| In Catholic theology, baptism is a sacred sacrament, performed to form a covenant between God and the believer. Ideally performed upon the sincerely converted, baptism was also forcefully implemented on the unwilling. Augustine rationalized the use of baptism on those with little or no faith by evoking the transforming effect the ritual itself would induce. Through this ageless, culture-traversing water ritual lies the symbolic cleansing of sin and the conversion of a soul is thought to now be dedicated to Christ. Charlemagne proliferated the use of forced baptism to create a united populus christianus, converting the pagan Saxons and influencing much of the Christianization of Scandinavia. The Northern Crusades continued Charlemagne's tactic, subjugating northern pagan tribes of Europe, to the Latin Christian Church.;Although the theological foundation of the ritual requires pure belief, when baptism was performed in a forced circumstance, Christians believed its potency held strong. Its proliferation also justified further action such as land acquisition and monetary gain. The efficacy of baptism carried out before and often without an authentic 'conversion' is manifest and accelerated in the emergence of a uniquely simultaneous fusion of political, cultural and religious alliance in the Baltic region, unlike other European Christian nations like Spain, France, Germany or Italy whose cultural, political and religious development was intermittent.;In this thesis, I argue that baptism was used as a validation for the Northern Crusaders' conquest of land, converts, and political subjugation because of its deep ancient and patristic roots, as well as the precedent set by Charlemagne, and the belief in the theology that asserted it would change the baptizand. The focus will be on the origins of Christian baptism and how this ritual with ancient and religious antecedents permeated the Christian society of The Middle Ages, the theological evolution through Augustine of forced baptism and how Charlemagne, Scandinavians, Saxon missionaries, and crusaders justified the use of baptism as a mark of political affiliation to change the pagan Baltic region. Trade and Christian missions that ushered in the Northern crusades, and the development of the defense and disputation of forced baptism by theologians and ecclesiastical leaders in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and how long-term efficacy of baptism changed the geo-political structure in the Baltic region are also addressed. |
