Vikings Wiped out Anskar's Work in North Europe
Anskar, Apostle of the North.
ANSKAR was a man with a vision. Literally! Born near Amiens, France on this day, 8 September 801, he lost his mother soon after. At five, his father placed him in a monastery, the abbey at Corbie. While in the cloister at Corbie, he received visions which called him to lay aside boyish jests and childish amusements and take up missionary work. In one vision, he saw Christ in his glory and fell at his feet, confessing his sins, to which Christ responded gently, “Be not afraid, it is I who blot out thy transgressions.” Anskar rejoiced, praising God for his rich grace to sinners.
Anskar transferred to another monastery, Corvey in modern-day Germany, in 823 where he was principal teacher at the convent school. There he met worshippers of Odin and learned about the religion of the Norsemen.
His opportunity to labor for the conversion of Scandinavia soon came when Denmark’s King Harold converted to Christianity and requested a teacher to instruct his people. Anskar and another monk, Autbert, volunteered. Anskar hoped to win a martyr’s crown.
However, the Vikings were not easily converted. They boasted about their oath breaking and revenge and considered Christian virtues “soft.” Truth-telling and forgiveness did not impress them. Anskar attempted to change their culture by the longer-term expedient of opening a school at Schleswig. Before the school could accomplish much, circumstances forced its closure. With more zeal than wisdom, Harold had tried to convert his subjects by force and was driven into exile.
At this critical juncture, an embassy from Sweden appealed to the Holy Roman Emperor, Louis the Pious, for Christian missionaries. Anskar and his assistant Witmar undertook the task. On their way to Sweden, their ship was attacked by pirates, their books and property seized, and they were put ashore. The pair continued on foot, eventually arriving at the trading town of Birka. King Björn granted them the right to preach.
Anskar converted Herigar, an important royal counselor, who proceeded to build Sweden’s first church in 832. Other converts followed.
In 834, Anskar left Sweden to become bishop of Hamburg, overseeing Greenland, Iceland, and much of Northern Europe. The Vikings, however, destroyed everything he had built at Hamburg, including a precious library.
Anskar’s Christianity was practical. He made nets while singing psalms, gave most of his income to the poor, redeemed slaves, and built a hospital for the needy. Although most of his writings perished, some prayers and a biography of Bishop Willehad survived.
Anskar did not become a martyr but died in 865 full of hope, turning the work over to his associate Rimbert. Although Anskar was known as “the Apostle of the North,” most of his accomplishments were wiped out by the Vikings after his death, and subsequent missionaries had to start over almost from scratch.
—Dan Graves
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Learn more about the Vikings and Christianity. Christian History #63, A Severe Salvation
