The Christianization process in Estonia was similar to Scandinavia and Europe. Until now, it was believed that Christianization in Estonia occurred violently. But new research shows this may not have been the case.
Archaeologist Marika Mägi says that both archaeological finds and written sources demonstrate the presence of Christians in Estonia. She studied coastal area cemeteries and found that the buried items there date more from the 13th century than the 12th.
Previously, coastal Estonian burials were dated to the 12th century and considered pagan. But according to Mägi, they are actually earlier and may be Christian. She finds that there were more churches in Estonia than previously thought.
The church network was denser. There were many small churches, often located near manors. Mägi says wealthy people built churches near their manors to demonstrate their importance.
Mägi finds that there were many Christian cemeteries in Estonia located near manors. This suggests Christianity was already widespread before the Crusades. She believes many nobles had already adopted Christianity by that time.
Although pre-Crusade Estonia cannot be called entirely Christian, Christianity was widely spread there. Mägi says written sources show there were Christians in Estonia even before the Crusades.
Mägi also studied Saaremaa cemeteries and found that those buried there were not relatives but belonged to the same community. This differs from inland Estonian burial sites.
In conclusion, Mägi finds that there were many Christian cemeteries and nobles in Estonia who adopted Christianity before the Crusades. She presented her research at an international conference in Tartu.