13 - The Bible in the languages of Scandinavia

Summary

The arrival of the earliest Christian missionaries in Scandinavia can be dated to the eighth century, but it was not until the ninth that organised missionary activity was taking place, and during the following centuries the Scandinavians converted to Christianity. At that time Scandinavia was split into three kingdoms – Denmark, Norway (including Iceland) and Sweden – and the Christianisation of the Scandinavian peoples was effected through a collaboration between king and church in each country. By the end of the twelfth century the process was completed, after the establishment of an archiepiscopal see in each of the three countries: at Lund (Denmark) in 1104, Nidaros (Norway) in 1153 and Uppsala (Sweden) in 1164.

Up to the twelfth century there was one common Nordic language in Scandinavia, including the Faeroe Islands and Iceland. During the following century, as a consequence of political developments, this developed into three separate, though closely related, languages: Norse in west Scandinavia (Norway including Iceland), and Swedish and Danish in east Scandinavia. Later on, in the fifteenth century, the Norse language was displaced by Danish in Norway. This linguistic development is reflected in the appearance eventually of three different Scandinavian Reformation Bibles: Gustav Vasa's Bible (1541) in Sweden, Christian III's Bible (1550) in Denmark, also used in Norway, and Gudbrand's Bible (1584) in Iceland.