Because of the high value placed on honor in the Viking world, and because one’s honor was largely dependent on one’s loyalty to one’s family, friends, and chieftain, those social relationships imposed certain obligations on a Viking.īut those obligations were contingent upon the specific character of those social relationships. Rather, it was effectively an extension of its actions and social relationships they were what made a man or woman who he or she was. The individual wasn’t an atomistic individual, as it is in our society. And, to be sure, it was subject to some substantial constraints, both in theory and in practice.Īs I discuss in the article The Self and Its Parts, the Norse self wasn’t thought of as something that existed prior to, or outside of, its actions and social relationships. The Vikings’ particular type of individualism was rather different from the one we have today in several respects. The Vikings weren’t dutiful soldiers selflessly sacrificing themselves for their people they were mercenaries who, when it really came down to it, cared first and foremost for their own selfish gain. That image could hardly be further from the historical reality. There’s a common Romantic image of the Vikings fighting their wars for the collective well-being of their nations and homelands, putting tribal loyalty above self-interest. Book Review: Neil Price’s The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron Age Scandinavia.Who Were the Indo-Europeans and Why Do They Matter?.The Swastika – Its Ancient Origins and Modern (Mis)use.The Old Norse Language and How to Learn It.
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