The Vikings often cremated their dead in ship burials, known from archaeology, sagas, Old Norse poetry, and notably from the account of Ahmad ibn Fadlan. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Cremation is the act of reducing a Corpse by burning, generally in a crematorium furnace or crematory fire A ship burial or boat grave is a Burial in which a Ship or Boat is used either as a container for the dead and the grave goods or as a part The sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sögur) are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history about early Viking voyages Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century (see Eggjum stone) to as late as the far The Viking funerals that took place on land have permitted archaeologists to study the varying funeral traditions of Viking age Scandinavians.
The dead were often laid in a boat, or a stone ship, and they were given grave offerings in accordance with the earthly status and profession of the deceased, and these offerings could include sacrificed slaves. The Stone ship was a Germanic burial custom typical of Scandinavia, built from tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones Afterwards piles of stone and soil were usually laid on top of the remains in order to create a tumulus. A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a Mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves
In Scandinavia there are many remaining tumuli in honour of Viking kings and chieftains, in addition to runestones and other memorials. A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock Some of the most notable of them are at the Borre mound cemetery, in Norway, and Lindholm Høje and Jelling in Denmark. The Borre mound cemetery forms part of the Borre National Park in Horten, Vestfold, Norway. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Lindholm Høje (translated Lindholm Hills) is a major Viking burial site and former settlement situated to the north of and overlooking the city of Aalborg Jelling is a village situated in Vejle municipality, Denmark on the Jutland Peninsula. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe
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Grave goods
It was common to leave gifts with the deceased. Both men and women received grave goods, even if the corpse was to be burnt on a pyre. Grave goods, in Archaeology and Anthropology, are the items buried along with the body The amount and the value of the goods depended on which social group the dead person came from. [1] It was important to bury the dead in the right way so that he could join the afterlife with the same social standing that he had had in life, and to avoid becoming a homeless soul that wandered eternally. [2]
The usual grave for a thrall was probably not much more than a hole in the ground. A thrall ( Þræll; Þír, f) was a variety of slave in Scandinavian culture during the Viking Age. [1] He was probably buried in such a way as to ensure both that he did not return to haunt his masters and that he could be of use to his masters after they died. Slaves were sometimes sacrificed to be useful in the next life[2] (see the human sacrifice section, below). A free man was usually given weapons and equipment for riding. An artisan, such as a blacksmith, could receive his entire set of tools. Women were provided with their jewelry and often with tools for female and household activities. The most sumptuous Viking funeral discovered so far is the Oseberg ship burial, which was for a woman (probably a queen or a priestess) who lived in the 9th century. The Oseberg ship is a well-preserved Viking ship discovered in a large Burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold [1][3]
Funerary monuments
A Viking funeral could be a considerable expense, but the barrow and the grave goods were not considered to have been wasted. In addition to being a homage to the deceased, the barrow remained as a monument to the social position of the descendants. Especially powerful Norse clans could demonstrate their position through monumental grave fields. The Scandinavian clan or ætt (ˈɛtt in Old Norse) was a social group based on common descent or on the formal acceptance into the group at a þing A grave field is a prehistoric Cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe. The Borre mound cemetery in Vestfold is for instance connected to the Yngling dynasty, and it had large tumuli that contained stone ships. The Borre mound cemetery forms part of the Borre National Park in Horten, Vestfold, Norway. is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg. Ynglings were the oldest known Scandinavian dynasty It can refer to the following clans: The Scylfings ( Old Norse: Skilfingar) the A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a Mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves The Stone ship was a Germanic burial custom typical of Scandinavia, built from tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones [3]
Jelling in Denmark is the largest royal memorial from the Viking Age and it was made by Harald Bluetooth in memory of his parents Gorm and Tyra, and in honour of himself. Jelling is a village situated in Vejle municipality, Denmark on the Jutland Peninsula. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Harald Bluetooth Gormson (Harald Blåtand Haraldr blátönn, Harald Blåtann was born around 935 the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra (also Gorm the Old (Gorm den Gamle Gormr gamli) also called Gorm the Sleepy (Gorm Løge dvaske was King of Denmark from c Thyra was the consort of King Gorm the Old of Denmark. She is believed to have led an army against the Germans. It was only one of the two large tumuli that contained a chamber tomb, but both barrows, the church and the two Jelling stones testify to how important it was to mark death ritually during the pagan era and the earliest Christian times. A chamber tomb is a Tomb for Burial used in many different Cultures In the case of individual burials the chamber is thought to signify a higher status The Jelling stones are massive carved Runestones from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling in Denmark. [3]
On three locations in Scandinavia, there are large grave fields that were used by an entire community: Birka in Mälaren, Hedeby at Schleswig and Lindholm Høje at Ålborg. Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well A grave field is a prehistoric Cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe. For a group of islands in the Gulf of Finland, see Berezovye Islands. Lake Mälaren ( (historically occasionally referred to as Lake Malar in English is the third-largest Lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Hedeby (ˡheðəby Old Norse Heiðabýr, of heiðr = heathland and býr = yard thus "heath yard" sometimes known Lindholm Høje (translated Lindholm Hills) is a major Viking burial site and former settlement situated to the north of and overlooking the city of Aalborg Aalborg ( IPA ˈʌlb̥ɒːˀ is a city in Denmark. Its population as of 2006 is 121540 making it the fourth largest in the country after Copenhagen, [3] The graves at Lindholm Høje show a large variation in both shape and size. There are stone ships and there is a mix of graves that are triangular, quadrangular and circular. The Stone ship was a Germanic burial custom typical of Scandinavia, built from tightly or loosely fit slabs or stones Such grave fields have been used during many generations and belong to village like settlements. [4]
In May 1931 scientists of the National Museum of Denmark announced the finding of eighteen Viking graves with eighteen men in them. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s central museum of cultural History, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures alike The discovery came during excavations in Schleswig. The skeletons indicated that the men were bigger proportioned than twentieth century Danish men. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Each of the graves was turned east to west. It was surmised that the bodies were entombed in wooden coffins originally, but only the iron nails remained. [5]
Rituals
Death has always been a critical moment for those bereaved, and consequently a case of death is surrounded by taboo-like rules. [4] Family life has to be reorganized and in order to master such transitions, people use rites. [4] The ceremonies are transitional rites that are intended to give the deceased peace in his or her new situation at the same time as they provide strength for the bereaved to carry on with their lives. [4]
Despite the warlike customs of the Vikings, there was an element of fear surrounding death and what belonged to it. If the deceased was not buried and provided for properly, he might not find peace in the afterlife. The dead person could then visit the bereaved as a revenant. This article is about the Revenant in Folklore For the Tzimisce Revenant Families see Revenant. Such a sight was frightful and ominous and usually it was interpreted as a sign that additional family members would die. It was first and foremost in times of starvation, when communities were struck with a series of misfortunes, that rumours about revenants began to flourish. The sagas tell of drastic precautions being taken after a revenant had appeared. The dead person had to die anew; a stake could be put through the corpse, or its head might be cut off in order to stop the deceased from finding its way back to the living. [6]
Ibn Fadlan's account
A 10th century Arab Muslim writer named Ahmad ibn Fadlan produced a description of a funeral of a Scandinavian,[7] probably Swedish,[8] chieftain who was on an expedition on the eastern route. The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Ahmad Ibn Fadlān ibn al-Abbās ibn Rašīd ibn Hammād (أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن رشيد بن حماد was a 10th century Arab Muslim In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea, via the Volga River [8] The account is a unique source on the ceremonies surrounding the Viking funeral,[8][9] of a chieftain or king. [9]
The dead chieftain was put in a temporary grave which was covered for ten days until they had sewn new clothes for him. One of his thrall women volunteered to join him in the afterlife and she was guarded day and night, being given a great amount of intoxicating drinks while she sang happily. A thrall ( Þræll; Þír, f) was a variety of slave in Scandinavian culture during the Viking Age. When the time had arrived for cremation, they pulled his longship ashore and put it on a platform of wood, and they made a bed for the dead chieftain on the ship. Thereafter, an old woman referred to as the "Angel of Death" put cushions on the bed. She was responsible for the ritual. [10]
Then they disinterred the chieftain and gave him new clothes. In his grave, he received intoxicating drinks, fruits and a stringed instrument. The chieftain was put into his bed with all his weapons and grave offerings around him. Then they had two horses run themselves sweaty, cut them to pieces, and threw the meat into the ship. Finally, they sacrificed a hen and a cock. [10]
Meanwhile, the thrall girl went from one tent to the other and had sexual intercourse with the men. Every man told her "tell your master that I did this because of my love to him". In the afternoon, they moved the thrall girl to something that looked like a door frame, where she was lifted on the palms of the men three times. Every time, the girl told of what she saw. The first time, she saw her father and mother, the second time, she saw all her relatives, and the third time she saw her master in the afterworld. There, it was green and beautiful and together with him, she saw men and young boys. She saw that her master beckoned for her. [10] By using intoxicating drinks, they thought to put the thrall girl in an ecstatic trance that made her psychic and through the symbolic action with the door frame, she would then see into the realm of the dead. [9] The same ritual also appears in the Icelandic short story Völsa þáttr where two pagan Norwegian men lift the lady of the household over a door frame to help her look into the otherworld. Völsa þáttr is a short story which is only extant in the Flatey Book, where it is found in a chapter of Óláfs saga helga. [11]
Thereafter, the thrall girl was taken away to the ship. She removed her bracelets and gave them to the old woman. Thereafter she removed her finger rings and gave them to the old woman's daughters, who had guarded her. Then they took her aboard the ship, but they did not allow her to enter the tent where the dead chieftain lay. The girl received several vessels of intoxicating drinks and she sang and bid her friends farewell. [12]
Then the girl was pulled into the tent and the men started to beat on the shields so her screams could not be heard. Six men entered into the tent to have intercourse with the girl, after which they put her onto her master's bed. Two men grabbed her hands, and two men her wrists. The angel of death put a rope around her neck and while two men pulled the rope, the old woman stabbed the girl between her ribs with a knife. Thereafter, the relatives of the dead chieftain arrived with a burning torch and set the ship aflame. [12] It is said that the fire facilitates the voyage to the realm of the dead, but unfortunately, the account does not tell to which realm the deceased was to go. [9]
Afterwards, a round barrow was built over the ashes and in the centre of the mound they erected a staff of birch wood, where they carved the names of the dead chieftain and his king. Then they departed in their ships. [12]
Human sacrifice
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Thralls could be sacrificed during a funeral so that they could serve their master in the next world. [2] In Ibn Fadlan's account above, there is a description of a slave girl who was to be sacrificed and who had to undergo several sexual rites. [7] When the chieftain had been put in the ship, she went from tent to tent where she visited warriors and traders. [7] Every man told her that they did what they did for their love to the dead chieftain. [7] Lastly, she entered a tent that had been raised on the ship, and in it six men had intercourse with her before she was strangled and stabbed. [7] The sexual rites with the slave girl show that she was considered to be a vessel for the transmission of life force to the deceased chieftain. [13]
Sigurðarkviða hin skamma contains several stanzas in which the Valkyrie Brynhildr gives instructions for the number of slaves that were to be sacrificed for the funeral of the hero Sigurd, and how their bodies were to be arranged on the pyre, as in the following stanza:
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Cremation
It was common to burn the corpse and the grave offerings on a pyre, in which the temperature reached 1,400 degrees Celsius; much higher than modern crematorium furnaces attain. A pyre (from the Greek: πυρά pyrá, from πυρ pýr, fire is a structure usually made of Wood, for burning a body as part of a Cremation is the act of reducing a Corpse by burning, generally in a crematorium furnace or crematory fire All that would remain was some incinerated fragments of metal and some animal and human bones. The pyre was constructed so that the pillar of smoke would be as massive as possible in order to elevate the deceased to the afterlife. [16] The symbolism is described in the Ynglinga saga:
Thus he (Odin) established by law that all dead men should be burned, and their belongings laid with them upon the pile, and the ashes be cast into the sea or buried in the earth. The Ynglinga saga was originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet Snorri Sturluson about 1225. Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Thus, said he, every one will come to Valhalla with the riches he had with him upon the pile; and he would also enjoy whatever he himself had buried in the earth. For men of consequence a mound should be raised to their memory, and for all other warriors who had been distinguished for manhood a standing stone; which custom remained long after Odin's time. [17]
The funeral ale and the passing of inheritance
On the seventh day after the person had died, people celebrated the sjaund, or the funeral ale that the feast also was called since it involved a ritual drinking. See Symbel (band for the British band Symbel ( OE) or sumbel ( ON) was an important Germanic drinking The funeral ale was a way of socially demarcating the case of death. It was only after the funeral ale that the heirs could rightfully claim their inheritance. [4] If the deceased was a widow or the master of the homestead, the rightful heir could assume the high seat and thereby mark the shift in authority. [6]
Several of the large runestones in Scandinavia notify of an inheritance,[6] such as the Hillersjö stone which explains how a lady came to inherit not only her children but also her grandchildren[18] and the Högby Runestone, which tells that a girl was the sole heir after the death of all her uncles. A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock The Hillersjö stone on Färingsö is a runic Younger Futhark inscription that tells in Old Norse, the tragic real life family saga of Gerlög See also Varangian Runestones The Greece Runestones comprise around 30 Runestones containing information related to voyages made by Scandinavians to "Greece" [19] They are important proprietary documents from a time when legal decisions were not yet put to paper. One interpretation of the Tune Runestone from Østfold suggests that the long runic inscription deals with the funeral ale in honour of the master of a household and that it declares three daughters to be the rightful heirs. The Tune stone is an important Runestone from about 200-450 CE is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden ( Västra Götaland County and Värmland) while It is dated to the 5th century and it is consequently the oldest legal document from Scandinavia that talks of female right to inheritance. [6]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:84
- ^ a b c Gräslund 2000:11
- ^ a b c d Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:85
- ^ a b c d e Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:86
- ^ Viking Find Reported, New York Times, May 17, 1931, pg. Death in Norse paganism was associated with varying customs and beliefs 5.
- ^ a b c d Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:87
- ^ a b c d e Harrison & Svensson 2007:79
- ^ a b c Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:88
- ^ a b c d Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:90
- ^ a b c Translated from Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:88
- ^ Harrison & Svensson 2007:57ff
- ^ a b c Translated from Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:88ff
- ^ Steinsland & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:89
- ^ Sigurðarkviða in skamma at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
- ^ Translation by Bellows.
- ^ Gräslund 2000:12
- ^ Ynglinga saga in English translation, at Northvegr.
- ^ Harrison & Svensson 2007:178
- ^ Larsson 2002:141
References
- Gräslund, B. (2000). "Gamla Uppsala During the Migration Period", in Myth, Might, and Man. National Heritage Board. ISBN 91-7209-190-8
- Harrison, D. & Svensson, K. (2007). Vikingaliv. Fälth & Hässler, Värnamo. ISBN 978-91-27-35725-9
- Larsson, Mats G (2002). Götarnas Riken : Upptäcktsfärder Till Sveriges Enande. Bokförlaget Atlantis AB ISBN 9789174866414
- Smyser, H. M. (1965). "Ibn Fadlan's Account of the Rus with Some Commentary and Some Allusions to Beowulf". Franciplegius: Medieval and Linguistic Studies in Honor of Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. eds. Jess B. Bessinger Jr. and Robert P. Creed. New York: New York University Press. pp 92-119.
- Steinsland, G. & Meulengracht Sørensen, P. (1998): Människor och makter i vikingarnas värld. ISBN 9173245917
External links
- Scholarly article on a Viking barrow cemetery at Heath Wood, Ingleby, Derbyshire (Pdf-file 1.44mb)
- Ibn Fadlan's account in English translation.
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