THE VIKINGS, Johannes Bronsted, transl. Kalle Skov, Penguin,
Harmondsworth, 1971 (1960)

Chapter One, "Before the Vikings" (pp. 9-27), begins with the
historical perspective of Henri Pirenne's MOHAMMED AND CHALEMAGNE,
the view that the significant dividing line in European chronology
is not the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but the severing of
the trade routes occasioned by the Islamic conquests. This is seen
as the impetus behind the emergence of the Carolingian Empire. The
Franks, the Byzantines and the Arabs entered the Viking Age with the
unified strength to resist.

There is a look at earlier Scandinavian presence in Latvia, at
improved Scandinavian shipbuilding, at various theories behind the
thrust of the Northmen, the pressure of expanding population being
significant, along with the lure of wealth and increased trade.

Chapter Two, "The Viking Raids" (pp. 28-44), begins with the vast
reach of Viking expansion and considers geographical factors
pointing Sweden east, Norwegians to the northwest and Danes to the
southwest. It looks at Fritz Askeberg's four classes of Viking
raids: pirate raids, political expeditions, colonizing ventures and
commercial penetration.

   Such a division, as Askeberg himself points out, cannot be
   universally applicable, and many of the raids doubtless proceeded
   from mixed motives. But, so long as it is remembered that this
   classification is in no sense a chronological one, it serves to
   put the Viking period into perspective. p. 31

Lesser chiefs generally led the pirate raids, beginning so
shockingly with the looting of Lindesfarne in 793. King Godfred's
two hundred ships against Friesland and his thrust against the Slavs
is seen as early political expansion. Colonizing took place in
inhabited and largely uninhabited (Faroes, Iceland, Greenland)
areas. Swedish commercial activity in the east fits in the fourth
category.

There's a bit of etymology, tracing, for example, Rus to ruotsi
(oarsmen) and offering a menu of choices for the word Viking (Anglo
Saxon camp, Latin village, Norse bay, battle, receding land, absent
from home, etc).

There's a glimpse of contemporary mention by Alfred the Great
(merchant voyages in Nordic lands), al-Tartushi (except for the few
Christians, people worship the god Sirius, hang slaughtered animals
on polls in front of their houses, eat lots of fish, toss newborns
into the sea, sing worse than dogs barking and women can divorce
whenever they like) and Adam of Bremen (geographical account also
praising Swedish and Norwegian courage).

Chapter Three, "The Ninth Century" (pp. 45-69), begins with the
death of King Godfred in 810 and mentions the taking of Dorestad in
834.

   here was minted Charlemagne's famous 'Dorestad coinage', eagerly
   sought and, indeed, copied by the Northerners. From Dorestad,
   too, sailed the stout big-bellied Frisian vessels carrying the
   products of France to Norway and the Baltic countries. In its
   prime, the fifty years or so from 780 to 834, Dorestad was
   reputedly the largest trading centre in northern Europe. p. 46

The town was rebuilt, only to suffer from tidal waves and the
Rhine's changed course in 864. In 845, Godfred's son Horik sent
forces against Paris and Hamburg. Efforts were made to drive out
Vikings settled near Paris, and even another Viking commander,
Weland, offered to help the French expel his countrymen.

Vikings took York in 856. Colonization in England (Danelaw) has led
to Danish survivals in the language, such as bairn and Riding. In
878, Alfred the Great won the Battle of Wiltshire and Vikings
turned devastating attention to the Continent.

The Ninth Century saw Norwegians moving out to the Faroes and
Iceland (succeeding Irish hermits), as well as using bases in the
Scottish isles to launch severe raids into Scotland and Ireland.
Turgeis, founder of Dublin, arrived in 839, Olaf the White in 852.
His brother, Ivar, who had held Limerick, replaced him in Dublin,
when Olaf went to Norway in 870. Archaeology in Norway has uncovered
many Irish artefacts. Norwegians held some of Scotland and northwest
England, as well as France near the Loire. Nantes was sacked in 843,
Lisbon and Seville in 844. Fifteen years later sixty-two ships
entered the Mediterranean ravaging southern France and northern
Italy.

Three men named as Nordic discoverers of Iceland are: Gardar, Floki
and Nadd-Odd.

   The most important source of information on the settlement of
   Iceland in the late ninth and early tenth centuries is the famous
   Icelandic Landnamabok (the book of the taking of the land), which
   dates from shortly after 1200. In this are mentioned the names of
   some four hundred settlers, and in several cases the places they
   came from. p. 62

They were mostly Norwegians, though a significant Celtic element is
mentioned and its influence on Icelandic literature. There was a
practise of selecting homesteads by following a floating beam.

Eastwards, Aldeigjuborg (Staraya Ladoga) was a substantial Swedish
settlement built on an earlier Finnish site. Swedes traded in fur,
honey and slaves along the Volga and the Dneipr on routes that
reached Itil and Baghdad. Prudentius mentions Louis the Pious
meeting two Rus envoys (of Swedish origin) to Byzantium. The Russian
Primary Chronicle is quoted for Rurick and the founding of Ladoga,
Novgorod, etc. Hoskuld captured Kiev. Mention is made of
Scandinavian names in Russian: Igor (Yngvar), Oleg (Helgi) and
Vladimir (Valdemar).

Chapter Four, "The Tenth Century" (pp. 70-90), begins with the
Swedish king Olaf's successes in Denmark. There is Rollo of
Normany's swearing of allegiance to the French king in 911. Alfred
the Great's son Edward and his son, Athelstan, were great warriors
who inflicted heavy losses on the Danes in England. In Denmark,
there is the resurgence under Gorm and especially his son, Harald
Bluetooth, who vanquished Norway's King Hakon. England of the last
quarter of the century was the time of Edward son of Edgar and of
Aethelred the Unread (No Counsel), of Dane geld, of attacks by Olaf
Tryggvason and Swain Forkbeard.

Norway witnessed the procession of: Harald Finehair (abdicating at a
great age), Erik Bloodaxe (twice holding a throne in England, but
soon killed), Hakon (died fighting the Danes), Harald Greycloak
(fierce anti-pagan presiding over crop failure and famine, slain
fighting the Danes), and Olaf Tryggvason (facing an alliance of
Danes and Swedes, abandoned by some of his own supporters, he fell
heroically at Svold in 1000 on the largest Viking vessel ever
built).

In Ireland, the Norwegian victories of Confey (916) and Climashogue
(919) gave the Vikings extensive control of the island. Sigtrygg and
his son, Olaf Cuaran, ruled at Dublin. In 980, the Irish won a
significant victory at Tara. Orkney's Sigurd the Stout ruled the
islands off Scotland and Ireland. Norwegians were active in
Brittany, Normandy, the Loire and the Iberian peninsula.

In Iceland, the year 930 marks the end of the immigration period and
the establishment of the Althing.

   Some of the more important early settlers set up their own law
   courts, but it soon became necessary to organize justice on a
   wider scale, and it is said that a man called Ulfljot was sent
   home to western Norway to study methods of law and justice. Three
   years later he returned to Iceland, and in 930 the Althing was
   set up, and Ulfljot became Iceland's first Logsogumadr (law
   speaker). The annual session of the Althing was held in the
   summer in a place called Thingvellir in the south-western part of
   the island. Here the people gathered to hear the laws proclaimed,
   to lodge their suits, to worship the gods, to display their
   skills, and to buy and sell. Several local Things were
   established over the island. p. 84

There were the Christian missionaries, killings, banishments, envoys
of the fanatical Christian, Olaf Tryggvason, an erupting volcano, a
law speaker stressing unity leading in 1000 to the Christianization
of Iceland.

Gunnbjorn discovered Greenland around 900, but it was Erik the Red
who named and settled it in the 980s. There were the two (Eastern
and Western) settlements.

The Swedes were prominent in southern Denmark and were expelled from
the key trading town of Hedeby in the late 930s. Olaf the Victorious
thwarted his foes. His son Olaf continued to win. In the early 920s,
Ibn Fadlan recorded his meeting with Rus on the Volga. There were
the Byzantine-Rus treaties of 911 and 944. There is Valdemar's (St.
Vladimir's) taking of Kiev in 980, unification of Rus and his
conversion to Christianity.

Chapter Five, "The Eleventh Century" (pp. 91-118), begins with
Aethelred's massacre of Danes on November 12, 1002 and Swain
Forkbeard's retaliatory raids in 1003 and 1004. In 1013, Swain took
London and Aethelred fled to Normandy. Swain died in early 1014.

The figure of Cnut, Swain's son, dominates the next two decades. He
battled Aethelred's son, Edmund Ironside, agreed to a partition of
England, acquired all on Edmund's death in 1016, strove to
demonstrate his legitimacy and the stability and independence of
England, participated strongly in Scandinavian intrigues,
assassination and fighting, including the great naval battle at the
mouth of the Helge in 1026, whose results suggest, despite the
varying accounts, that Cnut won it, established sons on the thrones
of Norway and Denmark, gained the friendship of the Holy Roman
Emperor, secured the southern borders of Denmark, and died too soon
(in 1035) to have firmly established the North Sea Empire his
personal control suggests possible.

Cnut's sons competed for England, but both were dead by 1042 and
Edward the Confessor reigned. Magnus of Norway took control of
Denmark, defeated the Wends in Slesvig and shared power with Harald
Hardrada returning from far venturing. In 1047, Magnus died,
succeeded in Denmark by Swain Estridson. Swain sent, and even led
some, post 1066 invasions of England. These, even with Anglo-Saxon
support, lacked the leadership and staying power to dislodge
William.

In Norway, Olaf the Stout's invasion was halted on July 29, 1030 at
Stiklestad, the first significant battle recorded on Norwegian soil.
Later his son Magnus heeded Sighvat's poem and ceased his animosity
towards leading personalities from that region. Harald Hardrada, a
towering figure and wide ranging warrior, fell failing to conquer
England. His son, Olaf Kyrri, ruled peacefully for more than a
quarter of a century.

The Battle of Clontarf (April 23, 1014), in which both Brian of
Ireland and Earl Sigurd Digri of the Orkneys died, was not decisive.
Sigtrygg Silkybeard remained in Dublin, where he minted the first
Irish coins. Thorfinn of the Orkneys and Godred Crovan of Man were
dominant Eleventh Century personages.

In Iceland, Gizur the White, his son, Bishop Isleif and Isleif's
son, Bishop Gizur, promoted and presided over a century of peace and
Christianity. The discovery and exploration of Vinland is outlined,
including the encountering of Skraelings and the abandonment of the
colonizing ventures. The author mentions the credibility of these
accounts, as well as the absence, in his day, of substantiating
archaeological evidence.

Sweden was the Scandinavian land where paganism lingered longest.

Chapter Six, "Weapons and Tools" (pp. 119-127), outlines: swords,
axes, spears, bows, arrows, knives, shields, armour, helmets, the
tools of carpenters and smiths, household needles, scissors,
spinning-wheels, caulrons, pots, etc. and speaks of beserkers and
horse burials.

Chapter Seven, "Dress and Jewelry" (pp. 128-138), mentions studies
of such finds as the Oseberg ship with its well-illustrated
tapestry, as well as Agnes Geijer's analysis of textiles from Birka
graves, etc. and also adornments, brooches and silver hoards. Coins
were minted in Scandinavia. Others entered.

   The region in which most of these foreign coins are found is
   Gotland, which shows that this large island was the main trading
   area of the Baltic and the whole of southern Scandinavia. A count
   made some years ago of the coins found on Gotland gave the
   following results: Arabic, 25,000; Anglo-Saxon, 18,000; German,
   30,000. For the whole of Denmark the corresponding figures were:
   3,800, 4,000, 8,900; and for Norway they were smaller than for
   Denmark. pp. 137-138

Chapter Eight, "Transport" (pp. 139-148), begins with ships and
three ship burials: Tune, Gokstad and Oseberg. These provide much
opportunity for examination of ship construction and of extensive
grave goods. One point is the finding of head posts carved with
animal heads and of iron rattles, both intended to drive off evil
spirits. There are carts and sleds for land transport, along with
decent roads.

Chapter Nine, "Towns, Earthworks and Camps" (pp. 149-185), begins
with trade and piracy, a description of Hedeby in literature and
archaeology (the great trading centre with fresh water, wooden
buildings, an impressive rampart, iron smelting, bronze working,
coinage, glass making, weaving, etc. was burned by Harald Hardrada
in the mid Eleventh Century), of Wolin, a mixed Slavic-Nordic town,
of Truso (mentioned by Wulfstan and likely a site where amber was
traded), of Birka (on Bjorka Island in Lake Malar, famed for furs,
richest Scandinavian site for grave goods, including skates, silks,
brocades, glass and silver, this principal Swedish trading centre
seems to have been replaced in the late Tenth Century by Gotland)
and Sigtuna (taking over some local trade from Birka and minting
coins). Several other town sites are mentioned.

The Danevirke, rampart across much of a narrow part of Jutland, is
considered, as well as the four Danish military encampments: Fyrkat,
Trelleborg, Nonnebjerg Hill in modern Odense, all late Tenth Century
and Aggersborg, probably from the mid Eleventh Century. The circular
nature of these sites, in contrast to Roman rectangular
fortifications, and Scandinavian contact with Byzantium suggest a
Byzantine influence.

Chapter Ten, "Coins and Weights and Measures" (pp. 186-193), begins
with the general concern of Scandinavians for the weight of coins,
Viking minting of coins, various rulers minting coins, various
designs and the problem of interpretation.

   There are other coins, decorated with birds, or a type of
   triangular design or hammer; of these it is difficult to say
   whether they were pagan or Christian. The bird may be Odin's
   raven or the dove of the Holy Spirit; the triangular design may
   be three shields or a symbol of the Trinity; the hammer may be
   Thor's celebrated weapon or the pallium or Tau cross. pp. 187-188

Swain Forkbeard is the earliest ruler to have transmitted to us his
image on a coin. Several hundreds of minters are known from the
practise of including their names on coins. Locations of mints are
also specified. The values in late Viking times and the Middle Ages
were:

   1 mork-8 aurar-24 ertogar-240 penningar p. 192

The ertog weighed about eight grams. Units of length and volume have
not been clearly determined.

Chapter Eleven, "Runic Inscriptions" (pp. 194-211), begins with the
antiquity of the runes (c. 200 for the 24 character futhark), their
derivation from wood carving, their esoteric aspect, their magical
use on weapons, tools and jewelry, their development into a means of
commemorative inscriptions and the change to only sixteen characters
at the threshold to the Viking period.

   Three different rune-rows can be traced in these later
   inscriptions: first, the Danish, or 'ordinary' runes, which are
   encountered throughout Denmark (including Skane), western (later
   the whole of) Sweden, and Norway; second, the Swedish-Norwegian
   runes of eastern Sweden, southern and western Norway, which also
   appear in the Norwegian colonies of the west, especially the Isle
   of Man; and, thirdly the-so called Halsinge runes, a sort of
   cryptic or cursive script, prevalent in north Sweden, produced by
   omitting the stem of each rune form. p. 197

Runes mention rulers (most notably the Danish Jelling kings), nobles
(including some who inveighed against the practise of dragging rune
stones from one grave to another), aspects of Viking life (courage,
hospitality, generosity and road maintenance). There are runic
inscriptions overseas, including on Celtic crosses and on the statue
of a lion from Athens.

Chapter Twelve, "Art" (pp. 212-222), mentions animal ornament
decoration, Irish, Anglo-Saxon and Frankish influences, the skill of
artists in pre-Viking times, the Ninth Century composite "gripping
beast," the Tenth Century "ribbon-shaped" Jelling style continuing
into the Eleventh Century, when there was increased use of plant
motif. There are picture stones depicting humans and gods.

   The favourite themes for pictorial art among the Vikings --
   whether in painting, carving, or weaving -- seem to have been
   taken from the myths and heroic tales. Especially popular were
   such incidents as Odin's fight with the wolf, Fenri, and with the
   giant, Thjazi; Thor's feats against the giants and his fishing of
   the Midgard Serpent; the cremation of Baldr; Gefjon ploughing
   with her oxen; the tale of Weland; Sigurd slayer of Fafni; Gunnar
   in the snake pit. p. 221

Chapter Thirteen, "The Viking Way of Life" (pp. 223-270), begins
with Adam of Bremen's characterizations (Danes never cry, not over
their sins, not for the death of loved ones and they have no
punishments but slavery and death; Swedes disdain wealth, but enjoy
at least two wives each; Norwegians are frugal and great warriors,
afflicted with greedy priests). Archaeology confirms occupation for
ten thousand years, an Indo-European migration just after 2,000 BCE,
the importance of cattle, hunting and fishing and the existence of
agriculture. Reference is made to modern folk survivals and to rites
of farming fertility of 1,000 BCE.

There is the variety of Viking house styles, three classes (slaves,
peasants and nobles, as so graphically described in the poetic myth,
RIGSTHULA), the aristocratic nature of society, reliance by rulers
(who did have disciplined hird, housecarls, as bodyguards) on the
agreement of their nobles, and the importance of the Thing.

   In Viking times Denmark was divided into a couple of hundred
   districts (Old Norse herud) each with its own Thing. The Thing
   was a gathering of free men of age and quality to bear arms who
   met to put the law into effect, pronounce judgements, and discuss
   matters of interest within the community. The law was a customary
   one, handed down orally from one generation to the next; and it
   was therefore the responsibility of the older members of the
   Thing to remember and uphold it, their memory supported by the
   alliterative formulae in which it was couched. p. 242

Norway and Sweden were similar. Sweden provides information on
dueling at the meeting of three roads. Iceland had thirteen local
Things and the Althing. Godar, priest-chieftains, had great
influence.

There is the analysis of skeletal remains (Swedes are tall), the
paucity of portraits and the relevant advice of the HAVAMAL.

   Let the man who opens a door be on the lookout for an enemy
   behind it. p. 249

   Cattle die, kinsmen die, I myself shall die, but there is one
   thing which I know never dies; the reputation we leave behind at
   our death. p. 250

There was a varied diet, two meals (morning and evening) a day, an
absence of forks, cleanliness (Old Norse laugardagr, Saturday, comes
from laug, bath), tending wounds, the popularity of gambling, board
games (chess, draughts and 'fox-and-geese' are named and the word
taflbord said to be of Welsh origin; hnefetafl is not named), the
strength of the family, the wide ranging travels of the Northmen and
their influence in many lands.

Chapter Fourteen, "Religious Beliefs and Burial Customs" (pp. 271 to
312), begins with Snorri Sturluson's literary skill. It mentions
Nordic polytheism: Odin, patron of rulers, poets and magicians,
cunning, seeking wisdom, a hard task master; Thor, patron of the
ordinary guy, quick to anger, easy to mollify, humorous, a strong
and capable support; Ty, little mentioned, valiant; Baldr, the dying
god; Heimdal, guardian of the Bifrost Bridge; Ull the Hunter; Njord,
fertility god or goddess; Frey, fertility god; Freyja, fertility
goddess; Loki, deceitful, psychopathic, unworshipped.

Considered are: place names (hof from temple, lundr from grove, vin
from meadow, ager from field), forms of worship (quoting Adam of
Bremen for the sacrifice of nine males of each species every nine
years at Uppsala, mentioning Snorri on the blot, sacrificial feast,
held at Trondelag, and referring to the great festival during the
February full moon for the disir, lesser goddesses); places of
worship (often covered by churches); funeral customs and concepts of
death (complex, cremation, boat burning, burial, boat burial, scant
or substitute offering, rich offerings, afterlife in Valhalla or in
"Freyja's fortress" (p. 291), or post life existence in hills);
burial sites (Birka, Hedeby, Lindhome Hoje and Jelling within
Scandinavia and others outside, as well as four pages quoted from
Ibn Fadlan's observations on a Rus funeral on the Volga.

The chapter closes with the arrival of Christianity, its lengthy
conquest, facilitated by the conversion of kings, and the continuing
strength of pagan concepts of honour and family.

Chapter Fifteen, "Poetry and the Viking Spirit" (pp. 313-318), names
many literary and historical heroes and heroines, and continues:

   These then are the figures, whether of legend or history, which
   display those attributes the Vikings most revered and sought to
   emulate: courage, bravery, daring, abandonment to love, contempt
   for death, munificence, strength of mind, fidelity; and, on the
   other side of the balance, ruthlessness, vengeance, derision,
   hate, and cunning. pp 313-314

A glimpse occurs of the complex form and rich allusive imagery of
skaldic verse. Mention is made of the prophetic power of the
VOLUSTHA and of the homey practical reality of the HAVAMAL.

The Epilogue, "The Vikings' Place in History" (pp. 319-321),
mentions the significant invasions of England and presence in
Russia, and the importance of technology and Christianity imported
into Scandinavia.

Although dated, as evidenced by its unawareness of archaeological
finds in North America, this survey is highly interesting and
rewarding.

Michael McKenny January 12-17, 2003 C.E.


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