Before the new season of popular action-packed series “Vikings” premieres this weekend, we bring you fun and interesting facts about the infamous raiders from the North
While waiting for the return of Ragnar and his indomitable horde from “Vikings”, with the premiere of Season 3 on Feb 27, here are some fun facts from the North that may blow your mind!
1. Vikings Didn’t Wear Horned Helmets!
Forget almost every Viking warrior costume you’ve seen. The Norsemen never sported that horn-festooned helmet look.
Depictions from the Viking age don’t depict that they had horned helmets and the helmets discovered are horn-free. Painters seem to have fabricated this trend in the 19th Century, perhaps inspired by descriptions of northern Europeans by ancient Greek and Roman chroniclers.
2. Vikings Were Known for Good Hygiene
Between rowing boats and decapitating enemies, Viking men must have stunk to high Valhalla, right? Quite the opposite.
Excavations of Viking sites have turned up tweezers, razors, combs and ear cleaners made from animal bones and antlers. Vikings also bathed at least once a week – much more frequently than other Europeans of their day – and enjoyed dips in hot springs.
3. Vikings Used a Unique Medium to Start Fires
Nonetheless, the Vikings had no qualms about harnessing the power of one human waste product.
They would collect a fungus called touchwood from tree bark and boil it in urine for several days before pounding it into something akin to felt.
The sodium nitrate in urine would allow the material to smoulder rather than burn, so Vikings could take fire with them on the go.
4. Vikings Buried their Dead in Boats
There’s no denying that Vikings loved their boats – so much that it was a great honour to be interred in one. It was believed that valiant warriors entered glorious realms after death and the vessels that served them well in life would help them reach their final destination.
5. Vikings Were Active in the Slave Trade
Many Vikings got rich off human trafficking. They would capture and enslave women and men while pillaging Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Slavic settlements.
These “thralls” were then sold in slave markets across Europe and the Middle East.
6. Viking Women Enjoyed Some Basic Rights
Viking girls got hitched as young as 12 years old and had to mind the household while their husbands sailed off on adventures. Still, they had more freedom than other women of their era.
As long as they weren’t thralls, Viking women could inherit property and reclaim their dowries if their marriages ended.
7. Viking Men Spent Most of Their Time Farming
Most Viking men brandished scythes, not swords. The majority of Viking people peacefully sowed barley, rye and oats – at least for part of the year. They also raised cattle, goats, pigs and sheep on small farms.
8. Viking Gentlemen Preferred Being Blond
To conform to their culture’s beauty ideals, brunette Vikings – usually men – would use a strong soap with a high lye content to bleach their hair. It’s likely that these treatments also helped Vikings with a problem far pricklier: head lice.
“Vikings” Season 3 premieres on Feb 27, and continues every Friday, 10pm, on History, StarHub TV Ch401.
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