Cinema, video games and series have managed to popularize various cultures, whether current or old. One of them that has been on the rise for some years is the Nordic one. And it is not surprising, because their way of life and their religious beliefs give a lot of play. But would you know exactly what a Viking is? If not, I recommend you take a look at this article.
We will not only explain what a Viking is, but we will also comment who were the most famous historically and what were their religious beliefs. I hope this information is useful to you!
What is a Viking and what did he do?
When we talk about the Vikings, we refer to the Norse warriors who once carried out raiding raids. They lived in towns from Scandinavia and stood out above all for being exceptional navigators and for the various attacks and looting they carried out in Europe. However, not everything was wars and looting. The Vikings were also fishermen and farmers, despite the harsh weather conditions of their homes.
As for the Viking woman, she played a very remarkable role as lady of the house. His responsibilities were directly related to the private economy and they understood more workload when other members of the family, such as father and sons, left home to make forays, which could last weeks or even months. Thanks to this derivation of responsibilities, Viking women were highly respected. In addition, they were in charge of continuing the traditions in the family and defending the honor of their clan.
It should be noted that Viking women had a much greater degree of freedom compared to other contemporary cultures and societies. They had various possibilities when it came to joining the public sphere and these did not depend on their sex, but rather on their social class and their lineage. Therefore, it was not unusual for a woman to go to war together with men, or for her to play a political role, for example. Nordic women could perform different functions and there was no fixation of their general subordination. However, this did happen after the Viking society passed over to Christianity.
What is the most famous Viking?
Now that we know what a Viking is, let's talk about the most notable. To this day, probably the best known is Ragnar Lodbrok. This owes its worldwide fame to the series called “Vikings”, which is inspired by the story of this Norse legend. However, there are other Vikings who have stood out throughout history, such as the following:
- Erik the Red: Also known as Erik Thorvaldsson, this Viking was born in present-day Norway around the year 950, and stood out for colonizing Greenland.
- Leif Erikson: He is the son of Erik the Red. According to legends, this Viking arrived in America before Christopher Columbus did. Therefore, he cannot be missing among the most famous Vikings in history.
- Ragnar Lodbrock: Both Ragnar Lodbrok and all his sons are well-known historical figures for the number of conquests and raids they have carried out in Europe. He was the protagonist of the series "Vikings" who led a huge pagan army that managed to dominate an important part of England.
- Canute the Great: This is the King of Denmark. His most notable feat is to subdue the entire eastern part of England.
Harald Harardrade
Among the most famous Vikings we must highlight Harald Haardrade, also known as Harald the Merciless, because it is considered that he was the last Viking king that existed. While still very young, he fled to Constantinople. There he was part of the "Varega Guard", which was basically the personal guard of the Byzantine emperors.
Thanks to the wealth that Harald Haardrade accumulated in Constantinople, he managed to share the kingdom of Norway with his nephew, known as Magnus I the Good, giving him half of his possessions. However, a short time later, his nephew died under strange circumstances. So that, Harald the Merciless managed to be the sole ruler of Norway.
After learning that William the Bastard, who would later become better known as The Conqueror, wanted to take over England, Harald designed a family tree to show that he had the right to be the king of England. Consequently, he joined with the brother of King Harold II of England, named Tostig, to raise an army and conquer that country. They landed in the north and made their way to the city of York. King Harold II marched with his army in search of the invading Vikings and He killed the last Viking king at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. specifically on September 25 of the year 1066.
What religious beliefs did the Vikings have?
As many of you already know, the Vikings were formerly pagans and polytheists, which means that they believed in many gods. These deities represented the forces of nature and many other concepts. Among the best known are Odin, his son Thor and the beautiful Freya. However, his faith changed over time as the Christianization of Scandinavia took hold.
Contrary to what many people believe, the Vikings were not all uniformly pagan before they converted to Christianity. Christianity. Many of them had already been progressively converted. This could happen during their forays into other lands or through missionary monks. The number of Christian Vikings was increasing, giving way to Christianity gradually replacing paganism. However, the ancient beliefs continued to exist until the XNUMXth century. A crucial change in the history of the Vikings took place when their own monarchs converted and imposed the Christian faith on the Norse people.
During the years of religious transition, the polytheistic Norse faith was influenced by Christianity. Many of the sources that have given us the knowledge we have today about the Vikings have been written by Christians. It is therefore not surprising that a large number of myths and descriptions rather correspond to a Christian point of view regarding Norse mythology.
It is clear that the history of the Vikings marked Europe a lot in ancient times. Although it is true that many elements related to their way of life and culture have been deduced, many things will remain a mystery.