Conhecendo pelas pedras: mito, religião e guerra nas estelas de Gotland

Abstract

In Scandinavian research, iconographic materials have been receiving a different, innovative and expanding treatment, especially after major archaeological efforts from the 1960s to the 1990s (archaeology continues to bring to light new objects that raise new questions). These iconographic materials allow not only a new conception of the mythology preserved to the present day, but also and mainly a recent look at traditional written sources. The Gotland stelae (Picture Stones or Carved Stones, in English archaeological terminology) are iconographic records of Norse pagan art and thought. They portray images related to the religion and daily life of the Scandinavian people and are therefore an important document on the religious mentality of the Scandinavians, their mythological conceptions, deities, human sacrifices, life after death and some important symbols for the worship of the god Óðinn. Based on the understanding of the imaginary of some authors who deal with the subject and an oral-image reinterpretation system, we will analyze here some stelae painted on the island of Gotland, also seeking to understand the intentional ‘pedagogical’ function in terms of religious imaginary and how, for example, they structured the image and the faith that warriors killed in battle could enter the hall of the god Óðinn, rewarding their martial life.