Viking Age (c. 8th–11th centuries)

The calculation of time followed the then common pattern of counting by the years of the respective ruler. A ubiquitous uniform time system did not yet exist. Thus a letter ended as follows:

The Landnámabók dates the first settlement of Iceland from the reign of Pope Hadrian II. The chronology from the birth of Christ came only after Christianization. At first it was also only an ideological instrument. The ecclesiastical and the secular calendar existed side by side for a while:

In Iceland, until 1319, the reckoning was usually done according to the reigning years of the Norwegian kings or the Ladejarle, very rarely also according to the times of great Icelandic chieftains. For Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Greenland the same is assumed.

Ansgar and Rimbert had already begun their missionary work in the 9th century in the most important nodes of the trade routes Haithabu, Ripen and Birka. This was at the time when the Viking campaigns were still swelling, to which Adam von Bremen also attributed the lack of continuity of the mission after these missionaries. The (Swedish) Viking domination of the Schlei seems to have acted as a bar, for it was not until Henry I had defeated the Swedes and Danes on the Schlei that a missionary again set out, Archbishop Unni, who was killed at Birka in 936. On the other hand, the Scandinavians already came into contact with Christianity in many places on their long-distance journeys, which must have led to a relativization of their own beliefs. In the Danelag the native cult was not taken up again, at least no place name testifies to it. The beginning of the final missionization of the whole north can be put down to the second third of the 10th century. For Denmark the baptism of Harald Blauzahn was the decisive turning point. Not only the Jelling Stone testifies to this, but also the transformation of King Gorm's sanctuary, a large building stone triangle with a rune stone in the middle and Queen Thyr's burial mound as the end, into a churchyard. A whole series of missionary bishops, among whom was the Danish nobleman Odinkar the Elder, endeavoured with varying success to bring about Christianisation. He is also said to have worked in Scania and the islands. In Sweden, Sigtuna became the Christian centre of Svealand. The connection of Christianized Varangians in Rus with their old homeland, of which the marriage of Olof Skötkonung's daughter Ingegerd with the Grand Duke Jaroslav I is a testimony, led to the influence of Eastern Church-influenced Christianity in Sweden. The runestone custom in the middle of the 11th century had a rather early Christian influence there. In contrast, in Denmark at the time of Sven and Knut, only one-fifth of the stones bear Christian features. The contemporaneous stones of Västergötland, on the other hand, are already one third Christian, and in the slightly younger material of Östergötland they are already half to almost two thirds Christian. Also Småland's stones of this time are already almost two thirds Christian.

The manly virtues remained unaffected. They are praised with the same words on pagan and Christian runestones: Generous, capable, good householder (or farmer), without falsehood, mild of words, wise in his speech (probably at the Thing meeting), skilful and agile. Even the desire for revenge survived Christianization on the runestones.

The introduction of Christianity led beyond a mere change of faith to a profound change in the political landscape. The kingdom strengthened into a divinely legitimized central power. It assumed the new tasks of legislation and jurisdiction. At the same time, a new power emerged alongside the king that was controlled by Rome, which was bound to lead to fierce disputes over competences. The consolidation of the kingship was also accompanied by the weakening of the local chiefdoms. Since the chieftaincy still derived its legitimacy from clan and ancestors according to the pagan pattern, pagan mythology was not rigorously suppressed, but pagan cult practice was. King Olav (the Saint) bloodily suppressed the sacrificial festivals in fairy tales.