Lately, the Viking culture has enjoyed a recent increase in popularity because of tv shows like Vikings. So a question came to us spontaneously.
Is there any modern Viking and what defines him?
In our opinion, a modern Viking is not defined anymore by his ancestry, religion, or place of birth, but rather by what he believes in. A modern Viking should maintain the values from the past while looking to the future.
The concept of a modern Viking should be associated with a philosophy and a way of life, centered on the ancient values of the Vikings: honor, courage, honesty, loyalty, perseverance, and discipline.
These qualities would certainly have been a good start to building respect among the Vikings and making you one of them.
Being a modern Viking should be more a matter of choice rather than inheritance, and involves adopting the deeper belief system of our ancestors, rather than the more superficial elements such as raiding or pillaging and barbarism
A modern Viking is brave in adversity, faces challenges with pride, is generous and caring to his loved ones, and always lives by his code of honor.
A modern Viking is also interested in self-improvement and takes care of his mind and body. Like historical figures, a modern Viking is not defined by race, religion, or nationality, but by his reputation.
Anyone can become a modern Viking. You don’t have to be a warrior in reality, but you do have to be one in your heart.
It all depends on your mindset and also the way you approach things, instead of obstacles, you see challenges and gains. You choose to lead an honorable life, you demand respect from others, but you give it too.
A modern Viking is primarily concerned with improving himself, finding new ways to push himself beyond his abilities, facing life with a sense of adventure, and never turning a blind eye to injustice.
This warrior attitude can be used as a personal philosophy and as a means to achieve happiness and success in daily life.
Here are some tips that can help you to achieve the status of Modern Viking
- Take care of your body through exercise, the Vikings were always active and not very sedentary people, being strong and physically well ensured them a greater chance of survival, especially in battle, physical training improves testosterone essential for strength and procreation. As the ancients said “mens sana in corpore sano” which translates to ” a sound mind in a sound body”.
- Take care of your mind, a strong body without a strong mind make it more difficult to achieve the desired goals
- Take care of your nutrition and this is the case to say Eat like a Viking. Vikings had a varied diet with many noble proteins due to meat and fish, we are what we eat. See also our article on Viking Diet-What did the Vikings really eat?
- Think out of the box Vikings were smart people A large part of the reason why the Vikings were successful warriors is that they had superior technology to most of the people they battled. They developed better ships like the Drakkar and more effective weapons.
- Take care of your personal hygiene the Vikings, contrary to what you might think, took great care of their appearance, They used combs and accessories for their hair and beards and bathed at least once a week.
- If you are lucky enough to have long hair, you could think of braiding it just like the Vikings used to do, or you could go for a completely shaved cut to accentuate your masculinity. See also our article regarding Viking hair styles
- If both solutions are not to your liking, a classic cut is fine as long as it is neat and tidy. Moreover, having a long and well-groomed beard is an important part of the Viking look. They change your image, make your features more masculine and give you an air of maturity that commands immediate respect. Taking care of your beard is important. and a definite advantage in achieving a Modern Viking appearance.
- And last but not least, don’t forget to accessorize! Vikings wore amulets, necklaces with Mjolnir (also called Thor’s hammer) used as a protection symbol, and bracelets to accessorize their look. The right jewelry can make a big difference in the way you look. Pick an outfit with masculine lines, some color, and patterns.
As a modern Viking, you should build a version of yourself that brings wealth and women to you and not the other way around.
Never chase after women and wealth, instead, make them chase you by investing day in, day out in the image you want to be.
Who are the modern descendants of Vikings?
The image evoked by the Viking is often that of a brute predator ready with an axe to sack and kill defenseless populations across Europe and beyond.
Most of what is known about the Vikings comes from TV and movies, which unfortunately do not always stick to the reality of the facts, which has sometimes turned out to be different from what we were told.
Recent Genetic studies have demonstrated that Viking ancestry can be traced back to modern-day people outside of Scandinavia.
With the help of technology, it is now possible to answer this question with good accuracy.
Interestingly, a vast ancient DNA study published in the journal Nature on Sept. 2020 which lasted 6 years, revealed the true genetic diversity of the Viking people
This was the most extensive genetic survey ever based on over 400 Viking skeletons, whose remains date from around 2400 B.C. to A.D. 1600, from archaeological sites in North Europe, Italy, and Greenland
DNA testing from skeleton Kata, found at a Viking burial site in Varnhem, Sweden
VÄSTERGÖTLANDS MUSEUM
It disproves the stereotype of the Viking necessarily blond and Nordic-looking, showing that it was a people with physical characteristics much more diverse and complex than the history books have so far told. It was found that
- Many Vikings actually had dark hair and not blond
- The skeletons from the famous Viking burial sites in Scotland were actually local people who may have assumed Viking identities and were buried as Vikings.
- Viking identity was not restricted to Scandinavians. The study shows that the genetic history of Scandinavia was influenced by foreign genes from Asia and southern Europe before the Viking Age.
- Genetic inheritance in the United Kingdom left the population with up to six percent Viking DNA, Denmark up to 10% Poland up to 5%, Sweden 10% and 12% to 15% in Norway
Not only should some pieces of history be rewritten, but also a long list of books, movies and TV series
It is the scientific evidence that emerged from the study, in fact, to show without the possibility of misunderstanding that the equivalence between Viking populations and typical Scandinavian physical characteristics is a false myth.
Let’s be clear: some Vikings were indeed tall and blond, but many others looked different, many more than ever thought.
The scope of the study was remarkable: 6 years of research, 442 bodies put under scrutiny and the simultaneous analysis of artifacts found in archaeological sites scattered across Europe, from Ukraine to the UK, from Scandinavia to Poland, Russia and even Greenland.
Remains used for DNA analysis, recently published in Nature
DORSET COUNTY COUNCIL, OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGY
Genetic analyses have been carried out on bone remains (mostly teeth and skulls) from corpses belonging to men and women of all ages, including children and infants, buried according to Viking tradition.
Next to the most obvious and expected results, such as the presence of genetic traits typical of Scandinavian populations, it was surprising to identify a large number of people who possessed very different DNA.
Similar, in particular, to the genotypes most common in southern Europe and Asia. Genetic traits were probably incorporated by the Viking populations well before the historians of other European populations, at the turn of the century, began to report their exploits, perhaps even as early as the Bronze Age, several millennia earlier.
Together with the indigenous Sami – population that lives between present-day Norway, Sweden and Finland, in the region of Lapland (and therefore sometimes improperly called Lapland) – the Vikings included a number of other groups, and their physical characteristics were much more diverse than scientific evidence had so far led one to believe.
Stories, such as that of the Black Viking, take on new meaning today, not because the existence of the protagonist would be more likely – historical sources had already taken it for granted – but because the figure of the non-blond, non-Scandinavian Viking may have been more common than we think.
Another remarkable result highlighted in the article is the discovery that traces of Viking DNA are still present in one in 10 Danes and one in 16 Britons.The results presented by the study also allow us to deduce aspects such as social structure, movements and habits of life.
The Vikings are often described in history books as warriors, explorers and raiders, so much so that their name derives from vikingr, a Scandinavian word that can be translated as pirate.
We also know that they had a particular impact on the lives of many European populations between 790 and 1066 AD, so much so that those two and a half centuries are often remembered as the Viking Age.
Regarding the exploits of the Vikings, much of what we thought we knew is actually confirmed: frequent raids by land and sea, raids on monasteries and villages and rudimentary forms of trade with exchange of whale blubber, tusks and skins. What instead has revealed the genetic analysis are the extent and type of movements.
Some Viking tribes moved as far west as Ireland and Scotland, as far north as Iceland and Greenland, and as far south as the Balkan Peninsula. Finally, two other elements may require changes in the history books.
First, the Viking people did not include only people with genetic ties: in fact, remains have been found of people buried according to tradition and in typically Viking places, but who in fact did not share their heritage at all in terms of DNA.
So, in Scotland and not only, indigenous people have become part of the Viking communities even though they were not related to them.
Nevertheless, it seems that family ties were an important element in Viking society, so much so that the entire household tended to organize themselves into tribes and to participate together in expeditions and raids.
This is demonstrated, for example, by the discovery of a group of 4 brothers in a burial on a boat in Estonia who died on the same day, having set out on a family expedition the rest of the occupants of the boat were genetically similar, suggesting that they probably all came from a small town or village somewhere in Sweden.
Genetic analysis indicates that Vikings were not a homogenous group of people. They were often mixed individuals, with both southern European and Scandinavian ancestry.
Conclusion
There are many ways to be a Modern Viking and honor the Viking culture, whether it be through values and lifestyle, religion or music, the important thing is that it doesn’t remain just a memory of the past written in history books.
Reading and learning about the past of our ancestors can help us better discover who we are today.
Wear your Mjolnir and be proud of your past, only in this way the Viking culture can survive and be known by future generations.
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