When Dick met the Vikings

"Vikingarnas historia" is a short book by Dick Harrison, apparently based on two longer books by the same author (one of them co-written with Kristina Svensson), "Vikingaliv" and "Sveriges historia. Vol 2: 600-1350". Yes, we´re dealing with the Vikings! Or rather the real "Norsemen", "Late Iron Age Scandinavians" or "Early Medieval" ditto, far removed from the Vikings of 19th century national romanticism, 20th century fascism or 21st century pop culture. Harrison points out that we don´t even know what the word "Viking" really means, and when used in the medieval sources, it´s a reference to pirates. Most Scandinavians were peasants, while others were merchants. Thus, most Norsemen (and Norsewomen) *weren´t* Vikings sensu stricto. And no, the Vikings didn´t have helmets with horns. That´s a late 19th century fiction. 

Most books about the Vikings, pardon, Late Iron Age Scandinavians, are arranged chronologically or geographically. Harrison has chosen a more thematic approach. We meet the "Vikings" in their various roles as merchants, warriors, settlers, explorers and state-builders. And yes, raiders and pirates. It´s interesting to note that many of the marauding Vikings were actually mercenaries employed by various foreign rulers in Western Europe, who couldn´t wait pitting the Nordic warriors against local enemies. The infamous "danegeld" was apparently an extra tax imposed by the English kings to finance Viking mercenaries who were protecting the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from *other* Vikings! It´s also interesting to note that the Norse often settled in conquered foreign territories, and became assimilated with the local population after a few generations. In some parts of Britain, Scandinavian place-names still mark the former Norse settlements, but in Normandie, Russia or the Ukraine, the Norse presence have become almost invisible. Two chapters in the book are devoted to the Varangians, Harald Hardruler in particular. The Varangians were Norsemen employed as elite soldiers (and sometimes bodyguards) by the Byzantine emperors. They fought in the Middle East, Italy and the Balkans, and sometimes participated in the internal power struggles in Constantinople itself. 

It´s not a pretty picture of "Viking" society that meets us in the pages of this book. Slavery, sex-slavery, war, and various gruesome forms of heathen human sacrifice...it´s all there and it was all considered normal. At the same time, Harrison does have a certain admiration for the sheer daring of the ancient Scandinavians. Some of them combined farming and long-distance trade, being willing to sail considerable distances to explore new territories, including "Bjarmaland" at the Arctic coast of Russia. Others settled Iceland and Greenland, and then set sail for the vast landmass we know as America. Harrison is particularly impressed by the female leadership role in some of those expeditions, but points out that this was probably the exception rather than the rule, Norse society otherwise being patriarchal. Talented women could rise to prominence only at the periphery of the Scandinavian sphere of influence. And speaking of Vikings in America, Harrison writes that there is an Icelandic mention of an expedition to "Markland" (perhaps Labrador) in 1347, and that DNA tests reveal that some Icelanders have American Indian genes... 

As usual, Harrison has an extremely critical view of the written sources from the period. He trusts the Vinland sagas mostly because of the archeological evidence (and because he likes to read about strong women). Usually, the saga literature is written off as "medieval fantasy". Forget about the bezerkers, the Jomsvikings, Ragnar Lodbrok, etc. Adam of Bremen´s dramatic description of the pagan temple at Old Uppsala is also questionable. Harrison tries to describe Norse religion in the light of archeological evidence and contemporary written sources, not sagas or eddas written centuries later. I admit the Old Way sounds pretty boring if you do it this way, except for the occasional human sacrifice! Christianity was succesfully introduced by kings and other elite people as part of the process of medieval state-creation. The process began in Denmark, where the local elites felt the need to create a more unified polity to defend their territories against the Franks - or to ally with them (which was made easier by Christian conversion). It then spread to Norway, where local chiefs felt the need for a united kingdom as protection against Denmark! In Sweden, the process of state formation took much longer time, apparently because the Swedes didn´t feel particularly threatened by anyone during the Viking Age. 

One thing never explained in this short book is why the Viking Age began at all. Why did the Scandinavians suddenly feel the need to swarm out all across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and even North America? And why did these kinds of Viking expeditions stop around the year 1100? But then, this is a teaser trailer, and suggestions for further reading have been appended at the end...