From the unique diets of these Nordic warriors to the traditions and daily routines of the
ancient Scandinavians, today we look at What It Was Like To Be A Viking.
Number 10.
Longhouse Feasts In the Viking Age, the Scandinavian population
built their settlements around the iconic Viking Longhouse.
These long, narrow, timber-framed structures would reach up to 250 feet in length and acted
as the centerpiece of a viking's farm, housing the family in the central hall as other rooms
in the house may serve as stables, tool storage, or artisanal crafts.
While viking farmers enjoyed using them in everyday life, these longhouses would become
especially handy during times of great feasts, when all members of the village could easily
fit under one roof to enjoy a hearty, festive meal.
Number 9.
Beloved Mead During the time of the Vikings, water wasn't
always the safest choice to drink, thus a new beverage became the common refreshment
of choice in the form of mead.
This libation is the oldest alcoholic drink known to man and it was produced by fermenting
honey, water, and spices to create a liquid both rich in sweetness and rich in alcohol
content.
But mead didn't originate with Vikings, as evidence found throughout Europe and Asia
date it back more than 10,000 years.
Still, few cultures showed more fondness for the ancient booze than the Vikings who had
entire buildings devoted to its consumption, righteously referred to as mead halls.
In order to cultivate this beloved beverage, the villagers of the Viking Age had to attain
honey consistently, which gave birth to early beekeepers who would use a coiled dome of
straw to house the insects.
Unfortunately, the only way to extract the honey using this method involved exterminating
the bee colony in the process.
Mead, however, was a drink for everyone of all social statuses, so the demand was always
high for the drink.
As for drinking the liquid from a horn like many vikings are portrayed, this tradition
was reserved only for those with high enough status to afford it.
Number 8.
Hooved Delicacies Massive, strong, and intimidating, Vikings
were testosterone-fueled warriors that seemed to tower over their enemies.
Such hearty men and women didn't arise solely from genetics, though, as their diets during
this period relied heavily on large doses of protein.
No matter the social status, Vikings could always rely on a healthy portion of meat on
the table come mealtime.
Pork made up a good chunk of their daily diets, but these ancient people didn't mind turning
to a number of other cloven animals for nourishment.
Goat, lamb, elk, reindeer, and horse all provided meat for the people of this era, most of the
time prepared through boiling.
A common dish in Viking culture, called skause [skehss], is a stew made of whichever of these
meats were available, along with any of their regional fruits and vegetables, including
carrots, cabbage, apples, herbs and beans.
But perhaps the strangest dish eaten among the Vikings is the "hákarl" , a meal made
from fermented shark, left underground for weeks on end prior to serving.
Number 7.
Bardic Tradition As the mead flowed rampant and the savory
meats tickled the tongues of Vikings during times of celebration, the people of this Nordic
culture would turn to the fire and gather round for the tradition of epic storytelling.
This responsibility of recounting tales was left to the Skald [skawld], a Scandinavian
poet that would specialize in Old Norse and Eddic poetry, reading and recounting them
before leaders of the Viking era.
Eddic poetry came from the Edda , a 13th-century Icelandic literature separated into two parts:
the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda . This compound collection not only provided budding
skalds [skawldz] with stories and poems of their cultural heroes and myths, but also
instruction and structure for forming poetry!
These poets would also typically detail historical events or praise a patron in which they serve,
similar to a medieval bard or herald.
However, unlike the bard, there has been no evidence found to suggest skalds [skawldz]
used instruments.
Some historians, though, have speculated they might have used a lyre or harp.
Number 6.
Rune Writing The ancient Vikings are often portrayed as
a warrior race, but these people had just as much brains as they did brawn.
One of their most iconic achievements as a culture was creating the Futhark , a runic
alphabet.
Using 24 letters, this written language was used to spell out Germanic languages and stone
slabs throughout Northern Europe host these markings today.
This runic alphabet has been divided into two parts designated as Elder Futhark and
Younger Futhark . The former is the original and oldest form of the written language and
was used primarily prior to the 8th century before becoming a type of Anglo-Saxon derivative.
Meanwhile, a simplified version, the Younger Futhark using long-branches and short twigs
gained popularity with the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegians.
This second form would eventually lead to the medieval runes of the Middle Ages.
Number 5.
Strategic Gaming Life in the Viking period wasn't all sailing,
raiding, and eating boiled meats.
There was downtime to be had, and when it occurred, the Vikings turned to board games.
One of the most beloved table-top, strategic games of the period was hnefatafl , a Germanic
game similar to chess.
It had many variants that are collectively known as the tafl games.
These games made their way across Europe, finding favor with people in Britain, Denmark,
Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and other northern and western nations on the continent.
By the 12th Century, though, the tafl games had been mostly replaced by chess, however
some cultures continued playing tafl games until the 1700s in a variant form called tablut.
The rules for tablut were written down in Latin by Swedish naturalist Linnaeus in 1732,
and in 1811 they were translated to English.
Today's understanding of tafl games primarily come from this translation, which linguists
and historians have found to be rife with errors.
New rules have since been added to create a wholly unique form of the tafl games for
modern times, thus we may never know just how to game like a Viking!
Number 4.
Women's Rights Burly men are often the main subject of imagery
surrounding Viking culture, however the women of the era played an equally important role
with perhaps more rights granted to them than even some cultures today.
While they technically couldn't be vikings, as the Old Norse term "Vikingar" was a male-specific
word, women played an intricate role in the expanse of their culture as they established
settlements across Europe, Russia, and islands across the North Atlantic Ocean.
At one point, it was believed that only the men would set sail on raiding ventures and
excursions into new lands, but recent evidence has shown that not only did Norse women join
them, but they were instrumental in migration and assimilation.
On the homefront, vikings followed the antiquated concept of separate spheres with men taking
the reigns in matters like combat, hunting, trading, and farming while leaving women to
look after housework and raising children.
However, Scandinavian women in the Viking Age were granted rights and power that other
cultures during that time wouldn't.
This included the freedom to own property, to request a divorce, and to reclaim property
after a marriage ended.
Marriages in this culture were arranged, but women had a say in the arrangement, and could
structure the division of property by contract in the case of a divorce.
If a woman were to be widowed, her command over the domestic sphere would envelope the
duties of her husband, allowing her to take over his duties, such as running the family
farm or trade.
But in desperate times, such as when defending one's family or property, historical literature
tells of shieldmaidens joining men on the battlefield, and their place in combat is
thought to have inspired the myth of the Valkyrie.
Number 3.
Viking Hairstyles As displayed in pop culture with iconic characters
like Marvel's Thor, one of the most enticing features of the portrayal of Vikings seems
to be their long, thick manes of hair.
Though today such hairstyles might be associated with environmental activists, hard rock enthusiasts,
or simply those too lazy to get a hair trim, the vikings had a very different reason to
wear their hair in this way.
One of the cornerstones of viking life was practicality, and in the frigid lands of Nordic
Europe these people would take any advantage they could get to weather the elements.
Naturally, this included letting ones hair grow, both atop their heads and on their face.
Granted, an element of laziness might be assumed from their tendency to ignore personal grooming,
but this choice too came from a focus on efficiency.
Such practices as braiding long strands into locks or snipping the backside of their hair
to create a sort of reverse mullet were done to keep their hair from getting tangled in
pieces of armor during combat.
An inherent side product of this efficiency was the belief that long hair had a direct
correlation with power, a belief only strengthened by the real benefits it brought vikings in
cold weather.
Number 2.
Frigid Transportation Long ships fitted with sails, oars, and carved
dragons sprouting out of the bow worked well enough for transportation by sea, but how
did the vikings get around on snow and ice covered terrain?
The answer lies in many of the modern preferred methods of snow and ice travel.
Items like sledges, skis, and skates have been found by archaeologists dating back to
the Viking Age, and historians believe these were necessary for vikings to travel during
the winter months when marshes would freeze over.
Hand pulled ski-sledges were thought to have been used by some vikings for transporting
animal furs, while heavier sledges were employed in hauling heavier cargo and were usually
pulled by oxen or horses.
Ancient skis dating back to the Bronze Age have been discovered, usually made of pine
as the natural tree resin of the wood could lubricate the underside of the planks, cutting
down on friction during travel.
And skates made from the foot bones of cloven animals like elk and cows were used often,
though the earliest known skate was a copper bladed version discovered in Finland dating
back to 200 A.D.
Viking skates different from modern skates, though, in that they were flat on each side,
resembling more of a short ski than anything.
Number 1.
Barbaric Behavior While the nordic vikings of old are often
praised for their folklore, warrior spirit, and survivalist way of life, there were many
activities in which vikings engaged that wouldn't go over so well in the modern age.
As the vikings pillaged port towns, and engaged in sea raids regularly, they would capture
victims and enslave them as thralls.
These thralls would be sailed across Europe and either trafficked into an elaborate network
or put to work on plantations.
Ritualistic sacrifice and mass burials were part of viking history as well, with the devoted
people believing such rituals were necessary to satisfy their deities.