From: Mark Odegard
Message: 1990
Date: 2000-04-01
----- Original Message -----From: Tommy TyrbergA few corrections. The cult-center of Odhin you're thinking about is Old Uppsala about 5 miles north of the present city. I agree that there was occasionally continuity of place between pagan cult centers and christian churches, but definitely not in the case of Uppsala cathedral, also Uppsala is far from the only gothic cathedral in Scandinavia, some others that come to mind being Linköping, Skara and Visby.Tommy TyrbergI stand corrected. I'm thinking of the splendid mediaeval stone building. This is one of those things that's stuck with me since I heard it in a college lecture, as I recall. I even recall the prof's name.From the online Britannica:Although it later relinquished its political primacy to Stockholm, Uppsala has remained a
religious centre as the seat of the archbishop of Sweden. The Gothic cathedral, the
largest such structure in Sweden, dominates the city. Work began on this edifice in the
late 13th century but progressed slowly, and not until 1435 was the church
consecrated. The cathedral was ravaged by fire several times but was finally restored
in the late 19th century. Opposite the cathedral is the Gustavianum, a medieval
bishop's palace that is now a museum of archaeology and cultural history.At the close of the pagan period, the most splendid temple of all was
at Uppsala. It was richly described by Adam of Bremen, whose report is based on
statements of eyewitnesses, though he may have been influenced by the biblical
description of Solomon's temple. Statues of Thor, Wodan, and Fricco (Freyr) stood
together within it; the whole building was covered with gold, which could be seen
glittering from afar.The last URL also gives this paragraph, which is in itself interesting:
A common word for a holy place in Old English is hearg and in Old High German harug, occasionally glossed as lucus ("grove") or nemus ("forest"). The corresponding Old Norse word, hörgr, denotes a cairn, a pile of stones used as an altar; the word was also used occasionally for roofed temples. Another term applied to sacred places in Scandinavia was vé (compare with vígja, "to consecrate"), which appears in many place-names; e.g., Odense (older Óðinsvé).
Mark.