How Bloodthirsty Were Vikings? New Study Challenges Long-Held Assumptions

Unfortunately for those who see 2022’s The Northman an underrated gem, its blood-soaked portrayal of Viking beingness whitethorn not beryllium wholly accurate, adjacent without the supernatural elements. Relics examined by anthropologists uncover that, compared to their Norwegian counterparts, Vikings successful modern-day Denmark were comparatively peaceful, owning less weapons and utilizing them little often than their confederate neighbors.

The caller study, published successful the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, combined investigation of skeletal quality remains and past weapons, arsenic good arsenic readings of aged runestones, to analyse however Viking societies differed successful the 2 antithetic locations. They recovered that the Danes were not lone little prone to violence, but they besides had a much centralized powerfulness structure, and the 2 characteristics could beryllium related.

While Vikings are often seen arsenic bloodthirsty pillagers who thrived connected mayhem and murder, the information astir violence’s relation successful their nine is much complex. Some historians person suggested that Vikings were nary much violent than immoderate of their modern societies. Even if that’s true, the study’s authors constituent retired that unit was integral to Viking culture, with their root communicative of the satellite centered astir the execution and dismemberment of a giant. As anyone who’s seen the champion Thor movie knows, the Viking presumption of the extremity of the satellite was arsenic grim, centered astir a last conflict called Ragnarök. Viking poesy and spiritual beliefs were likewise bloody.

Yet, Viking-era swords are comparatively uncommon finds successful Denmark, with conscionable 1 precocious Iron Age sword recovered successful the state for each 340 quadrate miles (547 quadrate kilometers). By comparison, successful the portion astir the Norwegian metropolis Stavanger, a sword has been recovered for each 20 quadrate miles (32.7 quadrate kilometers). Norwegian skeletons were besides considerably much apt to amusement signs of pre-death injuries. Of the 30 Norwegian remains examined, 18 showed signs of injury. Six of the Danish skeletons showed signs of injury, but those intelligibly came astatine the clip of death; 4 of the 82 skeletons examined had been decapitated, portion different had been hanged. By contrast, nary of the Norwegians had mislaid their heads (though the illustration size, astatine 18 skeletons, was overmuch smaller).

That discrepancy led Jacobson to reason that unit wasn’t the lone quality betwixt Danes and Norwegians. The Norwegian Vikings whitethorn person had a might-makes-right attack to societal organization, they wrote, portion the Danes bowed to a centralized authority, making mundane beingness much “civilianized.”

“The findings of these patterns suggest that we are talking of chiseled societies successful the regions of Norway and Denmark,” Jacobson said successful a statement. “This is rather striking, arsenic the presumption has been that socially Viking Scandinavia was mostly a singular space.”

The researchers said their enactment could perchance shed airy connected the narration betwixt centralization and authorization successful different humanities civilizations. They pointed to tribes successful the Andes, wherever grounds from the Archaic and Late Horizon periods shows that quality bodies suffered much trauma successful areas that had little governmental centralization. At the precise least, the caller probe shows that societies, adjacent those considered violent, are much analyzable and nuanced than we typically appreciate.