universities were founded, and the subjects to be studied were grouped into various
‘faculties,’ just as they are today.”
“A thousand years is a really long time.”
“Yes, but Christianity took time to reach the masses. Moreover, in the course of
the Middle Ages the various nation-states established themselves, with cities and cit-
izens, folk music and folktales. What would fairy tales and folk songs have been
without the Middle Ages? What would Europe have been, even? A Roman province,
perhaps. Yet the resonance in such names as England, France, or Germany is the very
same boundless deep we call the Middle Ages. There are many shining fish
swimming around in those depths, although we do not always catch sight of them.
Snorri lived in the Middle Ages. So did Saint Olaf and Charlemagne, to say nothing
of Romeo and Juliet, Joan of Arc, Ivanhoe, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, and many
mighty princes and majestic kings, chivalrous knights and fair damsels, anonymous
stained-glass window makers and ingenious organ builders. And I haven’t even
mentioned friars, crusaders, or witches.”
“You haven’t mentioned the clergy, either.”
“Correct. Christianity didn’t come to Norway, by the way, until the eleventh
century. It would be an exaggeration to say that the Nordic countries converted to
Christianity at one fell swoop. Ancient heathen beliefs persisted under the surface of
Christianity, and many of these pre-Christian elements became integrated with
Christianity. In Scandinavian Christmas celebrations, for example, Christian and Old
Norse customs are wedded even to this day. And here the old saying applies, that
married folk grow to resemble each other. Yuletide cookies, Yuletide piglets, and
Yuletide ale begin to resemble the Three Wise Men from the Orient and the manger in
Bethlehem. But without doubt, Christianity gradually became the predominant
philosophy of life. Therefore we usually speak of the Middle Ages as being a unifying
force of Christian culture.”
“So it wasn’t all gloom, then?”
“The first centuries after the year 400 really were a cultural decline. The Roman
period had been a high culture, with big cities that had sewers, public baths, and
libraries, not to mention proud architecture. In the early centuries of the Middle Ages
this entire culture crumbled. So did its trade and economy. In the Middle Ages people
returned to payment in kind and bartering. The economy was now characterized by
feudalism, which meant that a few powerful nobles owned the land, which the serfs
had to toil on in order to live. The population also declined steeply in the first
centuries. Rome had over a million inhabitants in antiquity. But by 600, the
population of the old Roman capital had fallen to 40,000, a mere fraction of what it
had been. Thus a relatively small population was left to wander among what remained
of the majestic edifices of the city’s former glory. When they needed building
materials, there were plenty of ruins to supply them. This is naturally a source of great
sorrow to present-day archeologists, who would rather have seen medieval man leave
the ancient monuments untouched.”
“It’s easy to know better after the fact.”
“From a political point of view, the Roman period was already over by the end
of the fourth century. However, the Bishop of Rome became the supreme head of the
Roman Catholic Church. He was given the title ‘Pope’—in Latin ‘papa,’ which means
what it says— and gradually became looked upon as Christ’s deputy on earth. Rome
was thus the Christian capital throughout most of the medieval period. But as the
kings and bishops of the new nation-states became more and more powerful, some of
them were bold enough to stand up to the might of the church.”