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FROM THE ALPS TO THE BAI.TIC

theory has often been vividly disputed by Russian historians but cannot be entirely dismissed.

However, it is obvious that such a Scandinavian connection existed. Vladimir the Great, the first Christian ruler in Kiev, baptized in 988, belonged to a half-Scandinavian dynasty, which is evident from the many personal names of Northern origin in the family. The Slavonic name of Vladimir accordingly spread to Scandinavia in the form of Valdemar, the name of several of the Danish kings. The Norwegian king Harold the Hardruler is said to have spent part of his youth in Kiev. Vladimir's son, Jaroslav the Wise, married Ingegerd, the daughter of the first Christian king of Sweden, Olof Eriksson. She was finally venerated as a saint in the Russian Church, Saint Anna of Novgorod.

With such facts in mind, it is reasonable to ask the question: was there a corresponding traffic from Byzantium and Russia to the Baltic region in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and if so, are there any traces left? In Scandinavia, this question has been much debated. Some Swedish scholars in particular have been eager to provide evidence of a Russian mission, and many arguments for such a mission have been put forward.

There is certainly a great number of Byzantine objects which have been found in Scandinavia and especially along the Swedish east coast, notably in Sigtuna by the Miilar lakę. There is a considerable number of pendent crosses of precious metal or bronze, often in the form of ettcolpia, portable reliquaries. Glazed ceramic eggs from the principality of Kiev - of a possible religious significance - have also been found in tombs. A steatite relief of the Mother of God with Greek letters also found its way to Gotland. Other objects such as pewter spoons and ivory combs are sometimes believed to have pertained to the Byzantine liturgy, but for no good reason. Ali these objects are signs of an on-going trade with the East but offer no evidence for any political or religious influence. A sign of waming for these farfetched theories is a bronze figurę of the Buddha from the seventh century, which was found on an island in the Miilar lakę, not far from its com-mercial centre in Birka. This is of course not an indication of Buddhist influence in this area.

Of far morę interest are the intriguing remains of wall-paintings in the twelfth century churches of Kiillunge and Garda on Gotland, and possibly in some other churches on the island. They have obviously been done by Russian artists and are dated to the end of the twelfth century. In particular, two figures of saints in Byzantine style in the church of Garda (possibly the martyr princes Boris and Gleb) have been well preserved. From the fifteenth century there is some evidence of Russian churches on the island, and a ruin of one of these has been partly preserved in the city of Visby. These churches were obviously used by Russian tradesmen. There has thus been a certain presence of Russians on Gotland, but there is no sign of a Russian mission or of a morę profound cultural influence.

Christianity and European culture reached Scandinavia via Hamburg and Bremen, originating in the ninth century' with the mission of St. Ansgar. Denmark,

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