PAST CRIMESexiled Danish king Harald Klak Halfdansson, who had been buried with his
murdered cupbearer and master of horse. The town, sited on the island of
Björkö, in Lake Mälaren, lay within the ramparts of a hillfort, with jetties and
harbours lining the shore. It was an important trading settlement and also
contained a medieval royal estate. It is surrounded by thousands of burials
mounds.
Religious crimes
The rise of Christianity in the Dark Ages was accompanied by another sort of
crime– heresy. The evidence for this type of crime rests solely on the
surviving documents of the period. One example is found in the letters of
Saint Boniface written to the Pope in 745. The saint told the Pope that he had
found two heretics in Germany, named Aldebert and Clement. He asked what
he should do about them. It seems Aldebert was a man originally from France
who had set himself up as a living saint. He claimed that angels had given him
important eastern relics with which he could perform miracles. Somehow he
had persuaded some bishops to consecrate him (possibly through bribery) and
he set up chapels dedicated to himself, and used his own nail clippings and
hair as holy relics which he bestowed on his followers. He also claimed to
know in advance what anyone wanted to say in the confessional, and absolved
the penitents without hearing their sins.
Clement was Irish. Clement’s faults were that he refused to accept the
teachings of the saints, especially Augustine, Jerome and Gregory, would not
obey decrees of the church synod, and put himself above church authority.
While a bishop, he fathered two children and supported the Old Testament rule
that a man can have many wives and marry his brother’s widow if he wishes;
he taught his congregation that they also could do these things. He also claimed
that Christ went down into Hell to free all the souls imprisoned there.
The Pope’s punishments were prescribed. Adelbert lost his status as a
bishop and was ordered to do penance. Clement also lost his Episcopal status
and was excommunicated. Why was Adelbert treated more leniently than
Clement? It may be that the Pope thought that Adelbert was insane or had
been deceived by demons–this is hinted at in his letter. This despite the
evidence of planning and greed shown by Adelbert’s actions! Clement,
however, was thought to have been quite sane and that his heresies were
deliberate. Therefore he was the more dangerous of the two in the eyes of the
church.^12
Clement’s views on marriage bring us to a consideration of some of the
moral crimes noted in the Dark Ages. Marriage was not a sacrament in the