Society & Politics

In Depth Facts About the Vikings and Ancient Norse People!

Vikings
Vikings

First things first, Vikings where not the ethnicity, it was a profession, to go Viking was essentially to go to war and raid by sea. The Norse were the people of ancient Scandinavia. So, besides the horned helmets thing, a myth I hope is thoroughly debunked by now, and the "first to discover America" fact, which is true, and widely known, let me evaluate on the history of my ancestors, as a historian my own legacy is very close to my heart.


And yes, I actually do have viking forebears. Many go around claiming to have such descent falsely, but I have documentation proving it since my family belongs to an old noble house stemming from the Medieval Age. This is long but if you are interested feel free to read some or all of it. So here's eleven cool facts about Vikings/Norse you might not have known before.

1. There were Swedish vikings. Surprisingly many people are not aware that all three Scandinavian lands consisted of Viking peoples, and just assume Norway and Denmark were the only two ones. But the capital of the ancient Swedes or, Sveones, was Birka, the trade capital of Scandinavia at the time. Swedish viking also went East far more frequently than the others, up the rivers Volga and Dnjepr and raided as far as Constantinople, and Baghdad, (as well as trading with both cities). The Byzantine Emperor even recruited them as his personal guard after witnessing their battle prowess, they became the Varangian guard and were known to be exceedingly loyal. However that loyalty was to the throne itself and not one ruler nor dynasty, were they to be overthrown fair and square, (as according to Norse culture) then the Varangian loyalty would be redirected to the victor, only the strong deserved power.

2. The ancient Norse peoples did far more than raid and pillage. There's a stereotype of this society that it was practically barbaric and revolved around primitive practices. And while it is true that the Norse were a bloody people, such as their Aesir religion which called for human sacrifice and war to be worthy of afterlife, they also had a complex society. The Norse were famous warrior poets and compiled songs and poetry in "Eddas", or "the poetic Edda". They were also the very first to innovate the legal entity of Ting, or "thing", a gathering of people led by a judge to solve disputes and conflicts. They had harsh crime laws, such as: If you witnessed a crime and passed three houses without entering one and alerting the town, you'd be considered guilty as well and decapitated. How one could know if the person in question had passed three houses is unclear. Their mythologies were very extensive, much alike Greek mythology, with countless stories of heroes, gods, monsters and parallel worlds etc.

Viking ship
Viking ship

Furthermore they were excellent craftsmen. The Viking long-ship was a revolutionary vessel for its time, since it could traverse oceans far quicker than normal ships and had the capacity to also sail inland up rivers. Something naval technology elsewhere had yet to be capable of. There was two types: Drakkar, for war, and Knepr, for trade. These ships were also of coursed, richly carved with patterns and dragon faces etc. and looked very intimidating from afar.

3. They did not sport the leather bike outfits as in the show. Vikings does not very accurately portray viking attire. In fact, Norse society was very keen on colorful clothes and attires, ranging from blue to red. And armor was mostly chain mail, and, if the warrior in question could afford it, a helmet, spear and sword. But by far the most common and affordable weaponry was axes.

5. They were not particularly tall, just taller than average around the world at the time. We all picture Vikings as massive, but the thing is studies have shown that Vikings were of modern average height, while other peoples of mainly Europe were below back then. Reason for this are as of yet unknown.

5. Norse steel was very powerful, they were skilled smiths. The process of making steel in Scandinavia relied on materials somewhat different from the rest of Europe, which yielded a steel whose components were tighter together and thus, stronger. This was thanks to the harsh climates of the north which made the raw materials needed of a different type than usual. As a matter of fact, the

In Depth Facts About the Vikings and Ancient Norse People!

6. Refusal to enact vengeance upon someone or a family that wronged you led to exile. Cowardice or weakness was not tolerated, and not only did you have the right to take revenge if wronged, you were required to by law, if not you were thrown out. There's one such recorded instance where a man is sent to Iceland for failing to retaliate against a family that attacked his house with arrows over some feud.

7. The most common hair colors were blonde, brown and red. Studies have shown that not all Norse and Vikings were blonde, but it was one of the predominant colors, along with brunettes and redheads.

8. Many characters from the show Vikings, were real. Ragnar Lothbrok is a real historical figure, a famous Viking warrior who was the son of the Swedish viking King Sigurd Hring, who defeated a great Dane army at the Battle of Bravelír. Presently this area is known in Sweden as Bråvalla, and is the cite of an annual rock festival. Rollo was also real, but not brother of Ragnar, and born much later than him. he was however, indeed a Duke of Francia in later years, and was the grandfather of William the Conqueror. Bjorn Ironside, real, and indeed a son of Ragnar and another king of Sweden according to legend. A Viking famous for his Mediterranean exploits and for his Trojan trick pretending to be dead inside a casket to gain entry into a city he believed to be Rome. And of course, Ivar the Boneless, very much real, and very much the psycho he's presented as in the show, having done much of what he does in the show for real.

In Depth Facts About the Vikings and Ancient Norse People!

They were not filthy or unhygienic. Norse society was actually somewhat vain. Beauty, in the forms of proper grooming, straight and glowing hair and clean skin was highly praised, and countless combs in both male and female tombs have been discovered. A Persian diplomat who visited the Swedish Viking realm of Kievan Rus, a powerful kingdom established in the 9th century, describes in his writings how amazed he was at their cleanliness and meticulous styles, it was apparently, a standard greater than many other peoples at the time. Embroidery in robes and dresses and jewelry was very common to display wealth and status.

9. They were indeed badass warriors. Vikings were ferocious in battle, often very physically fit, living in a land which got harsh, cold and unforgiving in winter times, and focused much training and discipline into mastering different weapons, and prevailing overseas by means of skill in arms. The axe of course, was the main weapon, one they held expertise over, above all others, followed by the sword and shield. They did also not fear death, and would charge into enemy lines without a second thought, thinking only of glory and favor with the gods. This made the Vikings appear monstrous and alike demons to other peoples, a big reason for how they are portrayed in writings. The "Ulfberth" sword, is a certain type of sword which was studied closely and found to be even a more effective weapon than Katanas, which ranked it best sword in the world. A nod to the previous fact about Norse steel.

10. Objectively, Vikings spent most of their time in existence as Christians, than Aesir believers. Denmark and Norway were converted to Christianity before the 11th century, and in the 11th century it is told in Sweden that a monk named Ansgar converted much of the Norse peoples, the last Aesir-believer being a king known as "Blot-Svein", on account of having a preference for impaling his enemies on spears and sacrificing them as part of the yearly "blot-ritual" to appease the gods. He was defeated in battle and then impaled as one of his many victims.

11. Vikings when reaching America tried to establish colonies in certain coastal regions. But they were forced away after fighting the extremely numerous and zealous Indians, a people they called "Scraelings" after the screams they let out when charging. The Indians were too many and the Vikings to few and frankly, not determined enough to spend warriors and resources.

In Depth Facts About the Vikings and Ancient Norse People!
In Depth Facts About the Vikings and Ancient Norse People!
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