Varangians
The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian ," Online Etymology Dictionary were
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
.
The church was located in the permanent Varangian centre of trade in Novgorod's trading area (''torgovaja storona''), which was called ''got'skij dvor'' ("Gothic court") according to an early tradition.Pritsak 1981:370 The functions of the church was not merely to provide a place of worship, but it also served as a treasury and as a warehouse, as was generally the case for churches in Varangian and
Hanseatic
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
trading colonies. Like other medieval churches it was probably also a defensive structure to which may testify the Sjusta Runestone in
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea.
The name literally ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, which was raised after a man named Spjallboði who died in the church.Jansson 1980:23
Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak (; 7 April 1919 – 29 May 2006) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of History of Ukraine, Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director (1973–1989) of the Harvard Ukrainian Rese ...
, on the other hand, suggests that Spjallboði may have died in a fire c. 1070–1080, one of several that ravaged the church.
Saint Olaf
Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the ...
began to be venerated as a
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
almost directly after his death in 1030, and in 1050, the cult had arrived in England. Saint Olaf had special connections with the city of Novgorod since its Grand Prince
Yaroslav I the Wise
Yaroslav I Vladimirovich ( 978 – 20 February 1054), better known as Yaroslav the Wise, was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death in 1054. He was also earlier Prince of Novgorod from 1010 to 1034 and Prince of Rostov from 987 to 1010, ...
was not only the brother-in-law of Olaf, but he also fostered Olaf's son
Magnus I of Norway
Magnus Olafsson (; Norwegian and Danish: ''Magnus Olavsson''; – 25 October 1047), better known as Magnus the Good (; Norwegian and Danish: ''Magnus den gode''), was King of Norway from 1035 and King of Denmark from 1042 until his death in ...
at his court.
In addition to appearing on the Sjusta Runestone, Saint Olaf's church is also mentioned in two written sources. The ''Acta Sancti Olavi regis et martyris'' was written by
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
's archbishop
Eysteinn Erlendsson
Eysteinn Erlendsson (, ; died 26 January 1188) was Archbishop of Nidaros from 1161 to his death in 1188.
Background
His family came from Trøndelag, and he was related to most of the local nobility. His birth date and place of birth is not recorde ...
in the third quarter of the 12th century. It informs that a Latin priest named Stephan served in Saint Olaf's church in Novgorod (''Holmegarder'').Pritsak 1981:370-371 There is also a draft of a German treaty with Novgorod which dates to c. 1230, and it talks of ''Curia gotensium cum ecclesia et cimiterium Sancti Olaui'', which means "the Gothic court (i.e. ''Got'skij dvor'') with Saint Olaf's church and cemetery".Pritsak 1981:371
The ''
Novgorod First Chronicle
The Novgorod First Chronicle ( rus, Новгоро́дская пе́рвая ле́топись, Novgoródskaya pérvaya létopisʹ, nəvɡɐˈrot͡skəjə ˈpʲervəjə ˈlʲetəpʲɪsʲ, commonly abbreviated as NPL), also known by its 1914 Eng ...
'' only talks of the church of the Varangians (''cerky ... variaz'skaja na T"rgovišči''). The chronicle mentions the church four times because of fires. In 1152, the church burnt down together with eight other churches, in 1181, it burnt down because of lightning. In 1217, the church is mentioned as ''Varjaz'skaja božnica'', the "Varangian shrine" and it reports that considerable amounts of merchandise belonging to the Varangians were completely lost in a fire. The last mention is from 1311, when it burnt down together with seven other churches.
The ''Acta Sancti Olavi'' talks of a miracle worked by Saint Olaf during a fire in Novgorod, and Pritsak suggests that it was the fire of 1152.
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...