Historian Uncovers Ancient Superstitions of Bear Parts in Churches

An 83-year-old Norwegian historian, Jahn Børe Jahnsen, has dedicated years to researching a peculiar phenomenon: the presence of bear parts in churches across Norway, Sweden, Finland, and even Iceland. His investigation, initially a research project, delved into the reasons behind finding bear hides, claws, and paws in sacred spaces, particularly in churches like Ulnes Church in Valdres.

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This all began as a research project with the aim of investigating the reasons why many Norwegian churches, not least Ulnes Church in Valdres, contain bear hides, bear claws, and bear paws.

Jahnsen's extensive research, which led to a 2012 book titled "Bjørnen i kirken" (The Bear in the Church), brought to light long-forgotten superstitions. He discovered that bear paws and claws were often found hidden beneath church floors. The historian explains that these practices stemmed from an ancient belief that bears were attracted to pregnant women, seeking to take the fetus from their wombs.

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It was believed that bears sought out women, often pregnant women, because they wanted to take the fetus from their wombs.

This belief evolved into a superstition that bear claws could assist in difficult births. The reasoning was that since bears attacking pregnant women would tear open their wombs to extract the fetus, their claws could somehow help dilate the birth canal during challenging deliveries. Jahnsen notes that by rubbing the abdomen and genitals of women in labor with bear claws or paws, people believed it would ease the process.

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There were many folktales circulating, and not all of them are true, of course, but some of them might possibly be correct. It was a folk belief that bear claws could be helpful in difficult births because when bears attacked pregnant women, they tore open their wombs to get the fetus out of them.

While Jahnsen acknowledges the strangeness of these beliefs, he emphasizes that they represented the truth for people at the time. The discovery of these items within churches, like the bear paw found under the floor of the 13th-century Ulnes Church, suggests a ritualistic placement, possibly for protection during childbirth or to invoke fertility, connecting the raw power of nature with spiritual practices.

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It is strange, but that was their truth at the time.