It's a battle that's long set the internet ablaze- the Viking Berserker versus the fabled Samurai.
Rage and brute strength versus disciplined skill- which ancient warrior would have really
come out on top if these two near-mythical characters had ever actually met in battle?
Vikings have earned themselves a fierce reputation thanks to the terror they sowed across Christian
lands during the early middle ages, yet even amongst the fierce Norse, there was one group
of elite warriors whose exploits would become the stuff of legend. The mere existence of Berserkers,
and their abilities, have long been debated by historians, but archaeological evidence
proves that berserkers- and their deeds in combat- were more than just fables.
It's believed that berserkers practiced a form of shamanism that worshiped great animals spirits,
the most prominent of which were the wild boar, the wolf, and the bear.
The greatest of these was the bear cult, with its devotees foregoing the traditional chain
mail of a Norse warrior and instead cladding themselves in thick bear furs. Often a bear
hood was worn as well, giving the impression that the berserker was more beast than man.
And if looks weren't enough to fool an observer, then the behavior of a berserker certainly could.
These fearsome warriors were often deployed as shock troops, and at the very front of a fighting
formation because in the heat of battle they would often not distinguish between friend and foe. This
state of frenzy, known as Berserkergang, turned the berserker into a fearless, rage-filled primal
force of nature, and it was said that while berserking these warriors were unkillable.
Berserkers were almost certainly killable while in their frenzy state,
but it turns out that there may be a lot of truth to the tales of greatly increased
physical strength and resistance to pain. Studies of modern soldiers in
combat discovered some individuals entering a berserker-like state,
and some scientists believe that this self-induced rage may have been a form of PTSD.
Archaeologists have also discovered in the graves of known berserkers the seeds of a
plant known to be poisonous, which in the right doses can inflict a psychological state on the
sufferer very similar to the mindless rage a berserker was said to have experienced.
Now, historians believe that berserkers may have reached these states of rage-fueled
hysteria through a combination of drugs, meditation, and ritual,
preparing themselves for the battle to come and becoming instinct-driven killing machines.
Accounts of berserker rages are legendary, and even the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII
makes mention of norse warriors entering these frenzied rage states and achieving
feats of strength no ordinary man could match. Scandinavian kings have left us
plenty of records of their use of berserkers as shock troops, and there is documented evidence
of a single norse warrior- believed to be a raging berserker- holding up an entire
English army during the Battle of Stamford Bridge, slaying countless soldiers until finally killed.
A common attribute of berserkers that's repeated enough time to give historians reason to suspect
it was based on truth rather than mere legend, is the berserker's near immunity
to bladed weapons and fire. One account tells of a berserker who entered a frenzy state
and devoured fiery coals, rushed through fires, and then at last turned on his own men.
The swords of the warriors he faced were said to have little effect,
and it wasn't until a crushing blow landed by a hammer that the berserker was at last slain.
As the accounts of their near-immunity to bladed weapons and fire are repeated over and over again,
one has to wonder if there isn't some truth to the tales.
Eventually, berserkers would meet their end as the Norse converted to Christianity, and berserkers-
whom had long been seen as being lawless, with no loyalty, and sex offenders- were made illegal.
At around the same time that berserkers came on the scene,
on the other side of the world a warrior caste known as Samurai began their own rise to fame.
The early Samurai arose from the private armies of wealthy landowners,
and the samurai gradually evolved into a very similar role as that of the European knight-
an elite warrior who served the rich and powerful. While modern romanticism has painted the samurai
as wise and honorable warriors, the truth is that samurai were often no more noble
than their European knight counterparts, fighting for whoever held the most coin.
Eventually the Samurai would become civic leaders of sorts under the Tokugawa Shogunate,
when Japan experienced its longest stretch of peace- 250 years without internal conflict.
Samurai were encouraged to be more civil and embrace principles of Confucianism,
with its emphasis on loyalty and duty. During the peace of the Tokugawa Shogunate,
Samurais became less the power and money hungry brutes of their past, and something closer to
our modern idea of what a samurai was, with a focus on discipline and the development of
the Bushido code which called for frugality, kindness, honesty, and care for one's family.
As Japan opened its borders to the modern world, the Samurai class at last came to an end.
Used to being paid by the government for their services as warriors, as Japan moved towards
creating a modern national army and abolished feudalism, the samurai were reduced to receiving
a government stipend of greatly reduced value. This prompted several samurai rebellions, all of
which were quickly put down. No matter what Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai wants you to believe,
the truth is that the samurai rebellions were in the end about their own best financial interests,
and not about keeping some noble- and largely fictional- lifestyle alive.
Despite their checkered past though, samurai were known to be skilled warriors. Just like
their European knight counterparts, samurai were often the most skilled of available warriors,
and made a name for themselves in battle so that they could be hired by local lords.
A samurai's training focused on the spear, the bow, the katana, and hand-to-hand combat, and
their strict warrior code focused on never showing fear in the face of an enemy. There is little
doubt that amongst the ranks of ancient warriors, the samurai were a fearsome foe for any opponent.
So how do our two combatants, a berserker and a samurai,
really match up against each other, and who would've won in combat?
First let's start by comparing the two warriors physically. Armor measurements from the 16th
century show that Samurai armor was typically sized for men around 5'3” to 5'5”- or about 1.6
meters, while Europeans of the same time period ranged in height between 6 feet and 6' 5”,
or about 1.9 meters. This already gives both a height and weight advantage to the berserker,
and with a significantly greater height than a samurai, a berserker would've
also had significantly greater weapon reach- a critical advantage in hand to hand melee combat.
Japanese samurai trained extensively in the art of combat, and in later ages split their training
between religious rituals and martial arts. The title, and practice, of a berserker was
often handed down along family lines, with entire clans of berserkers fighting together. Caught up
in their rage however, even training could be lethal for a berserker, while samurai conducted
far safer and more civilized training sessions. In battle, a berserker and samurai of similar repute
would both have been hardened combat veterans, men whose entire lives were dedicated to warfare.
In the category of training, we're not declaring a winner, but a tie.
Berserkers utilized many of the most widely available weapons in Europe at the time,
making use of swords, axes, lances, and spears. Due to an abundance of iron in Europe,
berserkers enjoyed the benefit of extremely well made and durable weapons, however their battle
rages encouraged them to get up close and personal with an enemy, eschewing weapons such as slings
and bows. A battle mad berserker may have rushed an enemy and opened an attack with a thrown lance,
then closed the distance to deliver brutal blows utilizing a heavy axe.
For defense, a Berserker made use of the large and heavy kite shield,
a triangular shield that offered great protection from the front, though took a very strong man
to wield effectively. While often being depicted as fighting naked, a berserker
was in fact often clad in thick animal skins, but forwent the use of traditional viking chain mail.
Despite being most famously known for the katana, a samurai's sword was in fact,
his last-ditch weapon. Instead, Samurai preferred to fight with bows and spears,
and were greatly skilled with either. The Yumi greatbow was one of the greatest bows
ever crafted, and offered far greater penetration power than the European longbow at greater ranges.
A samurai's katana, despite the many myths and legends surrounding the weapons, was
actually a far inferior weapon to most European swords. Due to the scarcity of iron in Japan,
katanas were not just expensive and thus rare, but created to be much shorter than the average
European longsword. At 25 inches (63.5 cm), katanas suffered from a serious lack of reach,
and unlike European weapons which were double edged, katanas only had a single cutting edge.
Their short length and curved construction also made them very poorly designed for stabbing,
and a samurai would only resort to his katana if all other weapons had failed him.
For defense the samurai wore what is without a doubt some of the most fashionable armor
ever created. To protect the chest, a Dou made up of either an iron or leather plate was worn.
Kusazuri, hanging iron or leather plates, protected the lower body and upper legs.
Sode, large rectangular plates, protected the shoulders. Kote, or armoured sleeves,
protected the hands and often extended all the way up to the shoulder. The Kabuto,
made of iron or leather plates protected the head, with Mengu, or leather facial armor helping
to keep the top-heavy Kabuto firmly attached on the samurai's head. Lastly, Haidate and Suneate
protected the thighs and shins. All in all, the samurai was extremely well protected from attack.
In terms of weapons and defense, these two warriors come equipped with vastly different
capabilities. While both men used the spear, it would have been the primary weapon for a Samurai,
who would fall back to his katana only as a last resort. However,
long before coming into spear range, a berserker would have to face off
against the powerful Yumi bow, a daunting proposition indeed.
Once in close quarters however, the samurai's armor becomes more of a hindrance than a benefit,
while the lightly armored berserker remains far more agile and better retains their stamina.
With samurai armor weighing up to a staggering 55 pounds (25 kg), if the battle doesn't end soon,
the physically smaller and weaker samurai will quickly be overwhelmed by his far
larger, stronger, and lightly armored opponent.
While both warriors would have use of the spear,
the berserker has the advantage here thanks to the greater reach of his larger size.
Once spears are discarded, the samurai is at an even greater disadvantage due to his
exceptionally short katana, further adding to the reach advantage enjoyed by the berserker.
The katana would also fare extremely poorly against the berserker- while katanas were
indeed exceptionally sharp, that keen edge was also extremely delicate, which is a
major reason why samurais were not trained to use their swords for parrying enemy attacks,
as the repeated blows would dull the blade. Then there's the repeated claims that berserkers were
immune to bladed weapons, and only brought down by crushing blows such as maces,
hammers and the like. This is very likely due to the thick animal skins that they wore,
with thick leather doing an impressive job of protecting from edged weapons.
While the samurai could not afford to destroy his weapon's single bladed edge by blocking
the berserker's blows, the berserker would freely be able to use his to overpower the
relatively weaker katana, having a second sharpened edge on his sword to attack with.
The samurai would also have to contend with the large kite shield a berserker would wield,
a formidable barrier for such a short weapon to get past.
So which warrior would win?
If the samurai could begin his attack at range and utilize his powerful Yumi bow,
there's a chance he would be able to kill a berserker before the fight came
down to hand-to-hand combat. However, the samurai would still have to contend with
the berserker's large shield- not an easy feat for even a skilled marksman.
Once in hand-to-hand combat however, all the advantages are on the berserker's side.
Their physical ability to resist pain only adds to the advantages that the berserker already enjoys
with his greater physical reach, greater maneuverability over his heavily armored opponent,
large shield that a samurai must get past,
and better designed and greater quality hand-to-hand weapons.
In this case, brute strength overcomes skill easily, though the berserker still
remains critically vulnerable at range due to his own lack of a ranged weapon.
A samurai's best bet would be to simply flee and use his bow as often as possible.
Now check out US soldier versus chinese soldier, or this other video instead!