The data involved in this shows the age of Norwegian rune stones on the following three periods:
U - Pre-viking age ~ < 800 AD
V - Viking age ~ 800 - 1050 AD
M - Middle age ~ > 1050 AD
The data used has been extracted from the master data spreadsheet.
Norwegian runes are identified with a N prefix and co-ordinates are mapped using the WGS1984 system.
Libraries in use:
library(dplyr)
library(sf)
library(mapview)
library(data.table)
library(readxl)data <- read_excel("Nor_geo_age.xlsx")
data <- as.data.frame(data)
head(data, 5)## Rune Age Lat Long
## 1 211 V 58.09080 7.83970
## 2 215 M 58.29610 6.66180
## 3 KJ58 U 58.33956 6.29709
## 4 181 M 58.52600 8.65180
## 5 187 V 58.70710 7.82380Norwegian Runestones. During this period, Norway was primarily a Pagan worshiping society. Any formal Christianity would have been introduced via Norwegians who had traveled and converted by missionaries. This is consistent with the small and dispersed number of rune stones. The coastal locations could possibly bolster this premise as most trade routes were maritime in nature, hence where converted travelers would be located or at least pass through.
# read data into code, filter for U timeframe
# similar code is used to create all the maps in this document
U_data <- filter(data, Age=="U")
# Take data with Lat/Lon and specify datum to use co-ords
my.sf.point <- st_as_sf(x = U_data,
coords = c("Long", "Lat"),
crs = "+proj=longlat +datum=WGS84 +ellps=WGS84 +towgs84=0,0,0")
#create map, specify map type and third col 'Age'
mapview(my.sf.point, zcol = "Age", burst = TRUE, map.types = "Stamen.Terrain")This period saw the foundation and installation of Christianity in Norway. This was secondary however, to the unification of Norway which was a primary event throughout this period. The events do seem to be in conjunction and the dispersal again is throughout the land. This time featuring not just in the littoral areas but into the countryside as well.
For Norway, this period saw the greatest rise of power within the Kingdom. Events such as Crusades to far away places like Portugal and the Balearic Islands followed by a bloody civil war (1130-1240). Interspersed throughout this period was the implementation of Christianity through official adoption as the national religion by royal decree. Following from this, Christian laws were brought in to uphold this decree. The same generally distributed nature of the rune stones seems in line with the growth nationwide of Christianity.
This interactive map allow you to add and remove the time periods to view. Simply hover over the overlay button (three transparent squares) and select the ages you wish to view.
U - <800 AD
V - 800-1100 AD
M - > 1100AD