Hi, it’s Katrina!
From strange dental fashion to a recent discovery of an elaborate grave of a warrior, here are
8 surprising facts about the Vikings.
8.
They had Good Hygiene
While you might think that people 1000 years ago weren’t too worried about being clean,
archaeological evidence indicates that Vikings were much cleaner than most Europeans of their
time.
Artifacts found at Viking sites include an array of grooming tools made from animal bones
and antlers, such as tweezers, combs, razors, and ear cleaners.
It was also customary for Vikings to bathe once a week, and it was quite common to go
to natural hot springs.
At the same time, most other Europeans bathed their entire body only once or twice a year!
Vikings also used strong soap with a high lye content, for both bathing and bleaching
their hair.
You have to remember that most written accounts of Vikings were made by Christians, who likely
harbored a harsh bias against the people they saw as fearsome pagans, barbarians, and in
general an overall threat to Europe.
In other words, Vikings were probably portrayed in the worst possible light by some writers.
One writing, which is often credited to the Abbot of St. Albans, depicted Vikings bathing
as being disturbing for other reasons.
It stated: “thanks to their habit of combing their hair every day, of bathing every Saturday
and regularly changing their clothes, were able to undermine the virtue of married women
and even seduce the daughters of nobles to be their mistresses."
The Abbey of St. Albans was raided several times by the vikings so many people who wrote
about the Vikings only saw their fighting side.
7.
Notched Teeth
Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of viking remains containing crescent-shaped,
horizontal grooves carved into their front teeth and others so that it would be visible.
Most of these teeth were found in eastern Sweden, and some more were discovered in England
and Denmark.
It’s possible that a dye or pigment was used to color the grooves, drawing more attention.
Additionally, the Danish King Haraldr blátönn, or Harald Bluetooth, may have gotten his name
from his modified teeth, rather than tooth decay, as previously thought.
One possibility, according to National Geographic, is that the Vikings started this practice
after encountering West Africans who also filed their teeth.
However, this seems unlikely, as the West Africans did not file their teeth evenly;
they filed them to be pointed.
Researchers are also unsure what the grooves in the Vikings’ teeth represent, but believe
they could symbolize an achievement or ornamentation.
People have been ornamenting and changing their teeth for thousands of years!
You could say rappers are keeping this tradition alive.
(joke- referring to Grill)
6.
They Beat Columbus to the Americas
In 1960, the remains of a 10th-century Viking settlement were discovered in Newfoundland,
Canada at L’Anse aux Meadows.
In 2016, National Geographic announced yet another discovery of a likely Viking site
on the southernmost tip of Newfoundland.
The site was discovered by National Geographic fellow Sarah Parcak, who’s an expert in
using satellite images to detect buried structures.
Parcak and her team broke ground at Point Rosee near Channel-Port aux Basques in 2015.
She was alerted to the possibility of buried objects at the site by the pattern of vegetation
over them, which differs from that of undisturbed soil.
The team unearthed an iron-working fireplace and the remains of turf walls.
Although Newfoundland was visited by other cultures throughout history, including Native
Americans and Basque whale hunters from Spain, Parcak’s team is confident the remains were
left behind by Norsemen.
The hearth and turf structure are common features of Viking settlements, and nearby evidence
indicates that the hearth was used for roasting iron ore, which was likely used to create
nails to hold the Vikings’ supreme ships together.
The history of Vikings in North America is still being investigated, and the extent to
which they explored the continent remains unknown.
In any case, they arrived to the Americas about 500 years before Columbus.
5.
They Did Not Wear Horned Helmets
The stereotypical image of Vikings wearing horned helmets was at least partially the
creation of contemporary European Christians, who strove to make Vikings look as barbaric
as possible.
They may have created the image of the horned helmet to resemble Satan’s horns.
In fact, there’s only one preserved Viking Age helmet known to exist, and it does not
have horns.
It was discovered north of Oslo, where a Norwegian warrior was buried, and was found with the
only known complete chainmail suit from the period.
Parts of helmets have also been found in Denmark.
There was no tradition of burying a warrior with his helmet, which may explain why complete
helmets have been so hard to come by.
Helmets were also not sacrificed, like spears or swords.
Another possibility for the absence of complete Viking helmets is that maybe not many of them
wore helmets in the first place.
However, there is evidence that the elite Viking “Berserkers” may have worn horned
helmets.
These helmets were probably worn for display or religious purposes, but the horns would
have gotten in the way during battle.
Horns on a helmet are not very practical.
In other words, horned helmets were not a cultural mainstay for the Vikings, as popularly
depicted.
4.
They Did Not Call Themselves Vikings
The Scandinavian countries as we know them didn’t exist during the Viking Age, which
lasted roughly from 790 until 1066 AD.
People settled in clans and tribes scattered throughout the region.
At the time, other nations referred to people within the region as Norse, Norsemen, Danes,
and “The Pagans.”
It’s unknown what the Vikings referred to themselves as.
In Old Norse, the word “viking” meant “piracy” or “freebooting voyage,”
but it was not a personal descriptor.
Put simply, the term “Viking” didn’t apply to any specific tribe or group, and
the Vikings therefore didn’t refer to themselves as such.
The term “Vikings” as we use it today is a phrase that emerged during the 19th century.
Additionally, Vikings are classified by modern historians in numerous ways beyond the generic
application of the term.
In Irish records, for example, Vikings are categorized based on their nationality, including
the Danes ( or “Danar,”) the Norwegians (or “Lochlannaigh,”) and the foreigners
("Gall-Gaedil”).
3.
They Abandoned Sick Children
Various cultures throughout history, including the Vikings, were known to “remove” the
sick and disabled from society.
The Vikings most likely did this because in a culture that depended on physical strength
(like the Spartans), ailing members were perceived as unlikely to be able to survive on their
own and contribute meaningfully.
One legendary Viking, Ragnar Loðbrok (seen in the show Vikings) allegedly struggled with
the choice of whether or not to leave his deformed child in the forest.
According to the story, after an agonizing decision-making process, Ragnar abandoned
the baby, whom his wife, Aslaug, later discovered and brought home.
She named the child “Ivar,” and a disappointed Ragnar referred to his son as “Ivar the
boneless” due to his inability to walk.
Although Vikings participated in the practice of abandoning their sick, they certainly weren’t
the first to do this.
In the ancient Spartan warrior culture, some parents were permitted to expose their children
to the elements, allowing their fate to be determined by nature.
The ancient Romans were also known to abandon unwell infants.
Other people in the UK also did this and believed the fairies would come and take their ill
children.
It’s hard to think of such abhorrent rituals as anything other than cruel, but back then,
it was considered a survival mechanism, especially in times of famine or other hardship.
2.
Women’s Rights
Viking women certainly weren’t considered equal to men, but Viking societies were far
ahead of many other European cultures of the time when it came to women’s rights.
Most Viking women were housewives and fulfilled “traditional” gender role duties.
But some women were likely entrepreneurs in the textile industry, as well as warriors.
Just recently, an elaborate Viking grave was found in Sweden shown to be that of a warrior.
When archaeologists studied the remains, they found that the warrior inside, was a female.
She was buried with horses, weapons, and several games, most likely demonstrating that she
was of high rank, and knowledgeable in battle strategy.
When it came to marriage during that time period, Scandinavia was a pioneering region
of gender equality.
Women could choose at the last minute not to marry a man, often going against their
family’s wishes when doing this.
But it was still a right that they had.
Viking women were also allowed to divorce if the husband moved to another country, if
the husband’s side of the family suddenly became poor, or if the husband was violent.
Divorced women and widows were also permitted to remarry.
Despite these privileges among Viking women that were practically unheard of among European
societies at the time, things were far from fair.
Husbands typically had several mistresses, for example, while women were punished harshly
for infidelity.
In the Vikings’ version of fairness, the “official” wife had authority over all
other women in the home.
1.
They Gave Us Popular Words
Dozens of modern-day English words were derived from the Old Norse language that was spoken
by the Vikings.
Here are a few examples!
“Ugly” is one English word that was inspired by Old Norse.
When Vikings insulted one another, they often used the term “uggligr,” which stemmed
from the word “ugga,” meaning “to fear.”
I suppose the only thing scarier than a Viking, to some, would be an ugly one!
The word “berserk” also comes from the Old Norse language.
It was used to describe a “warrior frenzied in battle.”
In fact, the “Berserkers” were an elite group of Viking warriors that went into a
collective “trance-like state” immediately before going into battle.
The Scandinavians also coined the term “knife,” which comes from the word “knīfr.”
Knives were an important part of Viking culture, and were often buried with their owners.
The term “husband” derives from “hūsbōndi,” which literally translates to “householder.”
Even some of our days of the week were named after Viking gods.
“Wednesday” comes from “Wodin’s Day,” and “Wodin” was another name for the god
Odin.
Tuesday is named after Tyr, the god of war, and Friday is named after the goddess of marriage,
Frigg.
Thor, the Norse god of thunder and strength, is believed to be the inspiration for Thursday.
Thanks for watching!!
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