Editing Birka (section)

====''Ting'' assembly====
When Ansgar asked if King [[Olof (I) of Sweden|Olof]]<ref>Scandinavian sources omit King Olof from the list of kings that reigned in [[Uppsala]].</ref> would permit him to establish the Christian religion in the kingdom during his second visit in 852, the king said to him:

<blockquote>On this account I have not the power, nor do I dare, to approve the objects of your mission until I can consult our gods by the casting of lots and until I can enquire the will of the people in regard to this matter. Let your messenger attend with me the next assembly (Chapter XXVI)</blockquote>

<blockquote>When the day for the assembly which was held in the town of Birka drew near, in accordance with their national custom the king caused a proclamation to be made to the people by the voice of a herald, in order that they might be informed concerning the object of their mission. —The king then rose up from amongst the assembly and forthwith directed one of his own messengers to accompany the bishop's messenger, and to tell him that the people were unanimously inclined to accept his proposal and at the same time to tell him that, whilst their action was entirely agreeable to him, he could not give his full consent until, in another assembly, which was to be held in another part of his kingdom, he could announce this resolution to the people who lived in that district. (Chapter XXVII)</blockquote>

[[Thing (assembly)|Tings]] were huge open-air events, which required plenty of space. The more important ting that king Olof talked about was probably the ''[[Thing of all Swedes|Ting of all Swedes]]'', which was held at the end of February in [[Uppsala]], during the [[Disting]]. The king was obliged to obey the common decisions made at this ting, and the most powerful man at this assembly was not the king, but the [[lawspeaker]] of [[Tiundaland]]. Locally important tings were the Westrogothic ''[[Thing of all Geats|Ting of all Geats]]'' in Skara and the Ostrogothic ''[[Lionga thing|Lionga ting]]'' in the vicinity of today's [[Linköping]].