Krikščionybės platinimas kuršių žemėse

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjamos kuršių teritorijų christianizacijos galimybės XI-XIII a. Atkreipiamas dėmesys į palankias sąlygas, susiklosčiusias suaktyvėjus Švedijos ir Danijos konungams, vėliau karaliams. Šių galimybių ieškoma ir tarp Skandinavijos pirklių, kuriuos rėmė vyskupai ir karaliai, veiklos. Svarstoma bažnyčios pastatymo Palangoje galimybė 1069 m. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Krikščionybės platinimas; Kuršiai; Pagonys,skandinavų misijos; Palanga; Vikingai; Christianization; Curonians; Danes; Missions; Pagans; Palanga; Propagation of Christianity; Swedes; Vikings.

ENIn Viking times, the Curonians, Danes and Swedes were bound by intensive trading ties and pirating practices. The Scandinavians succeeded in controlling some centres and territories on the Curonian coast, they even managed to introduce their administrative order there, however, almost nothing is known about their attempts to christianize local pagans. The attempts to colonize the land of the Curonian pagans in the 11t h century could have been related to missions. The earlier crusades of Danish and Swedish Vikings (e.g. the battle o f Apuolė in 853 or 854) cannot be directly related to the propagation of Christianity, although some of the invaders had converted to Christianity by that time. Missions alone could not ensure the acceptance of Christianity - the society had to be mature enough to accept baptism. In the 10th and 11th centuries the possibilities of christianization were limited by the fact that in Courland there were no stable consolidated dominions with the long-term power of the monarch. Although some Curonian dukes were possibly inclined towards Christianity, there were many barriers that prevented Christian norms from spreading and taking root in these lands. The most visible was the conflict between Christianity and paganism as ideologies; moreover, pagan customs clashed with Christian norms.It can be presumed that the baptism of the Curonians was mainly the concern of individual Scandinavian rulers and bishops, whose desire to disseminate Christianity among the Curoni- an pagans was fuelled by idealistic motives. There is no evidence that the missionary efforts of the Scandinavian bishops from the 11th century to the first half of the 12th century had attracted any attention of the popes. In the lands of Eastern Baits christianization was much more active due the impact of the Byzantine Church; immediately after the baptism of Kievan Rus, Christianity started to penetrate westwards and already in the 10th century the influence of Russian dukes reached the Curonians – before the year 1113, the Curonians had been mentioned among the tribes who paid tribute to Kievan Rus. Russian missionaries were also active in Sweden, especially in Gotland. Courland was of great interest both to the Danes and the Swedes. In the 11th-12th centuries the preconditions for the acceptance of Christianity in the lands of Western Baits were created by trading outposts and early towns, visited by Scandinavian merchants-Christians not only for mercantile but also for missionary purposes. [...]. [From the publication]