Kitap: Children of Ash and Elm

Hayvan Kalıntısıyla Göçleri Tespit Etmek

One of the things biologists study in connection with human migrations is the movement of animal proxies. In other words, even if people prove elusive to locate, it may be possible to track the presence of the domesticated species and parasites that moved with them. In some cases, traces of them at a certain place and time are suggestive of a larger event. One such study has mapped the presence of the common house mouse, especially those with a particular genetic signature associated with Denmark, in different areas of Europe. Tenth- or eleventh-century mouse bones of this species—which at that date are only found in places where Vikings had travelled—have now been confirmed from Madeira. There is no written record of a Viking presence there, but the brief landing of a Danish ship is the only explanation that fits, and it would not be geographically surprising.

Baptism=Conversion Anlamına Gelmeyebilir

The basic instrument of conversion was the rite of baptism, administered by churchmen as a means to nominally bring an individual or group into the Christian fold. However, a genuine change of faith on the part of the baptised was not compulsory. Even forced baptisms, such as those commanded by tenth-century kings in Norway, were considered valid by the Church. As such, while baptism was evidently an important rite, it cannot be taken as an indication of religious conversion in the sense that we understand it today. Priests seem to have been more concerned with harvesting souls than effecting long-term change on individuals.

Büyük Viking Orduları Yok, Kominiteleri Var

All this suggests that the large-scale, mobile Viking conglomerates of the ninth century were neither ‘armies’ nor ‘warbands’, but continuously evolving migratory communities. They were not on their way to anywhere, but were an end in themselves, justified through action. In essence, these forces were polities in their own right.

Berserkerler Mantarla Kafayı Bulmuyor

There is no evidence whatsoever, in archaeology or text, for the berserkers’ use of hallucinogens, entheogens, or any other form of mind-altering drug or chemical, including the consumption of fly agaric

Viking Panteonuna Seçmece Tapınılması

There are no Ull names in Denmark, but they are thick in eastern central Sweden; Týr names are almost only found in Denmark; Thor places are common in Sweden and Norway; Odin names are rarely found west of the mountains; and so on. Some scholars have argued that this suggests different focal regions for the worship of these divinities, and this may be the case, but differences in customs do not necessarily reflect a shift in the beliefs that underpin them. For example, Jésus is a common man’s name in Latin America, whereas one rarely meets a European called Jesus—but this does not mean there are no Catholics in Europe. This may be true of the Norse theophoric names as well.

Brian Boru ve Viking Direnişi

In 1002 something very unusual occurred; the Irish were united under a High King, Brian Bóruma, who over the next decade built up a massive coalition against Dublin. In practice, Scandinavians were present in both camps, as were people from all over the Irish Sea world and beyond. In 1014, the Dublin forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Clontarf outside the city, although Brian was killed. In practice, the Scandinavians retained control of the town itself, but thereafter the real power lay with the Irish.

Viking Köle Ticareti Heryerde Yapılırdı

Slaving was certainly present at these sites—though this does not mean they were ‘slave fortresses’ of the kind familiar from the West African coast in the early modern period. If the slave trades of later periods are any guide, no dedicated slave markets were necessary as transactions could take place almost anywhere in a settlement—on the stoops of private houses, even on street corners. Such small-scale trade, when conducted regularly, could dispose of hundreds of captives every year.

Viking Slave Raid on woman

At least part of the Viking slave trade explicitly depended on sex trafficking, especially in the East. Settlements were specifically targeted for the enslavement of women, while their menfolk were often killed on the spot. Young women were transported long distances to be sold as sex slaves and were routinely assaulted by their captors along the way.

Ticaret ile Viking Çağı Başlangıcı Arasındaki Bağ

In the seventh century and the first decades of the eighth, these contacts were almost entirely coming to Scandinavia; trade did not take the form of Northern merchants venturing outwards. This changed in the mid-eighth century, and the people of the North started to move towards the trade and to exercise direct control over it. This was one of the key contributing factors to the singularity of the Viking Age—the economic motor running beside and behind the force of the raids.