New Book Launched in the UHI Institute for Northern Studies Hosted North Atlantic World Series

The UHI Institute for Northern Studies is pleased to announce the launch of another book in The North Atlantic World Series. ‘Small Churches and Religious Landscapes in the North Atlantic c900-1300’ is now on sale from the publisher Brepols.

The North Atlantic World series of publications is hosted by the UHI Institute for Northern Studies, edited by Professor Alexandra Sanmark, and supported by UHI Professor Donna Heddle and UHI Dr Andrew Jennings on the editorial board.

The series explores the cultural heritage of the North Atlantic World from around AD 400 to about 1900. It encompasses a geographical area that stretches from Northern Europe and Scandinavia to the eastern seaboards of Canada and the United States, covering the Late Iron Age to the early modern period. The broad boundaries aim to encourage research that spans geographic and chronological divisions while examining various elements of the North Atlantic World. The series serves as a platform for comparative and interdisciplinary research across multiple fields, particularly archaeology, history, literature, languages, and folklore.

The new book, titled ‘Small Churches and Religious Landscapes in the North Atlantic c. 900-1300’, is edited by Jette Arneborg and Orri Vésteinsson. It incorporates research from various specialists in history, archaeology, and theology across the entire North Atlantic region.

The publication explores the recent discoveries made by archaeologists at Norse sites across the North Atlantic, focusing on small churches that are often found alongside cemeteries and typically associated with individual farms. These sites appear to be a distinctive feature of early religious establishments in Norse settlements throughout the North Atlantic, contrasting sharply with church sites in other parts of Europe.

This volume provides a much-needed overview of small church studies across the North Atlantic, covering areas from Greenland to Denmark, and from Ireland to the Hebrides, Iceland, and Norway. The chapters included in this collection examine various types of evidence related to small churches and early ecclesiastical landscapes. They also review existing debates and create a synthesis that places small churches within a broader context. Despite the diverse data presented, the contributions collectively offer a clearer understanding of the small church phenomenon. They highlight how these churches were able to meet the needs of a newly converted population, even in the absence of an established infrastructure, and shed new light on how people lived and worshipped in regions characterised by dispersed settlements.

Professor Alexandra Sanmark states, “We are very pleased to see this new book become part of Brepols' The North Atlantic World series. This substantial volume is organised into three geographical sections covering the Norse regions of the British Isles, mainland Scandinavia, and the North Atlantic islands of Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland, with chapters examining many of the crucial aspects of the small church experience across the region. We are also delighted that the project has attracted such a wide range of esteemed academic contributors from universities and research centres across the North Atlantic.”

The full list of contributors:

Section 1. Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland

Ireland and the Scandinavian North Atlantic: Comparing Small Churches and Religious Landscapes
Tomás Ó Carragáin

Planning the Presence of God: Approaching Small Churches in Early Medieval Scotland
Gilbert Márkus

The Manx Keeills: Small Churches on the Isle of Man
Andrew Johnson

Small Churches in the Hebrides
Sarah Thomas

A Case Study from the Western Isles: The Lewis Coastal Chapel-Sites Survey
Rachel C. Barrowman

Small Churches in Orkney
Sarah Jane Gibbon

Small Churches and Chapels in Shetland: An Archaeological Project in the Context of Norse Christianity in the Norðreyjar (Northern Isles) and Suðreyjar (Southern Isles)
Christopher D. Morris

Section 2. Mainland Scandinavia: Denmark and Norway

Between Worship and Representation in the Viking Age: The Early Christian Buildings in Jelling and South Scandinavia
Mads Dengsø Jessen

Small Churches in Norway
Jan Brendalsmo

Section 3. North Atlantic: Faroes, Iceland, and Greenland

Christianity, Churches and Medieval Kirkjubøur: Contacts and Influences in the Faroe Islands
Símun V. Arge

Small Churches in Iceland
Orri Vésteinsson

Hofstaðir in Mývatnssveit: An Early Religious Landscape
Hildur Gestsdóttir

The Geography of a Cemetery: Internal Layout, Burial Customs, and Social Hierarchy in Early Christian Cemeteries, North Iceland
Guðný Zoëga

Small Churches and Church Organization in Norse Greenland: Farms and Churches in Norse Greenland
Jette Arneborg, Jan Heinemeier, and Niels Lynnerup

Þjóðhildarkirkja Reconsidered
Orri Vésteinsson

Conclusions: The Small Church Phenomenon
Jette Arneborg and Orri Vésteinsson

The book is now available from the Brepol website.