The Viking way

Koen de Vette

“I came into this world kicking and screaming while covered in someone else’s blood. I have no problem with going out the same way.”

Often when people of the modern age are asked about their view on Vikings, it is these kind of quotes that are identified as the Viking ethic. They are seen as hard, blood-eager people whose primary objective was to raid and plunder. Their faith was heathen, their tongue savage and they were unbound to the European discourse. A vivid account of a raid in 793, written by Symeon of Durham, tells us about the mentality towards Vikings in that time, an image that has survived up to this day:

“they are pagan iconoclasts, they are like stinging hornets and fearful wolves; they pollute the church of God, they dig up the altars and seize the treasures of the holy church, they slaughter some brothers, take others away in fetters, and drown the rest in the sea” (Montgomery, 2000)

With these kind of descriptions, it is not a wonder that many people draw the conclusion that they must have been barbaric and crude, a conclusion that undermines respect which ought to be acknowledged.

First and foremost, the Viking’s appetite for warfare is a result of their need to expand territories when resources ran scarce. There was a large desire for trade, land and political domination. (Montgomery, 2000) Scandinavia, the origin of the Vikings, was in general a barren and hard place to accumulate wealth. Still, the bulk of the population were farmers and artisans. 

The meaning of the word Viking is valuable in the way that it sheds light on the perspective on Vikings at that time: “In the old Norse language, the word vík meant ‘bay’ or ‘inlet’; víking meant piracy; a víkingr was a ‘raider’ or ‘pirate’. To go a-víking was a profession: of piracy, of trade, and of land-taking.” (Viljoen, 2013) The primary objective of these Vikings was to accumulate wealth on their boats as densely as possible to profit from it in their home regions. The success of their raids aided in the establishment of a trade- and warfare-minded society, one that flourished from the spoils the monotheistic countries had to offer. We must however, keep in mind that war is not all they were after. These were industrious people, and saw the benefit in trading. What distinguishes the Vikings from other industrious trading folks of that time, is their indifference towards using violence to reach their goals. This is adequately captured in a quote from Ibn Fadlan: “The crystallization of the two social groups, warriors and merchants, which were very often indivisible, formed a fundamental feature of the Scandinavian social pattern”…“War in the Viking age was nothing but a continuation of foreign trade with the admixture of different means” (Montgomery, 2000). The success of their activities is revealed in their spreading and settlement across the entire European map, from Constantinople in the east to Normandy in the west. Huge areas were frequently raided during the entire Viking age, lasting from 793 until 1066 (Montgomery, 2000). This success is the result of many hardships endured and overcome by the unique ethos of a unique people. The other blog will elaborate on the crucial factors of their triumphs.

References

Montgomery, J.E. (2000). Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 3: Ibn Fadlan and the Rusiyyah. Cambridge.
Viljoen, L. (2013). English Academy Percy Baneshik Memorial Lecture: The Vikings and their Legacy: Fable, Fact and Fiction. English Academy Review, 30(1), 141-160.