10 Great Viking Misconceptions Still Being Perpetuated

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com -Much has been written about the Vikings and often by people who have little knowledge about Viking history. Another reason why Vikings’ reputation has been badly damaged is because of the surviving monks and priests who wrote stories about Viking raids. The Vikings were described as savage beasts, filthy and violent killers.  Some of the stories are true and based on reality, but far from all.

All this put together has resulted in that most people tend to think the Viking were huge men, with blond or red hair, covered with armor, waving double-edged axes and swords and screaming at the tops of their lungs as they rushed forward to kill, burn, pillage and loot. This is a very wrong picture and in this top list we put the records straight presenting some of greatest misconceptions about the Vikings.

1. Misconception: The Vikings Wore Helmets With Horns

Gjermundbu helmet - Credit: NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about the Vikings ever. Vikings did not wear horned helmets. There is not a single depiction dating back to the Viking age showing a horned helmet Viking and no such helmet has ever been discovered. The reason why this misconception started is because Christians in contemporary Europe added the detail to make the Vikings look even more barbarian and pagan, with horns like Satan’s on their head. Another explanation to the horned Viking helmet myth probably comes from A Victorian staging of Richard Wagner's operas about Norse mythology. it should be added that scientists have only found one Viking Age helmet in Scandinavia and that is the unique Gjermundbu helmet.

 2. Misconception: All Scandinavians Were Vikings

Image credit: Public Domain

The Vikings did originate from the Scandinavian countries, but only a small portion of the populations of Scandinavia participated in raiding.
Over time Vikings created settlements in many places. They reached, reaching as far as North Africa, Russia, Constantinople, and even North America. It should also be noted that during the Viking Age, present day Denmark, Sweden, and Norway simply consisted of a number of tribes who were constantly at war with one another.

See also:

10 Viking And Norse Symbols Explained

10 Norse Gods Who Vikings Gained Strength From

Félag – Ancient Viking Company Organized Trade Finance

3. Misconception: The Vikings Were All Dirty And Wild-Looking People

Left: credit: Public domain -Right: Jacky Pinchin

Vikings were by no means filthy. Archaeologists have found evidence on a regular basis of combs, tweezers, razors and “ear spoons” and other grooming utensils that indicate the Viking people were very keen on maintaining personal hygiene. These same excavations have also revealed that the Vikings made soap. Vikings were some of the cleanest people in all of Europe at the time. They bathed weekly in contrast to other Europeans who bathed once a year. As preciously discussed on Ancient Pages, there is solid evidence that Vikings were cleaner than most and they were rather vain.

4. Misconception: Vikings Drank From Skull Cups

Reconstructed Iron Age Viking drinking horn. Image credit: Norway’s National Collection of Antiquities

A skull cup is a drinking vessel that is made from a human skull, usually from those individuals whom warriors and enemies killed during a battle. No skull cup belonging to the Vikings has been unearthed. The use of skull cups by the Vikings is believed to be only a myth and non-factual. This belief basically spread because of a mistranslation of an Icelandic term. The "Runer seu Danica literatura Antiquissima" of Ole Worm mentioned a drinking session of warriors.

5. Misconception: Vikings Spent All Their Time Raiding And Warring

Viking Hammer of Thor. Image credit: Public domain

In spite of their raiding reputation, most Viking men were farmers, craftsmen and traders and not warriors. Those who were warriors and returned back from a raid resumed their normal routine of farming. Many Vikings who sailed to other places, such as Iceland and Greenland, settled peacefully and were international merchants of their time. They peacefully traded with almost every county of the then-known world. By the end of the Viking Age, Viking trade reached from the far north to as far south as Jerusalem. Astonishing Norse jewelry discovered in hoards and burial sites reveal Vikings were highly skilled craftsmen. Viking jewelry was beautifully made and it's still reproduced today in modern times.

6. Misconception: Vikings Were A Unified Army

Arrival of Rurik to Ladoga by Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926). Image credit: Public domain

Vikings were never a nation and unified army. Vikings were groups of warriors, explorers and merchants led by a chieftain. In the Viking society kings were the most powerful people, but having the highest social status was also associated with responsibilities and certain requirements. Not everyone could be elected as a Viking king.

7. Misconception: Vikings Were All Blond And Big

Image credit: History.com

The average Viking man was about 170 cm (5’7”) tall which was not especially tall for the time. They were certainly not all natural blond, but many Vikings bleached their hair.

In Scandinavia today, men are much higher than the average Viking was, however far from all are blond.

8. Misconception: Vikings Used Crude And Primitive Weapons

Two 10th-century sword hilts (Petersen type S) with Jelling style inlay decorations, with replicas, on display in Hedeby Viking Museum. Image credit: viciarg, Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5

Most people think Vikings used crude and primitive weapons such as clubs and crude axes. This is very wrong. Vikings used expensive and sophisticated swords made of iron and these weapons were highly decorated. According to Viking Sagas, one method of testing these weapons was to place the sword hilt first in a cold stream, and float a hair down to it. If it cut the hair, it was considered a good sword. Swords were very important to Vikings.

Viking men also carried axes or spears, as well as shields for protection.

9. Misconception: Vikings Were Typically Buried In A Dolmen

Image credit: orderofthegooddeath.com

The greatest honor for a Viking was to be buried on board a boat. Great warriors and members of the aristocracy were often set to rest in their longships. Some warriors were cremated inside stone ships, or stones that had been laid on the ground in the shape of ship. Other warriors were burned on the pyre, which was a bundle of sticks that was set on fire. Viking funeral traditions involved burning ships and complex ancient rituals.

10. Misconception: Vikings Had Tresses

Image credit: Photographer unknown

As for hairstyle, to proclaim their Viking roots, Norman men shaved the back half of their head entirely, behind a line drawn from over the crown from ear to ear. On the front half of the head, forward of this line, the hair was left to grow long. There is an 11th-century letter in Old English, which mentions “Danish fashion with bared neck and blinded eyes.” So, no, there is no historical evidence of Vikings wearing tresses.

Countless misconceptions of the Vikings exist and continue to be perpetuated today, but at least now you can distinguish some facts from fiction.

Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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