Viking age revisionism and fetishisation of Nordic culture

[AmazingHazén]

Hey there Apricians. I've been a lurker here for almost two years and now I've finally decided to join in on the fun. Something that's been bothering me lately is the increasing tendency towards giving vikings a positive spin. Despite popular shows like Vikings playing up their traditional reputation as savage murderers, rapists and looters, concurrently there's been an attempt to create a counternarrative where the traditional view is flipped on its head.

This attempt to upend the traditional narrative - attributing all kinds of positive qualities to vikings while stripping them of their traditional negative, barbaric ones, so that vikings are described as mostly peaceful farmers and traders, intrepid explorers, skilled craftsmen, city-builders and even champions of women's rights who didn't behave worse than any of their contemporaries - has in the interest of providing a more balanced view in my opinion gone too far in the other direction and ended up just as imbalanced as that of their prior depiction.

Instead of being perpetrators of rape, murder and theft preying on defenceless villages and monasteries, they're increasingly depicted as victims of Christian expansion. Sometimes this revisionism is taken to such ludicrous extents that the Norsemen are portrayed as having had a "civilisation" in their own right, having been wiped out by Christian onslaught, rather than the historically verifiable view of the process of Christianisation being the first historical instance of civilisation-building in Scandinavia.

All of this popular press has resulted in what I would call a kind of "viking renaissance", particularly in the Anglo world. This resulting in people with a minimal amount of Scandinavian ancestry (or even none) running around claiming to be "vikings" and professing belief in Ásatrú. Could modern day anti-christian sentiments among various subsections of secularised populations be partly to blame for this viking fetishism seemingly prevalent in the Anglo world? Or is it an attempt to square the modern day progressivism and positive reputation of Scandinavia with their ancient forebears?

[Morena]

Hey there Apricians. I've been a lurker here for almost two years and now I've finally decided to join in on the fun. Something that's been bothering me lately is the increasing tendency towards giving vikings a positive spin. Despite popular shows like Vikings playing up their traditional reputation as savage murderers, rapists and looters, concurrently there's been an attempt to create a counternarrative where the traditional view is flipped on its head.

This attempt to upend the traditional narrative - attributing all kinds of positive qualities to vikings while stripping them of their traditional negative, barbaric ones - so that vikings are described as mostly peaceful farmers and traders, intrepid explorers, skilled craftsmen, city-builders and even champions of women's rights who didn't behave worse than any of their contemporaries has in the interest of providing a more balanced view in my opinion gone too far in the other direction and ended up just as imbalanced as that of their prior depiction.

Instead of being perpetrators of rape, murder and theft preying on defenceless villages and monasteries, they're increasingly depicted as victims of Christian expansion. Sometimes this revisionism is taken to such ludicrous extents that the Norsemen are portrayed as having had a "civilisation" in their own right, having been wiped out by Christian onslaught, rather than the historically verifiable view of the process of Christianisation being the first historical instance of civilisation-building in Scandinavia.

All of this popular press has resulted in what I would call a kind of "viking renaissance", particularly in the Anglo world. This resulting in people with a minimal amount of Scandinavian ancestry (or even none) running around claiming to be "vikings" and professing belief in Ásatrú. Could modern day anti-christian sentiments among various subsections of secularised populations be partly to blame for this viking fetishism seemingly prevalent in the Anglo world? Or is it an attempt to square the modern day progressivism and positive reputation of Scandinavia with their ancient forebears?

The Viking stuff has been deliberately pushed by TPTB as another attack on Christianity. Those who hate Christians like to push Paganism by trying to appeal to everyone's baser instincts.
That being said, the truth is somewhere in between. They weren't just rabid barbarians, but they could be violent and savage when they were raiding. At home, they were largely peaceful and agrarian. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

The biggest revision is how people hype their battle prowess. Although they were good warriors, they also were more like native american ambush fighters. They would go after easier targets and when someone offered strong resistance, they left and either never came back (North Spain) or would wait fifty years before trying again (England).

[Teutone]

Many good points.

When you point out actual history as a Germanic, you get called a traitor.

[Morena]

Many good points.

When you point out actual history as a Germanic, you get called a traitor.

Which elements of Viking culture do you like and which ones do you not? I like their boats (of course) and exploration. I like their mythology and I also like the women's dresses. I don't like all that raiding and slaving, but many people did that sort of thing.

[Teutone]

Which elements of Viking culture do you like and which ones do you not? I like their boats (of course) and exploration. I like their mythology and I also like the women's dresses. I don't like all that raiding and slaving, but many people did that sort of thing.

I dont really hate or like vikings, I dont see why i should love them cause I am nordic genetically

My ancestors got raided by them as much as anybody else.

So I wonder why mainland Germanics or Brittish Germanics act like vikings were there ancestors lol

[Ayetooey]

Thank you for this thread, I was literally going to make a thread on this today myself. I have nothing against Scandanavians taking pride in their ancestors, that is fair enough, but Vikings are falsely considered "noble savages", when frankly they were a scourge upon civilised nations, and in the context of Germanic nations like Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and England, did nothing but constantly raid, pillage and attempt to destroy civilisation. They were "cool" in a villainous sense; but I wouldn't give them any further credit than that.

[AmazingHazén]

Which elements of Viking culture do you like and which ones do you not? I like their boats (of course) and exploration. I like their mythology and I also like the women's dresses. I don't like all that raiding and slaving, but many people did that sort of thing.

What I don't like about them is their lack of any kind of coherent system of morality, disinterest in philosophy and shunning of civilisation.

[JohnSmith]

I have a feeling this thread is going to turn into a disaster. lol.

[Crimson Winds]

What I don't like about them is their lack of any kind of coherent system of morality, disinterest in philosophy and shunning of civilisation.

Ironically, Mongols had all of these elements in their culture but colleborately viewed as more barbaric by Christians and Muslims just because they were more successful and alien than Vikings.

[Ayetooey]

Ironically, Mongols had all of these elements in their culture but colleborately viewed as more barbaric by Christians and Muslims just because they were more successful and alien than Vikings.

During the Roman Empire Vikings and the lands they controlled weren't even considered European, they were considered savage "no mans land" and were always left off maps of Europe. Idealisation of vikings came after 18th century after they were characterised as "noble savages"; but certainly in ancient and medieval times, Mongols, Magyars and Vikings were all considered savage foreign forces.

Of course now people do Viking roleplay and idealise them; had you come into contact with a viking back then they would of chopped off your head, burnt down your house and taken your wife.