The stone monuments shown in this section
of the exhibition belong to the earliest Swedish Christian art. Their
function is unknown - none has be found in original position. Many of them
have been used as building material in walls or on floors of medieval
churches. Some stones has been placed on graveyards, lying down. The age
as well as the inspiration to the decoration - lilies- has been widely
discussed. The lilies represent an old Christian motif, The tree of life,
which has its root in the Near East. It is mentioned both in Old and New
Testament. Nearly all lily stones that have ben found are concentrated to
the county of Västergötland in the western part of Sweden.
Traditionally historians believe that the
lily stones belongs to the 12th and 13th century. They are interpreted as
tombstone of prominent members of the medieval society in Västergötland.
According to this view the inspiration to the decoration is to be found in
the Western Europe, maybe England or Ireland.
A new theory has recently challenged the
traditional view. This theory is based on the travels of the Vikings to
the east - to Bysans (parts of present Turkey and Greece). the spokesmen
of the new theory compare the lily-pattern on the stones with prototypes
in the churches of Bysans, e.g. in Constantinople (Istanbul). They believe
that the swedish lily stones have been placed in an upright position in
the oldest churches in Västergötland as early as c. 1000 -1050 AD.
From literal sources and finds we know that
the Vikings offered their services as soldiers and bodyguards to the
emperor of Bysans from time to time during the Viking Age. On of the most
frequent duties for the guards was to escort the emperor and his family to
the Orthodox-Christian services in Hagia Sofia in Constaninople. Nordic
runes have been found on the balustrades of this impressing church. The
Viking guards (called Väringar) were the sons of noble families in
Scandinavia. The most famous of "Väringar" was Harald
Hårdråde, who later became the king of Norway.
The Viking guards probably converted to the
new religion in Bysans. When they returned back home they brought with
them the knowledge of the Orthodox religion as well as objects connected
with the new religion. Painted eggs symbolising resurrection, relic
crucifixes and pieces of Greek altar stones have been found in the Viking
towns Sigtuna and Birka. Besides, the Greeek ortodox cross is depicted on
many of the rune stones in Central Sweden. From a political point of view
there were strong connections between the first baptised king in Sweden,
Olof Skötkonung, and Russia. In 1019 his daughter Ingegärd married
Jaroslav, the ruler of Kiev. The city, situated at the river Dnjepr, was
an important town on the Viking trading route to Bysans.
In the new theory the lily stones are
suggested to fit in as part of the early import of east Christian objects.
The stones themselves were made in the country of Västergötland but the
inspiration to them came from Bysans. The pattern of lilies, i.e. trees of
life, has been found not only as decoration in churches but also on
textile, e.g. the emperors clothing and relics,manuscripts, icons and
Byzantine coins. Such coins have been found in early Christian graves from
around 1000 AD in Västergötland, the county of lili stones. At the end
of the 11th century it is suggested that the eastern orthodox Christianity
was suppressed in favour of the Roman-Chatolic church who became totally
dominantin the Nordic countries during the middle ages. In 1054 the
division between the Catholic and the Orthodox Church had become a reality.
the two churches now becaemrivals in the alvation of souls. The new theory
thus suggests that the process of Christianity in Scandinavia included an
orthodox phase of belief among members of the Nordic upper class durin the
late Viking Age.