Vikings- The Original Hipsters

Dispelling the Myths- Norse Edition

Vikings were unkempt barbarians.

Historical accounts can vary greatly between races and cultures. This article will be debunking the mythology surrounding the cleanliness of the Norse people, especially the men. Though the accounts of cultures that had unfortunately met with Norsemen on the battle field portray them in a very negative light, it is now being discovered that during their time they were actually one of the more well groomed peoples across all of Europe.

Various archeological sites that had links to the Norse people have uncovered some very interesting finds. Grooming tools, such as combs, tweezers, decorative beads and rings to style the beards of the men have been uncovered.

Upon further investigations, these finds have revealed a little known truth, Viking men were into “Manscaping”!

Yes, that is correct! The Norse men took as much pride in their grooming and fashion as the females did. Could it be that the Vikings were some of the original Hipsters to conquer the known world?

The grooming process and styles used were of great importance, as certain fashions would also depict one’s social status amongst the clan, and the practice of personal hygiene was also an expected daily practice.

This by no means would translate to them smelling like roses, but in comparison to many other European cultures at the time, it certainly made them stand out. This activity seemed to be commonplace amongst the Norse people.

Every morning the men would wash their faces and hair, followed by combing, then even styling the beard via various methods. Some would braid, some would adorn their beards with beads or rings, but this was done attentively and with more than one purpose.

Looking your best was an expected part of Norse culture, hence every man and women possessing certain grooming tools, but as previously mentioned, the reasons for grooming was not just hygiene or fashion related.

A skilled warrior would be conscious of how his long hair and beard may hinder him in battle, and would make accommodations for these potential inconveniences. Sometimes he would cut or trim his hair, or restyle in such a way that it would not become an obstruction during a fight. Consequently, the end result was a very well groomed and decorated warrior, that was not only wearing the latest fashions, but had a hairstyle to match.

Though hygiene practices and “manscaping” for battle were more practical applications of grooming, all men where known to be dressed to their best standard, especially when a “Thing” was being held.

Now you’ve heard of the term “Peacocking”, and this is exactly what these Vikings did. Since the “Thing” was strictly a male activity, and the men would sometimes travel great distances to attend these events, they wanted to show off their fashionable clothes, their well combed hair, and their decorative beards on display to highlight their social status and instigate competition amongst the clans to better themselves, both aesthetically and hygienically.

This is a rather stark contrast comparatively to the accounts of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles which depict wild, savage, dirty barbarians whom were nothing but blood thirsty animals, but of course that would be the recorded account from a group of people that had just been dominated and massacred in a gruesome battle.

The Vikings were much richer in culture, sophistication and societal order than what many people know or believe to be true. I have seen this quite regularly amongst certain disgruntled members of these Norse related Facebook communities, whom even feel insulted at the suggestion they may be descended from Norse people.

As I write more articles, I shall be debunking further myths regarding the Vikings and bringing to light a completely different perspective on this powerful culture, and the rich forms of art, music, legal practice and information regarding them being well established traders even through the Middle East. Fighting was only one aspect of the Vikings, but this was commonplace everywhere, people had to fight to survive, to protect themselves, or to conquer new lands, but not every Viking encounter ended up in bloodshed.

Next time you think of Vikings, think of them as well groomed, well dressed people, whom had a stable societal structure that encouraged the people to cooperate and work together. Basically a modern day Hipster that could fight with the ferocity of bear if and when required.

Till my next installment. Peace be with you.

Norse Women and their IMPORTANCE!

Anything you can do I can do better!

The Independent Norse-Woman

I have noticed that the general feel attributed to the Norse has been somewhat male oriented, but let us not forget the importance the women of the North had on the shaping of their society and culture.

A the saying goes “Behind every great man, is a great woman” and without a good Norse Woman in alliance with a man, he would generally be left behind.

Norse women were expected to have many skill sets and attributes that were vital in the assistance of maintaining social structure, family life, and even the day to day runnings of  farms whilst their husbands were away on raids.

Life for a Viking woman was really quite good comparatively to many of the other women throughout Europe during the same time. They were treated with a lot of respect and granted many privileges. A Viking woman was able to marry, to divorce and repel any unwanted attention from a Viking man with zero tolerance.

In fact, if a Viking man was to kiss or try anything more with a Viking woman that was not willing, then he would stand to be fined or face more serious punishment. In this way, the Viking woman was very well protected and highly respected in old Norse Scandinavia.

This in turn, shows that Norsemen were obviously far more civilised than the stigma attached to them as being nothing but bloodthirsty rapists. Their anti-rape culture amongst the community was strong and punishable by death, compared to other tribes in Europe at the same time, was  far less active in defilement as previously assumed.

For a woman to be successful in ancient Scandinavia she would need to have a multitude of skills used in daily life.

Cooking was one such skill, and the Viking woman would have to not only cook and prepare food but to also manage the stock levels for the cold winters. Smoking fish and meats, making broth, baking bread and producing ale were all skills that would help a Viking woman keep a household running successfully.

Additional skills like cloth making, fabric work and sewing and stitching were all necessary too. The Viking woman would get her husband to buy fabric and would make and cloth the family in the traditional clothing style. Some of these items would be made to assist and/or protect the husband whilst at war, raiding, or exploring, helping him be prepared for all types of extreme conditions that he would most likely face upon these ventures.

Keeping the family healthy and safe was another important facet of a Viking woman’s life. While old Norse medicine was not as advanced as today, a Viking women would still make medicine, and tend to the ill should it be needed.

The responsibility and duty that was expected of  Norse women would also include the  managing of the farm. There would be times where her husband or father would be away on trades or raids. The Viking woman would look after the animals and crops, or at the least manage the farm hands or slaves to ensure the farm was managed correctly.

These responsibilities were essential for not only the survival and health of the individual family unit but paramount to the success of the Norse people in general. This level of respect was obviously at such a progressive point that even the men had realised that without the assistance and skill sets of these powerful women, they would be nothing without them.

Even though the choice a Viking woman had in regards to whom she married was not really an option, she would marry a man that was typically arranged for her by a family member, often her mother. Once in marriage, however, the Viking woman would have much responsibility.

The Viking woman was kept in charge of the family finances, whether it was precious metals like gold or silver or the stock of farming or animals. She would also own the keys to the family property, typically worn around her waist.

In addition to these responsibilities, there were also Shield Maidens, renowned for their fighting skills and the ability to match many men in battle.

Without the Norsemen acknowledging the importance of having strong women amongst them, they would not have been able to expand as rapidly as they did across Europe in such a short amount of time. This was recognised by the men, brutal men known for fighting, and with historically inaccurate stigma regarding their promiscuity, yet had a very strict anti-rape and sexual assault culture when it came to their own societal structure.

It is fair to say that the average Viking was nothing special unless he had a good Viking woman behind him, basically calling the shots and maintaining structure and order, especially when the men were away from home.

The importance of Norse women is highly underrated, and no matter how “Viking” you may or may not be, let us thank the strong women that helped the Norse become the powerful people they were.

Written by Justin Ferry

The Roar Of the Vikings

Cries from the North

Norse Battle Cries

As long as humans have been fighting, battle cries have been used to intimidate the enemy and create more cohesion amongst the troops. The battle cries of the Norseman have changed and adapted accordingly throughout history.

The early Vikings tell a story of the first ever battle. Odin was present and before the battle had started, Odin showed off with a display of strength by throwing his spear way over the enemy and past the King of the enemy.This became a traditional practice at the start of every battle.    

It was considered common practice to have a designated soldier throw a spear at the enemy as a sign the fight was about to begin. Before the spear was thrown, the other troops would be yelling their traditional battle cries.

One common cry used by the original Norsemen (Obviously not chanted in english) Was “Odin Owns You All!” This was used to rally the troops and instil fear in the hearts of the enemies. Imagine a group of battle hungry, mead filled Berserkers who are fearless of death, all chanting that their God is going to end your life shortly!

This was just one of the cries they would bring into battle. Depending on which God they favoured on that day. Certain cries were made to the God Thor, but Tyr was also a favourite. The runic symbol of Tyr was known to be commonly etched into the weapons of the Norse warriors and was believed to give their weapon God-Like power.

Battle cries are obviously not exclusive to the Norse, every powerful military group has had various chants and marching songs to announce their arrival and brutal intentions. Modern studies that examined the Battle Cry Phenomena showed that as a unit, these chants would generally increase the overall performance of the troops up to 11% during the fight. This would also help explain the ferocity and prowess the Norsemen were known to possess in battle.

After the Normans converted to Christianity, their chants changed.  though many still practiced “Pagan” rituals (Always secretly). During battle there are records of certain troops chanting old norse cries, the Norse Vikings were known for shouting “Forward, forward Christmen, crossmen, kingsmen!” – Battle of Stiklestad (Stiklastaðir) July 29th 1030AD

As you can see, a battle cry does seem somewhat benign on face value, but upon further investigation it shows how the rallying of troops that are chanting in unison and can be heard from a great distance now suddenly is a terrifying concept. Add to this the fact these were big Norseman, Berserker warriors who believed the ultimate death is to go down whilst taking as many lives as possible before they met their end.

Written by Justin Ferry

Berserker Mode

The Berserker of Stamford

This story was just one of many during the Norman Conquest and took place in Yorkshire England, September 25th 1066.

This particular battle has many interesting parts to take from it, but I will be focusing on an unnamed Berserker warrior whom was worthy enough to be mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, though he was not on the side of the victors.

The Norse contingency was led by a Norse King, Harald Hardrada. He was directing his troops against the Anglo-Saxon army, and was well prepared, bringing approximately 300 longboats for this campaign.

The battle was not going as expected by the Norse and they were led into a trap.

King Harald requested one of his warriors to go and hold the enemy off at the crossing (Stamford Bridge) while waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

The story now starts to get interesting, and this is the part where the Chronicles reference the events that unfolded at the bridge.

One Norse warrior, a qualified Berserker by trade and by blood confronted a massive regiment of troops and was greatly outnumbered.

The Edda makes only minimal reference to this warrior, and no name was mentioned, only the fact he was asked to go and defend the bridge, that is basically it.

The Anglo-Saxon chronicles make reference in great detail that this one Norseman was basically unstoppable. In a berserker rage, he took down his opponents, one by one, sometimes two at a time, until there was a pile of corpses.

Approximately 35 Anglo-Saxons had been slaughtered by this single Norseman, in such a way, each new opponent to face this Berserker literally had to climb over a pile of corpses to get to him.

He was unstoppable, and the English had no way of busting through this guy, he was definitely battle ready and looking to shed more blood.

However, one soldier had an ingenious idea to stop the slaughter this individual was dishing out.

A single soldier grabbed a barrel to use as a flotation device because he would have sunk in his armour, and a spear in the other hand.

This one Anglo-Saxon had obviously decided that this Norseman had racked up a decent kill count and was certainly not in the mood for dying that day.

He hopped in the water with his barrel and spear, floated downstream till he was underneath the bridge, and speared the Norseman in his groin, and ended his life almost immediately.

The English were then able to storm the bridge and finish the job their other troops were participating in and becoming victorious shortly after.

King Harald had taken such massive losses, it is reported that only 24 of the 300 longships returned to Norway.

This is amazing for many reasons, the fact the Norse Edda makes very little reference to this Berserker, yet the Chronicles recognise the near supernatural feats he performed could very well played a big part in which way this battle could have gone. It also shows that the Norman Conquest was not as easy nor as glorious as some may think, and occasionally us Viking descendents had been beaten spectacularly on this "Conquest".

I hope you enjoyed this story, many more to come.

Author: Justin Ferry

What It meant to be a Viking

What it meant to be a Viking

Hail fellow Vikings and Norman enthusiasts.

In some of my articles I attempt to bring factual evidence in relation to our heritage. This means dispelling certain myths or inaccurate assumptions pertaining to the people that have given us our current identity.

Keep in mind, the Vikings were known to integrate with any race or religion, usually with minimal troubles. Today's article will give a little more insight into what the word Viking meant, and what lifestyle these people had.

The Vikings were a seafaring people from the late eighth to early 11th century who established a name for themselves as traders, explorers and warriors. They discovered the Americas long before Columbus and could be found as far east as the distant reaches of Russia, and even minor settlements in Africa.

While these people are often attributed as savages raiding the more civilized nations for treasure and women, the motives and culture of the Viking people are much more diverse. My previous articles on Norse Women, and the 'Manscaping' of our hipster ancestors touch upon these issues in an attempt to dispel myth and approach this factually, or at least from yet another perspective. The Vikings also facilitated many changes throughout the lands from economics to warfare.

The Viking Age
Many historians commonly associate the term “Viking” to the Scandinavian term vikingr, a word for “pirate.” However, the term is meant to reference oversea expeditions, and was used as a verb by the Scandinavian people for when the men traditionally took time out of their summers to go “a Viking.”

While many would believe these expeditions entailed the raiding of monasteries and cities along the coast, many expeditions were actually with the goal of trade and enlisting as foreign mercenaries. Who would have thought that these scattered groups of displaced Scandinavians would have enough charisma, or organisational skills in obtaining foreign mercenaries? Well, it was a regular thing, and so was doing mercenary work for other empires, including the Byzantines, whose religion and culture varied greatly with the Vikings.

The Viking Age references the earliest recorded raid in the 790s until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. During this time, the reach of the Scandinavian people extended to all corners of northern Europe, and many other nations found Vikings raiding their coasts. The farthest reported records of Vikings were in Baghdad for the trading of goods like fur, tusks and seal fat. It is also rumored that the Vikings did have established trade routes in the Americas, and combined their cultures and certain words with the Indigenous inhabitants at the time.

It appears once again that the "rape culture" associated with Vikings was still nowhere near as bad as some of the other tribes roaming Europe at the same time, and in previous articles, they appear to be amongst the more civilised,well groomed and practiced slightly better methods of hygiene (especially compared to the Saxons).

A Viking raid on the monks of Lindisfarne, a small island located off the northeast coast of England, marked the start of the Viking migration from Scandinavia in 793. This location was a well-known abbey of learning, famous throughout the continent for the knowledgeable monks and its extensive library. During this raid, monks were killed, thrown into the sea or taken as slaves along with many treasures of the church, and the library itself razed. This single event set the stage for how Vikings would be perceived throughout the Viking Age: savage warriors with no respect for religion or appreciation for learning.

Even back then, stereotypes were as prominent as they are today, and all it takes is the bad actions of a few so that many will be tarred with the same brush.

In the years that followed the initial raid, coastal villages, monasteries and even cities found themselves besieged by these sea-based foreign intruders. Due to the frequency of sea attacks, many developments were made in developing fortifications in the forms of walled-in harbors and sea-facing stone walls, defenses that proved to be quite effective at deterring raids.

The reason behind these attacks is a topic of debate among academics, though the reasons often stem from such things as the Christian persecution and forced baptism of pagans to reduced agricultural outputs in the Scandinavian region. Many more documented reasons might have prompted these people to leave their cold and harsh homes to seek out the means to survive elsewhere. Yet, despite how unforgiving their homeland may have been, most Vikings still returned the end of each season with treasure, slaves and goods to survive yet another winter.

By no means were our ancestors completely innocent. Yes, horrific acts were committed by them on numerous occasions, but keep in mind, this is a period of time over 1000 years ago, and many disputes were settled by the sword, but this horned helmet and rape label does need to go. I could write numerous stories about other groups and the atrocities they committed during the same time the Vikings were making themselves known across the lands as traders and seafaring merchants, but shall remain on point.

The stigma surrounding the word Viking is completely misplaced and needs to be understood for what it truly meant.

Till the next installment - Take care and may the Gods watch over you.

Skol!

Author: Justin Ferry