Abstract: From the early tenth to early twelfth centuries the eastern and northern periphery of Europe was composed of polities which had recently adopted Christianity. Here, a special common type of veneration of the saints emerged – ruler martyrs, such as Wenceslaus of Bohemia (died in 935), Boris and Gleb of Kievan Rus’ (died in 1015), Magnus Erlendsson of Orkney (died between 1115 and 1117), etc. This type of sainthood refers to saints characterized by a martyr’s death caused out of political self-interest by Christians themselves. One of the most representative saints pertaining to the phenomenon of ruler martyrs is jarl (earl) Magnus Erlendsson of the Orkney Isles, then part of the Norwegian kingdom. The internal political plot led by a close relative, the jarl’s nonresistance on principle, and the slaughter of the innocent victim resembling Christ – all this recalls the manner of the deaths of some Slavic princes of the time, for example, Boris and Gleb of Kievan Rus’. Magnus and other ruler martyrs from that period together formed a new tradition of sainthood, previously unknown both in the Byzantine Empire and Southern (Latin) Europe, where the murdered ruler eventually became a saint who could legitimize the self-esteem of newly Christianized peoples and position them in the symbolic center of the Christian world.

Authors: Malmenvall, Simon

DOI: 10.17846/CL.2021.14.1.23-38

Publication order reference: doc. dr. Simon Malmenvall; Catholic Institute, Faculty of Law and Business Studies, Chair of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Applied Ethics, Krekov trg 1, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Theology, Chair of Fundamental Theology and Dialogue, Poljanska 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Source: Konštatínove listy, 2021, vol.: 14, issue: 1, pages: 23-38 (PDF file)

Keywords: MAGNUS ERLENDSSON, ORKNEY ISLES, MEDIEVAL SCANDINAVIA, BORIS AND GLEB, KIEVAN RUS’, HAGIOGRAPHIES, RULER MARTYRS, MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

Language: ENGLISH