Some Facts about the Norsemen



HISTORY

MYTH 1: Norse...Viking same thing...
TRUTH: Not hardly. The tuetonic tribes which became the Norsemen were well established long before the age of Vikings. In fact the word 'viking' is actually a verb, as in 'to go viking' or 'fara i viking' which meant to go raiding.

MYTH 2: Viking men were Big Blonde Blue-eyed Barbarians.
TRUTH: Alot of Norsemen were indeed blonde with blue or grey eyes, However, dark haired and dark eyed Norsemen weren't totally uncommon. Barbarians? Well...I guess that depends on your point of view. Certainly the English who witnessed their acts of plundering thought so but compared to the Mongolian Hordes....it's a matter of perspective.

MYTH 3: All Norsemen were, were warriors.
TRUTH: Not so. There were three main classes in the Norse Society. Thrall (slave), Karl (farmer) and Jarl (chieftain or aristocrat). There wasn't any real 'warrior class'. ALL men learned to be fighters and women were also taught to fight for defense. There were poets, farmers, bards and even 'nobles' of sorts.

Myth 4: Winged or horned helmets were all Vikings wore.
TRUTH: These Helmets were rarely worn by fighting men. They were worn primarily in rituals and religious ceremonies.

During my research into Norse History I have uncovered some very interesting facts. The age old misconceptions of the Vikings aren't always true. Allow me to share in no particular order some of the things I have learned.

• Luck was ranked highly in 'desirable' qualities.
• Christian Priests were considered to be unlucky in weather matters. No Captain willingly transported them and when they did the Priests were thrown overboard whenever a storm arose in hopes of avoiding 'bad luck'.
• Insulting one member of a family was considered an insult to the whole of the family. This also was true in matters of 'disgrace'. (Kind of sound like Klingon's don't they?)
• Daughters were rarely married off against their will. Couples formalized wedding plans in front of witnesses by drinking 'bridal' ale.
• They enjoyed a strong code of honour and freedom.
• Just as they were fearless in battle were they loyal in friendship, often to the point of 'blood oaths'.
• A man fostered into a home as a child grew up with the same rights as any other member of the family. It was the same with illegitimate children. Though they were largely monogamous, illegitimate children were often embraced and treated with the same respect as any other member of the family.
• Harps, bells and drums were used for both religious ceremonies and for personal entertainment.
• The conversion to Christianity nearly destroyed their Sagas and Legends but somehow they managed to keep them alive for us to enjoy even today.
• Both men and women casually wore daggers hanging from their belt. It was normal for a weapon of any size to be named.(IE: 'leg-biter')
• The Fork was not known to the Norse!

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