasson och Saxo Grammaticus, samt alla de skillnader på detaljnivå i andra versioner, kan förstås som att myten har förändrats över tid, dvs haft en utveckling.

”It must stem from older versions in which Baldr is the victim of the most banal and classic of collective murders. It must be the work of people who cannot tolerate the traditional representation of the murder because it makes all the gods, the victim aside, into criminals. The original gathering of gods is no different from a band of assassins, and in a sense the faithful want none of it but they have no other sacred text; they cling to it; they are passionately attached to their religious representations.” – Girard, The Scapegoat

Balder-myten är en hörnsten i det nordiska kulturbygget. Det kollektiva mordet av en oskyldig syndabock har förklätts i en poetisk mytologi, därför att känsligheten för verkligheten efterhand förvränger den. Från ett brutalt kollektivt dödande, till en oskyldig lek bland gudarna, med ett offer som borde varit osårbar.

Om du inte redan gjort det så, läs nu hela artikeln om hur det gick till när norden kristnades.