According to Gutasagan (the Gotlandic Tale), Gotland was an enchanted island
, which rose every evening and sank again every morning. The enchantment
was broken when a man by the name of Tjelvar came to the island, bringing
with him fire. Geological studies have shown that, although the tale might
not be true, the island has sunk and risen again many times from the sea.
In this way Gutasagan, written down in the beginning of the 13th century,
tells its version of the origin of Gotland. Still today the island is as
enchanted, very rich on memories from the past. In an endless number of
archaeological remains in the countryside as well as in Visby you can see
ancient time, middle ages and present time running side by side. You can
see it from the more than 90 middle age churches still in use.
Archaeological findings show that people have lived
on Gotland for over 8,000 years. Over 31,000 ancient remains have been recorded,
making the island one of the richest areas in Scandinavia in this perspective.
Everywhere in the landscape one is impressed by mighty shipmoulds and
stonegraves
from the bronze age, as well as the more than 700 gravefields from the iron
age.
Silver, gold and many Roman artifacts found in the Gotlandic soil show that
trade with continental Europe was in full swing during the reign of the
Roman Empire, and probably even earlier.
The Roman author Tacitus who wrote in the first century A.D. mentions the
mighty people on the island in the middle of the Baltic (Mare Suebicum,
Suionum hinc cividades). Out of the registered finds of 211 262 silver coins
recovered from the Swedish soil 68.7% originate from Gotland (source
"Gotland
Östersjöns pärla" ISBN 91-972306-5-0).
Long before the Viking Era, and for several hundred years onwards, Gotland
was the centre for trade and culture in the Baltic Sea. Gotland became a
republic of independent trading farmers with large farms on Gotland and
trading contacts in foreign countries. Enormous riches were gathered in
the countryside and today one is astonished by the quantity of finds of
gold and silver treasures that has been hidden in the Gotlandic earth and
that now can be viewed at the museums.
After the Artlenburg peace treaty in 1161, between Gotland and Saxonia,
when German traders were allowed to settle on Gotland, the capital city
Visby
(according to the tradition founded in 897) became the main port.
During the 13th century Visby grew to the largest and richest city in the
Baltic region
(Regina maris, the queen of the seas). Visby became mother city to newer
cities like Riga, founded in 1201, and Stockholm, considered founded in
the 1250´s.
Thanks to the Gutar's (Gotlander) skills in boat building, they travelled
far and wide, trading with whomever they met on their travels. During the
13th century the immigration of Germans to Visby was so large that at the
time of the Civil war in 1288, when Visby broke loose from the Gotlandic
republic and formed its own republic, the population of Gutar and Germans
in Visby was about equal. The city of Visby was together with Lübeck
one of the co-founders of the
Hanseatic League, considered founded in 1358.
At the time of the foundation of the Hanseatic league Lübeck had already
become as strong as Visby. The invasion of Gotland by the Danish king Valdemar
Atterdag in 1361, who killed many rural Gutar in the process, is also thought
of as the end of Gotland's period as a powerful trading nation.
Mecklenburgian fleets established themselves as pirates on the island in
the last decade of the 14th century, and finally the Teutonic knights had
their turn in invading and ruling the island.
Gotland became by accident a Swedish colony in 1645, and after the peace
treaty in Lund 1679, when the Swedish government annexed Gotland, the aim
was to make the Gutar Swedes but with little success.
According to Gutasagan the Gutar travelled far and wide, trading with whomever
they met on their travels and brought new religions to the island. Some
archaeologists consider that there are traces of Christianity in graves
as early as the sixth century.
The Gotlandic Alltingh (Gutnaltinget) officially made Christianity the sole
religion in the 11th century.
According to tradition, a Norwegian king, Olof Haraldsson, came to the island
in the year 1030, on the run from his own people. At that point in time
he is thought to have convinced the Gutar to convert to his type of
Christianity.
The Gutar were not very impressed, but finally Gotland joined the ranks,
officially accepting Christianity, building many, many churches. There still
exists over 90 churches on Gotland, most of them from the early Middle Ages.
(source "Gotland Östersjöns pärla" ISBN
91-972306-5-0).
For more information about Gotlandic
literature please contact
stavgard@luma.com