Christianisation and the Norse Notions of Labour

Abstract

This article assesses the impact of Christianisation in the Norse ideas about labour, as an aspect of the understudied ideas about work in the Medieval North. It focuses on contrasting sources possessing a strong secular perspective (mainly Hávamál , Hugsvinnsmá l and Þórðar saga hreðu ) with others holding noticeable ecclesiastical interest ( Sólarljóð and Hungrvaka ). It is here argued that the overall positive view on both manual and intellectual work evidenced in secular sources (and epitomised by the emphasis on good farm management) was largely kept in Christian contexts. However, the sources analysed reveal a shift in the ideas about the desirable end-goal of working: rather than personal prestige and wealth, labour was reoriented to be part of an effort to institutionalise the Christian faith. Such views seem to extend across the whole social order, with little trace of attitudes upholding aristocratic leisure.