Ancient Norse seafarers who were inhumanly large, brutish, and killed everything in their path: these were the Vikings. At least, that’s what popular culture wants us to believe. In reality, the Vikings weren’t the barbarians that we have branded them. They were a group of greatly intelligent, civilized, and hard-working people. Their unique culture and belief system was misunderstood by other cultures, which helped contribute to a false reputation that is still upheld today. Read on to learn about the reality of the Viking way of life. You’ll find out what is actually true and what is just legend.
Vikings Cared About Personal Hygiene
If you picture Vikings as a long-haired and bearded group of warmongers, you wouldn’t be wrong. However, you would be mistaken if you assumed that they were dirty, stinky, and careless people. In reality, the Vikings cared greatly about their personal hygiene. Although they may have lived in harsh conditions and were known to have bushy beards and long hair, they took care of themselves.
Many different Viking grooming tools and equipment have been discovered that were used by both men and women. These include things such as combs, razors, and even ear swabs. Although they couldn’t avoid ever getting dirty, it is clear that they made more of an effort than is ever depicted in popular culture.
They Never Wore Horned Helmets
One of the biggest misconceptions about the Vikings was that they wore horned helmets into battle. However, this has been proven to be completely false. If they wore helmets at all in combat, they certainly didn’t have horns on them because there have been no artifact discovered to suggest this was something that Vikings wore.
The idea behind the horned helmets came from the Victorian era to romanticize the image of the Vikings. They were described as wearing these scary-looking helmets in order to make them seem as savage and horrifying as possible.
The Days Of The Week Are Named After Viking Gods
Unknown to many people, the Norse gods worshipped by the Vikings are a part of our everyday lives. The days of the week are actually references to the names of specific gods. The great raven god Odin, also known as Woden, is now Wednesday, which literally means Woden’s Day. Tuesday and Friday are named after Tyr and Frigg, the god and goddess of war and marriage.
The most famous, is Thor, the god of thunder and strength, for Thursday. While much of Viking culture may be lost, it’s interesting that something as fundamental as the days of our modern week can be directly traced back to their belief system.
Vikings Had A Unique Justice System
Contrary to popular belief, Vikings didn’t just go around settling things on their own. In reality, they had an established justice system in order to resolve any disputes or crimes that came up. Norse culture knew this system as “Althing,” translated to mean “The Thing.”
Regularly, “The Thing” was held and a law speaker would hear people’s disputes. They would then settle these disputes either through peaceful means, usually done with the help of an objective third party, much like our court system today. However, in some cases, justice was decided through violence and occasional execution.
Vikings Spent More Time Farming Than Raiding
The Vikings may be best remembered for their reputation for being fierce warriors and ruthless raiders, but that wasn’t their full-time profession. They wouldn’t be able to establish such a complex society if they were always sailing around looking for treasure and a fight. For the most part, Vikings spent much more time farming and maintaining their settlements than anything else.
Some of the most famous Vikings in history such as Ragnar Lothbrok started out as full-time farmers until they came into a position of power. In Viking culture, being a farmer was a respected position in the community although many of the men also doubled as raiders when the time came.
Vikings Were Not A Unified Group
Although Vikings settlements were communities of unified people, the Viking culture as a whole did not associate with one another. Chances are, many of the people that lived in the area didn’t even consider themselves to be Vikings. The term Viking simply referred to all Scandinavians that were ever involved in overseas expeditions, essentially grouping them all into one category.
However, during the height of the Viking culture, what is now Norway, Denmark, and Sweden was one land sprinkled with chieftain-led tribes that were far from united and were constantly warring with one another. However, seldom would they ever raid together since they weren’t big on sharing with one another.
Vikings Were Avid Skiers
In the Scandinavian Penninsula, the earliest evidence of skiing dates back almost 6,000 years ago. During the Viking Age, skiing was a means of transportation during the winter when the majority of the land was covered in snow and ice. However, it was later discovered that Vikings might not have used skiing strictly for transportation, but also for recreation.
In Norse mythology, there is even a god for skiing named Ullr. It has also been assumed that skiing was also used in warfare as a means to scout through the wilderness and as a way to move vast armies across terrain that would otherwise be unpassable.
They Abandoned Weak Children
Much like the Spartans of Greece, strength and health were necessary qualities for Viking children. If a child was born sickly and weak, unable able to fight or contribute to society, they were considered to be a burden and useless. As a means of saving resources and their own time, these children were either abandoned in the forest or thrown into the ocean.
This was seen as a better alternative or even a mercy. Viking life was hard, so there was no room to coddle a child. Only around 80% of Viking children lived to the age of five and at that time were expected to work, learn to fight, and contribute just like any other person.
The Vikings Reached North America Before Columbus
Nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus ever sailed the ocean blue, the first Europeans to ever step foot in North America was a group of Vikings led by Leif Eriksson. Lief Eriksson’s own father, Erik the Red was a famous traveler before his son, establishing the first European settlement of Greenland. Supposedly, Erik the Red had also sailed from Iceland to Canada and encouraged his son Leif to explore new lands as well.
This led to Leif eventually discovering North America although he made no moves to take over the land or attack the Native Americans. For the most part, the Viking discovering of North America remained unknown long after Christopher Columbus took the credit as the first European.
Vikings Weren’t As Huge As They Are Depicted
Vikings are commonly depicted as being giant, muscular men with the ability to kill their enemies with one swing of an ax, however, that’s an over-exaggeration. They didn’t look like Rollo from the History Channel show Vikings or Chris Hemsworth in Thor. They were typically around 5 feet 7 inches and were leaner than they were burly.
Their size has been explained by their summer seasons being exceptionally short, leading to fewer resources and therefore less food. This lack of good weather is also what led the Vikings to go on raids in order to take other’s resources. Much like with the horned helmets, the description of the Vikings as being large was a way to make them seem much scarier than they were and paint them as almost inhuman.
Vikings May Not Have Had Tattoos
Tattooing has been proven to have existed well before the Vikings,yet that doesn’t necessarily mean that Vikings had tattoos. Although people today demonstrate their Viking heritage by getting “traditional” Viking tattoos, it’s still not clear if real Vikings had these tattoos or if they are just ancient Norse symbols.
While in television and movies Vikings are often depicted as covered in tattoos, there still is no physical evidence that they practiced the art. Furthermore, considering that the Viking’s took pride in their cleanliness and were even a little obsessive about it, it may seem likely that they didn’t want to cover their skin with permanent markings.
Vikings Had An Interesting Method For Starting Their Fires
While for the most part, Vikings were very concerned with their hygiene and overall cleanliness, they seemed to put that all aside when it came to lighting fires. Their process would begin with collecting touchwood fungus from tree bark and then boiling it for several days in human urine. They would then pound the soaked bark into a felt-like substance that was easy to transport and durable.
They had discovered that the sodium nitrate in urine would allow the material to smolder and not just burn, allowing them to travel vast distances and start a new fire on the go.
They Buried Their Dead In Boats
Considering that the majority of life revolved around the ocean, whether it be seafaring, raiding, or fishing, it was only appropriate that their burials would involve a boat. In the Norse religion, it was believed that great warriors would need a vessel to cross over into the afterlife and reach Valhalla. So, prominent Vikings and exceptional women would have the honor of being laid to rest in a traditional Viking ship.
Along with the body, the ship would be filled with weapons, food, treasure, and anything else they may need in the afterlife. On some occasions, slaves were even sacrificed and put on the boat as well to serve their masters in the afterlife.
The Viking Afterlife
Though many modern religions believe in some form of heaven and hell, the Vikings had a totally different view of the afterlife. They thought that the way you lived life would dictate which of several afterlife realms you would go to after death. For the Vikings, the best place you could hope to go to was Valhalla.
This place was reserved for warriors that fought bravely and died bravely in battle. Next was Helgafjell, another place for admirable people that lived a fulfilling life. Hellheim, on the other hand, was a place for dishonorable people who didn’t die well, this could even mean dying comfortably of old age.
Vikings Loved Taking “Magic Mushrooms” Before Battles
Before a big battle, Vikings would eat mushrooms and begin going crazy. They believed that they were being possessed by an otherworldly force that would provide them with incredible powers during the long battle. The reality is they were getting high “magic mushrooms.”
Supposedly Vikings loved this feeling. Some historians, sadly, believe that mushrooms weren’t the only cause of Vikings going “berserk.” They believe several Viking suffered from PTSD and would find themselves suffering episodes before battles.
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