Comments on: Top Ten Myths About Vikings

By: thomas

thomas — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:54:12 +0000

this is a very nice article.

reading #6 an article on the subject came to my mind.

Coupland, S., The Vikings on the Continent in Myth and History, History Vol. 88 Issue 290, 2003, p. 186 – 203.

maybe it is of interest for you, but probably you’ll know it already. an abstract can be found here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-229X.00258

By: alleykat

alleykat — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:07:58 +0000

This is a very interesting site.
The Ukrainian Cossacks also had a similar hair-do, they apparently shaved it all, but left abunch of hair grow long from the top of their head. Do you know of any connection here?

By: Tapsa

Tapsa — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:30:41 +0000

I was working one summer in my youth at a fishing factory in Norway. There the norwegians used to test the sharpness of their knives cutting their hair at the back of their head, so their hair were much longer on the front side.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:56:22 +0000

Hi Paul. Thanks for the feedback. Jones' work is one of the best researches on Vikings I've ever read. As for the ceremonial horned helmets of the Vendel period, I wrote an article on that topic, entitled Odin as Weapon Dancer.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:51:55 +0000

Excellent site. I, too am of Viking Descent. Have you read Gwyn Jones’ single volume History of the Vikings? If so, I’d love feedback if that’s allowed. Gwyn also agreed with the absence of horned helms on the battlefields but they were ceremonially used along with winged helmets on the gods and Herr Wagner liked them and that, I think is why we see them today.

By: LaRue Foster

LaRue Foster — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:39:27 +0000

It appears that the Normans adopted the hairstyle favored in the province of Aquitaine, which some writers indicate was noted for its unusual hairstyles. Regardless, that begs the question of why the Normans shaved the backs of their heads. One writer suggests it was to ensure a better fit for their helmets, but this seems unlikely since their chain mail coifs were worn under the helm–and chain mail could not have been comfortable pressing against the scalp.

Probably the hairstyle has no greater significance than merely a passing fashion with no other reason. Still, I’d dearly like to know why. At the least, the style was ugly, but one could say the same of many hairstyles today.

Any ideas on this topic?

By: Ray Elkins

Ray Elkins — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:24:28 +0000

As a DNA-proven Viking-Irish descendant, I do appreciate your site very much. Helps a lot in trying to figure out where I came from and who I am!

By: Dean Bergeson

Dean Bergeson — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:36:38 +0000

A horned helmet would put the fear of the Gods into a foe, (and look great in an opera or a movie) but from a tactical angle it would worthless and probable add you to the carrion. Go a head, thrust your sword skyward as you yell. Scary to your foe, but you just hit the horn and knocked off your helmet. Pick it up! Bring your shield up to block a blow, hit the horn and spin your helmet sideways. Turn it back! The helmets were conical to deflect a downward blow to the side, right into the horn, twisting off the helmet and breaking your neck. Pick it up, and your head while you’re at it! Popular history has turned the horned helmet into an icon, not historical accurate, but a fun icon never the less. Sorry, we are stuck with it! Real historians know that it’s fiction, just like the Vikings chances at winning the Super Bowl.

By: ste banks

ste banks — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:24:03 +0000

on the subject of axes vikings also used the dane axe ,a big single headed axe that you definatly needed 2 hands for

By: admin

admin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:08:13 +0000

Thanks for the feedback.