German-Scandinavian culture. Ancient Scandinavian culture
From the late eighth to the late 11th centuries, the Vikings as a culture dominated Europe and spread throughout the world, from Russia (the land of the Rus) to the east coast of North America. Although their raids, which were often religiously motivated, were undoubtedly brutal, many Vikings traded peacefully, grew crops, and settled conflicts peacefully, leaving their mark on virtually every region they touched.
Explore just some of the things we owe to the ancient Norse, from the English language to the combs we use on our hair.
Viking Achievements in Shipbuilding and Shipping
There is even a Viking Ship Museum in the world. Perhaps the most striking achievement of the ancient Scandinavians was the achievement of almost modern level shipbuilding technologies that allowed them to travel greater distances than anyone before. Their longboats, sleek wooden vessels with shallow hulls and rows of oars along the side, were faster, lighter, more flexible and more maneuverable than other ships of the time. But while examining the prowess of the Vikings, it is also worth talking about their skill as navigators. They relied on such simple tools as the solar compass, which used calcite crystals known as "sunstones" to determine the position of the sun even after sunset or on cloudy days.
Such innovations gave the Vikings a clear advantage over other peoples in long-distance voyages to foreign lands. At their height, the Vikings were active on four continents simultaneously, making them the world's first truly global citizens.
Old English
In the centuries following their first raid on English lands in 793 AD, the Vikings carried out a series of attacks, waged wars and established settlements across the British Isles, making an ongoing impact on the land, culture and language. How did the Vikings interact with their English neighbors? First of all, through agriculture and trading activities, and then through marriages and linguistic assimilation, that is, mixing. This process is evident in place names such as Grimsby, Thornby and Derby (the suffix comes from the Scandinavian word for "manor" or "village"), or Thwaite, for example (-thwaite meaning "meadow" or "piece of land").
"Give", "window" and "sleep", other common English words, also extracted their modern meanings from the Viking culture. In another famous example, the word "Berserker" comes from the Old Norse berserker, meaning "bear's shirt" or "bear's skin." Viking warriors called berserkers worshiped Odin, the god of war, and worked themselves into a frenzied state during combat.
Dublin originated from a Scandinavian fortress
We owe the capital of the Emerald Isle to the Vikings, who founded the first recorded settlement on the south bank of the River Liffey in 841. It was named Dubh Linn (“Black Pool”) after the ancient Scandinavians moored their boats on the lake and began to build housing, harvest timber for their needs, and built an earthen fortress. It is now the heart of modern Dublin.
Dubh Lynn soon became the center of one of the largest slave markets in Europe. The Vikings maintained tight control of Dublin for almost three centuries until the Irish High King Brian Boru defeated them at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Unlike England, the Vikings left few Scandinavian geographical names in Ireland and had little influence on the Irish language, but they nevertheless made their mark there and here. In addition to Dublin, the Irish cities of Wexford, Waterford, Cork and several others also began their history as Viking settlements.
Skis
Although the oldest known skis, dating back to between 8000 and 7000 BC, were discovered in Russia, and the first written mention of skis comes from China's Han Dynasty (approximately 206 BC), there is reason to thank the ancient Scandinavians for discovering the Western tradition of skiing. Even the word "ski" in English language comes from Old Norse "skío." The ancient Scandinavians skied across their snowy homelands for both recreation and transportation, and the Norse goddess Skaoi and god Ull were often depicted on skis or snowshoes.
Combs - the invention of the Varangian cleanliness
Although their enemies considered them unkempt barbarians, the Vikings actually bathed more often than other Europeans of the day (not counting the Russians, who always had bathhouses “in the factory”), at least once a week, preferably in a hot spring. Bristle combs, often made from the antlers of red deer or other animals they killed, are one of the objects most commonly found in Viking graves. In fact, although comb devices existed in other cultures around the world, it is the Vikings who often get credit for inventing the comb as the Western world knows it today.
Tweezers, razors and other cosmetic-related items are among the other objects that have turned up in Viking burial excavations, proving that even the long-haired, bearded Viking warriors took personal grooming very seriously.
Sagas from Iceland: truth and fiction
Apart from archaeological evidence, one of the main sources of modern historians for information about the life of the ancient Scandinavians is a somewhat dubious but endlessly fascinating source. These Icelandic sagas, written by unknown authors in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries, chronicle life during the Viking Age around the year 1000 AD, when the ancient Norse abandoned their pagan gods and converted to Christianity.
During the Victorian era, scholars accepted the sagas, with their accompanying graphic depictions of the deeds of powerful rulers and ordinary people, as indisputable historical fact and a historically reliable source. Most historians now agree that the sagas are unreliable but still valuable sources of information about the Vikings, sprinkled with a hefty dose of mythology and fantasy. Either way, we can thank the Vikings and their exploits for providing fodder for one of the earliest forms of our favorite public entertainment: the soap opera.
The Germanic-Scandinavian peoples belong to the Indo-European language family, which makes them similar to such geographically distant cultures as the Scythians, Persians, and Indians. However, relatively early, a western branch emerged from the common trunk of the Indo-Europeans, including the Greeks, Italics, Celts, Slavs, Balts and Germans. These ethnic groups played a colossal role in the destinies of Europe and the world. The importance of the Greeks and Romans as the creators of a unique ancient civilization is well known. But no less important place in history is occupied by the so-called “Barbarian Europe”, which was in difficult relationships with the world of antiquity, and later replaced it, absorbing the Greco-Roman heritage and learning the lessons of the past. One of the leading peoples of “Europe of the barbarian fields” were the Germans.
They played a key role in the Great Migration of Peoples. Germanic tribes: Goths, Vandals, Heruls, Burgundians, Angles and Saxons, Lombards, Franks leave the land of their ancestors and create their kingdoms on the territory of the former Western Roman Empire. A number of these states later formed the basis of medieval Europe.
The participation of the ancient Germans in numerous wars and frequent changes in habitats affected social structure. These tribes did not preserve the ancient Indo-European priestly caste, and religious rites were carried out by leaders or the most respected people. Due to these reasons, as well as early Christianization, German mythology has not reached us in its original form. But its Scandinavian version has been preserved.
The Scandinavian tribes, with the exception of the Goths, Burgundians and Heruls, did not take part in the Great Migration. During these years they showed relative peace. The ancestors of the Swedes formed a strong Sveian state (described by Tacitus). From the W. century AD it enters a period of economic and cultural prosperity - the so-called Wendel period. Scandinavian connections extend from the British Isles to the Middle Volga; an international “Wendel style” has developed in art, in which both Roman and Eastern (Sarmatian) influences can be traced. The Irish-Scottish tradition was of particular importance for its creation. The Anglo-Saxons apparently acted as intermediaries between the Scandinavians and the Celts (which is confirmed both by excavations of burials in Setton Hoo (east coast of England), and on the other hand by the analysis of the Anglo-Saxon epic "Beowulf", which told about legendary events in Sweden and Denmark, but with a number of Celtic motifs (underwater giants, severed brush, etc.) But the true center of the new art that swept the European continent before the Frankish state and Lombard Italy was Sweden and its settlements such as Uppsala, Helge, Valsjoerde, Wendel.
However, the period of prosperity and relative peace was replaced by an event that resembled the era of the Migration of Peoples and was called the “Viking movement.”
A.P. Gurevich describes this phenomenon as follows: “In the world of the Scandinavians, at the end of the 8th, first half of the 9th centuries, a sharp shift occurred - a break in the gradual development. Among them, a new type appeared - brave sailors, seekers of prey, adventure and impressions, with connections in different countries Oh. In short, the old and familiar way of life was broken and became impossible" (Gurevich A.I. // Viking Campaigns. M.).
These people (they were called Vikings - the word "Viking" comes from "vik" - "bay", "bay", or "vikingr" - "pirate", "raider") - gathered in fighting squads and went on long sea voyages . The victims of their raids were England, Ireland, France, Northern Germany, the Iberian Peninsula, and Southern Italy. They penetrated (under the name of the Varangians) into Byzantium and Eastern Europe (their significant, albeit controversial role in the creation of Kievan Rus is known).
For military campaigns, the Vikings built their famous “dragon ships” (with a bow decorated with an image of a beast or dragon). They were made of wood, had an elegant shape, sometimes reaching 30 m in length; shields were hung along the sides, behind which the rowers took cover.
Changes affected various aspects of the life of the ancient Scandinavians. At this time, their new cities were born and quickly flourished.
Religious centers were also important. In Uppsala (Sweden) there was a famous pagan complex dedicated to Odin, Thor, and Frey - the supreme triad of the Scandinavian pantheon (an accurate illustration of the three-fold structure of Indo-European mythology by Dumezil - magical power, military strength, fertility).
The temple of Frey (the legendary ancestor of the Swedish kings) was especially famous. The ancient gods were revered in the form of wooden idols; a description of a statue of Thor (life-size) sitting in a chariot drawn by goats has been preserved. Pets, weapons and jewelry, and sometimes people, were sacrificed to the gods.
There were also sacred groves. The idea of pagan sanctuaries can be partly obtained from the late Christian churches. In Borgund (Norway) a temple was built, reminiscent of the wooden cathedrals of the Russian North. At the same time, it, like its Slavic counterparts, was little similar to the Christian churches of Western European or Byzantine canons. Perhaps the character of the wooden northern churches was influenced by architectural traditions dating back to the early medieval community of the peoples of the Baltic Sea.
Scandinavian houses were rectangular in shape. They were built from wooden planks or rods coated with clay. The roof was usually covered with thatch. The frame of the house was supported by wooden pillars covered with carved ornaments. Tapestries made of wool hung on the walls inside, and wooden floorings were placed along the walls.
Every house had a loom, and most people wore homespun clothes. For men, these were linen shirts and woolen trousers, over which a tunic with long rights was worn. The tunic was tied with a belt. In winter people went to fur coats or cloaks pinned at the shoulder with a special pin.
Women wore long tunics over their dresses, which consisted of two rectangular pieces of fabric fastened at the shoulders with straps and two large brooches. They grew very long hair tying them with a knot at the top of the head. Men usually had shoulder-length hair, sometimes braiding them on both sides of their faces. The beard was also braided.
Women among the ancient Scandinavians enjoyed significant independence, in particular they had the right to divorce. In general, the Germans, just like the Celts, believed in their prophetic power. Some women who professed the cult of Freya were soothsayers and interpreters of dreams.
The changes that accompanied the emergence of the “Viking movement” also affected the sphere of decorative and applied arts. The Wendel animal style merges with the ribbon design. An image of a large beast appears, filling the image plane of the so-called rune stones. The frame for this image was composed of intricately intertwined snakes or one dragon biting its tail. Runes were placed on these ribbon-shaped monsters - pagan written signs. (By the way, the runic alphabet itself, known since the 2nd century AD, also underwent a transformation during the Viking Age).
Compared to the previous period, art acquired expression and a certain chaotic nature. Already contemporaries were amazed by Scandinavian products, with their inherent plots of mortal struggle between people and animals, monsters convulsively clinging to each other, and the cult of death and destruction. This art reflected the northern Viking Age, with its collapse of the old world...
Vikings combine the traits of warriors, merchants and travelers. They discovered and settled Iceland (though they met Irish hermit monks already living there). From there, brave sailors penetrated Greenland and even North America where they founded their settlements.
The development of Iceland played a key role in the fate of the Old Scandinavian civilization (quite comparable to the importance of Ireland among the Celts).
Here we must keep in mind that the Viking culture arose and developed already in the Christian era, representing a kind of “belated flowers of northern paganism.” (Perhaps this circumstance explains its gloomy flavor, the feeling of an impending catastrophe. The bearers of Viking culture seemed to have a presentiment of their historical doom). The involvement of the Scandinavians in the life of continental Europe inevitably entailed their baptism, often accompanied by cultural excesses. In Iceland, this process took place relatively peacefully (as in Ireland), dual faith flourished here for a long time, and then the ancient gods moved into the category of poetic metaphors.
Partly thanks to the latter circumstance, Old Norse mythology was preserved. Icelanders were a people of poets. Poetry on the island was divided into Eddic and Skaldic. The first (basically, it includes songs included in the so-called “Elder Edda”, recorded in Iceland in the 13th century) had a relatively simple form, but rich mythopoetic content. The second was extremely complex in style, although it usually talked about simple things- battles, feasts, glorified military leaders. Skaldic poetry is younger than Eddic poetry, for it appeared simultaneously with the Viking movement. Literary scholars consider it as “a kind of mutation.” In skaldic poetry, like Scandinavian ornament, an elaborate, intricate form was cultivated. Its authors - skalds (poets-singers) developed a whole system of metaphors called "kennings". They said “snow of bowls”, “bones of the earth”, “path of the eels”, “bear of the sea currents”, “dark dragon of the shield”, and they meant: silver, mountains, sea, ship, horse. Over time, kennings became more complex, consisting not of two, but of three or more words. So, “birch of the ringing fire of the hand” meant “woman” (“ringing fire of the hand” - gold; “birch of gold” - woman. Kenning in kenning).
At the same time, the skaldic tradition interacted with the Eddic tradition, drawing themes for its metaphors from myths and epics.
The Vikings also created a prose genre of literature - sagas, which could tell about historical events and biographies of individual people. There were sagas in which there were many fairy-tale motifs - they were called "false sagas."
Finally, there was a special group of stories dedicated to legendary heroes. The most famous of them is the “Saga of the Welsungs”, the plots of which are also present in the literature of the continental Germans (“The Song of the Nibelungs”, etc.).
But, perhaps, the most famous book of Iceland and all of ancient Scandinavia is the Younger Edda. It was written in the 13th century. Icelander Snorri Sturluson. In the Younger Edda, stories about the ancient gods are presented with such completeness that Scandinavian mythology, along with Greek and Indian mythology, can be considered a real standard with which it is convenient to compare the folklore traditions of other Indo-European peoples. Moreover, many cosmogonic and eschatological subjects have been preserved here (which is so lacking in Irish legends). Of course, the nature of Iceland, grandiose and pristine “as on the first day of creation,” left its mark on the nature of their description.
Getting to know nature, history, and the way of life of the ancient Scandinavians allows us to better understand how such a magnificent tree of legends could grow on the meager northern soil. Its bizarre shape was certainly influenced by the "interruption in gradual development."
The Scandinavian gods are well identified with the ancient Germanic ones, but their functions and place in the pantheon have undergone a certain shift. For example, the position of the Thunderer (TOR) and the God of the Clear Sky (Tyr) has changed. Both of these characters were pushed into second and third place, respectively, by the Culture Hero - Odin, the god of military magic and a mediator on the paths of the living and the dead, reminiscent of the Greek Hermes. (The growth of his cult could have been influenced by the shamanism of the Finno-Ugric peoples, with whom the Scandinavians were actively in contact in the mid-1st millennium AD).
In Scandinavian mythology, two groups of gods are distinguished: the smaller one, the Vanir, personifying fertility, and the larger one, the Ases, associated with military function. It is sometimes believed that the Aesir may have been the gods of the Vikings, while the Vanir were preferred by their sedentary relatives.
Despite Christianization, representatives of both groups are reflected in the names of the days of the week. Of course, this was influenced by astrology (since the names of the gods are associated with celestial bodies) and the Bible (the name “Saturday” given to the sixth day of the week). Nevertheless, the presence of the names of the main Indo-European mythological characters, correlated with the main types of gods identified in this work, is indicative. The purest example is the Germanic languages. Tuesday is the day of Tiu/Tyur (God of the Clear Sky). Wednesday is the day of Wodan/Odin (Cultural Hero). Thursday is the day of Donar/Thor (God of Thunder. It is curious that in Russia, where the thunderer Perun was contaminated with Elijah the Prophet, “Ilya’s day” also fell on Thursday). Friday is the day of Freya (Great Goddess. In Russia, the functions of the Great Goddess were partially transferred to Paraskeva Friday). Perhaps the day of the God of Earthly Powers was Saturday.
But, of course, Old Norse mythology left its mark not only on the calendar. On the outskirts of the northern world it was not forgotten throughout the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, a phenomenon called the “Scandinavian scientific renaissance” arose. The collection of ancient manuscripts began. In the 18th century they were widely published in Europe and taken up by the romantics. Northern legends (Celtic and Scandinavian mythologies) served as an inspiring source for the English artist, poet and thinker William Blake. Pagan images entered his poems and paintings, although they were creatively reinterpreted. Blake's giant Ymir corresponds to the giant Albion (graphic sheet "Dance of Albion", etc.), containing all of humanity. The gods Odin and Loki are comparable to the demiurge Juraizen and the demon of rebellion Orc; the hammerman Thor resembles Blake's god of creativity, Los. Finally, the apocalyptic roar of the eternal wolf, running through Blake's entire poem "America. Prophecy", various images of the monstrous sea serpent Leviathan - evoke the characters of the Edda - the Wolf Fenrir and the World Serpent Ermungand, whose appearance on the surface of the earth marks the end of times.
The magnificent plots of Eddic mythology have been repeatedly played out in literature. They were addressed by R. Hebbel (the Nibelungen trilogy), the poet and playwright J. Giraudoux (the play “Siegfried”). Finally, the modern genre of “fantasy” is largely based on Scandinavian motifs. This is evidenced by the very name of the main novel of the founding father of “fantasy” D. Tolkien - “The Lord of the Rings” (the image of the cursed ring is borrowed from the heroic songs of the Edda).
Scandinavian mythological plots also penetrate into Russian literature; the popular folk tale “Eruslan Lazarevich” is known, in which the king Fiery Shield, the Flaming Spear, rides on an eight-legged horse across the sky, in this character it is easy to guess the Scandinavian Odin. It is curious that this fairy tale by A.S. Pushkin based "Ruslan and Lyudmila". True, the Fire King did not move into the poem, he was replaced by Chernomor, but it retains the talking head of a giant, which was based on the dead head of the giant Mimir, with which Odin loved to hold council.
Fine art, in the period after Blake, also often turned to the subjects of northern mythology, including, naturally, in the Scandinavian countries. Sculptor G.Z. Freud in the first half of the twentieth century. created an image of Odin (Copenhagen, National Museum). True, it is still too academic and similar to the famous statues of Zeus, except for the two wolves lying on either side of the legs of the god sitting on the throne. Another Freud sculpture - the winged Loki (Copenhagen, New Carlsberg Glyptothek) better shows the insidious and restless spirit of this character. Later, in the capital of Denmark, one of the parks was decorated with sculptural groups on Eddic subjects. Among them is Gevion, leading a team of four bulls (sculptor A. Bungor). According to legend, she plowed the island of Zealand from Sweden, on which Copenhagen was founded. But the most successful, perhaps, is the equestrian statue of the Valkyrie S. Sinding, which well expresses the fury of the warlike maiden.
A special role in the promotion of the Northern European heritage belongs to the neo-mythological direction in culture and its founder Richard Wagner. The German composer created the majestic opera tetralogy "The Ring of the Nibelung", based on the Scandinavian version of the epic, densely saturated with mythological images, and influenced the Russian school of music. This can be seen, for example, from a comparison of his works with the operas of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia" and "Koschei the Immortal". The musical image of Kitezh, the Russian spiritual ideal, echoes Wagner’s Grail, and in Kashcheevne we recognize a type of Valkyrie.
Finally, the impact is undeniable German composer on the formation of the Art Nouveau style, clearly expressed in the architecture of Europe and Russia. Even the Hall of the Nibelungs was created in Mannheim (Germany). An important place in its design is occupied by a large stucco frieze, depicting the scenes of the epic in a manner stylized as a Scandinavian wicker ornament.
In St. Petersburg, Moscow and a number of other Russian cities, some buildings of this era include mascarons in their decor in the form of male and female heads in feathered helmets. Their type is sharply contrasted with the type of Hermes (who also had a winged cap). One can with a high degree of confidence recognize the image of Odin (Wotan, Woden) in the male faces, and the Valkyrie in the female ones. It was precisely the characters in his operas that Wagner imagined wearing winged helmets. This is how they entered our consciousness.
They came from the sea, warriors who knew neither pity nor fear of death. The colorful sails of their longships were visible from afar. And when such a sail rose above the horizon, residents of coastal villages fled in fear, saving their lives. There were legends about their courage, courage, cruelty and fury. They lived for war and for war. They were kept by the stern northern aces. They were helped by light elves and dark jotuns. Their souls were carried away from the battlefield by golden-haired Valkyries. They were called heroes and barbarians, pirates and wolves of the North. But they called themselves Vikings.
Many centuries have passed, but the Vikings are still on everyone’s lips. The character is Nordic, what can you do about it! And how many legends and myths have been written and told during this time cannot be counted. I think that each of us wants to know the truth about them (or at least a true story similar to it).
Who are the Vikings? What are they famous for? Were they really that crazy and bloodthirsty? Why and how did their reign end? Let's figure it out together.
A little about the Vikings themselves
The Vikings came from Scandinavia, a region in Northern Europe (now modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark). But in the V-XI centuries, called the early Middle Ages, these countries did not yet have clear borders, and the rulers themselves divided power among themselves, every now and then engaging in armed clashes. The common language of those peoples was Old Norse. The word "VIK" from this language can be translated as "bay", "bay", "refuge", and "VIKING" meant "man from the bay" or "one who hides in the bay".
By religious affiliation, the Vikings were overwhelmingly pagans. Their main god was Odin - the father of all Gods and the God of those killed in battle, who after death became his adopted sons.
The Vikings firmly believed in afterworld, and therefore death did not frighten them. Death in battle was considered the most honorable. Then, according to ancient legends, their souls ended up in the wonderful country of Valhalla. And the Vikings did not want any other fate for themselves or for their sons.
During the battle, one of the warriors always carried the clan banner. This was an extremely honorable duty, and only a chosen one could become a standard bearer - it was believed that the banner had miraculous powers, helping not only to win the battle, but also to leave the bearer unharmed. But when the enemy’s advantage became obvious, the main task for the warriors was to preserve the life of their king. To do this, the Vikings surrounded it with a ring and shielded it with shields. If the king did die, they fought to the last drop of blood next to his body.
Berserkers (among the Scandinavians, a mighty, frantic hero) were especially fearless. They did not recognize armor and marched forward like madmen, like mad dogs and wolves, terrifying the enemy troops. They knew how to put themselves into a euphoric state and, breaking through the front line of enemies, dealt crushing blows and fought to the death in the name of Odin. Battle-hardened Vikings typically won victories both at sea and on land, earning them the reputation of being invincible. Everywhere, heavily armed detachments acted in approximately the same way - their landings took cities and villages by surprise.
After decades of robbery, the uninvited northern guests realized that it was more profitable and easier to impose tribute on the Europeans, since they were happy to pay off. Medieval chronicles testify: from 845 to 926, the Frankish kings laid out about 17 tons of silver and almost 300 kilograms of gold to the “barbarians” in thirteen stages. Moreover, around 860 the Vikings discovered the island, calling it “Iceland” (“Iceland”) and founded a number of their own colonies there.
Viking ships
Of course, the Vikings would not have gained their gloomy glory if they had not possessed the best ships of that time. The hulls of their "sea dragons" were perfectly adapted to sailing in rough waters. northern seas: low sides, gracefully upturned bow and stern end; on the side of the stern there is a stationary steering oar. Painted with red or blue stripes, and sometimes checkered, sails made of rough canvas on a mast were installed in the center of the spacious deck.
The same type of merchant and military ships, much more powerful, being inferior in size to the Greek and Roman ones, were significantly superior to them in maneuverability and speed. Time really helped to evaluate their superiority. IN late XIX century, in a burial mound in the south of Norway, archaeologists found a well-preserved 32-oared dragon. Having built an exact copy of it and tested it in ocean waters, experts came to the conclusion: with a fresh wind, a Viking ship under sail could develop almost ten knots - and this is one and a half times more than Columbus’s caravels during the voyage to the West Indies more than five years later centuries.
Viking weapons
The favorite weapons were the ax and the poleaxe (double-edged axe). Their weight reached 9 kg, the length of the handle was 1 meter. Moreover, the handle was bound with iron, which made the blows delivered to the enemy as crushing as possible. It was with this weapon that the training of future warriors began, so they all wielded it perfectly, without exception.
Viking spears were of two types: throwing and for hand-to-hand combat. Throwing spears had a short shaft length. Often a metal ring was attached to it, indicating the center of gravity and helping the warrior to give the throw the right direction. Spears intended for land combat were massive, with a shaft length of 3 meters. For combat combat, four to five meter spears were used, and in order for them to be liftable, the diameter of the shaft did not exceed 2.5 cm. The shafts were made mainly of ash and decorated with applications of bronze, silver or gold.
Shields usually did not exceed 90 cm in diameter. The shield field was made of one layer of boards 6-10 mm thick, fastened together, and covered with leather on top. The strength of this design was given by the umbo, handle and rim of the shield. The umbon - a hemispherical or conical iron plaque that protects the warrior's hand - was usually nailed to the shield with iron nails, which were riveted on the reverse side. The handle for holding the shield was made of wood according to the principle of a rocker, that is, crossing the inner side of the shield - it was massive in the center, and became thinner closer to the edges. An iron strip, often inlaid with silver or bronze, was placed on it. To strengthen the shield, a metal strip ran along the edge, nailed with iron nails or staples and covered with leather on top. The leather cover was sometimes painted with colored patterns.
Burmas - protective chain mail shirts consisting of thousands of intertwined rings - were of great value to the Vikings and were often passed down by inheritance. True, only rich Vikings could afford to have them. The majority of warriors wore leather jackets for protection.
Viking helmets - metal and leather - had either a rounded top with shields to protect the nose and eyes, or a pointed top with a straight nose bar. Overlay strips and shields were decorated with embossing made of bronze or silver.
Arrows VII - IX centuries. had wide and heavy metal tips. In the 10th century, the tips became thin and long and with silver inlay. The bow was made from one piece of wood, usually yew, ash or elm, with braided hair serving as the bowstring.
Only wealthy Vikings, who also possessed remarkable strength, could have swords. This weapon was very carefully kept in a wooden or leather sheath. The swords were even given special names, such as the Tearer of Chainmail or the Miner. Their length averaged 90 cm, they had a characteristic narrowing towards the tip and a deep groove along the blade. The blades were made from several iron rods intertwined, which were flattened together during forging.
This technique made the sword flexible and very durable. The swords had guards and pommels - parts of the hilt that protect the hand. The latter were equipped with hooks that could be used to attack by moving the enemy's main blade to the side. Both guards and pommels, as a rule, had regular geometric shapes, were made of iron and decorated with copper or silver plates. The decorations of the blades, extruded during the forging process, were simple and represented either simple ornaments or the name of the owner.
Viking swords were very heavy, so sometimes during a long battle it was necessary to hold it with both hands; in such situations, the enemy's retaliatory blows were repelled by the shield bearers.
Viking clothing
Women wore a long shirt with or without sleeves. On top they wore a sundress, which was fastened with two metal fasteners, brooches, often in the shape of the head of some animal or turtle shell. Men also wore linen shirts, long trousers, woolen or leather cloaks with brooches. Those who had the desire and opportunity to stand out wore bright cloaks lined with expensive fur and tied with richly decorated belts. Viking shoes were most often made of leather. Everyone wore jewelry, both women and men - brooches, necklaces, bracelets, rings and chains around the neck.
Family and its head
Family ties were very important to the Vikings. The family united not only close relatives - parents and children - but also distant ones, the list of which could be very wide. These were cousins, aunts and uncles, servants and even slaves (who constituted the lower class and were called thralls).
Wealthy men were allowed to have several wives and even marry slaves. True, children born in such marriages did not receive the status of free people; they remained thralls, like their mothers.
The head of the family clan (he could be either a man or a woman) enjoyed universal respect: he made important decisions regarding marriages, trade deals, and declaring revenge on enemies.
Decline of the Viking Age
In the middle of the 11th century, the Viking Age ended. During their raids, the Vikings increasingly chose to stay in a new place and quickly adapted, accepting new faiths and new traditions. In addition, their well-being has declined: robbery, trade and resale, and heavy extortions have depleted the resources of donor countries. Besides Christian church banned slavery, but the slave trade brought huge income to the Vikings. And the Scandinavian lands themselves, like other European territories, began to increasingly unite under the banner of large rulers, who had a large army under their command. Organized warriors on public service deprived the Vikings of their main trump card and strategy of intimidation - a surprise attack on the unarmed.
What about today?
They write, film, and draw comics about them. They even named a beer brand and a spacecraft in their honor.
Today, Vikings are as much a symbol of the carefree romance of distant travels and quick victories as sea pirates. Cunning and cruel adventurers, the Vikings forever left a noticeable mark on world history.
Bare feet on glass.
Yes, so as not to feel pain
From those who cursed you in the world,
Sold it for my last pound of salt.
You have entered the path of true faith,
And the truth is forged on it - with flour.
Our sword fights for gold and pearls
With all his strength he shakes his hand with steel,
So that lies flow with blood
Bad thoughts on thin marble
Strong shields from Velva's songs
Instead of the roof and walls of Valhalla.
You have entered the path of words of honor,
Now let it be hard
Stand like a stone for the glory of revenge
Near dark and narrow fjords.
Fly like a bird across the fraternal lands,
Bring news from Thor to your sisters;
Walk proudly according to Freya's will
The path of true faith and honor.
Photo: book "Vikings" from the publishing house "Walking into History"
Introduction
Chapter 1 Traditions and Beliefs
1.1 Beliefs
1.2 Traditions associated with birth
1.3 Training and the "moral code"
1.4 Funeral rites
Chapter 2 Science and Art
2.1 Calendar
2.2 Navigation
2.3 Shipbuilding
2.4 Medicine
2.5 Literature. Poetry
Conclusion
List of used literature
Introduction
The relevance of this work is due to the fact that in order to understand the history of a people, it is important to know not only the material, but also the spiritual side of their life. For a long time The role of mentality has been underestimated by many scientists, but using only a materialistic approach, it is sometimes difficult to explain some historical phenomena. In addition, this leads to an unjustified belittlement of the importance of the achievements of ancient people; to the fact that their culture is presented by many researchers as “primitive”. This does not take into account the very difference between the worldview of the ancients and modern people. IN last years began to appear good work, which are based on the consideration of mentality, but they are mainly devoted to the civilizations of the Ancient East. There are no special works devoted to the spiritual culture of pre-Christian Scandinavia, at least in Russian. All this determines the relevance of this work.
First of all, it should be said about what is meant by the concepts of “culture” and “pre-Christian Scandinavia”.
“Culture (from the Latin Cultura - cultivation, upbringing, education, development, veneration), a historically determined level of development of society, creative powers and abilities of a person, expressed in the types and forms of organization of people’s lives and activities, in their relationships, as well as in the material and spiritual values they create... In a narrower sense, the sphere of people’s spiritual life. Includes the substantive results of people’s activities... as well as human powers and abilities realized in activities (knowledge, abilities, skills, level of intelligence, moral and aesthetic development, worldviews, methods and forms of communication between people),” the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary tells us. .
In this work, the concept of “culture” will be used in the narrow sense of the word, that is, to denote spiritual and intellectual values created by man.
Now let's determine the place of pre-Christian Scandinavia in time and space. Scandinavia includes the Scandinavian Peninsula, the island of Iceland, the Jutland Peninsula, as well as the small islands surrounding them. Within the chronological framework, the lower limit is the settlement of Scandinavia in the 3rd-2nd millennia BC. e.. Here it should be noted that basically the information provided refers to the 9th – 12th centuries, but it should be remembered that any culture is formed not in a year or two, but in centuries and millennia. The upper limit of the period under consideration is the end of the 12th century. By this time, the Christianization of Scandinavia was completed.
As for the historiography of this issue, there are not very many scientific works in Russian devoted to the topic of pre-Christian Scandinavia, especially its culture separately (as discussed above). Things are not much better with translated literature; most of it is just popular science publications depicting the Scandinavians of the pre-Christian era as people with a very primitive level of development in every sense.
"Before the time of Charlemagne Nordic countries constituted an almost completely closed world, about which only a few fragmentary news and legends reached the attention of the Romans...” writes A. Strinnholm, a prominent Swedish Scandinaviist. What then can we say about more ancient times... The sources of the medieval era include both the chronicles of continental Europe and the sagas of Scandinavia itself.
Among the excellent works on this topic, the monograph “Viking Campaigns” by the aforementioned Anders Strinnholm should be noted. A. Khlevov, scientific editor of the Russian edition of this work, writes the following in the preface: “Up until the appearance in the 1950-1970s. books by M.I. Steblin-Kamensky, A.Ya. Gurevich, G.S. Lebedev, dedicated to the history of the Vikings, “Viking Campaigns”, published in 1861, remained the only serious and comprehensive historical study in Russian.” This truly classic work describes both cultural and political life Scandinavia of the Viking Age (VIII-XII centuries).
I would like to mention the encyclopedia “Vikings: Raids from the North”, published in the “Vanished Civilizations” series. It is beautifully illustrated and presents a huge number of archaeological finds. Most of the book is devoted to battles, trade, and colonial activities; however, when reading, one often gets the impression that the author (whose name, by the way, is not indicated anywhere...) considers the culture of pre-Christian Scandinavia primitive. The adherence to the “Norman theory” is striking: “Starting with Rurik and up to the son of Ivan the Terrible Fedor, these Scandinavians ruled the largest medieval power in Europe - Russia.” Moreover, as in most similar publications, there is almost no information about the spiritual life of the people.
In the popular science series “Question Mark” a brochure by V.I. Shcherbakova “Where did the heroes of Eddic myths live?” The author examines the question of the origin of Scandinavian culture, relying on legends and archaeological data. It should be noted that none of the other available works contradicts Shcherbakov’s point of view.
Among the excellent popular science works, it is worth noting the essay by M. Semyonova “I will tell you about the Vikings,” published in the collection “Vikings.” In that work - detailed description life and, most importantly, the mentality of the Scandinavians of that era. Moreover, it should be noted that M. Semyonova has an interesting approach to the narration; she tries to show the worldview of the Scandinavians as if “from the inside.”
The purpose of this work is to consider the culture of pre-Christian Scandinavia and show its features.
The objectives of the work are to talk about the spiritual values and intellectual achievements of the Scandinavians of the pre-Christian era: about their navigation and shipbuilding art, about poetry and the famous Scandinavian runes, about knowledge in the field of medicine and astronomy; and, of course, about traditions and beliefs, about how they thought and how they perceived the world.
The work consists of two chapters. The first is devoted to the spiritual life of the Scandinavians of the pre-Christian period, their worldview, beliefs, and some traditions, and the second chapter is devoted to the scientific knowledge, practical skills and poetic art of the Scandinavians.
Chapter 1 Traditions and Beliefs
1.1 Beliefs
The Scandinavians of the period under review were characterized by a religious-mythological type of thinking (in the historical, but not the philosophical understanding of this term). One can draw some parallel between such a worldview and pantheism, which represents the deity as if “dissolved” in nature, and not standing “above” nature. Strinnholm writes the following about this: “Peoples, in their infancy, not comprehending the laws of nature and the internal connection between objects, always suspected the participation of living beings wherever they noticed active forces, and personified nature. And the ancient Normans, like the Pythagoreans, filled the whole world with special spiritual essences.”
According to the Scandinavians, there were nine worlds, each of which had its own inhabitants. Only one of them is accessible to human feelings - Midgard, the “middle city,” the world of people. He was in the center, between the other eight worlds. Therefore, the “spiritual essences” of all worlds could manifest themselves in the lives of the inhabitants of Midgard. Let's take a closer look at these worlds to understand what creatures and entities surrounded the Scandinavian pantheist.
Directly above Midgard is Lyusalfheim - the world of the light elves, beautiful creatures.
Above Ljusalfheim is Asgard, the “city of the Aesir,” the supreme Scandinavian gods, which will be discussed below.
Immediately below Midgard is located Svartalfheim, “the home of the black elves”: “the dark elves are blacker than pitch.”
Even lower is Helheim - the home of Hel, the goddess of death and rebirth (many researchers, unfortunately, often forget about her second “function”).
To the east of Midgard is Jotunheim, the country of frost giants, spirits of frost. In the north is Niflheim, the kingdom of cold. There are no living creatures here. To the west of Midgard is Vanaheim - the “home of the Vanir” - deities who patronize fertility, weather, etc. In the south is the country of fire - Muspelheim. From here, according to legend, the fire giant Surtr will come out and burn the worlds to the ground on the day of Ragnarok. It can be assumed that the prototype of this image was a certain natural cataclysm (it could have occurred even before the division of the Indo-Europeans - here we can recall, for example, the Greek Titanomachy).
This is what he writes about the connection between the images of Niflheim and Muspelheim and the cataclysm of V.I. Shcherbakov: “After this (cataclysm - author’s note), the glacier began to rapidly melt, one might assume, due to the sinking of some islands to the bottom of the ocean and a change in the direction of the Gulf Stream, which rushed to the shores of Scandinavia, melting thousand-year-old ice. And the Edda remembers this! The myths directly speak of an ice shell and a hot, calm country in the south. It is interesting that then, before the cataclysm, the atmosphere was calmer, and the exchange of heat was minimal - severe cold in the north and unrelenting heat in the south. And this is told in Scandinavian myths!
Let us now note that the cataclysm, or flood, which is spoken of in the myths of many peoples, was the root cause of the resettlement of tribes to territories freed from ice. This migration took place in several waves - naturally, from the south and southeast. The process lasted for thousands of years. And this, as is clear from the Edda, was remembered by ancient people, contemporaries of giants, dwarfs and gods!”
The initial link of the social system of Scandinavia 9 - 11 centuries. - a clan collective inherited from previous centuries, a union of relatives uniting the entire genealogical extent of male relatives.
Each member of the collective was obliged to defend and defend the life of each of his relatives, or to take revenge, or to receive payment, the legal price for this life, from the murderer and his family. A clan collective that united relatives with a set of mutual rights and obligations that ensured the existence of each relative. The “yard” was the basic unit of measurement of a social community. It included a family consisting of blood relatives.The guarantee of the unity of relatives, which ensured their inviolability, was inalienable, sacred, like home and home world, family land ownership - odal. Occupying land in undeveloped areas, settlers surrounded the boundaries of the site with fire. After four generations, such property turned into an odal. Odal was a hereditary possession, consisting of arable land, meadow, pasture, forest, water and other lands. Being one of the collective co-owners of the odal, each of these full-fledged community members could sooner or later claim the title landsdrottinn - “lord of the land”, “master”, full-fledged bond. The central subject of Scandinavian customary law, dating back to the Viking Age, was the odalsbond, the head of an independent family, the owner of the estate, the rightful owner of the odal. The category of “mighty bonds”, which represents one of the leading forces of the era. “Mighty bonds” based on large hereditary land holdings, numerous own families(including household members, servants, slaves), who had extensive family ties, acted as a kind of “knots of strength” social connections. They were able to put up their own armed forces, organize a military campaign or military expedition. In the 11th-12th centuries. The process of differentiation of bonds is unfolding, many are losing their odal. Those who preserve it, the odalmans, turn into small fiefdoms, knights of the Holds. The Viking Age was the time of the emergence, the highest rise and the beginning of the decomposition of the layer of “mighty bonds”, the time of the full and final flowering of the social system based on peasant land ownership.
Within the framework of the Viking Age, one can trace the beginning of its subordination to the dominant feudal hierarchy and degeneration into the way of the oppressed class of feudal society - oppressed, it is true, but, unlike other European countries, never enslaved.
viking family
Crafts
Crafts in Scandinavia were poorly developed, with the only exception being shipbuilding. The tools of agricultural labor are the same as in the 7th – 8th centuries: iron ploughshares, sickles, scythes; Rotary stone millstones are spreading. The range of craft tools is represented by forms that developed before the Viking Age and remained virtually unchanged until the beginning of the industrial era. Qualitative changes are taking place in the development of vehicles. People of the Viking Age used skis to travel on snow in winter. The developed samples include horse harnesses: stirrups, spurs, belts and bridles, saddles with metal plates. Sleighs and four-wheeled carriages, as well as paving streets and building bridges, indicate development ground transport. However, water transport is acquiring leading importance. The Viking arsenal expanded and rapidly developed.
The process of improving the military organization of the Normans was even more clearly manifested in the sharp expansion and rapid development of the Viking arsenal. Along with traditional, lancet-shaped spears, Scandinavian artisans in the 9th - first half of the 10th centuries. Western, Frankish models are being mastered, and local varieties are being developed. In the middle of the 10th century. From borrowing and repetition, northern craftsmen are moving on to creative processing of imported samples, trying to combine the fighting qualities of traditional local and Western copies in new types of tips. The development of the northern mass weapons, battle axes. The types of axes inherited from previous periods are being improved and modernized.
The greatest variety of types occurs in the second half of the 9th century. In the 10th century this search ends with a certain unification in the form of the famous Viking battle axes. Viking Age swords are represented by approximately three dozen types. At the beginning of the Viking Age, swords became widespread. They are characterized by complex, richly decorated swords. In the 10th century their design is being improved (concave guards, complexly profiled pommel).
Ceremonial weapons are common. In the second half of the 10th century. In connection with the emerging isolation of the military-squad organization and the concentration of its social functions, the sword becomes an attribute of a relatively narrow and clearly limited early feudal layer. Its semantic ambiguity is reduced, and the requirements for combat qualities increase. At the same time, the rich ceremonial weapons, common among the Vikings, are falling out of use.
So, the original variety is comparatively simple types The early Viking era gives way to the 11th century. a rigid set of specialized forms.
Clothing also remained traditional in many respects - made of wool and linen fabrics, fur, leather. Men's attire usually consisted of tight pants, a long shirt and a jacket, pulled out and belted. They also wore cloaks fastened at the shoulder with a fibula or pin; in winter - clothing made from sheepskin and the fur of other animals. Women dressed in Long Dresses with straps on the shoulders (they were fastened with a pair of brooches, usually tortoiseshell). Innovations characteristic of the Viking Age relate mainly to materials for formal clothing and various additional decorations. On holidays they dressed in red cloth dresses, lined with furs, with gold and silver clasps, sometimes with gold decorations on the sleeves. They wore silver belts with buckles; large heavy rings covered the hands and elbows. From the East came the fashion for stacked belts, from which various household items were hung (except for weapons). But the basis of the outfit remained traditional and uniform.
Agriculture
The agricultural-pastoral economy was based on small farms. On the Scandinavian Peninsula, only the southern tip - Skåne - is flat, with fertile soils. Almost half of the entire area of Scandinavia is occupied by forests. Natural conditions- mountains, poor soil - were not very conducive to farming. Nowadays in Norway, cultivated land accounts for only 3% of the total area, in Sweden - 9%, and in Iceland less than 1%. Due to high rainfall and a short growing season, the cereal grains in many parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula are dominated by fast-maturing varieties of oats and barley. Rye and wheat are common only in the southern regions. There was a shortage of bread in Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, and grain was imported from other countries. Methods of cultivating the land throughout the Middle Ages remained for the most part primitive.
Hoe farming was often practiced. Three-field crop rotation was rarely used, and crop yields were extremely low.
Cattle breeding was more widely developed. Mountain pastures - seters - provided great opportunities for him. They were used jointly by residents of many villages and entire districts. Peasants often had to worry not so much about plowing the fields as about preparing fodder for their livestock for the winter. There was a shortage of feed and livestock deaths were common. Among the food products of Norwegians and Swedes, meat, milk, butter, and fish came first. Whaling was also known. Famine and its threat as a consequence of crop failure, loss of livestock, and the movement of fish from the coast were an everyday reality in the life of the Scandinavians of that time.
Trade
Trade, like shipbuilding, was developed by the Scandinavians in very distant times. Roman coins from the republican and imperial eras are found everywhere in Scandinavia. The long-standing trade relations of Northern Europe with other countries are also evidenced by numerous finds on the peninsula of bronze, gold, silver, glass and clay vessels, jewelry, weapons and other items from the Roman provinces. There was especially great demand for weapons from countries where the craft was more developed.
Among the trading points that existed at that time in Sweden and Norway, a good dozen had the same name - Birka. According to the Swedish scientist E. Vadstein, these points received their names due to the fact that trade law was in force on their territory, a law common to all of them.
Many thousands of coins from different countries, found in all areas of Scandinavia, date back to the time of the Viking campaigns. There are coins from England, Germany, France and Byzantium, a lot of them from the Arab Caliphate.
The Vikings did not have their own silver; it was all imported. Nowhere is it found in such abundance as on the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Gotland turned out to be the richest in treasures along this route. The scope of commercial activity of the Gotlanders is best demonstrated by the following figures. Along with various things and jewelry, about 90 thousand whole coins and 16.5 thousand their fragments were found here. Of this number, only three coins are gold, the rest are silver. There are especially many coins of German origin - 37 thousand, as well as Arabic - 26 thousand, English - 20 thousand. For comparison, we can say that only about 40 thousand coins were found in Sweden.
Shipbuilding was extremely successful among the Vikings; On their boats, the Vikings traveled all the seas washing Europe and went to the vastness of the North Atlantic.
Some ships have survived to this day in burials. The Norwegians were seafarers for many centuries, as evidenced by both the finds of their longships and rock art. But in the previous period, ships and boats could sail along the coast without moving away from them; Now, technical improvements in shipbuilding have made it possible to sail far out to sea. The Viking ship - drakar - unlike its predecessors, had not only oars, but also a rudder and a mast with a sail; The keel gave it stability; its sides were made of narrow, flexible oak slats connected to frames; such ships were not afraid of the blows of ocean waves, were distinguished by significant speed, could land on almost any shore, go deep into river mouths and were almost completely independent of currents and winds. At the beginning of the 9th century large shopping centers, such as Skiringssal-Kaupang in Norway, Hideby and Ribe in Denmark, Birka in Sweden. Western countries exported silver and highly skilled crafts to the north. The Muslim East exported the same thing. Mainly raw materials were exported from the North. The most important export item was furs, as well as honey, wax, flax, leather, wood, amber, etc. Although Viking trade was closely intertwined with piracy and robbery, the Viking Age was nevertheless a time of significant development of trade in the Baltic and North Seas. The ships found in the burial mounds of South-Eastern Norway (they date back to the late 9th - early 10th centuries) had a length of 20-23 m, a width of 4-5 m, and were controlled by 11-16 pairs of oars. But the Vikings also had larger ships that had a significant carrying capacity.
Burial of a noble Varangian (or Rus of Varangian origin).
Cloaks were often worn. One of the Icelandic types of cloak was a square cut from sheep skin, or a fabric so shaggy that it resembled a fleece. Norwegian King Harald Gray Cloak started a fashion for such clothes at his court as a courtesy to the Icelander, who could not find a buyer for these products, with which he loaded a whole ship; That's why Harald received such a nickname. The large robes worn by many of the figures depicted on Gotlandic stones look more majestic: they look like drapes protruding from the front (Fig. 33). They apparently resembled the Frankish cloaks worn by Charlemagne. They were twice as long as wide; they were worn on the left shoulder, in front and behind they hung almost to the ground, but on the left they only reached the knee. They were pinned on the right shoulder; on the right side the edges of the cloak were open, leaving a free right hand. Shorter cloaks, also pinned at the right shoulder, can be seen on the Ouseberg carpet (see inset).
Most Vikings wore their hair long enough to cover their necks, and secured it with patterned hairpins; others preferred more short haircut, while leaving long bangs, judging by the angry complaints of one 11th-century Englishman, who wrote that even in Wessex men had Danish haircuts and walked around “with bare necks and blinded eyes.” In addition, the Vikings wore a mustache and often a neat, pointed beard (Fig. 32) and used combs. Headdresses were different: round or pointed hats, hoods and wide-brimmed hats.
From the sagas we learn that bottom part The legs were stuffed with leg warmers sewn to measure, to which socks were sewn, and sometimes just foot wraps made from strips of fabric. Shoes were made from soft leather, and winter shoes Wool was left on for warmth. There were also primitive, but very durable boots (such boots in Scotland are called “Rivlin”) made of untanned leather from the hind leg of a cow with the hair facing outward and protruding processes on the heels. They say that such shoes were perfect for wet weather and slippery stones. Hands were protected with gloves.
Besides spinning and weaving, the other main task of the Scandinavian woman was preparing and serving food. During the day there were two main meals: one - very early in the morning, apparently around eight or nine in the morning, when the men had already worked for two hours; the other is early in the evening, at the end of the working day, around seven or eight. The time could vary depending on local customs and the time of year. It can be assumed that there were short breaks during the day to rest and have a snack, although we do not know exactly when.
Many of Iceland's staple dishes required little preparation, such as cheeses, skyr, corned beef, and dried fish, which were spread with butter before eating. Naturally, there was a lot that had to be prepared: fresh meat, fish, porridge - milk and milk, and also baking bread.
They drank mostly ale; honey (a drink made from fermented honey) was most likely imported from more southern countries, as well as, of course, wine, which was a very valuable luxury item.
The kitchen utensils that have come down to us are made of metal or steatite (soapstone). Soapstone is a very useful material, it is easy to cut and give it the desired shape; it is fireproof. There are natural soapstone deposits in Norway, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and Greenland, but none are found in Iceland, so vessels made from this stone had to be imported. Both iron and soapstone were used to make pots and cauldrons up to 18 inches across, with lugs or loops to fit an iron handle into and hang on chains over the fire. There were also cups, spoons, saucers, frying pans and skewers; all this could be either iron or steatite (Fig. 34). Pottery was hardly used, and everything that was found in Iceland was apparently imported from the continent.
And of course, there were many vessels made of wood or leather. In those rare cases where the composition of the soil contributes to the preservation of wooden objects in burials (for example, in Norwegian ship burials), the variety and the skill with which they are made are simply amazing. Such vessels were suitable for storing or serving food rather than for cooking, although some cooking methods (for example, slow heating in coals) were also suitable for wooden utensils: it is said that a leather bag can be hung over the fire and, as long as its contents remain moist, it won't light up.
Viking Age sites show that food was prepared in a variety of ways. Of course, meat could be fried on a spit (Fig. 35) or baked in a deep pit filled with hot coals and covered with earth (this method was also suitable for bread). Often long, open fireplaces had a flat stone slab at one end that would get very hot—ideal for baking bread and oatcakes and for slow-simmering meats. The kitchen in the oldest house in Jarlshof had both an open hearth and a stone oven partially built into the wall. It was used like this: small stones were heated red-hot over an open fire, then rolled over an inclined stone slab into the oven and covered with fresh wet grass. Food was placed on top, protected by an additional layer of grass, and covered with another layer of hot stones. In Jarlshof this is how they mainly cooked fish: bones of sea pike, pollock and cod were found in the oven.
It has often been argued that the heaps of small fire-cracked stones commonly found near Iiking houses indicate the use of a primitive method of boiling liquids in wooden vessels by adding heated stones, and there are indeed hints of this in the sagas. However, evidence from Jarlshof and some other places in Scotland suggests that the stones were deliberately split (they were heated and poured on them). cold water) just to get the right size stones. They lay in a heap by the kitchen door, ready to be used in a roasting pit, or in an oven like the one described above.
The family ate breakfast and lunch in the main room. Here, on a raised floor that formed a platform along each wall, were various low benches and chairs. IN
In rich houses, the seats were covered with fabrics, and the floor was covered with straw or reeds. It was also possible to sit directly on the floor: studies of Icelandic skeletons showed that women were more likely to sit squatting than upright. The two places of honor were in the center of the room opposite each other on either side of the hearth and between the four most ornately carved pillars that supported the roof, the so-called “throne pillars.” The two seats of honor were carved bench chairs; each of them was wide enough for two people to sit on it. The first was intended for the master and mistress of the house, the second - for the most honored guests. The rest of the household, including servants, sat in two rows along the walls of the room, with seats closer to the center considered more honorable than those further away. Small low tables - just boards on trestles - were brought into the room right before meals and placed in front of the diners.
Scientists suggest that pagan temples had similar architecture.
