The Making of a European Society: The Example of Sweden
In: Eurasian Transformations, Tenth to Thirteenth CenturiesSearch for other papers by Thomas Lindkvist in
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Abstract
In this article the transformations in Sweden during the period 1000-1300 are discussed as forms of Europeanization. The transformation was carried out and promoted by indigenous elites and entailed the establishment of a Christian monarchy. Christianization meant gradual assimilation to the wider cultural context The clergy and the ecclesiastical organizations introduced new economic and cultural institutions as well as new concepts. All this took place in tandem with a transition from an economy based partly on plunder and external appropriation to a feudal economy. The changes to social and economic structures, such as the establishment of a manorial economy and the disappearance of slavery, were Swedish variants of a general European change. The particular role of the Cistercians in Sweden is noted. Due to the later development of Church and Christian monarchy , in comparison with the other two Scandinavian monarchies., administrative and cultural literacy was mainly introduced by this order.