Gravar som gränsland: Förkristen liminalitet i Sigtuna : Förkristen liminalitet i det tidigkristna urbana rummet

Sammanfattning

This thesis investigates pre-Christian notions of in the early Christian urban context of Sigtuna, Sweden, between ca. 980–1060 AD. Through analysis of archaeological material and written sources, the study explores how beliefs and practices concerning death and burial rituals were maintained, transformed, and negotiated during the transitional period from Old Norse Religion to Christianity. The study applies theoretical perspectives on liminality and cosmology to interpret how symbolic and cosmological dimensions materialized in burial practices. Written sources, including Old Norse poetry and foreign eyewitness accounts, are used to contextualize these findings and highlight both parallel and contrasting conceptions of death, transformation, and the relationship between the living and the dead. The results demonstrate that Christianization in Sigtuna was not a sudden rupture but rather a gradual, negotiated process in which older ritual and symbolic practices were incorporated into emerging Christian frameworks. By integrating archaeological and textual evidence, the thesis contributes new perspectives on urbanity, religion, and social change in early medieval Scandinavia.