Norse Mythology:

Norse Mythology

In the beginning there was cold and heat

The way to the North - Norway - has always been regarded as a route that is hard to find, difficult to tread and fraught with unspeakable dangers. To the writers of ancient Greece and Rome Norway was a mythical world - Ultima Thule, peopled by wild barbarians and full of strange and fantastic creatures.

by Tor Åge Bringsværd

In the 4th century BC, the Greek Pytheas described a place where the laws of nature seemed to be suspended, where earth and water and air came together and everything seemed to float about freely. The renowned historian Herodot complained that it was actually quite impossible to say anything at all about the northern regions, because one simply couldn't see a foot in front of one. This was because of all the white feathers that constantly blow in people's faces - the air is thick with such feathers, he wrote, and the ground completely covered by them! We should probably interpret this observation as the somewhat unsuccessful attempt of a southerner to describe a snowstorm. However, it's true enough; Norway has always had more than its share of snow and ice. A major portion of our country lies north of the Arctic Circle. And even though the glaciers have long since receded from these parts, the Ice Age lasted longer in Norway than in most other places.

Paganism too lasted longer here in the north. When the rest of Europe had been christianised for almost a thousand years, Norwegians were still worshipping their old pagan gods.

They were called Vikings, the Norsemen who around the year 1000 rendered the coasts of Europe unsafe, terrorising people from London and Paris to deep into the Mediterranean area, those wild and ruthless "barbarians" who did not hesitate to plunder churches and monasteries. Was nothing sacred to them? What did these blond marauders themselves believe in?

This article is an attempt to provide a thumbnail sketch of Norse mythology, based on the gripping Eddic poems about the gods, which were created a thousand years ago (author unknown) and preserved in 13th century Icelandic manuscripts.

Do these ancient tales hold any meaning for us today?

Myths and fairytales will never be out of date. Far from dealing merely with "those days" and "those times", they have an ageless, universal quality that makes them just as much a description of "each time" and "always". To me, Norse mythology is one of the most intriguing, original and thought-provoking attempts ever made to depict our inner and outer reality - to capture life and human existence in words and poetic images.

How did the world begin?

In the beginning there was Cold and Heat. On one side, Niflheim, the land of frost and mist. On the other, Muspellsheim, a sea of raging flames. Between them, there was nothing but a vast, bottomless abyss, Ginnungagap. Here, in this yawning void - flanked by light and dark - lay the origin of all life. In the encounter between ice and fire ... Slowly, the snow began to melt and, shaped by the cold, but brought to life by the heat, a strange creature came into being - a huge troll named Ymer. No greater giant has ever lived.

As the ice melted, the drops formed yet another creature - with udders and horns: a colossal cow by the name of Audhumla. She had so much milk that it flowed from her huge teats like great rivers. Thus Ymer found food. And Audhumla? She immediately began to lick the salty, frost-covered stones that lay all around the giant and herself. But then something strange occurred. Suddenly, the cow licked some long strands of hair from one of the stones! The next day a head and a face appeared from out of the stone. And on the third day the cow finally managed to lick the entire body free. It was a man, tall and handsome. His name was Bure, and from him descended the gods, whom we call Æsir.

The giant Ymer bore his own child. As he lay sleeping, he began to sweat, and suddenly, from his left armpit, a male and a female emerged. Refusing to be outdone by his arms, Ymer's feet coupled and gave birth to a son with six heads. This was the origin of the Rime Giants, sometimes called trolls, but best known as Jotuns.

The various creatures must have managed to live in peace with one another for quite some time. At any rate, they had children together... Odin - who later became the chief of all the gods - was the son of Bestla, daughter of a Jotun, and Bure's son Bor. However, the Rime Giants steadily increased in number and the place was soon swarming with Jotuns. Then one day, Odin and his brothers, Vilje and Ve, rose in revolt against Ymer and his kin. A terrible battle ensued, from which Odin and his brothers emerged victorious. They slew the giant, and a wave of blood flooded over the enemies of the Æsir, drowning them all... all but two. From this Jotun couple, who fled into the mist, seeking refuge in the land of fog, descended all the subsequent generations of Rime Giants. Audhumla, the first cow, must also have been washed over the edge of the precipice during the bloodbath, as no one has seen hide nor hair of her ever since...

The Æsir dragged Ymer's dead body into the middle of the huge void, Ginnungagap, positioning him like a lid over the abyss.

From the body of the giant they then created the world. His blood became the sea, his flesh the land. His knuckles formed cliffs and peaks. His teeth and broken splinters of bone became stones and boulders. His hair turned into trees and grass. The gods threw his brains high into the air, creating clouds. And the sky? That was the giant's skull, which was placed like a vaulted dome over all they had created. Next, the gods caught sparks from the fiery Muspellsheim and hung them in the sky, where they still sparkle brightly. Inside what was once the skull of the giant Ymer... Thus were the stars created.

Small worms crawled out of Ymer's corpse to become the very first dwarfs, who dwelt in the caves and grottoes of the netherworld. The Æsir chose four of the dwarfs to hold up the heavenly vault and guard the four corners of the world. These dwarfs were named East, West, North and South.

Thus order and reason came to be.

How was mankind created?

One day, as Odin and his brothers were walking along the beach, they found two wooden logs that had been washed ashore. They set the logs on end, and brought them to life. Odin blew breath and souls into the logs. Vilje gave them the ability to think and move, while Ve gave them the powers of speech, hearing and sight. The gods infused them with warmth and colour.

No longer mere driftwood, the logs had become Man and Woman. The Æsir called the man Ask and the woman Embla, from whom all human beings are descended.

How did time begin?

In the beginning there was no time. In a way, everything stood strangely still.

However, the Æsir gave the Jotun woman Night and her son Day a horse and carriage each, placing them in the sky, where they were to circle the world every day. Night rode in front, mounted on her steed Rimfakse. Its mane was silver with frost, and the dew that fell on the fields every morning were drops of foam from the horse's bit. Night was followed by her son Day. His horse was named Skinfakse, because of its gleaming mane.

The gods then took sparks from Muspellsheim to make the sun, and set the moon on its proper course. Each of them was given a celestial chariot, with two children to ensure that they did not fall off and to drive the swift horses. The sun and the moon sped across the sky, constantly pursued by two huge wolves who snapped at their heels, trying to devour them! And one day ... one day perhaps they will succeed...

Was their world round?

It was round - but not like an apple or a ball. The world was circular in shape... like a thin, flat slice of wood sawn off the end of a log.

Where in the world did we and the Æsir live?

In the beginning everything was jungle or desert. But like pioneers, the Æsir cleared the land, creating a space to live in, both for themselves and for us. They called mankind's home Midgard, because it was situated in the middle of the world. In the centre of Midgard - so that men and women would not feel alone and abandoned - the gods built a stronghold for themselves named Åsgard, a gigantic fortress, surrounded by thick walls. The fortress could only be entered by riding over the rainbow, a fiery bridge of flames. Strong bulwarks were also erected around Midgard, to protect it from the dark and terrible forces that reigned in the wild, uncharted terrain outside the walls. There, in Utgard and Jotunheim, lived the Jotuns and trolls. Thus the world was structured like the rings of a tree trunk. And all around, on every side, the mighty ocean lapped at its edge.

But weren't there dwarfs and elves in the world too?

Yes, there were elves and dwarfs. Dwarfs were usually to be found among rocks and cliffs, often hidden away underground in Midgard and Utgard. Although they were skilful smiths, they were never fully to be trusted. Elves, on the other hand, were friends to both gods and men. They lived in Alvheim, which was believed by some to be located within the walls of Åsgard and by others in Midgard. So little is known about dwarfs and elves. Some people even believe them to be related and that they should be called "light elves" and "dark elves". At one time, there was another race of gods besides the Æsir who were called the Vaner and who lived in Vanaheim. However, their fortress was destroyed and now no mortal knows where its site lay...

Did the world have a centre?

At the centre of Midgard lay Åsgard, and at the centre of Åsgard the gods planted a tree, a mighty ash called Yggdrasil. It was the largest tree imaginable. One of its roots lay in Åsgard, another in Jotunheim and a third in Niflheim, and its branches were so widespread that they embraced the entire world. Yggdrasil was the centre of the world, and as long as the tree remained green and lush, and put forth new shoots, the world would continue to exist.

Who could see the future, who knew what fate would bring?

Three goddesses of destiny - the Norns Urd, Verdande and Skuld - dwelt beside a well in Åsgard. The Norns knew the destiny of every living being and what lay in store for everyone and everything. Some people maintain that there were other Norns as well, among the elves and dwarfs. Among human beings, too, there were women who could see more than others. This kind of soothsayer was called a Volve, which means "stave-bearer". Her stave was the symbol of her supernatural powers. By entering into a trance, she could contact the spiritual world, and she knew many powerful magic spells.

Who were the most important gods?

Odin was the greatest of the gods. A sage and magician, he ruled over all the gods. Wednesday is his day (Odin's day), while Friday is named after his wife Frigg (Frigg's day). Odin's horse Sleipner had eight legs. Odin also had two ravens (Hugin and Munin), who flew out over the world every morning to watch and listen, returning home in the evening to report to Odin all they had seen. His spear Gungnir never failed to hit its mark. From his ring Draupne, eight rings of equal magnificence dripped every ninth night. Odin had only one eye; as a young man, he pawned the other to the giant Mime for the right to drink from the marvellous fountain of wisdom guarded by the giant. (Mime was later beheaded, but Odin found the giant's bloody skull and anointed it with healing herbs. The eyes in the head immediately opened and the mouth was again able to form words. After that, Mime's head remained one of Odin's most cherished advisers.)

Odin's son Thor was the second mightiest god. Thursday (Thor's day) is his day. Strong and quick-tempered, Thor was always ready to do battle with giants and trolls. Although Tyr (Tuesday - Tyr's dag) might have been a little braver, no one in the whole world was as strong as Thor. And his hammer Miolnir was the most dangerous weapon, both in heaven and on earth. Thor could make it as small or as large as he wanted. When he threw it, it always struck its target and then returned to his hand. Whenever he travelled, his chariot was drawn by goats instead of horses. His goats, Cracktooth and Gaptooth, could be slaughtered in the evening and yet be full of life again the next morning, if care was taken not to break a single bone when eating the goatmeat, and if all the bones were collected and placed in the goatskins at the end of the meal. Thunder was the sound made by Thor's chariot rolling across the sky.

Siv was the name of Thor's wife. Her hair was made of pure gold, and of all the goddesses only Freya - the goddess of love - was more beautiful. Freya was also the one who taught the Æsir the art of witchcraft. She owned a magic feather cloak, with which she could transform herself into a falcon whenever she desired, and she drove a chariot drawn by cats. Although everyone turned to Freya for assistance or consolation in matters of the heart, she was unable to heal her own eternally broken heart. Her husband had left her to wander the world (no one knew where). Freya often wept bitterly over her loss, and her tears were of the purest gold. Freya's brother was named Frey, which means "Lord" or "The Foremost One". Frey was the god of fertility. Both he and Freya were actually descended from the Vanir (the race of gods against whom the Æsir fought for control of the world at the beginning of time). The two children had originally come to the Æsir as hostages, along with their aged father. Frey owned a magic boar named Goldenbristle, which could run as fast on land as on sea and in the air. He also possessed the magic ship Skidbladner, whose sails were always filled with wind and which could be folded up like a piece of cloth and put away in his pouch when he wasn't using it. The gods in Åsgard had many other priceless treasures, but the finest of them all were the magic apples tended by the goddess Idunn - the apples of youth that the gods had to ttake a bite of from time to time to avoid growing old and decrepit.

Odin had many sons. Although it's impossible to mention all of them, we can't get around Heimdall. Nor could anyone else! Heimdall, who was born in a miraculous manner of nine young giant girls way back at the dawn of time, was the watchman of the gods. He lived near Himmelberget and stood guard over the rainbow bridge Bifrost. Heimdall needed less sleep than a bird, could see as clearly by night as by day and could hear the grass grow. He owned the Giallar Horn, which he was to blow on the very last day to summon the Æsir to arms in the final great battle against trolls and the powers of darkness.

Balder was the son of Odin and Frigg, and was renowned for his friendliness, gentleness and wisdom. Balder was haunted by nightmares and was afraid of dying, but his mother - the most powerful of all the Åsgard goddesses - extracted an oath from everyone and everything that no one would ever do him harm. The gods soon made a game of flinging weapons at Balder, since he could no longer be killed or wounded. However, Frigg forgot to ask the mistletoe, which she considered too small and insignificant. Loki the Troublemaker learned of this, and deceived the blind Hod into killing Balder with an arrow made of mistletoe. The Æsir sent a rider to Helheim, the Realm of the Dead, to ask for Balder's return. Hel, Queen of Helheim, replied that Balder would be restored to life if the entire world shed tears over his fate. And everything and everyone - even the stones and trees - are still tryiing (in vain) to weep the dead god back to life.

Who were the enemies of the gods and humans?

Although sometimes known as Rime Giants or Trolls, they generally went by the name of Jotuns. These giants lived in the wilderness and rugged mountains of Utgard and Jotunheim. Often huge and mighty hulks, they were forces of chaos. The only Æsir who could really hold his own with them in a wrestling match was Thor, the God of Thunder. However, the Jotuns had unrivalled magic powers. On one occasion, for example, they fashioned a huge giant out of clay, and called him Mokkurkalve. An artificial, living being that was terrible to behold - ninety kilometres tall and with a chest span of thirty kilometres! Jotun giantesses rode on wolves, using vipers for reins. While they could be frightfully ugly and some truly monstrous, they could also be incredibly beautiful... so lovely that even Odin on more than one occasion allowed himself to be lured into wild, amorous adventures.

Weren't Loki and his children even more dangerous?

A troublemaker and schemer, Loki was originally a Jotun. However, at an early age he mixed blood with Odin and was therefore accepted among the Æsir.

Loki was a joker, a trait that eventually led to his downfall. He betrayed the Æsir and caused the death of Balder. As punishment for this heinous act, he was chained beneath a serpent that dripped deadly, acid venom onto his face. However, his wife Sigyn, who remained loyal to him, stood patiently by his side holding a large bowl to catch the poisonous venom. From time to time, however, she had to turn aside to empty the bowl. Then the venom dripped right onto Loki's face, making him writhe so violently that the entire world trembled. This is what is called earthquakes. Loki had children in Åsgard, as well as other, stranger offspring. With the giantess Angerboda, he fathered the Fenris Wolf, the Midgard Serpent and Hel, and he gave birth to the horse Sleipner, after coupling with the stallion Svadilfare.

The Fenris Wolf was a truly monstrous beast. It grew up in Åsgard, but soon became so huge, wild and dangerous that only the god Tyr dared to feed it. The Æsir had the dwarfs forge an unbreakable chain, Gleipnir, which was made of the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a rock, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish and the spittle of a bird. (That is why a cat's footfall no longer makes any sound, why women have no beard, etc.) By great cunning they managed to tie the wolf up so tightly that it could barely move, and thrust a sword into its mouth so that its jaws were always open yet unable to bite. It is only when the world comes to an end that it will finally be able to shake off its bonds...

The second child that Loki conceived with the giantess Angerboda was a serpent. The Æsir threw it into the sea, where it eventually grew so incredibly large that they called it the Midgard Serpent because it encircled the entire earth, holding its own tail in its mouth.

Nonetheless, it is perhaps the last of Loki and Angerboda's three children who has caused the most trouble for Æsirs and mortals. She was a ghastly girlchild, half black, half white. She was expelled from Åsgard and settled far to the north, where she created a subterranean realm of the dead, a cold, damp, grey world. Her name, and that of the kingdom over which she ruled, was Hel. All those who died of illness and old age went to Hel, where they led a sad, shadowy existence. The Queen of Death herself resembled a corpse, and everything she owned had names reminiscent of the cold "life" in the grave. In the olden days, when people felt the presence of ghosts, they would say, "The gate to Hel is open." On the day of the Last Great Battle, Hel and her army of dead will do battle with the Æsir.

Were there any other places to go after death?

Those who displayed valour on the battlefield went to Odin or Freya when they died. The king of the gods sent out Valkyries clad in coats of mail to fetch fallen heroes. These female warriors were armed and could ride through the air. In Åsgard the dead were divided up between Odin and Freya. Half of them lived with Odin in Valhall ("val" means battlefield), and the other half with Freya in Folkvang ("folk" in this context meaning men arrayed for battle).

While little is known about life in Folkvang, there are numerous descriptions of Valhalla. On the embankment outside the enormous "barracks", the heroes were allowed to fight to their heart's content all day long. It did not matter if they lost a arm or two, because in the evening they arose from the battlefield without a scratch. As friends on the best of terms, they marched into the vast banquet hall where beautiful Valkyries served them mead and boiled pork. The pig they ate, Sæhrimnir, was also unique. Every day it was slaughtered and eaten, yet when dawn came it had been restored to life.

On the final day, Odin will lead the Æsir and the dead heroes in the last great battle against the Jotuns and the powers of darkness. He himself will fight the Fenris Wolf, and will be devoured by the monster. All this has been prophesied.

Can gods die?

Yes, gods can die.

How will the world end?

As the end draws nigh, there will be famine and strife. This final period is called Ragnarok, which means "the twilight of the gods". Brother will slay brother and son will not spare his own father. Three continuous years of Fimbul winter will then ensue, after which sky-wolves will devour the sun and the moon. Mountains will crumble, and every bond will be broken. The Fenris Wolf will finally be loosed and will run around the world with jaws agape. Its lower jaw will drag along the ground, its upper jaw will touch the clouds. Its eyes will burn with a strange fire, and its nostrils will breathe flames. Loki, too, will be freed. He will rig a ghastly vessel, Naglfar, a ship made of dead men's nails. With ragged sails and a crew of rotting corpses, he will sail up from his daughter's realm of the dead. And the Midgard serpent will slither ashore, winding its way over fields and meadows. To the south the heavens will be torn asunder. From the country beyond - the frightening, unknown Muspellsheim, land of fire that existed long before Odin and his brothers created the world - will come a mighty host of riders clad in shining vestments, armed with fiery swords. Everything will burst into flame and burn as they charge forward, and the great rainbow bridge will collapse under their weight. The final, decisive and bloody battle will be fought at a place called the Plain of Vigrid (a thousand kilometres wide and a thousand kilometres long). Odin will be devoured by the Fenris Wolf. Thor and the Midgard Serpent will slay each other, as will Heimdall and Loki. The whole world will go up in flames. Even Yggdrasil - the great world tree - will burn. When the flames die down, the world will be a smoking ruin. The charred remains will sink below the surface of the sea and disappear.

Will that be the end?

No. Out of the sea a new earth, green and lovely, will grow, fertile as a dream. With fields that sow themselves, and an abundance of fish and game. No one will go hungry any more, nor will anyone suffer from the cold. Behold! The sun has given birth to a daughter. An end has been put to all evil. The earth has been washed clean. A new life may begin! Åsgard is no more. Not a single stone remains of the old fortress of the gods. Nonetheless, it is to Åsgard that the Æsir who were not slain in the last, great battle will return.

So someone will survive?

The fortunate - those who shall inherit the earth.

Are there any mortals among them?

Just one man and one woman survive. Their names are Lif and Lifthrasir. They sought refuge in a place called Hoddminir's Holt and thus escaped the conflagration. They are disgorged, alive, by the sea. The morning dew is long their only food. From these two mortals a new human race will arise.

So there is hope after all?

According to the myths, there will always be hope.

The author of this article, Tor Åge Bringsværd (1939- ) has received awards for his work as author and playwright. He writes for both children and adults. Bringsværd's works have been translated into fifteen languages, and his plays have been produced in thirteen countries.

Produced for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Nytt fra Norge. The author is responsible for the contents of the article. Reproduction permitted. Printed in October 1994.

In the period from 800 to 1050 A.D., the Nordic peoples made their dramatic entry into the European arena. They stormed forth, terrorising well established societies which were accustomed to war, but not to the startling tactics of the Vikings.

By Arne Emil Christensen

However, contact between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe was nothing new. Archaeological findings show that trade and cultural influence can be traced back several millennia B.C. Nevertheless, the Nordic area was a distant outpost with little political and economic value for the rest of Europe.

This picture changed shortly before the year 800. In 793, the Lindisfarne Monastery on England's east coast was pillaged by foreign seafarers, and at the same time we find the first recorded reports of raids elsewhere in Europe. The chronicles and tales of the next 200 years are studded with alarming accounts of the Vikings. Ships, sailing in large as well as smaller groups, attacked all the coasts of Europe. The Vikings sailed up the rivers of France and Spain, conquered most of Ireland and large sections of England, and took control of areas skirting rivers in Russia and the Baltic coast. There are narratives of raids in the Mediterranean, and as far east as the Caspian Sea. Norsemen starting out from Kiev, were even foolhardy enough to attempt an attack on Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Eventually, the plundering raids were replaced by colonisation. Place names reveal a large Viking population in the North of England, centred around York. Farther south in Britain, a large area was called The Danelaw. The French king gave Normandy as a fief to a Viking chieftain so that he would keep other Vikings away. The islands north of Scotland developed a mixed Celtic-Norse population, and thriving societies were established on Iceland and Greenland.

The furthest westward drive ended with the unsuccessful attempt at founding a settlement in North America. Around 1000 A.D., people from Iceland or Greenland discovered land to the west, and the sagas tell of several journeys including attempts to plant roots in the new land. Conflicts arose between these colonists and the indigenous Indians or the Eskimos, and the newcomers gave up.

Attempts at pinpointing the location of the Norsemen's settlement have led to such varied results as Labrador and Manhattan, in accordance with different interpretations of the Icelandic sagas. In the 1960s, Anne-Stine and Helge Ingstad found the site of early homesteads on the north coast of Newfoundland. Excavation showed these to be the same sort of buildings found on Greenland and Iceland. In addition, Nordic artifacts were excavated at the site and dated at circa 1000 A.D. Whether these are traces of the settlements mentioned in the sagas, or from other journeys which we have no record of, is impossible to say. However, the finds prove that Nordic seafarers really sailed to the North American Continent around the year 1000, as narrated in the Icelandic sagas.

Overpopulation and a scarcity

What are the reasons for this violent expansion within a few generations? Stable states such as France or the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England appear to have fallen easily to the swords of the attackers. As might be expected, the picture handed down to us in written accounts is tainted by this the Vikings are portrayed as terrible robbers and bandits. And indeed they were. But they must have had other traits as well. Some of their leaders were certainly extremely skilful organisers. An effective military tactic could win a battle, but the Vikings founded kingdoms in conquered territories. Some did not survive the Viking period, such as the kingdoms based in Dublin and York. But Iceland is still a thriving nation. The Viking kingdom in Kiev formed the basis of the Russian empire, and traces of the organisational talent of the Viking chieftains are clearly visible today on the Isle of Man and in Normandy.

The remains of fortresses which could be used as a meeting place for large armies - dated to the end of the Viking period - have been found in Denmark. The fortresses are circular and divided into quadrants, with square buildings in each of the four sections. These castles were placed with a precision testifying to the rulers' advanced sense of order and system. There must have been a knowledge of surveying techniques and geometry in the court of the Danish King.

In addition to the West-European narratives, we have written sources from other Viking contemporaries - from travelling Arabs and from Byzantium. Short inscriptions have been left us in the homeland of the Vikings as well - the runes carved in wood and stone. The saga tales of the 12th and 13th centuries also have much to tell us about the Viking age, even though they are written several generations after the period which they depict.

The Vikings came from what is now Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Theirs was a self-sustaining agricultural society, where farming and cattle breeding were supplemented by hunting, fishing, the extraction of iron and the quarrying of rock to make whetstones and cooking utensils. Even though the farmers were generally self-reliant, some goods were traded - for instance salt - a necessity for man and cattle alike. Salt is an everyday item which would not have been imported from a greater distance than necessary, whereas luxury items came from further south in Europe. Iron, whetstones, and steatite (soapstone) cooking pots were important export products and were an essential contribution to a trade growth in the Viking age. Even in periods when Viking raids abounded trade was conducted between West Europe and the homeland of the Vikings. One of the few reports we have about conditions in Norway in Viking times was orated by the North Norwegian chieftain, Ottar. He visited King Alfred of Wessex as a peaceful trader, at the same time as Alfred was waging war with other Viking chieftains.

It has been suggested that the expansion of the Viking age was spurred by a population growth outstepping the capacities of domestic resources. Archaeological evidence shows that new farms were cleared in sparsely populated forest areas at the time of the foreign expansion - so the pressure of population growth is surely a contributing factor. Iron extraction is another. An abundance of iron to forge weapons and arm everyone setting off on raids helped give the Vikings the upper hand.

The tactical advantage of the Viking ships

Shipbuilding in Scandinavia also contributed to the tactical superiority of the Vikings. A well known Swedish archaeologist has written that the Viking ships are the only seaworthy amphibious landing vessels ever to be used by invasion forces. Even though this is an exaggeration, it explains much of the secret of the Vikings' military superiority. Many of the accounts of Viking attacks appear to support this theory. The element of surprise was essential. A swift onslaught from the sea with light ships, which were independent of harbours - and could thus approach a coast where they were least expected - and beating a quick retreat before a counteroffensive could be launched; this was the tactic. Spheres of interest developed between Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian Vikings - even though groups from all three nations often participated together when the most renowned chieftains set sail. The Swedes sailed mainly to the east, and they controlled the eastern trade routes via the waterways leading into Russia. Large amounts of Arabian silver coins in Swedish archaeological diggings testify to intensive trading. The Danes sailed to the south, to Friesland, France and Southern England, while the Norwegians headed to the west and northwest, to Northern England, Scotland, Ireland, the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Faroes.

The ships were not only necessary for raids and trade, but also a prerequisite for successful colonisation, when entire families with all their possessions and livestock sailed away to new lands. The perilous voyages across the North Atlantic to the Orkneys, Shetlands, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland testify that the shipbuilders of the Viking age not only could build ships which were swift sailing and capable of attacks in the North Sea area, but extremely seaworthy vessels as well. Colonisation followed when seafarers discovered new land, or men returned from trading or raids and spread news of bountiful conditions abroad.

In certain areas, the Vikings appear to have displaced the original inhabitants. In others, such as Northern England, it seems that the Norsemen's main enterprise was cattle breeding and they utilised land of little use to the indigenous grain cultivating farmers.

Those who journeyed to Iceland and Greenland found virgin soil. With the possible exception of a few Irish monks on Iceland - who soon "left because they did not want to have heathens as neighbours" - Iceland and the parts of Greenland colonised by the Vikings appear to have been uninhabited when the Norsemen arrived.

The contemporary references we have about the Vikings stem predominantly from sources in Western Europe who had bitter experiences with the invaders, and we are undeniably presented with the worst side of the Vikings. Archaeological excavations both in the homelands of the Vikings and in their new settlements give more nuance to this picture. We have finds from homesteads, farms, and market places where lost or discarded articles tell of a common everyday life. Traces have been found testifying to iron extraction in mountain areas, where iron ore in bogs combined with ample firewood from forests to form the basis of a flourishing industry. Quarries where soapstone was gathered for pots and exceptionally fine whetstones have also been found and analysed. In some fortunate circumstances we have found ancient agricultural fields in areas later left to nature. In such places we can find the piles of stones once painstakingly cleared away from fields, and with enough care, we even uncover the furrows left by Viking ploughs.

Towns and kingdoms

As the Viking period progressed, society changed. Leading chieftain families accumulated land and power, forming the basis for kingdoms, and the first towns were founded. From Staraya Ladoga and Kiev in Russia, to York and Dublin in the British Isles, we can piece together the daily life of the townspeople. Market places and towns were based on craftsmanship and trade. Even though the town dwelling Vikings probably kept cattle, farmed and fished to meet their household needs, the towns certainly depended on agriculture supplies from outlying districts. In South Norway was the marketplace Kaupang, near Larvik, mentioned in Ottar's narrative to King Alfred. Kaupang never became more than a marketplace, while Birka near Malaren in Sweden and Hedeby at the German-Danish border could be called towns. Both were abandoned at the end of the Viking period, but Ribe in Denmark's Vest Jylland thrives today as of course do York and Dublin. In these towns we find well regulated areas with clearly defined plots of land, roads and surrounding fortifications. Some of the towns have obviously been planned. Many are well established in accordance with the orders of the kings who personally - or by means of trusted aids - had their say in town planning and the distribution of plots. We can see that renovation and garbage disposal was given less attention than town planning - waste can be found in thick layers. In contemporary times, the stench must have been most uncomfortable. Today we find clues to everyday conditions, from the rubbish of various craftsmen to fleas and lice - and we can piece together the way life was. We find objects which must have come from afar, such as Arab silver coins and Byzantine silk, heaped together with the products of local blacksmiths, cobblers and comb makers.

The Norse gods

At the end of the Viking age, Christianity was generally accepted in the Nordic countries. It replaced a heathen religion, with a pantheon of gods and goddesses who each had power over their own domains. Odin, old and wise, was the chieftain of them all. Thor was the god of the warriors, while the goddess Froy was responsible for the fertility of the soil and livestock. Loki was a trickster and a sorcerer, unreliable and distrusted by the other gods. The gods had dangerous adversaries - the jotuns - representing the darker side of life.

The heathen gods are best known from descriptions written down in early Christian times, and perhaps coloured by the new faith. Farm names such as Torshov, Frøyshov and Onsaker have kept their original heathen god names. Present day Norwegian place names with the last syllable "hov" indicate that there once was a heathen temple at the site.

The gods had human traits, and like their Greek counterparts on Olympus they lived a raucous life. The gods fight, eat and drink. Mortals who fell in battle, went straight to the table to feast with the gods, and burial techniques clearly tell us of a need for the same paraphernalia in the life after death as here on earth. In the Viking age, the dead could be buried or cremated, but burial gifts were necessary in either case. The amount of equipment the dead took with them reflects their status in life as well as different burial traditions. In Norway, the burial traditions were especially rich. As a result, graves are a prolific source of knowledge about the everyday life of the Vikings. Everything provided for use in the afterlife provides us with a window into the world of the Vikings - even though time has taken its toll and often only remnants are left of the buried objects.

The grave remnants supplement our material from excavated living sites. In these sites - both in towns and on farms - we find misplaced or damaged articles, remains of houses, waste from food making and craftsmanship, and in the graves we uncover some of the finest personal effects of the deceased.

A violent society

An indication of the violent nature of society is the fact that nearly all the graves of males include weapons. A well equipped warrior had to have a sword, a wooden shield with an iron boss at its centre to protect the hand, a spear, an axe, and a bow with up to 24 arrows. The helmets and coats of mail with which most Vikings are commonly portrayed in modern pictures, are extremely rare in archaeological material. Helmets with horns, ubiquitous in present day depiction’s, have never been found amongst relics from the Viking period. Even in the graves with the most impressive array of weapons, we find signs of more peaceful activities: sickles, scythes, and hoes lie along side of weapons. The blacksmith was buried with his hammer, anvil, tongs, and file. The coastal farmer has kept his fishing equipment and is often buried in a boat. In women's graves we often find personal jewellery, kitchen articles and artefacts used in textile production. Women too, are often buried in boats. Wooden articles, leather goods, and textiles generally do not survive the soil, so there are many gaps in our knowledge.

In a smattering of graves, the soil type has been more conducive to preservation. In many areas along the Oslofjord, we find blue clay directly underneath the turf, dense and nearly impermeable by water and air. A few graves are well preserved after a thousand years, and we have retained a whole spectrum of articles placed in the pit. The treasures from the enormous Viking ship graves from Oseberg, Tune, and Gokstad - which can be seen at the Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy in Oslo - are prime examples of what gifts can be preserved for future generations, given the right soil conditions. We do not know who the dead were, but they obviously belonged to the upper echelon of their society. Perhaps they belonged to a royal family which, a few generations later, unified Norway as one nation.

The graves at Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune have recently been dated by analysis of the annual rings in the oak material. The Oseberg ship was built around 815-820 A.D. The burial has been dated to an exact year - it was in 834. The Gokstad and Tune ships were constructed in the 890s and were placed in the graves right after 900 A.D. In these three graves, big ships were used as grave repositories.

Only the hull of the Tune ship has been preserved, and the grave was robbed earlier of nearly all its items, but enough remained for us to see that the ship was originally of the same fine quality as the two others. The Tune ship was about 20 metres in length. The Oseberg ship's length is about 22 metres and the Gokstad ship is 24 metres long.

At the time of burial, the ship was drawn up on land and placed in a pit. A burial chamber was constructed behind the mast, where the deceased was placed to rest in a bed, dressed in finery. Copious provisions were placed in the ship, dogs and horses were sacrificed, and a large burial mound was piled on top of the vessel.

An Arab travelling in Russia at the end of the 9th Century happened upon a group of Vikings who were in the process of burying a chieftain in this manner. Ibn Fadlan made note of his observations, and his journal has survived. The deceased chieftain's ship was pulled ashore, and valuables were placed aboard. The corpse was dressed in fine clothing and placed on board in a bed. A slave woman, who had chosen to follow her master in death was sacrificed along with a horse and a hunting dog. The ship with its contents was burned, and a burial mound was constructed over the ashes. We have finds of cremated ships graves in the Nordic countries and in Western European Viking sites, but the large graves along the Oslofjord were not put to the torch. In the Gokstad ship a man was found, and the Tune ship probably carried a man a well. However, two women were buried with the Oseberg ship. The skeletons are of a 50-60 year-old and a 20-30 year-old. We can only speculate as to which was the companion and which was the noblewoman.

Both the Oseberg and Gokstad graves were plundered by grave robbers, so the jewellery and luxurious weapons, which surely have been there, were not excavated. But articles of wood, leather and textiles - of no interest to the thieves - have survived. There are remnants of similar graves in other locations and it appears to have been standard practice to include sacrificed dogs and horses, fine weapons, some nautical equipment such as oars and a gangplank, balers, cooking pots for shipmates, a tent and often fine imported bronze vessels. Without a doubt, these once contained food and drink for the deceased.

The Oseberg grave contained no trace of weapons, reasonably enough for a female grave, but all the other standard equipment followed. In addition, the central figure had been given articles which testify to her dignity as an administrator and a wife on a wealthy farm. We have to assume that women have had the main responsibility for carrying out farm work when the men were off on Viking journeys. The woman from Oseberg was, like many contemporary women, an authoritative and highly respected lady, whether she sat with other women at a spinning wheel or loom, or watched over work in the fields, or supervised milking and the making of cheese and butter. In addition to the ship, she has brought along a wagon and three sleighs. Both on land and water, she was prepared to go in style. Enough horses were sacrificed to draw the wagon as well as the sleighs.

A tent and cooking utensils, tools for textile production, chests and small boxes for valuables, a breadboard, milk pails and ladles, a cutting knife and frying pan, shovels and rakes, a saddle, a dog collar and much more was found in the grave. Her provisions included two slain oxen. A dough of rye flour was placed to leaven on the large wooden breadboard, and in a finely decorated bucket, apples were included for dessert.

Many of the wooden articles were ornamentally carved. It appears as if a number of artists were at work on the farm. Even such utilitarian things as the sleigh poles are ornately carved. Aside from the Oseberg find, our main knowledge of Viking art comes from metal jewellery, where the format is modest. The choice of motif is the same for woodcarving. The artists have been preoccupied with animal figures. These are imaginary animals, twisted and braided together in a tight asymmetric arabesque. These carvings are superb examples of advanced craftsmanship, so the Oseberg wood carvers must have been as handy with chisels and sheath knives as with swords and battle axes.

The man buried in the Gokstad ship has also had the service of a gifted woodcarver, even though the find is not so rich in ornamentation as the Oseberg grave. The Oseberg ship has a low freeboard and is less seaworthy than the ships from Tune and Gokstad, but it certainly could have managed a North Sea voyage and could be typical of the ships which were used for the first Viking attacks around the year 800. A copy which has been built proved to be quick to the wind, but was not easy to manage. The Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune ships were probably the private vessels of rich persons, rather than longships for transporting warriors. The Gokstad ship is very seaworthy. This has been demonstrated by replicas which have crossed the Atlantic in modern times. The hull design makes the ship fast - either under sail or when 32 men pulled on the oars. Even with a full crew, the Gokstad ship drew no more than one metre of water, so it could easily have been used for assaults on foreign shores. It is possible that the Vikings' experiences through frequent sea voyages in the early 9th Century led to a rapid evolution in hull design. If this is a correct assumption, then the differences between the Oseberg ship and the Gokstad ship might be a result of three generations of experience in the North Sea and hours of discussion between shipbuilders seeking improvements.

1000 years of development

The Viking ships were clinch built. The ships used for travelling to distant shores were a result of a thousand years of experience in the Nordic area. Shipbuilders strove to construct lightweight and flexible vessels, pliant to the forces of sea and wind - working with the elements instead of against them. The hull of the Viking ships is built on a solid keel, which together with a finely curved bow, forms the backbone of the vessel. Strafe after strafe was fitted to keel and stem and these were bolted to each other with iron rivets. This hull shell provided strength and flexibility. After the shipbuilder had given the shell its desired shape, ribs made from naturally curved trees were fitted and these gave additional strength. To increase flexibility, strafes and ribs were bound together. Cross supports at the waterline supplied lateral support, and extra solid logs braced the mast.

The ships sailed were square-rigged on a midship mast. In a calm, or against a strong head wind, the crew could man the oars.

As the Viking period progressed, different types of ships were developed. There were ships intended for battle which were built for speed and a large crew. There were also ships built for commercial trade, where speed was less important. These had a greater girth to permit more cargo. Trade ships did not have a large crew, and they were better suited for sailing than for rowing.

Christianity takes over

The Viking raids tapered off around the year 1000. The Vikings had become Christians, and the conversion had a restrictive effect on their urge to plunder. Denmark, Sweden and Norway had become separate kingdoms generally united under single monarchs. Life was not always peaceful, even in Christian kingdoms, but wars were steered by the shifting alliances of the kings. Countries could enter wars, but the age of private battles was gone as was that of colonisation. The trade relations established in the Viking period continued, and the Nordic countries emerged as a part of a Christian Europe.

The author of this article, Arne Emil Christensen is Professor, Dr. Phil. at the University Museum of National Antiquities in Oslo. He specialises on shipbuilding history and craftsmanship in the Iron Age and the Viking period.

Produced for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Nytt fra Norge. The author is responsible for the contents of the article. Reproduction permitted. Printed in March 1996.

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