The problem of demonizing the image of a pagan hero in the church and secret literature of the 12th–14th centuries

The adoption of Christianity as the dominant form of the religious world perception was the basis for fundamental changes in the field of socioeconomic, political, and spiritual life of the peoples of Central and Western Europe. This study is a reflection of the results of the scientific research on the problem of how the indicated transformations are conveyed in the culture and art of the period from the 12th to 14th centuries. The main tendencies of European perception of the hero image during the pagan era were singled out on the basis of the materials obtained during the analysis of texts from such sources as English church chronicles, Irish folklore, Scandinavian sagas, and other works of scaldic poetry. A wide range of general scientific and specialized methods and techniques necessary for the analysis of archaeographic data were used. The scientific relevance and novelty of the study lies in the fact that it represents an attempt to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the selected sources on the history of the German-Scandinavian peoples in the early and high Middle Ages. At the moment, an increased attention to the culture and life of the peoples of Northern Europe in the Middle Ages has taken place, both among humanitarian professionals and among non-specialists. In this regard, this work has a certain theoretical and practical significance for representatives of various humanitarian scientific disciplines – history, sociology, anthropology, religious studies, etc., as well as representatives of those research practices whose activities are directly or indirectly related to the study sociocultural background of the European Middle Ages.