Ancestor worship is often assumed by contemporary European audiences to be an outdated, distant and primitive tradition with little relevance to our societies, past and present. This study questions that assumption and seeks to determine whether ancestor ideology was an integral part of religion in Viking age and early medieval Scandinavia. The concept is examined from a broad socio-anthropological perspective, which is then used to generate an overarching 'lens' for a set of case studies which analyse the cults of specific individuals in the Old Norse literary tradition. The thesis argues that the views of social anthropologists have been ignored in Old Norse scholarship for too long and that they have great potential to contribute to our understanding of the religious diversity present in typical folk-religious societies worldwide, including those of pre-Christian Scandinavia. Of particular importance in this context is the concept of 'god', which in most traditional cultures is intimately related to the idea of family ancestors. The situation of gods in Old Norse religion has been almost exclusively addressed in isolation from these socio-anthropological perspectives. The public gravemound cults of deceased rulers are discussed conventionally as cases of sacral kingship, and more recently, religious ruler ideology; both are seen as having divine associations in Old Norse scholarship. Building on the anthropological framework, this study suggests that the gods in pagan Scandinavia and Iceland, too, were perceived as human ancestors belonging to elite families. This thesis also discusses the euhemerism found in the Old Norse sources and suggests that even if medieval authors were influenced by classical writings, the 'euhemerisations' are based on real perceptions. It does not reject the existence of ruler ideology, but argues that the ideology was based on conventional and widely recognised religious practices revolving around kinship and ancestors. It introduces the concept of 'superior ancestors', used in social anthropology to denote a form of political ancestor worship used to deliberately regulate social structure. It is argued that the communal worship of deceased rulers derived from their doubly important role as social leaders and as ancestors.

Research on Viking Age society is a recurrent subject within the scientific literature, and todays modern views of Vikings might not always have been the same as we think, especially when Viking people and who they were and what they did are discussed. Viking Age women are mentioned in scientific literature throughout history up until today, but have they always been studied in the same way? And why did scientists in the past choose to study, highlight or just mention the Viking Age women in the literature? The focus of this essay are directed to the Viking Age women and how they are presented in scientific literature and how archaeologists choose to study them, which also brings in questions about gender research. By focusing on recent research on Viking Age women, the aim is to get an insight on how gender research has influenced archaeology. This study focuses especially on which impact women studies had on research recently, and which perspectives are important today. The starting point of this study is based on an assertion that Viking Age women studies have been affected by the introduction of gender research to archaeology. Also that recent studies, just as older studies, have been affected by contemporary societal norms.

An analysis of 6 ceramic shards from the Viking Age town Birka was performed by use of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. A new interpretation of a previously analyzed material, was performed by analyzing the raw data from 18 ceramic shards. The total of 26 ceramic shards will together form a material base that is used to study the vascular use in an urban environment from the Viking Age. The result of the analysis is used to compare five different parts of Birka with each other, in order to investigate whether there are differences or similarities in pottery use. The results show that residues of animals are most common in all premises. It is also possible to note that fish have been cooked both in the Garnison area and at Stadsvallen.

<p>The conversion in the Viking Age and the High Middle Agea in Scandinavia and how this affected women is discussed. Did women get a better life when the people had converted to Christianity or not. Our written sources are later than the conversion to Christianity. Instead the material culture, graves, grave goods and runic stones, can help us understand the life of women. Nordic mythology presents a contrast between faith in the Viking Age and Christianity.</p>

<p>Viking Line har bedrivit kryssningstrafik på norra Östersjön sedan 1959. Idag konkurrerar företaget om passagerarna med ett flertal andra rederier på Östersjön. Östersjörederierna står för cirka tio procent av den totala konferensmarknaden i Sverige och för rederierna utgör konferenskunderna en mycket lönsam kundgrupp både ekonomiskt och profilmässigt. Konferensbranschen är en väldigt personalintensiv verksamhet där det förekommer mycket kundkontakt. För denna bransch spelar intern marknadsföring en betydelsefull roll då personalens kundinställning och kompetens är av stor vikt för kundernas kvalitetsupplevelse. Då denna marknad är mättad och det råder stor konkurrens om kunderna är den interna marknadsföringen extra vikig. För att skapa god kundinställning och kompetens hos personalen är det viktigt att kommunikationen fungerar tillfredställande i hela företaget.</p><p>Syftet för denna uppsats är att undersöka olika uppfattningar om hur den interna marknadsföringen fungerar och huruvida den leder till ökad tjänstekvalitet i ett tjänsteföretag. Uppsatsen baseras på en kvalitativ studie bestående av intervjuer med ledning, mellanchef och konferensvärdar på Viking Line. Intervjuresultaten analyseras utifrån valda teorier med hjälp av en Gap- analys. Detta för att se om uppfattningar och åsikter angående den interna marknadsföringen skiljer sig åt mellan ledning och personal inom Viking Line. Uppsatsens resultat påvisar att det finns skillnader i uppfattning om hur den interna marknadsföringen fungerar inom Viking Lines konferensverksamhet mellan ledning, mellanchef och personal. Resultatet visar också att intern marknadsföring leder till ökad tjänstekvalitet och att Viking Line genom att förbättra sin interna marknadsföring kan öka tjänstekvaliteten för sina konferenskunder.</p>

In this Bachelor thesis an animal bone material from Västergarn parish is analyzed and discussed. The purpose of this thesis is to gain more knowledge about the Viking Age/Early Medieval Västergarn. Västergarn has a few remains from former days which have been discussed throughout the years and are still a bit of a mystery for archaeologists. The main focus is to inquire into whether Västergarn was an urban, complex society or a rural settlement. This will be done by studying the animal husbandry from the property of Snauvalds 1:2. The animal bones have been typed, and sex and age estimations have been made on the most common domestic animals, ergo cattle, sheep/goat and pig. The result from the analysis shows that Västergarn has tendencies of both countryside settlement and a more urban society and the final conclusion is that it has most probably been a trading place or a market place considering its closeness to a Viking Age harbor.

Visby is a city that at first glance is of medieval origins. The popular image of scientists today is that the city was formed in the Middle Ages. According to some of the researchers Visby was formed during the Viking Age, it is based on the basis that the area has been used for a long period. Urban development in the Nordic countries is complex and there are different opinions as to why the Nordic cities emerge. It is important to shed light on the underlying process on why cities are emerging to provide clarity as to why Visby city is emerging. The aim of this paper is to do analyze the theories of several researchers, considering the urban development of Visby. The results show that the area of Visby has been a place that has been used since Stone Age, during the Viking age the area was a place for season trade. According to the archaeological sources is it not an indication of at town during the Viking age, because of the lack of permanent buildings.

This essay discusses the use of history, and primarily how the current Swedish society perceives and uses the Viking age. The analysis is based on a literature study as well as a case study of the planned theme park in Fullerö north of Uppsala, Sweden. The aim of the essay is to understand the regional debate which arose in media regarding the planning of Fullerö Park and how it reflects the contemporary use of history. Research about the use of history has become increasingly common in recent years and deals with how history is actively being used in society in order to meet its existing needs. These needs varies among different groups and individuals and results in a multitude of usages, where the interests of the different actors may be contradictory. This essay highlights such a conflict of interest in the case of Fullerö; namely between the official heritage management and the commercial use of history. In the latter it is often the stereotypical images of history that are being used, since it fits well into the contemporary society’s quest for experience. Although these images are often romanticized and scientifically incorrect, this usage still has a purpose. The receivers and visitors do not necessarily perceive this as the true history, they appreciate it for other reasons, and it can function as a means of generating further interest.

The conversion in the Viking Age and the High Middle Agea in Scandinavia and how this affected women is discussed. Did women get a better life when the people had converted to Christianity or not. Our written sources are later than the conversion to Christianity. Instead the material culture, graves, grave goods and runic stones, can help us understand the life of women. Nordic mythology presents a contrast between faith in the Viking Age and Christianity.

In this essay I want to investigate how the Viking aristocratic warrior elite in Scandinavia used religious mythology for the construction of their identity. The essay also takes up the concept of honor, which was important for the warriors. Honor was central to all people during Viking age and for the warriors it was absolute. In the religious myths, the aristocratic warriors justify their position in society and legitimate their acts of war. Religion continues to have importance to the warrior elite even after the arrival of Christianity. The myths and the concept of honor made it impossible to question war and violence.