Vikings: Way Of The Warrior

It is AD 910 and you have been invited to visit Jorfor’s incredible Viking mead hall. Jorfor is the leader’s name, which means wild boar, and “by” is the word for a Norse-Danish village or settlement. That’s why they call this place Jorforsby.

Any place in England whose name ends in “-by” probably has Viking origins. This village is built close to the great Viking city of Jorvik, known today as York. 

The mead hall was the focal point and centre of any Viking village or town. Some of the halls in Denmark – constructed similarly to Jorfor’s – are more than 100 metres long. 

Often, the person in charge of the land would own the mead hall. It was not only his home, but also somewhere he would invite people of rank or people coming to York to celebrate at festivals. Jorfor has invited you to join him.

Stories, known as sagas, were incredibly important to Vikings. Their history was passed on orally – they rarely wrote stories down. This was their way of transferring ideas, principles and codes of behaviour.

Every lord would have a skald that could recall stories. This was a highly valued skill, because writing was so rarely used. Skalds remembered stories about heroes and gods like Thor, the God of Thunder, and weaved them into new tales involving the lords who paid them.

The people taking part in this ceremony are the most important in the village. Everyone worshipped Thor, because he was the protector of all in Midgard (our Earth). But Odin, Lord of Asgard, was the god of kings and leaders.

Odin had 200 different names, reflecting all his facets: god of healing, royalty, knowledge, sorcery, poetry and healing. Vikings even believed that Odin had given them their runic alphabet.

Vikings offered mead to Odin in the hope of being granted wisdom and good luck. They did this because they believed that Odin stole the mead of poetry to give to the poets. Odin was also said to give Vikings mead when they arrived at Valhalla (heaven).

Jorfor himself plays the drum while reciting a story to music associated with Odin. Jorfor and the village elders seek assurance from Odin that the future will be positive for them. 

Lords held ceremonies like this before going to meet rival lords or before making difficult decisions. He would ask for guidance and wisdom from Odin. Alliances, new trading arrangements and even farming decisions were all blessed by Odin.

It is November, “Blood Month”, when you would choose your animals to be slaughtered. At this time of year, more food was available, with autumn harvests stored for winter. For example, people would put apples into barrels and let them dry out, to be eaten by January.

Here, womenfolk cook a stew with vegetables and spelt barley to thicken it. Vikings cooked cow, pig, wild boar, sheep, goat and fish.

Norse people primarily ate agricultural goods raised on their own farms: meat from cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, goats, and poultry; and cereals, such as barley, rye, oats and, very rarely, wheat. 

Dairy produce, such as milk from cows, sheep or goats, as well as cheese and butter, were greatly prized. Vikings grew vegetables such as peas, beans, cabbage, onions and an assortment of herbs and wild fruits. They also ate apples, pears, cherries and berries of various kinds.

Vikings preserved meat by fermenting or pickling it. They used the protein of milk, called whey, submerging raw meat in it. This would help keep the meat for a long time. Later, the Vikings would cook it by boiling it in an iron cauldron. 

The men here are all hunting – looking for deer, rabbits and smaller animals. Vikings were wary of wild boars and hunted them with extreme care. Boars were revered and respected because they were tough, strong and never gave up.

The Norse god Frey rode around on a boar in their sagas. The Vikings wanted to be like boars in their lives: powerful and unstoppable.

The bowman is using a Viking-period hunting bow. This is earlier than the period of the huge war bow – the bow Robin Hood used. Viking bows were the height of a man or smaller and used for hunting deer-sized game. 

There’s a wild boar in the trees. The bowman wishes he had brought boar spears, with two lugs (winged spears) just under the spearhead.

A boar is persistent enough to skewer itself entirely in its determination to attack its hunter, but the lugs prevent the animal from getting too dangerously close.

The man in the centre sets a basic snare. Such snares had been used since before the Roman invasion of AD 43. They were used to capture smaller animals, not just for their meat, but also for their pelts (fur).

We can see the local lord Jorfor watch as his professional warriors train less experienced men. Their sole role was to loot and fight the enemy, becoming wealthy from doing so. 

This training was important because not only did the settlement need to be defended, but the lord would also take troops with him when he was called to war. 

The elder warriors train the freemen in a fundamentally important mode of Viking combat, the shield wall. The shield wall was the main combat formation of combat used by Vikings. It created a near-impenetrable barrier to oncoming attackers.

People had ranks in the Viking world: thrall (slaves) and freemen (warriors, fishermen and workers) were the core of society. Karls were more important and wealthy people, such as merchants; they would own land that freemen lived on.

Minor lords called thanes would manage the karls. Above all of these were jarls: major lords. 

The only ranks above the jarls were king and queen. Queens had a certain level of power. Women were not equal to men in Viking culture, but they had far greater power than in Saxon and other cultures of the time.

A battle is coming. Lord Jorfor has called his men to the mead hall. He asks that young warriors swear their loyalty and hearts to him – it is called fealty. Swearing an oath is a solemn and sacred promise. Jorfor gives the young men arm rings.

Warriors often wore lots of rings of fealty, showing their honour and loyalty to their leaders, from whom many rings were rewards.

This young warrior is pledging his life’s blood to Jorfor. Both place their hands on top of a sword as the lord conducts the ceremony of fealty. 

The warriors went into battle as a fearsome force. Some of them wore no armour. They would put on the skins of animals believing that Odin would give them superhuman strength if they went berserk. Such “berserkers” were terrifying in battle.  

Silversmiths made arm rings of fealty. Such craftsmen had the status of karls. They worked metal and gemstones to create beautiful artworks and jewellery for people of status.

This Viking trader might sell in a permanent market, like this stall in Jorforsby, or from the back of a cart. Sometimes, geography permitting, a trader would use his ship as his stall. This trader is selling pelts, garnets, jewellery, spices and beeswax.

At this time, gold was found only in the Middle East – usually in old Roman mines – so silver was the metal of coinage. 

The trader offers Jorfor a sealskin. He also has garnets and rare spices. He would have traded items in France, Spain, Italy or Greece to get funds to buy them, before coming back with this bounty to offer people in Jorforsby. He was a karl, a well-off member of society. 

Trading could be a dangerous life. Other Norsemen might attack the trader’s boat and steal his goods. Elite mercenaries would travel with him to protect the bounty – they were deadly fighters.

Jorfor wants silk, but the trader has none. Silk was so valuable that 6–8 bolts of silk might buy you a mead hall. It was incredibly rare in this part of the world. Other Norsemen might attack a trader if they knew he had some.

Lord Jorfor knows of a place where there is a lot of bounty, but he also knows that he cannot succeed alone. That’s why he has welcomed in another lord to his village that he knows and trusts.

England was divided into sections, under something called the Danelaw. With the Danelaw, there was a no-man’s land between Saxon England and Viking territories. Skirmishes, raids on cattle and possessions, and stealing men and women to be slaves took place frequently. 

Vikings were motivated to raid to gain more wealth and prestige, so that people knew who they were. Having a reputation was incredibly important to them: “word-fame” as it was known. Often, raids were carried out for that reason only.

The warriors are excited because news has reached Jorfor that a village along the border with the Saxons is less well defended – it is open for attack. Even though it will be dangerous, the men know that they could become rich from the raid.

Lords like Jorfor surrounded themselves with household warriors, who just did what they were told. Their oaths of fealty meant that they followed their leaders even to their deaths. 

The Danelaw area of England covered 14 shires: Bedford, Buckingham, Cambridge, Derby, Essex, Hertford, Huntingdon, Lincoln, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northampton, Nottingham, York and Suffolk. Jorfor and his men set sail from York for Northumberland and landed near Durham. 

The Viking lord’s information was far from correct, as he and his men are met with tremendous resistance. The Anglo-Saxons fight back! 

Jorfor’s men are ready and some have come without armour, wearing animal skins only. Believing themselves possessed of Odin’s superhuman strength, they lose control and go berserk!

The Saxons and Vikings would both have used the shield wall formation to attempt to create an impenetrable barrier. Here, however, the fighting is fierce, and the shield walls have broken. Sword-against-sword battles are taking place. This Saxon is determined to defend his family and land. 

War was the most sought-after and valued activity in the Viking era (AD 700–1100). Glory came through victory or death, and reputation through fierceness and bravery. Jorfor’s men are determined to win out. 

They crush the Saxon resistance, taking slaves in the process, and raid the villages of all they can.