Viking Funrals, Research Paper Example

Within the academic literature, the notion of the “Viking” is approached from various conceptual perspectives. These different approaches suggest a certain ambiguity inherent to the figure of the Viking, an ambiguity that is reflected in the very etymology of the word: there is no consensus on the term’s origin. As T.D. Kendrick notes: “what exactly it meant originally…is uncertain; it cannot even be said positively that it is of Norse and not of Frisian or English coning.” (2) However, this etymological uncertainty does not mean that the term did not have a distinct meaning, as Kendrick continues: “That which is now assured is simply that it was current among Germanic folk in general as a name for filibustering rovers of the sea.” (2) This definition would correspond to various Old Norse usages of the term Viking: “a man could not hope for sweeter praise than to be called by his fellows vikingr mikill, a greater seafarer, while to go i viking was their accustomed expression for the favourite enterprise of trading and plundering across the waters.” (Kendrick, 1) From these common usages of the term, it can be argued that the Norse literary classics further refine this basic definition of the Viking, according to the precise content of the heroic tales found in the various sagas. In other words, these sagas may be read in terms of developing what may be termed the archetypical image of the Viking. Nevertheless, the historian is confronted by an immediate paradox: to construct the concept of the Viking from these sagas; or to appropriate an already existing concept of the Viking and apply this to the classical sagas. Despite this apparent methodological paradox, one may suggest that particular existential characteristics that constitute the Viking are clearly found in these texts. From such sources, it is possible to find representations of the Viking ideal that repeat themselves in subsequent historical portrayals of the Vikings. In the following essay, we shall suggest that three figures from various Norse sagas are exemplary of the Viking: Olaf Tyrggvason, Eirik and Egil. All three represent the adventurousness signified in the ancient Norse and Germanic usage of the term, while also indicating other traits that may be said to embody “Vikingness.” In the case of Olaf, we shall examine his killing of Klerkon to demonstrate how the Viking ethos operates according to its own autonomous logic of honor and justice. In the case of Eirik, we shall discuss his expeditions as prototypical examples of the Viking spirit of adventure and seafaring. Egil’s saga will be used to develop the notion of the Viking as a berserker warrior. Our essay will therefore endeavor to demonstrate how these historical figures contribute to the constitution of an archetypical image of the Viking.

One of the key tales of the Heimskringla or the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway is King Olaf Trygvasson’s Saga. In the saga, Olaf demonstrates many traits that would come to be associated with Vikingness. Particularly, it is Olaf’s conception of honour and justice that may be considered crucial to understanding a Viking ethos. It is precisely the early years of Olaf’s biography that demonstrate the formation of this ethos. Olaf’s commitment to a vengeful spirit suggests a certain classical heroic ideal, in which the existential decisions of the Viking follow a unique logic that transcends local customs. In the Saga, this is demonstrated in the incident involving Olaf’s killing of Klerkon: “Olaf recognized Klerkon, again who had killed his foster-father Thorolf Lusarskeg. Olaf had a little axe in his hand, and with it he colve Klerkon’s skull down to the brain.” (King Olaf Trygvasson’s Saga, Part 1, 7) Olaf’s act of violence here is intended primarily as an honour killing. He is to avenge the death of Lusarskeg, acting suddenly and without reflection. Vengeance thus defines Olaf’s course of action, a vengeance carried out because of obligations to the bonds of family. Accordingly, it can be said that the Vikings are bound to their own unique code of honour as opposed to local laws, as the saga makes clear: “Sigurd immediately took Olaf to Queen Allogia’s house, told her what had happened, and beggared her to protect the boy…In Holmgard the sacredness of peace is so respected, that it is law there to slay whoever puts a man to death except by judgment of law; and according to this law and usage, the whole people stormed and sought after the boy.” (King Olaf Trygvasson’s Saga, Part 1, 7) What is crucial in this passage is the ethical priority demonstrated in Olaf’s actions. Olaf, although subject to local law, nevertheless does not appeal to this law to enact punishment upon Klerkon. Rather, he ignores this law, as he is existentially obliged to his own law that prioritizes the honour of his family. We can understand this obligation in terms of an ancient ethos already presented in the Old Norse text of the Havamal, which can also be considered to be formative of a Viking ethos. For example, verse 129 of the Havamal states: “I counsel thee, wherever of injury thou knowest regard that injury as thy own; and give to thy foes no peace.” (Havamal, 129) These lines suggest a certain ethos that supports the actions of an avenging spirit. In the case of Olaf, the murder of his stepfather is therefore his own injury, and those that caused this injury shall not be left in peace. This ethical imperative of the Havamal, which Olaf follows, makes clear a Viking conception of justice that evokes the harming of those who harm others. This greater concept of justice overrules the mundane laws of any given kingdom. As such, it suggests the general autonomy of the Viking, reflected in the Viking’s historical freedom, adventurousness and their antipathy to any local laws or customs.

According to the aforementioned notion of etymology, one of the key concepts constitutive of the Viking is the notion of exploration. The Saga of Eirik the Red is exemplary in this regard, as it details the wanderlust and constant travels of Eirik. Following a familial history of “manslaughters” (Saga of Eirik the Red, 2) that has led his ancestors to be exiled numerous times, Eirik continues this violent tradition with the slaying of various men, which leads him to be  “banished from Haukadlr.” (Saga of Eirik the Red, 2) This banishment is the starting point for Eirik’s loss of land and the quest for a homeland where he may settle: “Eirik said to his people that he purposed to seek for the land…westwards over the ocean.” (Saga of Eirik the Red, 2) As described in the saga, Eirik’s journeys with his companions lead him to many different lands. Every winter, summer, and spring are spent in different locations, as Eirik roams in search of a place for settlement. In the Greelander Saga, the unrelenting nature of Eirik’s travels is lucidly conveyed: “Eric sailed away from Snowfell’s-Jokul. He found the land came from without to that, which he called Mid-jokul; is called now Blaserk. He went then from thence southward along the land to search, if the land might be fit for settlement. The spring after he went to Ercsfirth and took there his abode. He went that summer to the western unhabited tracts and gave far and wide local names.” (Greelander Saga, 20) This constant wanderlust and movement informs Eirik’s Saga, as he is driven by a certain adventurous spirit that, for example, leads him to a “land which he had discovered, and which he called Greenland.” (Saga of Eirik the Red, 2) The two Vinland sagas are thus clearly demonstrative of the seafaring, voyaging nature of the Viking existence. In these sagas, Eirik continues in search of land not only because of some necessity to find a place to live: the constant movements of Eirik suggest a desire for adventure, the ambition to continue to discover and to uncover new pieces of land. Such a constant movement can also be interpreted as a fundamentally creative act, as places are named and new places discovered. It is this adventurous, creative spirit that recalls one of the possible etymological origins of the word Viking, alongside the old Northmens’ aforementioned ideal of the great seafarer.

The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson is most often associated with the idea of the “berserker” that is commonly conferred to the Viking, as the account of Egil’s life demonstrates a certain violence that is central to various conceptions of the Viking. This violence, which takes the form of a somewhat irrational aggression, is already present in Egil’s childhood, for example, in the story of Egil playing a game against other youths. When Egil loses in a wrestling match, Egil returns to murder the one who defeated him, Grim: “Then Egil bounded upon Grim, and drove the axe into his head, so that it at once pierced his brain.” (The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson, XL) Egil’s berserker temperament is already present in his youth, thus evincing a certain centrality of his violence to his character. Moreover, this violence is coextensive with an unbridled aggression that may be caused by even the most trivial of incidents, such as the loss of a simple game. Such violence is continued throughout Egil’s saga, becoming a defining trait of his character. This violence manifests itself in various forms, such as in both the desire for material possessions and a formidable warrior spirit, as detailed in the section of the saga that deals with Egil’s collecting of tribute from the earl Arnvid. Although Arnvid tells Egil that “he had paid out of hand all the tribute” (The Saga of Ella Skallagrimsson, LXXVII), Egil nonetheless demands payment for the King, intimating that Egil’s motives here are not particularly honorable. Perhaps aware of Egil’s violent reputation, Arnvid pays Egil the tribute once again, however the Earl nonetheless remains suspicious of Egil: “That big fellow Egil, who was here for awhile, will, I expect, do us an ill turn.” (The Saga of Ella Skallagrimsson, LXXVII) The Earl’s reflections here infer a certain instability in Egil’s character, a lack of trustworthiness. Accordingly, Arnvid organizes an ambush with the intent of killing Egil. This ambush, however, is unsuccessful, as Egil is a formidable warrior: “Egil slew there single-handed eleven men.” (The Saga of Ella Skallagrimsson, LXXVIII) The narrative concerning Egil and Arnvid thus displays the duality at the heart of Egil’s berserker violence. Firstly, there exists an instability in this violence, a sudden aggression that cannot be trusted, as if the Viking acted without rationality. Yet this lack of rationality is concomitantly accompanied by the superb warrior skills of Egil, as demonstrated in the utter destruction of Arnvid’s ambush. Egil therefore signifies a type of warrior spirit that is specifically attributed to the Vikings in the form of a berserker, which signifies a general irrationality combined with both relentlessness and a disregard for any notion of some conventional approach to war and battle.

Egil, Olaf, and Eirik the Red each thus embody three distinct aspects of what may be considered the archetype of the Viking. This is not to suggest that each of these figures only possesses one of the traits that we may associate with the Vikings. Rather, the individual personages can be viewed as archetypical manifestations of one aspect of the Viking ethos: Olaf, according to his sense of justice, which is a uniquely Viking code of honour that may be traced back to the Havamal; Eirik the Red in his expansive quest for exploration and settlement, which recalls the very etymology of the term viking; and Egil, associated with the particular berserker strategy often associated with Viking warfare. The return to these historical figures from the sagas aids in developing the reasoning behind the typical traits conferred to the Viking. Accordingly, the Viking in its most generic meaning can be viewed as essentially a radical synthesis of these historical figures, creating the archetypical form and content of the Viking.

Works Cited

Greenland Saga. Accessed at: http://www.northvegr.org/lore/flatey/001.php

Eirik’s Saga. Accessed at: http://www.sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en

Havamal. Accessed at: http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic2/006_01.php

King Olaf Trygvasson’s Saga. Accessed at: http://omacl.org/Heimskringla/trygvason1.html

Kendrick, T.D. A History of the Vikings. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004.

The Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson. Accessed at: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/egil/index.htm.