The Vikings: Raiders, Explorers And Seafaring Warriors by Lance Hightower

Author:Lance Hightower [Hightower, Lance]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw
Publisher: Make Profits Easy LLC
Published: 2016-01-02T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7: Viking Home Life: A Democratic People

Norse society in Iceland was without warlords or kings. Life was about feasting, farming, the power of chieftains and the church, marriage and the role of women, but it was also about blood feuds. Local courts favored compromise over violence, however, and the independent state of these medieval people was a prototype for a democratic society. This is in stark contrast to what we may have believed and our long held perceptions of the Vikings and their way of life.

The ideals of the heroic life included the obligation to the social group, loyalty and rewards, but this was the privilege of the upper classes. Not everyone could take on the adventures we hear most regarding the Viking heroic cult. We often think of these ruthless people as carousing into the night and perhaps drinking to excess, but ordinary people behaved differently. Aside from the warrior class, they were not much different than us.

“A man should not hold on to the ale cup, but drink moderately from it. Spare of speech he should be, or silent. No man will accuse you of ill manners for going too early to bed.”

The Vikings were suspicious of clever or learned people. They believed it was possible to know too much. Perhaps it was their belief that the gods were the only ones who should be so wise.

Archeological finds indicate that the average male in Norway was about 5ft 9in in height, and the average female about 5ft 3 in.

Clothing was made from wool, leather and linen, with metal fastenings. Spinning and weaving were common.

Dental remains show almost no caries (cavities) in stark contrast to today’s society, but their teeth were much more worn, likely due to chewing on bones or using teeth as tools.

Food was what we might expect: wild game such as bear and elk, domestic animals such as sheep and hogs, fish that could be dried, salted or smoked, milk and whey, and anything they could forage including mushrooms, grasses and nuts.

Milk was soured and used in bread. Most often, meats were boiled, not roasted, and made into something called skause, a dense broth of meat, vegetables and perhaps tree bark in which meat was cooked, then removed and eaten and new meat was added to the old broth.

Cultivated vegetables included white carrots, cabbages, peas, and greens. Foraged foods included wild apples and berries, herbs and spices such as mustard, horseradish and cumin.

Despite having such a healthy diet, however, remains have shown that these people suffered from intestinal parasites, possibly because of unsanitary conditions in storage of perishable foods.

Skeletal remains indicate that some did live into old age, well into their 80s, and suffered from degenerative joint disease (arthritis), and according to the sagas, other conditions common to old age, such as failing eyesight and hearing loss, were experienced.

Other skeletal remains show horrific battle injuries such as the top of a skull cut off by a sword. In one man, the imprint of ring mail

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