The Freemasons in the Viking Age

There are many theories about how Freemasonry came into existence. The most well-known is probably the theory that follows a historical line from the Knights Templar of the Crusades to today's Freemasons. Another is that Freemasonry arose in the so-called "Masonic lodges" in the Middle Ages where the cathedral stoneworkers lived. That Freemasonry can be a cultural borrowing into England and Scotland from the rituals of the Viking warriors when they were initiated to the Norse gods will probably surprise many.

Modern Freemasonry can be said to have originated in England and Scotland - but there was always a prominent presence of the Old Norse religion that Norwegian and Danish Vikings and settlers brought with them to The British Isles during their days of glory. Though the Freemasons were "Christianized", the Norse rituals were always still within them in the many rites and rituals. Knowledge about this underlying cultural connection can explain a number of features of Masonic rituals that are otherwise completely incomprehensible and mysterious to an outsider.

Few researchers have dared to make these revelations about Norse rites, and there are hardly any sources that draw deep connections such as the ones author Arvid Ystad researched for this book. Ystad has sought knowledge from a number of renowned religious researchers, archaeologists and museum staff to further deepen his analysis. Ystad's enlightening and sometimes controversial theories delve into historical fact about the Norse rituals, and dig through roots of Freemasonry in the Migration Period, the Bronze Age and earlier. Though some parts of Ystad's research are pure speculation, he nevertheless believes that there are so many astonishing coincidences and similarities between Freemasonry and the Vikings' initiation rites that even the most reluctant reader will have gained insight into new pieces of a legendary puzzle.