Three kings. The Scandinavian saint kings in early modern history writing

The Reformation in the Nordic countries meant a radical break with the past. Established customs and values ​​now came to be regarded as expressions of a hostile faith, and the Middle Ages as a period when false beliefs characterized the Christian world. At the same time, the past was an essential ideological resource for the present. Legitimacy was drawn from history, and its figures could serve as role models for living people. Historical kings were significant to the reigning monarch and, thus, indirectly to the entire kingdom. During the Middle Ages, saint-kings, representatives of both the sacred and the royal, had assumed a particular position as such role models. When their religious status now, instead, became a burden, the situation changed. Could a figure so strongly associated with the Catholic faith represent the kingdom and just power?

Based on that starting point, this collaboration between historians from Sweden, Norway and Denmark compares how early modern historians in each kingdom related to their respective saint-king: St. Canute in Denmark, St. Olaf in Norway and St. Eric in Sweden. The focus lies on the contradiction between official doctrine and the need for identity and cultural heritage.