Book Spotlight: Riddle of the Gods by Eric Schumacher

 

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Publication Date: March 25, 2024

Riddle of the Gods is the riveting fourth novel in the best-selling series chronicling the life and adventures of one of Norway’s most controversial kings, Olaf Tryggvason.

 It is AD 976. Olaf Tryggvason, the renegade prince of Norway, has lost his beloved wife to a tragedy that turns the lords of the land he rules against him. With his family gone and his future uncertain, Olaf leaves his realm and embarks on a decades-long quest to discover his course in life. Though his journey brings him power and wealth, it is not until he encounters the strange man in the streets of Dublin that his path to fame unfolds. And in that moment, he is forced to make a choice as the gods look on – a choice that could, at worst, destroy him and at best, ensure his name lives on forever.

 

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Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/Riddleofthegods

 

Eric Schumacher (1968 – ) is a historical fiction author of multiple best-selling novels set in the Viking Age. From a young age, Schumacher was drawn to books about medieval kings and warlords and was fascinated by their stories and the turbulent times in which they lived. It is a fascination that led to the publication of his first novel, God’s Hammer, in 2005, and many subsequent novels thereafter.

Schumacher now resides in Santa Barbara with his wife and two children and is busy working on his next novel. 

Author Links: 

Website: www.ericschumacher.net

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarkAgeScribe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EricSchumacherAuthor

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/eric-schumacher

Amazon Author Page: https://author.to/EricSchumacher

Norse-Era Jewelry: Revealing an Intricate Cultural History of the Vikings

Ancient Origins

When you think of ancient Vikings, the first thing that pops into your mind is probably not jewelry, right? The picture that forms in the mind of most people is one of savages with long sharp spears, swords, and heavy shields attacking coastal communities. However, you will be pleased to know that Norse people of old also made beautiful and intricate ornaments; bracelets, rings, necklaces, etc., out of a variety of materials including bronze, iron, gold, silver, amber, and resin. Early on in the Viking era, which is about 800 AD, these ornaments were simple, but as time went by, the pieces became more detailed and sophisticated.

Group shot of the Silverdale Hoard finds. Image by Ian Richardson. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Viking Use of Jewelry
By occupation, Vikings were farmers and, occasionally, they were warriors. Both the men and women of the Viking community wore a wide array of jewelry, shiny objects that added some glamour to their seemingly dark world. Note, Norse ornaments had a secondary purpose, they were also used as currency in trade, which is probably the reason why the Vikings preferred using precious metals to craft their jewelry. If an ornament was too large for the subject matter of transaction, the piece would be broken into smaller portions that would suit that particular undertaking. If you think about it, the Vikings used their jewelry like we use modern-day wallets.

However, not all Viking ornaments were metallic; the Norsemen also created beautiful ornaments using beads and precious rocks/stones. Nevertheless, it was rare for the Vikings to inset stones in their jewelry even though this art form had been applied before the Viking age.

 Below are some interesting facts about Viking jewelry that’ll give you clearer picture of what the Nordic ornamental culture was like.

A hinged silver strap ( Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland ).

Necklaces/Neck-Rings
The Vikings crafted their necklaces from a variety of items including precious metals such as silver and gold, natural fiber, and iron wires of various lengths and sizes. The necklaces would normally be accompanied by pendants made from glass beads, precious stones, resin, amber (from the Baltic sea), and small metallic charms. However, the most common material for necklace pendants was glass, which would be mass produced for this purpose. The pendants on the necklaces were often souvenirs, gifts, or Nordic religious symbols that held meaning to the wearer.

The archeological evidence of Vikings wearing necklaces is more prevalent in comparison to the evidence on neck-rings. Neck-rings that have been discovered across Europe were made of silver, bronze, or gold. Note that most neck-rings that have been discovered were in hoards and not in grave site. Therefore, there is no conclusive evidence regarding which gender wore them. However, most historians believe that neck-rings were worn by both genders as a display of wealth and as a form of currency in commercial transactions. They were designed and crafted in standard units of weight in order to make the assessment of value more accurate. As mentioned above, a piece would be cut from the neck-ring depending on the amount necessary to conclude a commercial transaction.

The Silverdale Hoard, Lancaster Museum. Neck-rings, arm-rings and necklace. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Pendants/Amulets
When it comes to Viking jewelry, the word pendant represents a broad category of items; from Mjolnir pendants, Valknut pendants, Yggdrasil pendants, and more. As much as the ancient Norsemen used a number of distinct pendants , Thor’s hammer appears to be the most frequently worn of them all. Other examples include miniature weapons such as axes and arrow heads, perforated coins, the tree of life, crosses, and the Valknut symbols . However, these amulets have been found in very few graves, suggesting that they were not commonly worn.

You may also be wondering why a pagan community would be wearing miniature crosses. Even at the height of the Viking era, Christian missionaries were adamant in converting non-believers and consequently some Norsemen adopted this new religion, forming a hybrid system of belief. Note, however, cross pendants were the rarest archeological pendant findings, which suggests that only a few Vikings accepted Christianity.

Left to right: Thor's hammer from Bredsättra: A 4.6 cm gold-plated silver Mjolnir pendant from Bredsättra parish, Runsten hundred, Borgholm municipality, Öland, Kalmar county, Sweden ( Public Domain ). Hammer pendant from Rømersdal, Bornholm ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ). A copy of the Thor's hammer pendant from Skåne ( CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Beads
 Viking bead ornaments were typically made of amber or glass and were some of the most common additions on necklaces. In today’s world these items are relatively cheap and widely used, but archeological evidence from Viking grave sites suggests that these ornaments were rare and not worn by many. Moreover, even the Viking ornaments with beads only had one, two, or three of them, either worn alone or with an additional pendant such as Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Finding more than three beads on a necklace was extremely rare, which suggests that they were precious and rare, and perhaps symbolized one’s wealth and status in society.

Additionally, seeing as archeological findings usually found only 1 to 3 beads on necklaces, it is quite possible that the number of beads a person wore represented more than just wealth and societal status. It is possible that they signified a certain level of achievement or age. A majority of beads found in archeological sites were made of glass; other materials such as jet and amber have also been discovered but are rarer to come by.

Brooches
Brooches were very popular in Viking culture and were an everyday essential used for holding clothes in place. Brooches came in a number of styles with the main ones being the Penannular Brooches and Oval Brooches .

Example of a Celtic Penannular brooch, Museum of Scotland. ( CC BY-SA 3.0 )

The Penannular brooch was exclusively worn by Viking men and was adopted by Vikings from Scottish and Irish settlers; the trend later caught on in Russia and Scandinavia. Brooches would be fastened on the wearer’s right shoulder with the pin facing upward, which left the sword-arm free. The Oval brooch, on the other hand, was typically worn by Viking women. Oval brooches were used to fasten dresses, aprons, and cloaks and were more detailed and ornate in comparison to penannular brooches. A single brooch would be worn on the shoulder to fasten the wearer’s dress, along with a chain of colored beads for added visual appeal. Oval brooches are believed to have gone out of fashion at around 1000 AD and were replaced by more fanciful designs of brooches.

Viking oval brooch. Museum of History, Oslo, Norway. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Rings
Rings, like in most other cultures, were worn around the finger and were extremely popular among the Vikings. There have been numerous findings of finger rings in Viking grave sites; the rings typically had an uneven width, with most of them being open ended, possibly in order to allow them to fit on different sized fingers with minimal effort. Note, however, finger rings only became popular to the Vikings in the late ages of the Viking-era.

Earrings
This was the least common form of Viking jewelry . In fact, earrings did not exist in Viking material culture until they were found in hoards amongst other types of jewelry. Nordic earrings were quite intricate and, in contrast to modern-day earrings, they would be worn over the entire ear as opposed to hanging from the earlobe. Historians have suggested that Viking earrings were of Slavic in origin and not an original concept forged by the Norsemen.

Arm Rings/Arm Bands
Arm rings/arm bands or bracelets were extremely popular in Viking culture and, like neck-rings, arm bands served a dual purpose; ornamental and commercial. Some arm rings were very intricate and detailed, having been crafted from precious metals such as gold and silver. Arm rings represented societal standing and were a display of wealth.

Nested bracelet from the Silverdale Hoard. Image by Ian Richardson. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Arm bands came in different shapes and designs. Some were spiral in design, wrapping themselves around the arm several times, giving them a firm grip around the arm, and making it easier for the wearer to tear a piece of the end off during a commercial transaction. Other arm rings were only long enough to wrap around three-quarters of the arm; these were the bands most commonly used as currency because they were plain and flat, which made them easier to break apart whenever needed.

In Summary
Vikings enjoyed fashion and the allure of precious metals and they strived to incorporate this into their day-to-day lives by crafting beautiful ornate ornaments as described above. However, unlike most cultures, jewelry pieces in Viking culture typically had a dual purpose, being used both for aesthetic appeal and as a form of currency, much like carrying money in your wallet or purse.

Evidently, Vikings were not the barbarians most people assume they were, they were an organized, sophisticated people with a rich culture that has more in common with most other cultures of their era.

Top image: Jewelry found in a hoard in Galloway, Scotland in 2014. Clockwise from top left: A silver disk brooch decorated with intertwining snakes or serpents ( Historic Scotland ), a gold, bird-shaped object which may have been a decorative pin or a manuscript pointer ( Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland ), one of the many arm rings with a runic inscription ( Robert Clark, National Geographic / Historic Environment Scotland ), a large glass bead ( Santiago Arribas Pena )

By Jessica Zhang

The Weird, Wonderful and Wicked Beings in Scandinavian Folklore

Ancient Origins

In Scandinavian folklore, there are numerous races of beings, the best-known of which (apart from human beings) are the gods and the jötnar, their nemesis. In rather simplistic terms, these may be said to represent the forces of good and evil. Between these two groups of beings are a range of creatures that come in all shapes and sizes. Some are believed to be benevolent towards human beings, whilst others less so.

 Some of the beings from Scandinavian folklore are well-known, and have been used in modern works of fiction, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. Others, however, are much less renowned, and perhaps only familiar amongst enthusiasts of this field. This article will look at some of the well-known and lesser-known beings in Scandinavian folklore.

The Dwarves and the Elves
It is fair to say that two of the best-known groups of Scandinavian mythical creatures are the dwarves and the elves. According to Norse mythology, dwarves are master blacksmiths who live in underground cities. They are also characterised by their short physical stature, with the males of this race almost always sporting long beards. Originally, however, they were thought to have been pale and ghastly in appearance. One hypothesis is that the idea of dwarves evolved from a form of Indo-European ancestor worship.

Unlike the dwarves, the elves are believed to be graceful, ethereal beings. According to Nordic folklore, elves live in meadows and forests. Although generally depicted as peaceful creatures (and often portrayed as good in modern media), there are some Scandinavian tales in which elves are the perpetrators of wicked deeds.

"To make my small elves coats." Illustrations to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Arthur Rackham ( public domain )

The Scandinavian Troll
Another creature from Scandinavian folklore that many would be familiar with is the troll. Whilst the physical appearance of the troll may differ from one tale to another, it is generally agreed that they are huge and ugly. Their great size, however, is not matched by their intellectual capacity, and they are often seen as slow and stupid.

Whilst trolls are often portrayed as antagonists in modern media, they are said to be able to show kindness if one does a favor for them. It may be interesting to point out that when Christianity arrived in Scandinavia, trolls were ‘given’ the ability to smell the blood of a Christian man. This was a symbolic gesture to personify the old, pagan ways, which the new religion condemned.

Scandinavian trolls by John Bauer ( public domain )

The Seductive Huldra T
he influence of Christianity on Nordic folklore may also be seen in a being known as the Huldra, who is described as a beautiful, seductive creature who lives in the forest. Huldra looks like a normal woman, though with one major exception – her long tail. This creature would lure mortal men into her forest den in order to steal their souls.

When Christianity arrived, this story was given a twist. If the Huldra was able to convince a man to marry her in a church, her tail would fall off, and she would become human. She would also, however, lose the beauty she is so famous for. Another story about Huldra that came with Christianity is that she was a daughter of Adam and Eve. One day, as Eve was bathing her children, God came to visit. As not all the children were clean, Eve hid the dirty ones. Having seen the children, God asked if there were any more, to which Eve replied ‘no’. God declared ‘Then let all that is hidden, remain hidden’, and the hidden children became ‘De Underjordiske’ (meaning ‘The Ones Living Underground’), Huldra being one of them.

The seductive huldra ( public domain )

The Many Faces of Scandinavian Folklore
There are many other beings in Scandinavian folklore, some of which will be briefly mentioned here. The oceans, for instance, are said to be home to such creatures as the Kraken, the Trolual, and the Draugen. Whilst the first two are said to be giant sea creatures, the third is believed to be the spirit of spirit of someone who died at sea.

Little folk can also be found in Scandinavian folklore, and these include the Tusser, who are mischievous underground goblins, and the Nissen, who are pranksters living in barns, though they may be easily befriended, and play the role of Santa Claus during Christmas.

Lastly, such terrifying creatures as Pesta (the personification of disease and plague), the Night Raven (an enormous bird linked with death and calamity), and the Nokken (a water creature notorious for killing its victims by drowning them) are also mentioned in Scandinavian folklore.

Top image: Painting by John Bauer of two trolls with a human child they have raised
( public domain )

By Wu Mingren

Hundreds of Place Names of Old Norse Origin in the British Isles

Thor News

Many English villages and towns were founded by Vikings. (Photo: John Baker/ videnskab.dk)

 In the 9th and 10th centuries Norwegian, Danish and Swedish Vikings crossed the ocean and sailed to the British Isles, and their legacy is still very much alive: Hundreds of place- and personal names of Old Norse origin tell that the Norsemen not only came to plunder, but that many also chose to settle on the isles to the west.

A recently published article in Antiquity, international quarterly journal of archaeological research, suggests that the number of Scandinavians have been larger than previous DNA studies demonstrate: As many as between 20,000 and 35,000 Vikings may have relocated to England.

The Vikings did have a strong influence on the English language, including place- and personal names, which is the linguistic evidence for the high number of settlers, according to the language researchers.

When the Scandinavians arrived in England, they met a local population who spoke Old English.

Old Norse and Old English were closely related with many identical or similar words. Today, many place names in the British Isles are Old Norse names or a combination of the two languages.

Three examples of English village names of Old Norse origin:
Lofthouse – lopt-hús (Old Norse) A house with a loft or upper chamber.
Hulme – holmr (Old Norse) An island, an inland promontory, raised ground in marsh, a river-meadow.
Towton (“Tofi’s farm/settlement”), pers.n. (Old Norse) Personal name, tūn (Old English) An enclosure; a farmstead; a village; an estate.

The large number and variety of names, either wholly or partly Scandinavian, is important evidence supporting the theory that Old Norse was spoken in many parts of England.

In the year 1086 AD, only two decades after the last Viking invasion in 1066, the English “Domesday Book” (a manuscript record of the “Great Survey” of large parts of England and parts of Wales), was completed.

The many Norse place names demonstrate the big influence Scandinavian Vikings had in the British Isles.

In the British Museum’s homepage, you can find out whether the name of a village, town or city on the British Isles origins from the Vikings.

British Museum writes: “This map shows all English, Welsh, Irish and a selection of Scottish placenames with Old Norse origins.

 In England, these are more prevalent north of the line marked in black, which represents the border described in a treaty between King Alfred and the Viking leader, Guthrum, made between AD 876 and 890.”

Howth village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland: The name Howth is probably from the Old Norse “Hǫfuð” (“head” in English). (Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / Wikimedia Commons)

“This description – up the Thames, and then up the Lea, and along the Lea unto its source, then in a straight line to Bedford, then up on the Ouse to Watling Street – is traditionally thought to demarcate the southern boundary of the ‘Danelaw’ – the region where ‘Danish’ law was recognised.

In reality it may have been more of a ‘legal fiction’ than a real border, but it does seem to roughly mark the southern limits of significant Scandinavian settlement in Britain.”

Text by: ThorNews

Other sources: Danish science portal videnskab.dk

Freyr and Gerd: Lovesick Norse God Seeking Giantess

Ancient Origins

There is a well-known Norse myth which tells of how the Vanir Freyr fell in love with the giantess Gerd, wooed her, and eventually convinced her to marry him. She was not any easy catch - many attempts and various tactics were needed to gain the proud giantess’ hand…

 In the Norse religion, Freyr was the son of the Vanir Njord and the twin brother of Freya. According to Norse mythology, Freyr and his father were sent to live with the Æsir as hostages in the peace agreement at the end of the Æsir-Vanir War. Freyr was worshipped as a god of fertility, prosperity, and good harvest. As for Gerd (whose name may be translated from Old Norse as ‘fenced-in’), she is said to be the daughter of Gymir, a little-known jötunn, and Aurboda. Gerd is best-known, however, for being Freyr’s wife.

Artwork by Jacques Reich showing the Norse god Freyr and his boar Gullinbursti. ( Public Domain )

A Vanir Falls in Love
The myth of how Freyr fell in love with Gerd can be found in several different literary works. It begins with Freyr sitting on Hlithskjolf (Odin’s throne), where he looked over all the worlds. As he set his eyes on Jötunheimr, the homeland of the jötnar, the god saw a maiden walking towards a house on an estate. According to the Gylfaginning, one of the books in the Prose Edda , as the maiden opened the door of the house, “brightness gleamed from her hands, both over sky and sea, and all the worlds were illumined of her.” Freyr was immediately love-struck and removed himself from Odin’s throne with much sorrow.

Seated on Odin's throne Hliðskjálf, the god Freyr sits in contemplation. In his hand he holds a sickle and next to the throne sits a sheaf. ( Public Domain )

A Melancholy Norse God
When Freyr returned home, his melancholy was perceived by his father, who bade Skirnir, one of Freyr’s servants, to ask his master what was bothering him. Skirnir did so and found out about Freyr’s dilemma. In the Gylfaginning, the god then sends Skirnir to woo the maiden, promising him a reward for his effort. In the Skirnismol of the Poetic Edda , on the other hand, Skirnir volunteers to woo the maiden for his master.

 In both sources, Skirnir requests a horse and a sword from Freyr. Both the horse and the sword that Freyr gives Skirnir are magical objects, as the former could pass through magical flames, whilst the latter would fight on its own, if wielded by a worthy hero.

“The Lovesickness of Freyr”, by W.G. Collingwood, 1908. ( Public Domain )

Skirnir eventually arrives at Gymir’s house, where he attempts to woo Gerd. Whilst the version in the Gylfaginning states merely that Skirnir succeeded in his quest, that of the Skirnismol elaborates on how Skirnir managed to accomplish the task. In this version of the myth, Skirnir attempts to purchase Gerd’s love for Freyr with precious gifts, firstly with 11 golden apples, and then with a magic gold ring that belonged to Odin (presumably Draupnir). Gerd refuses the gifts, telling Skirnir that there is enough gold in her father’s house.

A depiction of the meeting between Skírnir and Gerðr. ( Public Domain )

Seeing that gifts would not persuade Gerd to love Freyr, Skirnir changes his strategy, and resorts to using threats instead. A long list of threats follows, including the promise of using Freyr’s magic sword to slay Gerd and placing various curses on her.

Do Freyr and Gerd Live Happily Ever After?
 In the end, Gerd agrees to meet Freyr nine days later in a forest called Barri. Skirnir returns to Freyr with the good news, though the god is impatient, and is not able to wait for nine days. Freyr expresses his anguish with the following, “Long is one night, longer are two; How then shall I bear three? Often to me has a month seemed less than now half a night of desire.” In both the Skirnismol, and the Gylfaginning, the story comes to an abrupt end. It is generally accepted that after the nine tortuous days for Freyr, he meets Gerd meet in Barri and the two become husband and wife.

A guldgubbe , an amulet of gold from the iron age, found by Kongsvik, Nordland, Norway in 1747. It is thought to depict the Norse deities Frey and Gerðr. ( Public Domain )

 Top image: Skyrnir and Gerda - Illustration by Harry George Theaker (1920). Source: Public Domain

By: Wu Mingren

Old Norse Mystery: What Do the Couples Depicted on Thousands of Miniature Gold Amulets Symbolize?

Ancient Origins

By ThorNews In 2016, a miniature amulet made of gold was discovered on the Åker farm near Hamar in Eastern Norway – one of many thousands only found in Scandinavia. About three thousand Old Norse gold miniature amulets dating back to the Merovingian and Viking periods (c. 500 – 1066 AD) have been found in Scandinavia. They show a man and a woman embracing, holding or looking at each other. The researchers do not know who the images portray or for what purpose they were made. However, a number of different theories have been put forward.

The gold amulets are extremely tiny, like the size of the little finger nail. (Photo: Vegard Vike and Jessica McGraw / Museum of Cultural History, Oslo)

Microscopic Detail
The stamped and cut-out amulets measure only 8 to 10 millimeters in cross-section and are approximately 0.03 millimeters thick, or thin as leaves.

In Scandinavia the miniature amulets have got the name gullgubber, meaning “little old men of gold”, because it was previously thought they were depicting two men. This has proven to be wrong and they almost exclusively picture a man and a woman.

The woman wears a dress and an apron, but there are several combinations. The man wears a robe and sometimes pants. Both sexes can wear outerwear in the form of a short or long coat.

Both sexes can be pictured with items such as buckles, neck rings, drinking mugs or scepters. The scepter can be in the form of a twig with leaves.

It may seem as the gold amulets are trying to tell us a story, and the stamps used must have been made by extremely skilled goldsmiths.

The details are impressive and can best be seen when enlarged under a microscope.

Details seen on one amulet when viewed under a microscope (Photo: Museum of Cultural History, Oslo)

Found in or Near Special Buildings
The biggest discovery was made at the Sorte Muld in Bornholm, Denmark, where more than 2500 gullgubber were found.

The amulets are frequently found in connection with buildings that are often interpreted as houses of worship. It looks as if the miniature images are placed there on purpose, especially around the post holes in the center of the building.

During excavations in 2005 and 2008, in what scientists believe could have been a Norse temple at Vingrom in Eastern Norway, about thirty miniature gold amulets were discovered around one of the post holes.

The building was at least 15 meters long and located at the Hov (Old Norse: Hof) farm not far from the Vingrom church. The farm name suggests that there probably has been a house of worship located on the property.

Surprisingly, there were also found many pieces of iron that together with flint were used as fire starting tools.

The building archaeologists assume has been a house of worship was located not far from the Vingrom church. (Photo: kirkesok.no, author provided)

Archaeologists have concluded that it is a house of worship due to the lack of everyday items like sharpening stones, clay cooking pots, and so on.

Furthermore, the building was strategically located visible over long distances at the end of Norway’s largest lake, Mjøsa.

Freyr and Gerðr
There are proposed as many theories about who are depicted on the miniature amulets and what they symbolize as there are researchers. The only certain thing is that these images did not have a practical function, but a spiritual.

One interpretation is that they are Norse mythological depictions of the “holy wedding” between the Vanir god Freyr and the jötunn woman Gerðr.

Freyr is the god associated with virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather. He falls in love with the female jötunn Gerðr who, after some coercion, eventually becomes his wife. However, Freyr has to give away his magic sword that can fight on its own to get the woman he loves.

However, lacking his sword, Freyr is killed by the jötunn Surtr during the dramatic events of Ragnarök.

Skirnir's Message [from Freyr] to Gerd (1908) by W. G. Collingwood. (Public Domain)

Do the miniature images symbolize the marriage between Freyr and Gerðr and their unconditional love? Were the miniature gold amulets offered during wedding ceremonies to show that the married couple was willing to sacrifice everything, even their own lives for each other?

One of many other theories some researchers believe is that the amulets may have been a kind of entrance ticket for those who were found worthy to attend religious ceremonies.

Or do the miniature images represent something we simply do not understand?

We will probably never get the answer to this Old Norse mystery and we have to acknowledge that some puzzles will remain unresolved.

Top image: Gold miniature amulet (front and back) from the Åker farm in Hamar, Eastern Norway: Both male and female are depicted without hair, something that is unusual. (Photo: Vegard Vike and Jessica McGraw / Museum of Cultural History, Oslo)

 The article ‘Old Norse Mystery: What Do the Couples Depicted on Thousands of Miniature Gold Amulets Symbolize?’ was originally published on ThorNews and has been republished with permission.

Why Would You Cremate and Bury Your Home? A Bizarre Viking Ritual Explained

Ancient Origins

The Vikings had a very bizarre tradition that might be totally unique: they buried their own homes. From the Bronze Age until the Viking Age, historians have noted that burial mounds were placed on top of the remains of Viking longhouses. The internal posts that served as roof-supporting beams were usually taken off before the house was set on fire and once the house had burned to the ground, one or more burial mounds were positioned on top of its remnants.

Vikings Burnt and Buried Their Own Houses
As Heritage Daily reports, Marianne Hem Eriksen, a postdoc at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo has investigated these uncommon “deaths” and burials of Scandinavian longhouses for quite some time now. She says, “I studied seven different house burials from the Iron Age in Scandinavia, in five different locations: Högom in Sweden; Ullandhaug in Rogaland; Brista in Uppland, Sweden; Jarlsberg in Vestfold; and Engelaug in Hedmark.”

Eriksen believes that the burial mounds were not always tied with human death, but instead they could possibly mark the cremation and burial of a house within Viking society. She explained to Heritage Daily, “In some cases we have been unable to find human remains, even in places where we could expect such remains to have been preserved. Nevertheless, archaeologists have more or less implicitly assumed that somewhere or other, there must be a deceased individual.

Artist’s interpretation of a ‘Viking Village.’ (Lukasz Wiktorzak/ArtStation)

Living in a Typical Viking Longhouse
As Robin Whitlock suggests in a previous Ancient Origins article, a typical longhouse was a long and probably very chaotic structure, plagued by noise and dirt. This was primarily because a number of families tended to live in the same house along with their animals (that were kept at one end of the structure.) This area would also be where the crops were stored and it would have been separated into stalls for animals and crops. The fire was a source of heat and light, but there was no chimney and that meant the longhouse would have been very smoky. Sometimes, additional lighting was provided in the form of stone lamps with fish liver oil or whale oil as the fuel. Seating was either in the form of wooden benches along the walls or an available spot on the floor.

The walls of a longhouse were commonly made from a structure of wooden poles with wattle and daub infilling. In Denmark, some longhouses had forges inside them, although more commonly the forge was housed in a separate building. The size of the longhouse depended on the wealth of the owner and in some areas of Denmark royal longhouses were located in settlements within round earthen embankments consisting of four longhouses. Each longhouse accommodated the crew of a ship and their families. The roof was made of thatch or wooden shingles.

Reconstruction of a Viking house from the ring castle Fyrkat near Hobro, Denmark. (Malene Thyssen/CC BY SA 3.0)

Can a House Die?
The question popping up from such practices is simple: Can a house (or any object for that matter) die? Marianne Hem Eriksen had to dig deep into anthropology’s mysteries to find more sources about people’s attachment to their houses in various cultures. She told Heritage Daily,

“To people in Madagascar, a house has its own life cycle. It is born, lives, grows old and dies. The Batammaliba people of West Africa perform rituals during the construction of houses, the same rites of passage that they perform for newborn babies, adolescents and adults. When the house is completed, they perform a ritual where they ‘kill’ the house. The house has been alive during the building process, and must be killed to make it habitable for people. Many cultures believe that the house is metaphorically linked to the human body.”

 The Link Between Human Bodies and Objects in Viking Culture
After years of research and study on the topic, Eriksen is pretty convinced that the Vikings saw a link between the human body and the house they were living in during their lifetime. As she told Heritage Daily:

“Many of the Norse words that are related to houses are derived from the human body. The word window comes from wind and eye and refers to openings in the walls where the wind comes in. The word gable, i.e. the top of the end wall of the house, means head or skull. This connection between bodies and houses may have led them to think that a house has some kind of essence, some kind of soul.”

‘Viking Long house door. Norway, Epcot Center.’ (One Lucky Guy/CC BY NC SA 2.0)

This possibly explains why Norse people during that period would often give their house a proper funeral when it had completed its circle of life. As Eriksen explained:

“By burning down the house they may have had a wish to cremate it, to liberate the life force of the house. If houses and people could be part of a network that had ‘agency’ – vitality and personality – this could at least be part of the explanation for the longevity of longhouses in Scandinavia.”

 Eriksen is currently continuing her study on the topic and has published an article on the same in the European Journal of Archaeology.

Viking Longhouse – Reconstruction. (Eric Gross/CC BY 2.0)

Top Image: ‘Light and Structure’ - Reconstruction of Viking Longhouse: Central Jutland, Denmark. Source: Eric Gross/CC BY 2.0

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Stunning Celtic Horse Harness Became Treasured Brooch of Norwegian Viking Woman

Ancient Origins

During the summer of 2016, a beautiful bronze brooch was found opportunely at Agdenes farm, at the outermost part of the Trondheim Fjord in mid-Norway, buried as a status symbol in the grave of a Viking woman. An analysis of the precious artifact revealed that it is a 9th century ornament that was originally a Celtic horse harness and was likely stolen during Viking raids in Ireland.

 The Decorations Imply that the Jewelry Was Designed in Ireland
The well-maintained piece of jewelry is an ornament with a bird figure that has fish or dolphin like patterns on both sides. The decorations suggest that it was probably created in a Celtic workshop, probably in Ireland, between the 8th and 9th century. What’s more surprising though, it’s the fact that it was originally used as a fitting for a horse’s harness. The holes at the bottom and traces of rust from a needle on the back, reveal that it had probably been turned into a brooch at a later stage.

Some of you might wonder now how a fitting from an Irish horse’s harness ended up being brooch for a Norwegian Viking but those who are familiar with Vikings, a successful historical drama television series written and created by Michael Hirst for the channel History, shouldn’t be surprised. As the show clearly shows, Norwegian Vikings took part in relentless raids of the British Isles.

According to Heritage Daily, Aina Margrethe Heen Pettersen, a doctoral student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Department of Historical Studies, works with finds brought to Norway during the Viking age and verifies what the popular TV series shows, “A housewife in Mid-Norway probably received the fitting as a gift from a family member who took part in one or more Viking raids to Ireland or Great Britain. When she died, the jewelry was given to her as a burial gift. It has stayed underground until it was found by chance this summer.” She also adds that this is not the first time they have found such pieces of jewelry from that era in a woman’s grave, and speculates that this was a way for Vikings to show their love to their women after they returned from their conquests to the British Isles.

Vikings undertook relentless raids of the British Isles. Thorir Hund kills King Olaf at the Battle of Stiklestad (public domain)

The Visual and Cultural Significance of The Symbols
It looks like love and affection weren’t the only reason Vikings handed such objects to their women, or other female family members. The Vikings who participated in the early raids to the British Isles and made it back alive, gave these objects to female family members not just as gifts but also as trophies that gave them a prestigious status within the Viking societies. The fittings were then transformed into pieces of jewelry, and were worn on traditional Norse clothing as brooches, pendants or belt fittings. Heen Pettersen says about this common practice that became a tradition, “As a result, it became clear to everyone that those women had family members who had taken part in successful expeditions far away. There are traces of gold on the surface of the jewelry, so it was originally covered in gold. It therefore appeared to be more valuable than it actually was. In addition, each piece of jewelry was unique, so the owner did not risk having the housewife next door turn up with the same piece of jewelry.”

An example of how a Viking woman would have worn her brooch.

The Grave Has Been Disturbed
Heen Pettersen claims that the impressive jewelry was discovered by a civilian with a metal detector so it can’t be considered a find from an archaeological site that was officially excavated. Additionally, the fact that the bronze brooch was not found in the original grave, clearly shows that the grave was disturbed at some point. Regardless these misfortunes, Heen Pettersen is pretty satisfied with the finding and says to Heritage Daily that its cultural and historical value is undeniable, “The new find from Agdenes farm shows that the area was populated in the first part of the Viking Age. Even though it is a random find, it is a nice reminder that Mid-Norway was involved in the early contact with the British Isles.”

Top image: The Celtic harness found buried with a Viking woman in Norway (Photo: Åge Hojem / NTNU Museum of Natural History and Archaeology)

By Theodoros Karasavvas

Q&A: How did the Normans learn to build castles?

History Extra

The Great Tower at Chepstow Castle, one of the earliest Norman stone structures in the British Isles. (© Tosca Weijers/Dreamstime.com)

The Normans, as is widely appreciated, were originally Norsemen: Vikings who settled in the area around the Seine estuary in the late ninth and early 10th centuries. The traditional date for the founding of Normandy is AD 911, when the authority of the Norman leader, Rollo, was recognised by the king of France.

 Castles appeared somewhat later, with the earliest examples being constructed around the turn of the first millennium. They differed from earlier fortifications by being smaller and taller: the distinctive feature of early castle design was the great artificial mound of earth, or motte. Dating a mound of earth is difficult, since it relies on the discovery of datable ‘small finds’, and so establishing a precise chronology for mottes is impossible. Nor is it possible to say for certain how and why the design originated, other than to observe that the rise of castles seems to coincide with an intensification of lordship across northern France in the decades around the millennium. Evidently someone had the notion of building a great mound of earth to assert his power and the idea caught on fast.

 The Normans began ditching their Norse culture and adopting French customs almost from the minute of their arrival. During the 10th century, for example, they embraced Christianity, the French language and the habit of fighting on horseback. Learning how to build castles was therefore simply part of an ongoing process of acculturation. According to contemporary chroniclers, a great surge of castle-building took place during the troubled years of William the Conqueror’s boyhood in the 1030s and 1040s.

 “Lots of Normans, forgetful of their loyalties, built earthworks in many places,” wrote William of Jumièges, “and erected fortified strongholds for their own purposes.”

 Answered by Marc Morris, historian, author and broadcaster.

Gold Pendant Found in Denmark Depicts Norse God Odin, and May Have Been a Sacrifice to Avert the Disastrous Weather of 536 AD

Ancient Origins

Odin, the high god of Norse mythology, rode his eight-legged horse Sleipnir through the nine worlds dispensing ecstasy to all those who invoked him. Now an image of a man with a horse depicted on a gold pendant from the 6th century AD has been found by an amateur with a metal detector on a Danish island. Experts speculate it depicts Odin in part because it has the text “The High One,” one of Odin’s titles.

While the horse on the pendant does not have eight legs, the man’s head is hovering above it. The horse’s head appears to have antlers or horns. The pendant is believed to date to 536 AD, a year that was plagued by severed weather conditions.

Also depicted on the gold pendant is a swastika, which was not then a symbol of racism or white “supremacy.” The Nazis of pre-World War II and World War II Europe and later neo-nazis co-opted the symbol. It has been known for millennia in various places around the world, including among people of color, as a cosmic sign and one of good luck.

The gold and silver pieces found by a man with a metal detector on a Danish island may have been part of sacrificial offerings in 536 AD to the god Odin to avert harsh, cold weather. (Museum Lolland-Falster image)

The metal-detecting amateur, Carsten Helm, and his sons turned up the gold pendant and some other gold and silver pieces nearby on the island of Lolland. The Museum Lolland-Falster says Odin’s image has been found on many artifacts across Northern Europe, some with the words The High One, so they assume this is the same deity. Odin was and still is considered by neo-pagans or Asatruar the high god of the Aesir, one of two main families of Norse gods. The other are the Vanir, with whom the Aesir had some contact and intermarriage.

Odin in blue as the Wanderer, with Mime (Wikimedia Commons/Arthur Rackham painting)


“It is a really exciting discovery," says Marie Brinch, curator at the Museum Lolland-Falster. “Although it is a known type, it is a rare and exciting find—over time there have been only three found on Lolland, the latest in 1906—and from all over northern Europe we are aware of only around 1,000 pieces, most of which are from Denmark and the Nordic region.”

She said the pendant is so exciting because it is among the earliest depictions of Norse religion. This charm appears to show Odin as a shaman, she said. Shamans in ancient religions and still today make contact with the world of spirits in ecstatic union. As a god, it is possible Odin was in contact with shamans invoking him.

The museum says another interpretation of Odin’s image on the pendant is that he was a known as a healer of horses. The press release from the museum doesn’t mention this, but Odin’s vehicle or mount was a magical eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.

Norse-Mytology.org has a section on Sleipnir that states: “The eight-legged horse as a means of transportation used by shamans in their ecstatic travels throughout the cosmos is a motif that can be found in a staggering number of indigenous traditions from all over the world. Sleipnir is ‘the shamanic horse par excellence,’ just as Odin is the shamanic god par excellence.”

Odin on his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir (public domain)

Another theory about the gold and silver jewelry is that it was part of a sacrifice, possibly including of humans, to avert the very cold winters of the 6th century AD. Ms. Binch explained:

“It is possibly linked to a major natural disaster that took place in 536. Written sources from both the Roman Empire, Europe, the Middle East and even China tell of a year when the sun was not shining and there was frost in summer. We do not know exactly what happened, but there are indications that a violent volcanic eruption or a meteor strike threw ash or dust in the atmosphere and thus caused a prolonged period of reduced sunlight. Such an event certainly made people afraid. The harvest failed, and neither humans nor animals were able to get enough to eat. In such desperate times it was natural to call upon the gods for help by sacrificing … and the more precious things, the better. The event has been traumatic for the survivors, perhaps we can find traces of the idea of Ragnarok – the end of the world. It is an interesting thought that the beginning of [the epic] Völuspá just mentions that the sun disappears, and then follows Fimbul Winter - three winters without summer between. … The correlation is striking. It was not just wealth, sacrifices were made, but magical amulets and symbols. And maybe it was hoped that the shiny gold could help bring the shining sun back?”

Top image: Odin Riding Forth on the Cover of "Legends and Lore" (Cory Funk / flickr)

By Mark Miller

Evidence Accumulates for Ancient Transoceanic Voyages, Says Geographer

Ancient Origins

Theories on the fringe of science sometimes slowly work their way into the core as the evidence accumulates.

“A classic example is the continental drift [theory],” said cultural geographer Stephen C. Jett, professor emeritus at the University of California–Davis. “In 1955, if you believed in continental drift, you were laughed at. In 1965, if you didn’t believe in continental drift, you were laughed at.”

He was a geography student while this dramatic change in opinion occurred, and he took the example to heart. Encouraged by a professor of his at Johns Hopkins University, Jett started a decades-long investigation into another controversial theory.

Diffusionism

Mainstream anthropology and archaeology holds that Norse expeditions around 1000 A.D. were the only ones to make it to the New World before Christopher Columbus landed in the 15th century. But on the fringes are multiple theories about other successful pre-Columbian expeditions. These theories are placed under the umbrella of “diffusionism.”

“At the outset, I supposed that accumulating the evidence and … putting it out there would change the point of view, at least gradually,” Jett said. “But there hasn’t seemed to have been a lot of that. There’s a good deal of inertia, a good deal of resistance to the whole concept.”

According to Jett, one of the reasons it has been difficult for the concept of early transoceanic voyages to penetrate mainstream history is that it requires a multidisciplinary perspective.
“If you confine yourself to one field, you won’t see it,” he said.
Jett has a multidisciplinary perspective. “Geography is a very broad discipline,” he explained. For example, physical geography gives insight into climate, oceans, landforms, and other elements relevant to long-distance travel. Cultural geography, Jett’s specialty, has helped him see many similarities between ancient Old and New World cultures. But, he said, more biological evidence is emerging to supplement the cultural evidence.
As a graduate student, he discovered precise similarities of blowgun construction in various cultures. The similarities could not, in his opinion, have arisen independently; they clearly point to transoceanic contact and influence. But, he said, more biological evidence is emerging to supplement the cultural evidence. Research into the spread of diseases and plant species, for example, suggests ancient transoceanic contact.
Jett outlined what he calls “six evidentiary revolutions” across several fields that have greatly boosted the diffusionist theories. “We’re getting close to what could be a turning point,” he said.
It is beyond the scope of this article to explore every “evidentiary revolution” in depth, but we will briefly look at each as discussed by Jett.

‘Evidentiary Revolution’ No. 1: Maritime Archaeology and Navigation Traditions

A major objection raised against the so-called diffusionist theories is that transoceanic travel would not have been possible with the watercraft and navigation techniques available to ancient peoples who supposedly made it to the New World.
But many replica boats have made the journey in modern times, successfully using only the technology available in antiquity. One famous example is that of Dr. Thor Heyerdahl, who built a boat similar to those used by ancient Egyptians, made of papyrus, and sailed it from Morocco to Barbados in 1970.

Hokule’a (Phil Uhl/CC BY-SA)

Some 20 or more similar, successful voyages have been made, Jett said. He cited as another example the 1985 voyage of Hokule’a, a reconstructed ancient double canoe, from Hawai’i to New Zealand using traditional methods of navigation.

‘Evidentiary Revolution’ No. 2: Parasites and Pathogens

The swapping of parasites and diseases between the Old and New Worlds may have occurred before Columbus. For example, researchers at the National School of Public Health (Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública-Fiocruz) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, conducted a review in 2003 of documented parasites found at archaeological sites.
The study, “Human Intestinal Parasites in the Past,” states: “Ancylostomids [hookworms] have been found in archaeological sites from both New and Old Worlds. … Human infection has been present in Amerindians far before Columbus. It strongly suggests some kind of transoceanic contact before 7230 ± 80 years ago. … Ancylostomids … require warm and moist conditions to complete their life cycles outside their host, [and] could not have survived during human migration by land through Bering Strait during the last ice age.”

A hookworm (Fernand Olive/Public Domain)

Jett mentioned that tuberculosis and syphilis are among the diseases apparently present in both the Old and New World in antiquity. The theory that they were spread by pre-Columbian human contact remains controversial.
The spread of tuberculosis has been said to have taken place via seals. As for syphilis, it was long thought to have been brought to the Old World by Columbus’ crewmen, who contracted it in the New World. Some evidence in Old World skeletal remains has suggested, however, that it was present in the Old World before Columbus.
Researchers at the University of Vienna, for example, published a paper titled “A probable case of congenital syphilis from pre-Columbian Austria,” in 2015, after studying the remains of a child. The paper states: “Our findings contribute to the pre-Columbian theory, offering counterevidence to the assumption that syphilis was carried from Columbus’ crew from the New to the Old World.”
But many experts say the evidence for pre-Columbian syphilis in the Old World is inconclusive, that the symptoms evident in these skeletal remains may have been left by conditions other than syphilis.

‘Evidentiary Revolution’ No. 3: Domesticates

Jett said: “Now we have archaeological remains of cultivated plants, probably around 20 of them, that have been found in the wrong hemisphere—that is to say, New World domesticates found in archaeological sites in South Asia and here and there.”

“A lot of it has been published in overseas journals that most Americans don’t read,” Jett said.

For example, custard apple (Annona squamosa) seeds found at an archaeological site in north-central India were analyzed by Anil Kumar Pokharia at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany and other Indian researchers in 2009. The custard apple, native to South America and the West Indies, was previously thought to have been brought to India by the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Pokharia wrote, however, in his study published in the journal Radiocarbon: “Dates of the samples push back the antiquity of custard apple on Indian soil to the 2nd millennium B.C., favoring a group of specialists proposing diverse arguments for Asian-American transoceanic contacts before the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492 A.D.”

A file photo of a custard apple. (Elijah van der Giessen/CC BY)

Carl Johannessen, a retired University of Oregon geography professor, and John Sorenson, an emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University, have also collected many biological references, Jett noted.
The chicken is one domesticate that has received a lot of attention even in American media, Jett said.
In 2007, anthropologist Alice A. Storey at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, led a study titled “Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-Columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile.”
Chicken bones found in Chile seemed to prove Polynesians introduced chickens to the Americas before Columbus. In 2014, a study led by Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, took a different approach to DNA analysis of the chicken bones and suggested they were genetically distinct from Polynesian chickens.
But Storey stands by her analysis and criticizes Cooper’s study for using DNA from modern South American chickens in its comparison.
She told National Geographic: “The bulk of their research focuses on modern DNA. Using modern DNA to understand what people were doing in the past is like sampling a group of commuters at a London Tube station at rush hour. The DNA you get is unlikely to provide much useful information on the pre-Roman population of London.”
Research on other domesticates found at archaeological sites in South America and elsewhere continues to tantalize experts.
David Burley, an archaeologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, has no doubt Polynesians reached the New World. He told National Geographic: “The evidence for Polynesian contact with the New World prior to Columbus is substantial. We have the sweet potato, the bottle gourd, all this New World stuff that has been firmly documented as being out here pre-Columbian. If the Polynesians could find Easter Island, which is just this tiny speck, don’t you think they could have found an entire continent?”

‘Evidentiary Revolution’ No. 4: Human Genetics

Human genetic evidence for transoceanic contact, found in indigenous New World populations, is often dismissed as being contaminated by colonial European genetic material coming in after Columbus.

“But the patterns, especially those characteristic of South or East Asia, do not closely match those of the sources of the colonizers,” Jett said, “because there wasn’t any significant colonization from those areas in colonial times.”

He also pointed out that the genetic markers are found in the same areas there are cultural manifestations that suggest early transoceanic contact.
Dr. Donald Panther Yates has analyzed Cherokee DNA and culture to find links with the Old World he says must have been forged long before Columbus arrived.
In a paper titled “Anomalous Mitochondrial DNA Lineages in the Cherokee,” Yates discussed two genetic groups, known as haplogroups T and X, in the Cherokee.
He wrote: “The level of haplogroup T in the Cherokee (26.9 percent) approximates the percentage for Egypt (25 percent), one of the only lands where T attains a major position among the various mitochondrial lineages.”
Of haplogroup X, he wrote: “The only other place on Earth where X is found at an elevated level apart from other American Indian groups like the Ojibwe is among the Druze in the Hills of Galilee in northern Israel and Lebanon.”
Yates also observed parallels between Cherokee language and ancient Old World languages. For example, the Cherokee word, karioi—meaning “leisure” or “ease”—is literally the same word in Greek for “amusements.”

‘Evidentiary Revolutions’ No. 5 and No. 6: Linguistics and Calendar Systems

Jett referenced the work of Brian Stubbs—a linguist at Utah State University Eastern, Blanding Campus—as suggesting a link between the Old World and the New. Stubbs recently published a volume showing an overlap between Uto-Aztecan languages of the New World and Afro-Asiatic languages, such as ancient Egyptian and Semitic languages.
Many other connections have been made but haven’t received much professional attention yet, Jett said. He hopes linguists will follow some of these promising leads.
Jett edits a journal titled Pre-Columbiana. In the forthcoming issue, he will publish an article written 30 years ago (but which has remained unpublished until now) by the late prominent archaeologist and epigrapher David H. Kelley that shows similarities between the Mayan and Eurasian calendar systems. Kelley argued that these similarities would not have arisen independently. Kelley earned fame in the 1960s for major contributions toward deciphering Mayan script.

Obstacles

Though some of the objections to diffusionist theories have been evidentiary—that is, questioning the validity of the evidence—Jett has seen other kinds of obstacles as these theories work their way into the mainstream.
Some people feel that diffusionists belittle indigenous American populations by suggesting that those cultures would not have formed independently, but instead required input from the Old World. Some diffusionist studies are also not sufficiently rigorous, marring the reputation of diffusionists in general, Jett said.
Furthermore, diffusionism calls into question scientists’ efforts to make generalizations about how cultures develop. If all civilizations are historically related, then there are no independent examples to compare to one another in order to formulate generalizations. This acts as a psychological obstacle in the minds of anthropologists, Jett said. It undermines much of the seeming progress made in this field of study.
As evidence continues to accumulate, and with a continual influx of young scientists replacing the old, Jett feels we’re on the cusp of an overall breakthrough for the diffusionist perspective. Jett’s book, “Ancient Ocean Crossings” is in press at the University of Alabama Press and is expected early next year.
Top image: Credit: April Holloway

The article ‘Evidence Accumulates for Ancient Transoceanic Voyages, Says Geographer’ was originally published on The Epoch Times and has been republished with permission