Searching for the Unknown

Gotland's churchyards from a Gender and Missionary perspective

Abstract

Several graves with grave-goods have been found in Gotland's churchyards. There is no doubt that these graves are Christian and that they are connected with the timber churches on these sites. The men were buried in the southern half of the churchyards, the women in the northern half. The grave-goods are reduced to a kind of "Sunday-best dress" and there are no finds of animal bones, weapons or vessels, which are typical for the pagan period. This contrast with the funeral rites of the Christian church was always explained as a "syncretism", but surprisingly there are only two parallels in Scandinavia, the other churchyard finds coming from Eastern Europe. The article adresses to two major questions. What were the reasons for this sexual segregation? Is the "transition period thesis" sufficient to explain the presence of grave-goods, or could there be other reasons such as the influence of an undocumented Russian/Byzantine mission?