Using textiles as clues, it is shown that, like in the rest of Scandinavia, there is a legible societal shift in favour of a new Christian organization as early as around year 1000 even in the central parts of what is now Sweden, including the, according to Adam of Bremen, “pagan” Mälar valley. During a period of at least a hundred and fifty years, the Mälar valley with Birka in the centre had enjoyed eastern trade, which is reflected in the rich finds of oriental textile fragments in the Birka graves. From archaeological material, images, texts, coins and runic inscriptions it is possible to assess the importance of codes expressed in the dress. Interpretations of the original Rigsthula texts suggest that it belong in an early Christian context, and is reflecting dress practices found in, among other sources, the Bayeux tapestery and early Scandinavian coins. The textiles from Birka differ markedly from the textiles from Sigtuna, this since they are traces from two completely different societies. Birka textiles show contacts with a steppe nomadic culture, while the Sigtuna textiles and runic inscriptions are witnesses of contacts with advanced Christian workshop cultures like Byzantium.