How to Remain Warriors

Ultimately, the Norse warrior is a way of life

Someone recently asked how we could remain warriors if we disengage from endless conflicts in the Middle East and other lands that we should just let burn to the ground. One of our dads just wrote something about it, which also includes defining what a warrior is in a Norse context. 

You will note that, to this day, we embrace the Norse warrior concept. We get trained from an early age, and we fight constantly, to resolve any dispute internally, but also with other groups/tribes (one of our dads had to fight all hybrids everywhere to reinforce his leadership position), in addition to not hesitating to kill enemies as required, including to protect our own or what is ours. While being in an environment that strongly encourages ultimate combat performance, as status here is achieved based on combat capabilities.

Here's what he wrote (to be added to course).

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Norrœn striðsmaðrinn: The Norse Warrior

A warrior has generally been loosely defined throughout history as a man who simply takes part in wars, characterized as official conflicts between states, with no consideration for actual combat purposes, performance or even involvement. More recently, the term has been extended to those individuals, male or female, or even children, who merely engage in some sort of personal struggle, however pathetic or insignificant, and which does not involve any fighting element whatsoever. Neither of these definitions, clearly, is adequate from a Norse historical and cultural perspective, or from the point of view of an actual Norðmaðr (Norseman) or warrior. 

For the Norse, a warrior is indeed a man who engages in any sort of ideological physical combat, potentially to the death as required, whether or not in the context of an actual war. But more importantly, a warrior is also a man who thrives and excels at fighting, which also means as a result that being a warrior is an integral part of Norse culture, and simply a way of life.

Farmers Came to Blows:

An 18th Century Icelandic scholar once said that Íslendingasögur (Sagas of the Icelanders) could be summarized in four words: “Farmers came to blows.” A description that is highly representative of Norse culture, namely farmers, and thus every day men, who also happen to fight constantly with each other in a tribal context, who are not afraid to kill or die, and with the combat element being intricately connected to the identity of every Norseman. Such battle aspect is also innate, as it is taught to any boy from a very early age, further allowing for an easy transfer of combat skills and capabilities to more organized conflicts, or even raiding, as often described in the Sagas, with basic Icelandic, Norwegian or Danish farmers performing exceptionally well in actual wars.

Fighting for Honor: 

Invariably, combat in Norse culture is also based on honor, and thus, is entirely ideological. Norðmenn do not display psychopathic behavior by just randomly killing neighbors or other farmers. Every fight, every battle, has a strong and prevalent ideological element, whether it is based on an oath, an insult, or righting a wrong. With the ideological aspect of engagement equally applying to conflicts with other farmers, at the tribe level, or even between kings and states.

Fighting for Tribe’s Benefits: 

Another aspect of the Norse Warrior is that he fights for his tribe, war band or own benefit. The Norse Warrior does not fight on behalf of other parties, may it be another king, kingdom or state, or even oppressed people unrelated to him, unless it benefits his own people. This is well expressed in the Ninth Law of the Jómsvíkingar, which states:

Allt þat, er þeir fingi í herförum, þá skylde til stánga bera meira hlut ok minna, ok allt þat er fémætt væri, ok ef þat reyndist á hendr nokkorum, at eigi hefði svá gert, þá skylde hann í braut fara or borginne, hvárt sem til hans kœmi meira eða minna. All the goods and proceeds of raids, expeditions, missions and operations, whatever their value, may it be big or small, shall be accounted for, and brought to the war band compounds, for assessment, and to be shared with the members of the war band.

Being the Best Warrior: 

In addition to combat in an ideological context, the Norse warrior also involves an elite element, as access to Valhöll, while highly coveted and the goal of every Norðmaðr, is particularly selective, with only the best warriors who ever walked on earth having any reasonable hope of reaching any of the halls of the slain. Indeed, the best hermenn (warriors) who die in battle are normally divided in two groups. Half goes to Glaðsheimr in Valhöll with Óðinn, and the other half goes to Sessrúmnir in Fólkvangr with Freyja. The other warriors simply go to Hel, the nice part of it, Lundar, but Hel nonetheless. Exception being for Úlfheðinn or Berserkr under Úlfhéðnar command as part of the Skjǫldrinn covenant of 748, who join Týr at his hall, Valaskjálf. It is worth noting that it is all about combat performance and actually dying while fighting, rather than context, which could be a war between Norway and England, or a simple feud with a neighbor whose sheep keep grazing on your land. Because fighting and combat is simply part of the DNA of a Norseman and a natural aspect of everyday life (and death). 

Warriors are Men: 

Outside of breaking oaths, many feuds, if not all, involve a woman at one point or another, plotting and scheming, causing some intrigue, and manipulating men against each other, leading to conflict. The very involvement of women in invariably inciting men to fight incidentally demonstrates the absolute inability of women to engage in battle, and their need for men to clash on their behalf, reinforcing the fact that Norse women never were warriors, nor capable or expected to fight. Indeed, combat remains the realm of men.

Warriors as a Way of Life: 

Ultimately, the Norse warrior is a way of life. The Norse warrior is born to fight, he is trained to fight from an early age, he is expected to fight to resolve disputes and to assert himself, and he thrives on fighting in the hope of becoming one of the best warriors on earth for a shot at one of the halls in Valhöll.