Effect of Christianity On Folklore
The Christianization of Scandinavia completed by the 11th century meant that the high-mythology more or less phased out of use. This process may have been quite rapid because these never were the beliefs of the lower classes. While mythology was phased out, the gods, heroes and stories are brought to life through folklore. Folklore was a key instrument in integrating Christianity into Scandinavian society, and legends once focused on the pagan religion picked up Christian aspects. After Christian beliefs and traditions were introduced into society, there was a noticeable change in the characteristics of some of the creatures. For example, the horrid and evil trolls of the mountains developed a fear of church-bells, and the huldre preyed on good Christian men. The “evil” creatures of folklore began to fight the heroes and great kings over Christian symbols, such in the tale of King Olav Haraldsson and the trolls, with the Christians always appearing to prevail. Folklore also started to develop morals about being good Christian citizens. For example, only the strong of faith could defeat the draugr.
Read more about this topic: Scandinavian Folklore
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