Description
Book SynopsisIn Identity Formation and Diversity in the Early Medieval Baltic and Beyond, the Viking World in the East is made more heterogeneous. Baltic Finnic groups, Balts and Sami are integrated into the history dominated by Scandinavians and Slavs. Interaction in the region between Eastern Middle Sweden, Finland, Estonia and North Western Russia is set against varied cultural expressions of identities. Ten scholars approach the topic from different angles, with case studies on the roots of diversity, burials with horses, Staraya Ladoga as a nodal point of long-distance routes, Rus’ warrior identities, early Eastern Christianity, interaction between the Baltic Finns and the Svear, the first phases of ar-Rus dominion, the distribution of Carolingian swords, and Dirhams in the Baltic region. Contributors are Johan Callmer, Ingrid Gustin, Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson, Valter Lang, John Howard Lind, Marika Mägi, Mats Roslund, Søren Sindbaek, Anne Stalsberg, and Tuukka Talvio.
Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations VII List of Contributors xi 1 Identity Formation and Diversity: Introduction 1 Johan Callmer, Ingrid Gustin and Mats Roslund 2 Societies East and West of the Baltic Sea: Prehistoric Culture Contacts Revisited 17 Marika Mägi 3 Riding to the Afterworld: Burying with Horses and Riding Equipment in Estonia and the Baltic Rim 48 Valter Lang 4 A Site of Intersection: Staraya Ladoga, Eastern Silver, and Long-Distance Communication Networks in Early Medieval Europe 76 Søren M. Sindbæk 5 Creating a Cultural Expression: On Rus’ Identity and Material Culture 91 Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson 6 “Varangian Christianity” and the Veneration of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian Saints in Early Rus’ 107 John H. Lind 7 The Rise of the Dominion of the ar-Rus in the Northern Parts of Eastern Europe, Seventh to Ninth Centuries a.d.: A Case of Culture Construction 136 Johan Callmer 8 Bringing “the Periphery” into Focus: Social Interaction between Baltic Finns and the Svear in the Viking Age and Crusade Period (c.800 to 1200) 168 Mats Roslund 9 Contacts, Identity, and Hybridity: Objects from South-western Finland in the Birka Graves 205 Ingrid Gustin 10 Swords from the Carolingian Empire to the Baltic Sea and Beyond 259 Anne Stalsberg 11 Dirham Hoards from the Gulf of Finland Region 281 Tuukka Talvio Index 293
