The Book of Viking Myths

by Peter Archer

  English as a Hodgepodge

  The English language is peculiar from a linguistic standpoint in that it is an amalgam of two distinct branches of the Indo-European family of languages: Germanic and Latinate. Before 1066, Old English was closely related to Old Norse, a Germanic language; the resemblance was even greater in the north, where there was a preponderance of Scandinavian words as a result of the Danelaw.

  After 1066, Old French, a Latinate language (that is, derived from Latin) became the dominate language. The two languages, Old French and Old English, gradually merged, but even today a majority of the words in English have Latin roots rather than Germanic ones.

  Although they no longer raided and plundered, the Normans still retained expansionist tendencies. The invasion of England is one example. Somewhat earlier, in the 1050s, a swashbuckling Norman noble named Roger and his brothers led an expedition to Sicily. There they began a campaign of conquest. By 1091, they held the entire island, which became the Kingdom of Sicily, which would last until 1816. The Normans, like their Viking forebears, ranged widely throughout Europe, often serving as mercenaries to various monarchs.

  Chapter Three

  Life Among the Vikings

  Although our image of the Vikings is as seagoing folk, always sailing toward their next raid, as previous chapters have made clear, beginning in the ninth century they began to form permanent settlements in many of the lands they had raided. This was where they set out from on new voyages of discovery and conquest; this was where, gathered around the fire, they told stories of the gods and their deeds. But what did these settlements look like?

  Hunting and Farming

  The first requirement of any permanent settlement was, of course, a reliable source of food. The Vikings were accomplished hunters and fishermen, but they also brought with them knowledge of farming. Where soil was good and the climate was favorable, they planted crops and raised domesticated animals. Horses were of particular importance, both as a means of transportation and of cultivating the land. This goes a long way toward explaining the prominence of horses in Viking mythology, beginning with Odin’s eight-legged steed Sleipnir.

  Archaeological investigation of Viking sites during the past century shows they supplemented their food with honey, eggs, and various wild plants. A surviving poem, the Rígsthula, describes a farmer as having tamed oxen, constructed ploughshares, built houses and barns in which to store hay, and created carts for hauling his crops.

  The Rígsthula

  This poem survives in a single version as part of the fourteenth-century Codex Wormianus, which also contains a version of the Prose Edda. For its account of the doings of the god Ríg, see Chapter 9.

  Horses or oxen could be used to drag the plough, a simple arrangement with an iron blade to turn over the soil. On smaller plots, a man might have to push or pull the plough himself until he could save enough money to purchase an animal. Wheat was cut with a sickle mounted on a pole, as it was in the rest of Europe. When it was ready, it was ground, usually by hand, into flour and then baked into bread.

  Animals were hunted or sometimes slaughtered, particularly those not expected to survive the harsh northern winter. The meat could then be cut into long strips, salted, and dried in the sun or over the fire. Cows were often turned out to pasture in wheat fields where the wheat had been cut down. In some areas such as Norway, the practice developed of driving herds of sheep and cows into the uplands during the summer and into the lowlands during the winter.

  Larger farms were worked by a combination of slaves—who might be men who had incurred some debt they were unable to pay off or prisoners captured in a raid—and free laborers. Women and children were employed in cloth weaving and other domestic pursuits, although in times of harvest they, too, would labor in the fields to get the crops in.

  Travel and Trade

  The Vikings were, as we’ve seen, superb sailors. But what about during winter, when the fjords in Scandinavia or the waterways of Britain and Ireland froze? Farming communities could become completely isolated from the rest of the world, and their inhabitants had to hope that they had managed to put aside enough food and fuel for the winter. Unquestionably each winter some of these communities found they had miscalculated and did not survive.

  However, some limited travel was possible during the winter. Archaeologists have found iron spikes that could be mounted on horses’ hooves to give them purchase on ice. Skates made from bone could be used to traverse frozen lakes, rivers, or inlets.

  Barter was absolutely necessary to Scandinavian farming life. Although a farm might be able to grow enough food to feed its inhabitants, such things as tools, cloth, or jewelry might very well be obtained through barter. And, of course, such things could also be brought back after raids on non-Viking communities.

  As the Vikings expanded to the east, especially after the founding of the Kievan state, they increased trade contacts as far afield as Constantinople. Although they retained much of their warlike character, the Vikings in this part of the world became increasingly involved in commercial activities. Over time, goods from the east made their way steadily west, traveling as far as Iceland.

  Vikings at Home

  Some of the best evidence we have for what Viking society looked like comes from the southern Danish village of Hedeby. One reason for this is that rising sea levels covered much of the town, and water is a great preserver of wood. Since the houses in the town were made of wood, remnants of them have survived in greater numbers than elsewhere.

  Houses were built from what is called stave construction. Wooden slats were driven into the ground to form a continuous wall, and buttresses were placed on the outside to prop it up and keep it from collapsing outward under the weight of the roof. The roof itself was thatched with straw, with a hole left for smoke from the fire to escape.

  The inside of the house was simplicity itself. An earthen bench was built up, held in place by wooden boards. Here the family could sit or sleep. In some cases, actual benches were constructed. One was found on the Oseberg ship.

  In places such as Ireland or Iceland or the outer islands of Scotland where there were few or no trees, houses were constructed of stones, dry-laid on one another. Turf walls might also be laid on a stone foundation, and the roofs were of turf.

  Such homes were necessarily small and cramped, with little space for each inhabitant. Family life was a distinctly intimate affair, with parents, children, and grandparents almost piled on top of one another. In summer, the family would be out and about, tending to crops and animals, but in winter they spent many weeks indoors by the fire. To pass the time, they told stories.

  Furnishings

  Furnishings for Viking houses were naturally simple; there wasn’t a great deal of room for externals. The focus of the family was the hearth, on which they burned wood or peat.

  What Is Peat?

  Peat is dug from bogs or marshy, damp areas. It is decayed vegetation that has compacted into a solid mass. When it is dried out, it can be used as a fuel, which smolders rather than burning. The result is that a peat fire, while not producing much in the way of flame, can be a long-term source of heat while consuming fuel much more slowly than a wood fire.

  The single most important cooking utensil in the house was the cauldron, which was suspended over the fire from a spit. In the cauldron, the inhabitants could cook stews or soups. As we will see, Viking mythology makes prominent use of cauldrons, particularly a magical cauldron that is an endless source of food. Generally cauldrons were made from iron, but some have been found that were carved from soapstone with iron handles.

  The spit could also be used to roast meat, which was cut with iron knives and eaten with the fingers. Spoons for stirring the pot could be carved from wood. Food was stored in clay pots. Fish and meat could also be cooked by putting them in a hole in the ground and surrounding them with hot stones.

  Generally, the Vikings grew barley and rye, which they made into bread. They also brewe
d strong beer from these grains and fermented honey to create mead. Mead was a common drink and appears often in Viking myths, most notably in the Mead of Poetry, stolen by Odin for the gods. Milk was obtained from goats or cows. Wine was acquired through trade or raiding (many monasteries in Britain had vineyards). As a precious commodity its consumption was confined to the upper classes.

  Weaving

  In addition to their other responsibilities, Scandinavian women were responsible for weaving wool into cloth. Drop spindles were used more than spinning wheels because of their compactness and the ease of making them. The looms were upright, and a skilled weaver could weave enough cloth during a long winter to cloth her entire family. Large numbers of artifacts have been found at Viking sites that show how elaborate was the process of weaving, dying, and caring for clothing. In addition, cloth had to be woven for the sails so essential to Viking longboats.

  Games

  In addition to telling stories, drinking, and probably fighting with one another, Vikings had other ways of passing the time. Archaeologists have found wooden or stone game boards with game pieces something like marbles. Chess had spread to the outer islands of Scotland by the twelfth century and was probably there earlier, so it is possible that at least some of the Vikings were familiar with it.

  The Lewis Chessmen

  In 1831, a group of chess pieces were discovered on the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides off the coast of Scotland. Current feeling among scholars is that at least some of them were made in Trondheim, Norway.

  The Development of Towns and Trade

  Early in the Viking age, small settlements were the norm. But as the Vikings spread farther and farther afield and began to expand their trading with other civilizations, there was a growth of urban areas. This may seem incongruous—who thinks of “Vikings” and “city dwellers” together?—but the fact is that expanded commerce demanded the formation of towns and cities. For example, in 873 by arrangement with the king of the Franks, Vikings settled for a time on an island in the Loire River and traded with neighboring communities.

  One of the contributing factors to this was the establishment of formal tributes to the Vikings from places they had raided. We would think of this as protection money, a guarantee that the towns or settlements would be free from Viking incursion, provided the tribute was paid promptly. This meant that large amounts of money were injected into the Viking economy on a regular basis. Between 991 and 1014, the Vikings received more than 150,000 pounds of silver as part of the arrangement in England establishing the Danelaw (see Chapter 2). Scandinavian countries struck their own coins, which were mingled in Viking hoards with those of many other nations.

  Trade Goods

  Coinage helped the Vikings obtain many things they were unable to make for themselves: good, strong weapons such as swords made from some other metal than iron, which tended to be brittle; pots, pans, and other luxury cooking utensils; well-woven cloth from the east. All of these goods circulated through those areas inhabited by the Vikings, passing west as far as Iceland.

  In exchange, the Vikings were able to inject into the economic bloodstream of medieval Europe many goods that were previously scarce, including slaves, furs, and walrus tusks. The Vikings’ steady raiding in Britain, Ireland, and elsewhere ensured them a copious supply of captives who could be sold off as slaves in Kiev, the Byzantine Empire, and elsewhere.

  Archaeological excavations in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark show that the presence of traders worked both ways. Not only did the Vikings travel east with boatloads of goods and silver coins, but merchants from the east began to travel west in increasing numbers. All of this meant the spread of not just goods but culture. Images of Thor and Odin spread across Europe, accompanied by Viking tales of these and other gods and heroes.

  Towns

  Towns are focal points for trade in any society. They concentrate the population and make it possible for economic structures to grow and expand. There was a proliferation of towns during the Viking age.

  Scholars study Hedeby, mentioned previously, as a typical town during the height of the Viking period. It was penetrated by a stream, which ran through its middle and served as both a source of drinking water and as something that could carry away waste products. The stream emptied into the ocean, and in the harbor the people of Hedeby built a number of piers to accommodate numerous ships that docked there.

  Running from the sea and back again in a semicircle around the town was an earthen wall that originally was between twenty and thirty feet fall. This, in turn, was surrounded by another, outer, wall. Thus the town was protected on three sides by the wall and on one by water. Nonetheless, despite this impressive defensive system, the town was destroyed several times in the eleventh century. After the last time, the inhabitants decided not to rebuild it, and the town sank into ruin. The sea rose, covering much of the town’s buildings, preserving them for posterity.

  Viking Weapons

  Because so much of Viking life was wrapped up with battles, raids, and warfare, it is important to understand as much as we can about how they fought and what they fought with. Fortunately, quite a lot of information is available concerning this. In particular, the custom of burying warriors with their weapons makes it possible to understand how the Viking fighting habits and equipment evolved over the centuries.

  Although the popular image is of Vikings wielding axes, the Norse warrior was more inclined to use swords and spears. Swords, usually made of iron, were at first single edged but then changed to double-edged weapons with a low ridge running down the middle of the blade for balance. They were carried in scabbards, and the hilts of the swords as well as the scabbards often contained complex and beautiful decorations. Special swords, or, in myth, magical swords, were given their own names. Given that swords were expensive and that the best swords were generally obtained in trade, it was not unusual for an especially prized weapon to be passed down from father to son over several generations.

  Spears might be for hurling, in which case they were javelins and were relatively light. These were helpful in battles at sea with other longboats, since they could be thrown at the opposing crew and warriors to disable them. Spears that were intended for fighting at close quarters were heavier both in the head and the staff.

  Axes were used in battle and are not that much different from the domestic tool. They had broad blades and were superbly balanced. The disadvantage of an axe as opposed to a sword was that the latter could be used for both thrust and parry.

  Warriors carried large wooden shields, brightly decorated, that might stop arrows or all but an especially vigorous blow from an axe or a sword. Apart from that, armor was limited. Warriors wore conical helmets, often with pieces hanging down to protect the nose and ears (see Chapter 13 on the hoard at Sutton Hoo).

  Battles

  Before a battle (as opposed to a raid such as the one that destroyed Lindisfarne in 793), the leader of the Viking army would give a speech to his followers to raise their adrenaline and prepare them for the battle ahead. Given the size of some Viking armies—1,000 to 1,500 men in some cases, standing on a windy plain—it seems likely that only the front ranks could hear the words spoken and repeated them to warriors standing behind them. Warriors also hurled insults at one another; the rich tradition of Viking insults is reflected in many of the stories in the Eddas in which gods and men hurl epithets and charges of cowardice at one another.

  Siege machines were not unknown, although the Vikings rarely laid siege to towns. The siege of Paris in the ninth century was an exception, probably prompted by anticipating of the riches for the taking that lay within the city.

  All in all, the Vikings were formidable warriors, but during the Viking age they also evolved a steady and productive life as farmers, traders, and townspeople.

  Chapter Four

  The Sources of Viking Mythology

  We are fortunate in having a large amount of source material from which to study Viking mythology, bu
t one source stands out. In the thirteenth century, a native of Iceland, Snorri Sturluson, composed the work that has come down to us as the Prose Edda. This book gives us the most complete account of the Viking gods and goddesses and some of the chief stories associated with them.

  Snorri Sturluson

  Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) was an important figure in Iceland. The nation had no king but instead was governed by an assembly of its prominent figures, the Althing. Snorri was twice chosen lawspeaker of the assembly. Snorri was born into a high-ranking family but was raised by Jón Loftsson, called by some historians the “uncrowned king of Iceland.” It seems that Snorri’s father, Sturla, was in dispute with another nobleman when that nobleman’s wife lunged at him with knife. Although Sturla merely suffered a cut on the cheek, he demanded excessive compensation. Loftsson settled the dispute by agreeing to bring up Snorri as his son, thus elevating him still further in Icelandic society.

  Snorri evinced interest early on in Scandinavian myths. After his first election as lawspeaker in 1215, he traveled to Norway where he was a guest of King Hákon Hákonarson, who hoped to extend his rule to include Iceland. Snorri also, through other connections, became acquainted with the history of Sweden. Thus when he returned to Iceland, he had an unusually broad knowledge of Scandinavian history and culture. He was also what we would call today an agent of influence on behalf of the Norwegian king. Snorri was elected again to the position of lawspeaker in 1222. He came into increasing conflict with other Icelandic chiefs over the issue of his allegiance to Norway, and by 1238 Hákon Hákonarson no longer regarded him as reliable. Snorri visited Norway again, and this time the king attempted to detain him there. Snorri made his way back to Iceland in 1239, but now he was alienated from most of the other chiefs. In 1241, a plot was concocted to assassinate him, and in autumn of that year it was carried out. Snorri was cornered in the basement of his house and struck down as he begged the assassins not to strike.