Studia Islandica - 01.06.1960, Side 32

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through marriage between the Swedish Royal family
and the King of Rus, as Ingigerðr, the daughter of King
Olaf of Skout, Emund the Old’s sister, was married to
Jaroslav I. Otto Janse went a step further6 in his at-
tempt to prove that Emund the Old tried to introduce
the Greek Orthodox Religion in Sweden. This cannot be
satisfactorily proved, however. Dr. Toni Schmid was ap-
parently the first to suggest that Aesmund had become
a convert to the Eastem Church.
Other evidence of the influence of the Greek Orthodox
Church in Sweden is very scanty. When the runic stone
of Spánga or the Wooden Cross of Sigtuna is produced
as evidence, it may just as well be said that here we
have signs of general influence of Eastern art. The de-
sign of the Church of St. Ólaf at Sigtuna is noteworthy,
however, as it would seem to be more suitable for a
Greek Orthodox service than a Roman Catholic mass.7
If Adam’s account is examined carefully, Arne’s case
could be argued more strongly.
The adjective acephalus (“headless”) is used in Eccles-
iastical Latin of a man who does not accept subordinat-
ion to an authority. If Aesmund was consecrated by
the Roman Catholic Archbishop, Stephan of Gniezno,
Poland, he could hardly be called “headless”, as he would
then have sworn allegiance to his consecrator under the
auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, and thereby un-
conditionally to the Pope in Rome.
Scholion 65/66, which follows Adam’s passage refer-
red to above, but for which Adam is apparently not re-
sponsible, says admittedly, that acephalis (“rebels”)
brought the Monastery of Bremen into confusion after
Aesmund left. Adam’s words non hábentes sygiTlum
apostolici (“not having the seal of the apostolic one”)
are usually taken to mean that they did not have the
papal seal. It is perhaps possible to take sygillum to
mean consecration (cf. sfragis in the New Testament),