Med kejsaren som referens : En studie om kejsarkultens påverkan på den skandinaviska aristokratins uppkomst och utveckling

Sammanfattning: During the three first centuries A.D the cult to roman emperor was practiced over the absolute majority of the known world. It was based on the idea of the deified ruler, where religion was used as a way of legitimizing a social position of an absolute few. It arrived from below but was promoted and spread from above as a way of governmental control. During the same period of time did a new aristocratic social group emerge in remote Scandinavia that eagerly sought new ways to identify themselves and their newly found social standing. With a base consisting of an economic surplus they wanted to create an acceptance for their new way of life and thus in doing so change the very foundation and core beliefs of their own society.The central theme of this study is the cultural exchange that took place between these two cultural spheres and mainly of the effect that the cult to the roman emperor had on the emergence and identification process of the Scandinavian aristocracy.