The Arabic primary sources from the early medieval period have long existed in the modern consciousness of the scholarship, however, differing interpretations, mistranslations, and omissions have contributed to the state of already existing confusion permeating the matter of the Rus origin, influence, and interactions in their theatre of action in East Europe, Eurasia and beyond. hence a methodology based on source criticism could lead a revisit of these sources to new understandings and an up-to-date interpretation that considers the latest contributions by the scholarship in the field. Furthermore, the paper aims to provide a new and updated translation of the three chosen accounts regarding the Rus people, with these accounts chosen on a criterion of temporal distance, reliability and officiality, thus delivering a take on the pre-state Rus that is conceivably comprehensive, as these accounts discuss and record the social, commercial and religious aspects amongst others. Moreover, a thorough discussion and analysis follows the translation while concurrently highlighting the scholarships understandings, positively and negatively. Finally, the paper aims to argue the need for a comprehensive re-evaluation of the over fifty Arabic primary sources regarding the Rus, based on the points and evidence generated through the translations and analysis conducted in the paper. / De arabiska primärkällorna från tidig medeltid har länge funnits i den moderna forskningens medvetande.t.  Ogrundade tolkningar, felöversättningar och utelämnanden har bidragit till ett förvirringstillstånd kring frågan om rusernas ursprung, inflytande, och interaktioner i Östeuropa och Eurasien. Ett återbesök av dessa källor skulle kunna resultera i nya förståelser och uppdaterade tolkningar som tar hänsyn till de senaste bidragen från forskningen inom området. Vidare syftar uppsatsen till att tillhandahålla en ny och uppdaterad översättning av de tre utvalda redogörelserna om ruserna.  Dessa redogörelser har valts ut baserat på kriterierna tidsavstånd, tillförlitlighet och officiell karaktär.  Således levereras en syn på proto-statliga ruser som är tänkbart omfattande, då dessa redogörelser diskuterar och dokumenterar de sociala, kommersiella och religiösa aspekterna bland annat. Dessutom följer en grundlig diskussion och analys av översättningen samtidigt som den nuvarande förståelsen inom forskningen lyfts fram. Slutligen syftar uppsatsen till att argumentera för behovet av en omfattande omvärdering av de över femtio arabiska primärkällorna rörande ruserna, baserat på den kunskap som genereras genom de översättningar och analyser som genomförts i uppsatsen.

Den här studien använder en bred förståelse av begreppet medeltider för att visa hur värden och handlingsnormer skapas och omförhandlas i samtida historiebruk. Den bidrar till analysen och diskussionen kring minnespolitikens centrala spänningsförhållanden där representativa demokratiska och nationella mål ställs mot direkt demokratiska och mångkulturella tankemönster. I två fallstudier som följer medeltidsbruket i Östergötland synliggörs hur spänningen påverkar och hanteras i praktiken. Den ena fallstudien följer tätt på en konflikt mellan bevarande av människoskelett från en medeltida avrättningsplats i Vadstena och näringslivsutveckling i form av en fabriksutbyggnad. Den andra utgår från orten Skänninge och tecknar en bredare bild av hur det medeltida förflutna och dess materiella spår i landskapet används i regional och lokal utvecklingspolitik. De empiriska studierna följer aktörer i olika situationer och hur dessa binds upp kring varierande problemformuleringar. Fokus ligger på hur dessa processer går till, vilka resurser som utnyttjas men också på retorik och handling. Analysen resulterar i tre övergripande mobiliseringsprocesser vilka kopplas till begrepp som bevarande, upplevelse och lokal politik. Genom dessa synliggörs hur bruket av medeltider följer parallella värdesystem och logiker vilket när de interagerar skapar konfliktfyllda situationer. Avhandlingen visar hur de traditionella institutionernas strukturer utgör en barriär vilken motverkar en samverkan mellan de många aktörsgrupperna, det breda bruket av det förflutna som den nationella politiska retoriken efterfrågar. / This study apply to a broad understanding of the term Middle-Ages as an analytical concept to show how values and norms of actions are established and negotiated through contemporary uses of history. It contributes to the analysis and discussion of central tensions in memory policy between, on one hand, the representative democratic system, and on the other hand, a direct democracy based on the idea of everyone's ability and right to participate in the use of the history. In two case studies, that maps the use of the Middle-Ages in the county of Östergötland, this study shows how this tension effects and is handled by Stakeholders in every day praxis. One case focus on a conflict between, on one hand, ancient remains of human skeletons from a medieval gallows hill, and on the other hand, private business development due to the construction of a new factory in the town of Vadstena. The other case analyses a broader use of the Middle-Ages as resources in regional and local development policies in the town of Skänninge. The study analysis varied situations where Stakeholders are mobilized around different problems. It focus on how these processes are carried out and which recourses that are used, both rhetorical and through actions. The study shows how values of the past is created, produced and negotiated in contemporary processes of mobilization which are related to terms such as Preservation, Experience and Local policies. It also shows how traditional institutional structures creates barriers that prevent fruitful cooperation between the Stakeholders, and the broader use of the past that the national policies are asking for.

Irländskfödda Johannes Scottus Eriugena (c. 810-877) verkade som teolog vid Karl II:s hov i det västfrankiska riket. Unikt för honom var att han kunde både grekiska och latin och ägnade sig åt att sammanföra grekiska och latinska kyrkofäders tänkande. I sitt filosofiska, exegetiska och teologiska verk Periphyseon kartlägger han varats ursprung och mål med hjälp av Augustinus, Ambrosius, Dionysius Areopagita, Gregorios av Nyssa, Gregorius av Nazianzus och Maximus Bekännaren. Eriugena är också en självständig tänkare. Den här uppsatsen lyfter fram några aspekter av hans tolkningar av Genesis 1-3 som ger honom hans särprägel som exeget. Kännetecknande för Eriugena är bl.a. att han hävdar att Bibeln ska tolkas allegoriskt. I uppsatsen belyses att hans allegoriska metod leder honom till en tolkning av paradiset som en framtidsvision. Han tar avstånd från den historiska tolkningen av Bibeln som Augustinus gör i De Genesi ad litteram. Kännetecknande för Eriugenas tänkande är också att det utgår från en systematisk nyplatonism. Uppsatsen visar hur detta kommer till uttryck i hans tolkning av Genesis 1-3. Ett övergripande syfte med uppsatsen är att väcka intresse för det teologiska tänkandet som föregick renässansen och för tidig medeltid i synnerhet. Genom det här arbetet hoppas jag inspirera till ett ökat intresse för tidig medeltid som en källa till intellektuell fördjupning.

The aim of this thesis is to study 31 individuals from an early christian cemetery in Varnhem, Sweden and through the use of XRF, study the strontium concentrations and the strontium to calcium ratios in bone and use that as an indicator for diet. The material consists of femurs and teeth and through analyzing this I will compare previous dietary studies using stable carbon, nitrogene and sulphur isotope analyses to see wether quantitative strontium analysis can be used as a way to study diet in prehistoric societies. The conclusion is that XRF is not as thorough as an isotope study but it provides a general knowledge of what the population has been eating where we can determine which individuals has had diet consisting of more meat or terrestrial plants.

<p>Following paper deals with the questions about prehistorian and medieval settlements in the Mälar Valley and their relations to the historically known hamlets or single farmsteads from the 17^th- and 18^th-century cadastral maps. Models over settlement development through the period A.D 200 to 1700 done by geographers Ulf Sporrong and Dan Carlsson are tested and compared to the knowledge won by recent archaeological excavations. Is there a connection between the older settlements linked together by dry-stone walls and the late Iron Age settlements? Does the picture differ from the one presented for the Gotland region? How well are the general theories about different settlement development depending on basic natural conditions as for the potentials for cultivation and topography, corresponding to the physical remains?  Are there other factors involved when the settlement structure takes its form?</p><p>The methods that are used here constitutes mainly of a comparison between different locations in the Mälar Valley that has got a well known prehistory thanks to extensive archaeological excavations. Cadastral maps, soilmaps, topography maps and maps over ancient monuments are intertwined to the same map and analyzed through works in Geographical information systems.</p><p>The results of this study reveal an interesting suspicion in the continuity-question through the Iron Age. Certain settlements seem to be more stable than what was earlier assumed in the general models. This occurrence of continuous use of sites must also be seen in a spatial context and not only a pattern formed by randomly chosen locations. The research has shown that it may be connected to the local political power in the Iron Age community. Related to this are also the different settlement forms where more than one unit occurs on a site. Concerning the different natural landscapes both disparities and similarities are found when it comes to the development that precedes the given situation on the cadastral maps. The conclusion is that the recent archaeological excavations definitely have shown us a more complex situation than what was once outlined in the early years of landscape archaeology.</p>

<p>This thesis rewievs present day research on the settlement of Östra Aros in central Sweden. The thesis deals with the period from late Iron age to about 1270 AD, when the Swedish archdiocese moved to the already existing early-medieval settlement of Östra Aros, thus becoming the medieval town of Uppsala. The basis of the thesis is the study of a variety of source materials, such as artefact studies, runestones, topography and the prehistoric and early medieval hinterland. The thesis centers on archaeological excavation data and dating of settlement structures, particularly focusing on the settlements establishment. Through a critical review of primarily the written record and the archaeological data, the settlements characteristics and functions are discussed, emphasising when and if the settlement could be described as a town, central- or trading place.</p>

Following paper deals with the questions about prehistorian and medieval settlements in the Mälar Valley and their relations to the historically known hamlets or single farmsteads from the 17th- and 18th-century cadastral maps. Models over settlement development through the period A.D 200 to 1700 done by geographers Ulf Sporrong and Dan Carlsson are tested and compared to the knowledge won by recent archaeological excavations. Is there a connection between the older settlements linked together by dry-stone walls and the late Iron Age settlements? Does the picture differ from the one presented for the Gotland region? How well are the general theories about different settlement development depending on basic natural conditions as for the potentials for cultivation and topography, corresponding to the physical remains?  Are there other factors involved when the settlement structure takes its form? The methods that are used here constitutes mainly of a comparison between different locations in the Mälar Valley that has got a well known prehistory thanks to extensive archaeological excavations. Cadastral maps, soilmaps, topography maps and maps over ancient monuments are intertwined to the same map and analyzed through works in Geographical information systems. The results of this study reveal an interesting suspicion in the continuity-question through the Iron Age. Certain settlements seem to be more stable than what was earlier assumed in the general models. This occurrence of continuous use of sites must also be seen in a spatial context and not only a pattern formed by randomly chosen locations. The research has shown that it may be connected to the local political power in the Iron Age community. Related to this are also the different settlement forms where more than one unit occurs on a site. Concerning the different natural landscapes both disparities and similarities are found when it comes to the development that precedes the given situation on the cadastral maps. The conclusion is that the recent archaeological excavations definitely have shown us a more complex situation than what was once outlined in the early years of landscape archaeology.

This paper studies the fragmentation and reuse of early christian monuments ("eskilstunakistor") in churches in Östergötland during the medieval period. This is found to have been done in two stages. The first stage shows a collectivization of society. Within religion the change from ancestoral cult towards the saints' cult is important as the fragments are reused like relics. During the second stage the collectivization has been fulfilled, and the reuse is instead part of the christian churches' strategy for incorporating old powerful symbols from the landscape into their own church building.

This essay is about the hamlets´ older boundaries, i.e. boundary lines (“rågångar”) and boundary markers in the form of rocks, and an own survey of two hamlet boundaries in southeast Sweden. Many of the boundary rocks were subjected to unintentional damage or destruction that arose during forestry activities, the excavation of ditches, or road construction. Boundaries between hamlets sparsely populated areas were not clearly defined from the beginning, but were established initially in the form of boundary zones, that often consisted of wetlands, watercourses, or mountain heights. These areas were utilized collectively by neighbouring hamlets. The first boundary markers in the survey area appeared in the beginning of the Middle Ages, and were composed of natural rock formations, which were characterized by placing three loose stones on a large ground anchored stone. Unequivocally hamlet boundaries were first created by land surveyors during the 1800th century up until the early 1900th century. Following written instructions, land surveyors built specialized stone formations to serve as boundaries and placed them along a line at regular intervals, five stones in a row. The land surveyor recorded all of the boundary lines and drew an accompanying map of the area. My inventory showed that almost two thirds of all the boundary markers recorded by land surveyors were missing or damaged. The markers that remained were easily located with the help of GPS, because the distances between the boundary markers were consistent with the recorded values. / Uppsatsen handlar om byarnas äldre gränser (”rågångar”) och gränsmarkeringar i form av stenar samt en egen inventering av två bygränser i sydöstra Sverige. Många av gränsstenarna blir utsatta för omedveten skada eller förstörelse, som uppstår vid skogsavverkning, dikesgrävning eller vägbygge. Gränser mellan byar i de glest befolkade områdena var inte klar definierade från början, utan bildades först i form av gränszoner, som ofta bestod av våtmarker , vattendrag eller bergshöjder. Dessa områden nyttjades gemensamt av de angränsande byarna. De första gränsmarkeringarna i undersökningsområdet kom till i början av medeltiden och bestod av naturliga stenformationer, som kännetecknades genom att lägga tre lösa stenar på en stor jordfast sten. Entydiga bygränser skapades först av lantmätare på 1700-talet eller tidigt 1800-tal. De byggde efter föreskrivna instruktioner speciella stenformationer och satte längs den raka gränsen och med jämna mellanrum fem stenar i rad. Lantmätaren protokollerade alla gränsdragningar och ritade en tillhörande karta över området.  Min inventering visade att nästan två tredjedelar av alla i lantmätarens protokoll angivna gränsmärken var försvunna eller skadade. De som fanns kvar var utan svårighet att lokalisera med hjälp av GPS, eftersom avståndet stämde väl överens med protokollets värden. / Der Aufsatz behandelt alte Dorfgrenzen ("rågångar") und Grenzmarkierungen i Form von Steinen und desweiteren eine eigene Betandsaufnahme von zwei Dorfgrenzen im südöstlichen Schweden (Småland). Viele Grenzsteine sind unabsichtlich Schädigung und Zerstörung ausgesetzt infolge Waldrohdung, Ziehung von Gräben oder Straßen- und Wegebau. Dorfgrenzen in dünn besiedelten Gebieten waren nicht von vornherein klar definiert, sondern Bildeten sich erst i Form von Grenzzonen, die oft aus Feuchtgebieten, Wasserläufen oder Berghöhen bestanden. Diese Gebiete wurden von den angrenzenden Dörfern gemeinsam genutzt. Die ersten Grenzmarkierungen im Untersuchungsgebiet entstanden zu Beginn des Mittelalters und bestanden aus natürlichen Steinformationen, die dadurch gekennzeichnet waren, dass drei Steine auf einen großen erdgebundenen Stein gelegt wurden. Eindeutige Dorfgrenzen wurden erst durch Landvermesser im 18. und frühen 19.Jahrhundert geschaffen. Sie legten fest vorgeschriebene Steinformationen an und setzten entlang gerader Grenzlinien und mit gleichmäßigem Abstand jeweils fünf Steine in einer Linie. Der Landesvermesser protokollierte alle Grenzziehungen und zeichnete eine zugehörige Karte über das Gebiet. Meine Bestandsaufnahme zeigte, dass fast zwei Drittel aller vom Landesvermesser im Protokoll angegebenen Grenzmarkierungen verschwunden oder beschädigt waren. Die verbliebenen Steine waren ohne Schwierigkeit mit einem GPS zu lokalisieren, da deren Abstände gut mit den Werten des Protokolls übereinstimmten.

Fish-head pendants are one of the characteristic Gotlandic Late Iron Age artefacts. This object has been rather neglected and mainly considered as an insignificant embellishment, normally worn as a neck-collar and seen as an artefact include in the typical Gotlandic set of female jewellery. The fact that the fish-head pendant has a very long life span, which stretches from grave-finds in the Early Vendel Age to hoards in Viking Age as well as secondary usage as brooches in the Early Middle Ages, makes the artefact an excellent starting point for discussions on social practices and change through material culture. It's shown in this study that, contrary to previous beliefs, the normal usages for fish-head pendants is as solitary pendants and not as neck-collars. Neck-collars is shown to have an intricate relation to inhumations for young individuals, whereas solitary pendants are found in cremation deposits for adult individuals, something that relates to a fixed social practice mainly in the period 700-900 AD and that develops from the cremation funeral practice. This particular social practice relates to aspects of attraction and protection and continues in to the 10th century outside of funeral structures, which is shown by the composition of hoard-finds from the 10th century, but is totally absent when the pendants is given a secondary usage as brooches in the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th century. Hence the material also gives the possibility to discuss the division among pre-historic periods. This paper is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 gives the prerequisites. Chapter 2 provides a theoretical framework; concerning aspects such as agency, structuralism, social structures, change and material culture. Chapter 3 discusses questions of chronology and typology. In chapter 4 fish- head pendants and their practices of usage and social practices are discussed in the grave-material from the period 600-1000 AD. Chapter 5 concerns hoards and amber-pendants during the 10th to 12th century, and finally chapter 6 discusses the effects and reasons seen in the social practices defined in chapters 4 and 5, as well as the implication of social practices on pre-historic periods. The material is further presented in four catalogues, chapters 10-13.