In modern English, the word "viking" appeared in 1807, in the era of growing nationalism and imperialism. In the following centuries, stable stereotypes and associations associated with the Vikings were entrenched - for example, wearing horned helmets or belonging to a society where only men could achieve a significant position.
Throughout the 19th century, the Vikings were portrayed as the forerunners of European colonists. The idea of a Germanic superior race took root, fueled by primitive scientific theories and nourished by the ideologists of Nazism in the 1930s. These theories have long been disproved, but the perception of ethnic homogeneity among the Vikings remains widespread - especially among white racists.
In modern culture, the concept of "viking" is almost synonymous with the inhabitant of Scandinavia between the 9th and 11th centuries. We often hear phrases like "Viking blood", "Viking DNA" and "Viking ancestors", but in the Middle Ages this word had a different meaning from what we use today. Then it meant a type of activity: "go Viking". Like modern pirates, the Vikings were characterized by an ease of recovery, which was not the case for most of the Scandinavian population who remained at home.
Although the current word "viking" originated in the era of nationalism, the ninth century - the time when Viking raids spread beyond modern Europe - was different. Modern states - Denmark, Norway and Sweden - were still in their infancy. Local and family ties mattered more than nationality. The names with which the Vikings were described by their contemporaries - "Visings", "Rus", "Mazhi", "Zhenti", "Pagani", "Pirates" - most often did not have an ethnic color. When the word "dany" began to be used in English, which was consonant with "Danes", it designated representatives of various peoples who belonged to the ranks of the Vikings.
The mobility of the Vikings led to a mixture of different cultures among them, and their trade routes stretched from Canada to Afghanistan. A hallmark of the early successes of the Vikings was the ability of the latter to borrow elements from many cultures, be it Christian in Ireland, or Islamic in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Intersection of cultures
Advances in archeology over the past decades indicate that in the early Middle Ages people and goods moved more distances than previously thought. In the eighth century (before the Viking raids reached their peak), the Baltic was the region where Scandinavian, Frisian, Slavic and Arab merchants most often contacted each other. It would be misleading to think that the early Viking campaigns were only rapid raids from Scandinavia and immediately returned home.
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Recent archaeological and textual research indicates that during their campaigns the Vikings made a number of halts at various locations (whether for rest, restocking, collecting tribute and ransoms, repairing equipment, or gathering information). This has led to the formation of more sustainable relationships with different peoples. In the 830s and 840s, alliances between Vikings and local tribes were noted in Britain and Ireland. By the 850s, Irish villages were plagued by mixed groups of Gaelic (Gaedhil) and foreign (Gaill) cultures.
Written documents from Britain and Ireland have survived condemning and seeking to prevent local residents from joining the Vikings. They testify that the Viking troops were not limited to one people. Like later pirate gangs (for example, the Caribbean pirates at the dawn of modern times), during their travels, Viking teams often lost their members and adopted new ones, thereby including outcasts from different cultures and classes.
The cultural and ethnic diversity of the Viking Age is only made more evident by finds in burial grounds and treasuries from the ninth and tenth centuries. In Britain and Ireland, only a small fraction of Vikings' items were made in Scandinavia.
The Galloway hoard, discovered in southwestern Scotland in 2014, includes items from Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland, mainland Europe, and Turkey. Cultural diversity is a hallmark of Viking finds. The analysis of the skeletons, carried out using the latest scientific methods in the places of residence of the Vikings, revealed a mixture of Scandinavians and foreigners without ethnic divisions by rank and gender.
The evidence found indicates population mobility and the mutual influence of geographically distant cultures, driven by the Viking trade networks.
The era of the Vikings was a key period in the process of the emergence of the states of Northern Europe, and already by the 11th and 12th centuries they were striving to define their national identity and develop suitable myths that would explain its roots. This led to the fact that in the areas once inhabited by the Vikings, special attention was paid to everything that connected them with Scandinavia, and what had no relation to Scandinavia was ignored.
The fact that, being written down, these myths did not fully correspond to the truth, is evidenced by the abundance of contradictions in stories and folklore plots. For example, medieval legends about the founding of Dublin (the capital of Ireland) suggest a Danish or Norwegian origin of the city (a lot of ink has been shed over this issue over the years): there is also a story about three brothers who sailed on three ships, consonant with other legends of this kind. Ironically, it was the strengthening of European states that brought the end of the Viking Age.
Unrecognizable nationalism
At the dawn of the Viking Age, the modern understanding of nationalism and ethnicity was not applicable. The culture of the Vikings was diverse, but in the territories covered by it, common features were traced - including the Old Norse language, similar technologies of shipbuilding and military craft, architecture and fashion, which combined Scandinavian and foreign influences.
These signs of identity were associated more with position in society and with belonging to long trade routes, rather than with a specific ethnic group. Identity and demeanor in society are largely divorced from ethnic roots. The comparison is the modern business culture, which has spread the latest computer technology, similar meeting rooms, Western suits and English. This culture is manifested in almost all countries of the world, regardless of their ethnic identity.
Similarly, the Vikings in the 9th and 10th centuries were determined by their occupation rather than their origin or DNA. When we stop equating the Scandinavians with the Vikings, we will better understand what the early Viking Age was like and how the Vikings influenced the foundations of medieval Europe, adapting to the diversity of cultures rather than separating them from each other.
Clare Downham
