Christianised Paganism

When, in Poul Anderson's Mother Of Kings (New York, 2003), Queen Gunnhild and her children are for political reasons christened by Archbishop Wulfstan of York, readers witness this event from Gunnhild's point of view. Thus, we understand that she is not changing her world view but is instead incorporating Christ as a powerful god into her existing Pagan world view.

As she sees it:

"Odin hung, wounded with a spear, offered to himself, nine nights on windy Yggdrasil, to gain the runes; and he had since raised seeresses from their graves to foretell for him." (p. 225)

It follows that the next logical question is:

"What powers had his own sufferings, his own death won for the Christ? How could they strengthen her house?" (p. 225)

- political reasons, indeed.

Both Odin and Christ are shamans:

"Not only song and drum, but pain could loose the shaman from the flesh." (p. 225)

She has cast runes and spells but must now access the accumulated wisdom gathered in a library of illuminated manuscripts. Since she cannot yet follow the Latin Mass, she uses the time to plan not forgiveness but vengeance. With her Queenship in a Christian realm secured, she again has a big home where she can discretely set aside a room to cast spells and send forth her soul in the dead of winter. Yule is not for her the birth time of Christ but the time "...when the doors between men and gods..." are open (p. 226).

Of the crucifix, she thinks that:

"...something was in it that she did not understand, and must..." (p. 225)

but also:

"...whatever she said to the likes of Wulfstan, she would not utterly disown the old gods." (p. 225)