When the sun rose, the entire Uppsala village was completely empty! At the same time, a group of outsiders spontaneously heard the news yesterday and came to join in the fun.
Uppsala usually has four thousand residents, but now the total number of people gathering here for various purposes has reached an astonishing twenty thousand. In fact, no one has counted the specific number of people, but Birka Market suddenly became depressed.
The Malaren tribe with a large population has also become deserted, and even Ross' Tombstone Island stronghold at the T-junction of the ocean has also become deserted.
Where are the people? Where have they gone?
The so-called people who were able to row boats arrived, and Uppsala reached the peak of prosperity for the first time in history.
Now that the sun is getting closer and closer to the highest point of the dome, anyone who sticks a wooden stick on the ground can judge the length of the shadow and determine the time. The length of the shadow continues to get shorter, and people become more and more excited.
More than 20,000 people were completely crowded into a small area centered on the holy tree. There were more boats than fish in the small inner lake. It was as if a forest had grown on the lake. As far as the eye could see, there were masts spread out all over the place. This was also
The Great Temple of Uppsala has never been more grand since it was built.
More than a hundred male reindeer with large antlers were strung together with twine. Although there are folk rumors that the new king must have performed a human sacrifice according to the Uppsala model when he ascended the throne, since the public saw a large number of reindeer walking through the crowd.
The arched passage made everyone understand what the Russians were thinking.
Ross's unique sacrificial methods are also known to everyone! For example, there is a wooden tower erected by the lake. To be honest, it is very tall, attracting a group of urchins to climb the tower and play. Ross built the wooden tower for the purpose of burning, so-called worshiping with a fire tower
Ding, every Swedish businessman who has been to New Roseburg is trying his best to describe the grand scene of the fire tower.
Obviously, this large herd of reindeer was a sacrifice that replaced human sacrifice. To be fair, Rurik was really generous. It was a huge herd! At that time, Olegin became king and killed ten slaves to sacrifice to the Lake God and Odin.
, people at the time called it a big deal.
The Russians were too particular and sacrificed one hundred and eleven stags with big antlers to redefine generosity.
People were clamoring for the sacrifice of the deer, and as the time approached, more and more people were shouting.
Until the intensive sound of horns shocked the whole audience with its melodious and majestic tone, it was like the revelation of the gods rushing to the beach with the long ship.
The noise of the Great Temple of Uppsala suddenly stopped, and tens of thousands of eyes turned to the main hall of the Great Temple. They had a strong premonition that the Prince of Rus and the entire team of priests were about to appear.
The melodious sound of the horn was followed by the more ethereal sound of the bone flute, and even the soul-shattering sound of the drum.
This is the band trained by Nolen, and all the young musicians sang a majestic hymn with Nordic characteristics.
They were dressed very similar to priests, wearing plain robes and crowns of flowers on their heads, playing their own musical instruments, and walked slowly out of the temple hall.
Nolen was their leader, playing the bone flute himself to lead the way. The musicians stood in a row along the wooden passage in the center. Under the gaze of people, they slowly approached the sacred tree and lined up again, playing the flute.
The sound, trumpets and drums are still sounding.
Nolen ignored tens of thousands of onlookers and was determined to perform his performance.
Thousands of people also had a tacit understanding to maintain stability. In other words, they had already been attracted by the ceremony and would never dare to be the evil person who ruined the beauty of the ceremony.
The great king has not yet appeared, and the musicians dressed like priests are standing at the altar first. The leading female musician seems to be tireless, leading the entire band to play multiple melodious tunes alternately.
Everything was under the control of Rurik, who was standing in the temple in full regalia.
After Nolen's team of musicians cycled through the music suite three times, they kicked off the ceremony.
Look! Look good!
Fifty berserkers dressed in bear skins, with domineering bear heads and fangs on their heads, holding shields in their left hands and steel swords in their right hands, were still walking through the wooden passage around the center, marching in an extremely orderly manner at the main entrance of the temple hall.
And out.
Now that the heroic warrior suddenly appears, will the great king appear?
The nobles and people who were watching finally started to make noises. The Russian troops who were lined up in a human wall and holding halberds were immediately alert. The human wall they formed became airtight, completely ensuring that there was enough space at the ceremony site to carry out the next ceremony.
Those bear-headed berserkers stood completely under the holy tree, with the holy tree as the center, their round shields facing inwards, and their sharp swords pointed directly at the herd of deer who knew nothing about the future under the holy tree.
The originally quiet outdoor area started to become noisy, and Rurik was in a very excited mood as he pulled his father's old hand.
"They're waiting for us to show up."
"I'm waiting for you to show up." Otto said appropriately.
"So we have to put on a good show." After that, Rurik raised his head and looked at Rumia, who had experienced many battles in big scenes: "My high priest, let's get started!"
Lumia, who wore a huge antlered helmet on her head, nodded deeply and patted her face again to get excited. Perhaps the lower-level priestesses would be a little timid because of the big scene. She encouraged: "Servants of the gods and kings, don't pay attention.
From the perspective of mortals, let us complete today's great sacrifice and congratulate the birth of the king. Now! Let's go!"
She raised the high priest's wooden staff passed down from generation to generation in Ross with both hands, and took solid steps towards the light door of the hall.
Rumia stepped on the sloping wooden path with her boots, walked out of the temple, and stood on the wooden passage leading to the shrine under the tree under the attention of tens of thousands of eyes.
The passage leading to the holy tree is not far away. All the priests seem to be walking on a catwalk, but it is more beautiful than the catwalk.
The priestesses covered their chests with their hands, and looked solemn with flower crowns on their heads. Listen carefully, the wind blowing on their clothes made a crisp sound.
Until now, the king has not shown up, but he saw the short high priest of Rus wearing an antlered helmet, standing impressively at the shrine under the sacred tree.
Under the tree is a wooden platform about one meter high on the ground, where the shrine containing the golden bust of Odin is located.
Many female priests, led by the high priest, knelt down to the shrine, and then, accompanied by the music of the band, they sang a hymn to Odin that the Russians had preserved for more than a hundred years. The ethereal chorus calmed the restlessness of the people, and they really listened to the singing of all the girls.
It was a kind of enjoyment. The Swedish nobles who were watching all praised it. They also carefully observed the Moros rituals and thought that they should also imitate it.
"Organizing beautiful girls to serve as priests to sing together? You Rus people are really particular about it. Unfortunately, our Melalen tribe will soon learn how to do it." Bjorn thought this way.
Finally, the ethereal hymn they sang together ended with the sun rising to its highest point.
The sun shone on the faces of tens of thousands of people, and people squinted their eyes and continued to wait.
Rumia was waiting for this moment. She stood under the shade of a tree, suddenly and slowly raised her wooden stick with both hands, raised her chin and looked up at the sky.
She looked around again and shouted: "Odin! Rurik, who was ordered by you, has finally ushered in his glory! Let him become the king of Sweden!"
She shouted three times in succession, and her penetrating roar was inspiring.
At this moment, the horns in the band received a clear signal, and they joined forces to blow the horns.
Perhaps such a scene should be accentuated by the majestic sound of a giant copper chimney, and the resonance of ten horns would not be bad.
Rurik and Otto have been waiting for a long time, and two generations of Russian princes stepped onto the wooden platform to achieve glory.
It was the way they appeared that was so surprising.
This is his son's glory, and it is also his own glory. Otto was obviously decayed, and he refused to accept his old age and forcibly put on a suit of chain mail, except that there was no iron helmet on his head. He showed off his bald head and elegant gray face in public
Beard, this image is very attractive in Nordic aesthetics, because some legends point out that Odin, the god king who lives in the Hall of Valor, always faces the heroic spirits with this appearance.
Rurik himself is particularly charming.
His golden beard has obviously been neatly trimmed with a knife, his golden mustache is quite regular, and his most unique golden ponytail is still fluttering in the wind.
Now the question is, two of the highest nobles of Ross, why don’t we wear hats today?
Rurik gave his father enough honor, and Otto walked in front of his son, enjoying the attention of the people. Otto did not feel that he was qualified to be a king, and was respected as a king by his son. Other nobles did not recognize it at all.
Everything is a drama.
The father and son walked through the short passage, and along the way they seemed to be reviewing Ross's rise.
The remote tribe that used to be nestled in the fjord has finally become the king.
The more he thought about it, Otto's willpower finally could not suppress the pain in his tear sac. He approached the holy tree with clearly visible tear stains and stood in front of the golden statue of Odin.
At this moment, Rumia was holding a wooden staff in her right hand and holding a wooden box in her left hand.
The two generations of princes from the Principality of Rus knelt half-kneeling before the statue of the god and the high priest and packed their luggage.
Now, let's look at the high priest Rumia. She handed the wooden staff to her temporary deputy Svetlana, and then ordered all priests regardless of rank to kneel down to the statue.
She faced the statue of the god, held the wooden box high, slowly opened it, and then slowly took out the golden laurel wreath inside.
As if holding a priceless treasure, he slowly turned around and placed it on Otto's bare head with great care.
Whenever you see the dazzling golden object held by the high priest, you will know that it is a crown. The crown is actually worn on old Otto's head?
This move had never been announced to the Swedish nobles before, and it undoubtedly caused an uproar. It was agreed that Rurik would be king, but now Otto became the king of all Sweden?
However, something dramatic happened.
Otto, who was wearing a golden laurel crown, stood up, deliberately showed off his golden crown in public, and announced as loudly as possible: "I! Otto! I am not qualified to bear the weight of this golden crown! I am the first Duke of Ross. Now, it is up to me.
I will put this golden crown, symbolizing the King of Sweden, on Rurik’s head!”
Otto took off the laurel crown and placed it accurately on the head of his half-kneeling son.
This moment was the highlight of the entire ceremony.
Rurik put on this golden crown and went through the above process, swearing to all the nobles of Russia and Sweden that the royal power of the new king of Sweden comes from the pedigree of the princes of Russia, which is definitely not correct, the pedigree of Mälaren
The succession of kings.
This was a performance with a very strong political meaning. The smart Swedish nobles felt the subtlety of the atmosphere, especially Bjorn. He has completely abdicated now. He did not publicly announce that he gave up the kingship, which was a huge honor for himself, but the Russians did
With this trick, it is obvious that the king's enthronement ceremony really has nothing to do with him.
Rurik of Rus ascended the throne and had nothing to do with the previous kings. The Swedish throne controlled by the Rus was not inherited from the Malaren people. It is true that Rus was born in Sweden, but the performance of the Rus today
, as if it were an outsider's attempt to annex Sweden.
The uncomfortable emotions were deeply suppressed in Bjorn's heart. After leaving the King's Palace, he was still the leader of the Melalen people. He at least had the title of Duke and had more than 20,000 men under his command. Although his strength was far inferior to that of Ross.
The principality is also much stronger than other Swedish tribes.
Rurik, who was wearing a golden laurel crown, looked around and extended his right arm to express his wishes to the people.
"All Swedes!" he said, "Thanks to the love of God King Odin! I, Rurik Ottoson, become the king of all Sweden! Now, I declare! Sweden and Rus merged, a powerful Rus kingdom
born!"
He said it many times in succession, emphasizing the name of the country.
The Swedish nobles heard this clearly. Rurik, who became king, kept emphasizing that the name of his kingdom was the Kingdom of Rus.
A huge stone pressed on his heart, and Bjorn was shocked. In the end, the Malaren people lost their royal power, and in the end, even the concept of Sweden could not be saved?
Bjorn paid careful attention to the attitudes of the other nobles, and saw that they all greeted them with smiles. Did they never care about the concept of "Sweden"? Could it be that from the beginning to the end, only the Malaren people insisted on the concept of Sweden.
Feelings of family and country? With a group of Swedish aristocrats who still retain a large number of blood tribal heritage, talking about the concept of a unified Sweden is too advanced.
The original meaning of Sweden is "the holy land under the rule of the gods". This is the proud claim of the ancestors of North Germany to the region where they live. Swedish tribes of all sizes have their own names, but only Ole from Mälaren
King first used the big word Sweden as his country name.
Rurik is the actual King of Sweden, and the name of the country is not Sweden. This fact is completely indifferent to many Swedish nobles.
If the other nobles don't worry about this, what can Bjorn do if he feels unwilling to do so? He is not a person obsessed with face, and his family is weak. He will still need the help of the Ross nobles in the future, so he will tolerate it this time.
The King of Sweden is born! It’s Rurik!
The name of a brand new country was born, the Kingdom of Rus! Of course, the name "Kingdom of Sweden" is also an unofficial name.
People were cheering, and Rurik's shouts were completely drowned by the ocean of happiness.
The ceremony has finally reached its peak, and now all that needs to be done is to push the ceremony to a fiery extreme.
Rurik, who became the king, resolutely drew out his steel sword and pointed it at the deer under the platform.
His words of command were drowned out by the cheers of the people, and those bear-headed berserkers had already given instructions on their tasks. Many berserkers rushed towards the deer herd and began the last remaining sacrifice.
The next scene is quite bloody...
Speaking of Swined, the former Duke and now Governor of Uppsala, because of his noble status, he was able to attend the front line of the sacrifice. He brought all his family members, especially his own hands on the shoulders of his son Helgon, forcing this
The timid young man saw clearly the entire process of the ceremony.
Helgon was not born cowardly. He witnessed human sacrifice when he was young, and the horrific scene frightened his soul.
Now, one hundred and eleven reindeer were pushed to the ground by the Ross berserkers and their throats were cut one by one, and the sacred tree was watered with scarlet deer blood. He was trembling with fear again.
To be honest, the whole scene of deer slaughter was too brutal. Today's reindeer sacrifice has created a history. After all, Rus has been upgraded to a kingdom. The largest ritual reindeer sacrifice in the past was ten, but today it has increased more than ten times.
Why insist on one hundred and eleven reindeer? This is very particular.
There is enough intelligence to prove that the former king of Denmark, Hafgen, who was killed by Rurik himself, killed 111 slaves as sacrifices to Odin when he claimed to be the king of Denmark. Ross does not need such a barbaric ritual of human sacrifice, then
Just use the same number of reindeer instead, and you must not be overwhelmed by the defeated Danish Kingdom in terms of the scale of the ceremony.
At this point, the Danish hero Ragnar who came specially to participate in Rurik's king ceremony realized the reason.
Ragnar's visit this time was not in vain. His two sons Ivar and Bjorn were both there. Both children watched the huge deer sacrifice with their own eyes. They were not afraid at all. On the contrary, they felt that King Rurik
I really respect the god Odin.
The circular trench surrounding the sacred tree was filled with deer blood, and the deer carcasses were carried away by Russian soldiers in public. There is enough information to point out that there will not only be a fire dance ceremony around the burning wooden tower tonight, but also all the reindeer meat used in the sacrifice at noon
, all turned into delicious meals for the participants.
The trench formed a scarlet paste, the deer blood was solidifying rapidly, and the spectacular deer sacrifice was an eye-opener for everyone.
But the ceremony is not over yet.
Rurik still needed the final treatment. He pulled out his carving knife and pressed it gently on his left index finger. His bloody finger scratched the golden statue of Odin and turned into a black and red blood path.
He then jumped off the wooden platform, holding a special long-handled water ladle, scooped up the deer's blood in the ditch, and sprinkled it on the trunk of the sacred tree himself.
In the end, his blood-stained fingers meaningfully pressed on the tree trunk covered with deer blood, which represented a strong symbolic meaning. The so-called Lord of the World relied on this "Yggdrasil of the World" to connect with the world.
The trees are connected, directly declaring the king's will to Odin, the king of the gods.
The ceremony of proclaiming the king and ascending the throne is coming to an end, and that is just the ceremony coming to an end.
Twenty thousand people entrenched in Uppsala are about to start a carnival.
Because the ceremony was completed, Odin had recognized Rurik's throne. He was a generous king, a hero who had given all Swedish tribes glory and successful revenge. People needed a carnival.
No, under the twilight of sunset, the prepared wooden tower was set on fire!
The empty place was full of barbecue stalls, and all the sacrificial deer were skinned by the Russians. The deer meat was shared by everyone, even if the people present only got a tiny piece of deer meat.
They started a carnival, and Rurik, who was wearing a golden laurel crown, could finally legitimately call himself the king.
He was finally satisfied, but only temporarily.
A true king will not be satisfied with the achievements in front of him. Rurik's eyes looked to the west, east, and even more south.
Rus merged with Sweden, and a new Kingdom of Sweden, or the Rus dynasty of Sweden, was born.
Today's grand ceremony is obviously just the prelude to the glorious music in the future...