Learnings: Norse Religion

The Stenkvista runestone with a depiction of Thor's hammer, Sweden / c. Viking Age

Unlike the Christians, the Vikings did not have a clergy: a select group or institution who presided over religious rituals. People of different ages, genders, and backgrounds could officiate Scandinavian ceremonies.

Private household worship of ancestors and gods like Thor, whose hammer is pictured in this runestone, was supervised by the head of the family. Public events and rituals would be led by a community's chief, or jarl.