[dsign]

During the last few years, I’ve been exploring Svealand, the central part of Sweden that contains Stockholm and some other provinces. The region contains many historical places, but I walk the countryside, away from the main tourist attractions. What has impressed me the most is the amount of ancient piles of ruble with vigilant, almost hostile churches next to them. There are rock paintings from prehistoric times still around, and many, many mounds and graves from the bronze and iron age, the region is literally littered with them. But I’ve never found a single extant statue nor statuette nor depiction of the old Norse gods.

[mistrial9]

the reason you do not find them is that they were purposefully destroyed in "iconoclasm" -- the battles were so bloody that the Christian victors not only converted the conquered but also destroyed all traces of their cultural practices.

Just south of there is the famous tree of Boniface ?

[achierius]

First of all, you're confusing different events: iconoclasm was the destruction of Christian icons, by Christians who thought that practice was idolatrous.

> the battles were so bloody that the Christian victors not only converted the conquered

Who do you think 'conquered' the Swedes, some continental Frenchman? Their own kings converted, and thereafter converted their countrymen. And the first such Christian king, Olof Skötkonung, inherited the throne -- he didn't conquer it.

[mistrial9]

I put the word "iconoclasm" in quotes because yes, you are right in a strict sense, but over time the word was broadened..

> Who do you think 'conquered' the Swedes

How can this written exchange now bring light to the subject?

I would say, infighting among fierce raiders was vanquished by organized and better equipped men to establish Nations. Tribal one-upmanship was/is rampant. I am touching a complicated topic over very long time periods. The educated Danes I know, do study French and Latin, actually.. but this is now and quite a lot of Danes moved to the USA a hundred years ago.

[rattlesnakedave]

You’re pattern matching something like the Saxon Wars under Charlemagne. In this case missing idols probably owe more to wood not surviving a millennium in Swedish soil + converts destroying their own former cult objects.

[HexDecOctBin]

When western politicians and media lectures the world on human rights, I can't help but wonder how funny it is that because westerners front loaded their genocidal violence, they now get to feel superior to others that didn't completely wipe out the conquered.