12 Crazy Viking Funeral Facts

Marvel cinematic universe fans know the idea ofRagnarok.Ragnarok ends everything, starting with Asgard's destruction. Norse mythology details exactly how this occurs and how it happened before.

Lore states that during Ragnarok, an army ofJotuun.(frost giants) arrive at Asgard's gates on a huge ship namedNagflar.The ship holds together not with iron nails, which the jotuun lack, but withThe fingernails of the dead.

Nordic people trim or remove the fingernails of the dead to deny the frost giants building material.Remove the fingernails of the dead.No fingernails, no nails. No nails, no ship, and no Ragnarok.

The image of a burning ship sailing away was based on a custom inNorse funeral rites.This was another grave good idea: sending a person to the afterlife with needed items. A warship would be useful in Valhalla, where fighting lasts forever.

Some people think the burning ship image is false. Ships usually burned on land after people marked the perimeter with stones. Archaeologists seek this stone outline at burial sites. This seems disappointing.Disappointing.but these are real "ghost ships".

Even ghost ships need a ghost crew. This leads to the next part.

Working as a servant (or "thrall") for an important Norseman, especially after his death, was dangerous duty. Norse people routinely sacrificed thralls during funerals, like the Egyptians. Stories show kings sent off with many male and female companions, including wives. (Except for the oldest wives; Norse kings usually had three or four.)

Even lower society members could demand slaves or thralls be sacrificed with them toServe them in the afterlife.These sacrifices happened willingly most of the time.

Norse culture believed a man's ejaculate carried life's essence, needed to fight daily in Valhalla. In at least two documented cases,Female sexual thralls.of powerful kings were "sent off with him" to carry this life gift. Before being strangled, stabbed in the ribs, and burned, the king's escort passed to every village man, who took turns giving her their "Essence.. For a week.

This was a rare event, but two instances from Norse history are documented. The Arab traveler and ambassadorIbn Fadlan.One witnessed a sexual sacrifice where six of the king's top consuls had sex with the victim on the funeral ship. Other warriors banged their shields to drown out the victim's final screams while they murdered her.

The female thrall volunteered for this duty. This seems odd, but it isn't entirely unexpected given Norse culture. She would receive great honor, guarded day and night for her last week on earth, and kept very drunk the whole time. So, this might be the worst or best way to die in Nordic culture.

Fear drove most Nordic funeral rituals. Nordic people thought the dead could return as revenants (or "draugr") to haunt the living if they did not get sent off to the next life happily (or at least completely).The dead could return as draugr to haunt the living if they were not sent off to the next life happily (or at least completely).The dead could return as draugr to haunt the living if they were not sent off to the next life happily (or at least completely).

For kings and important people, this showed respect; you did not want your lord returning from Valhalla just because you forgot to pack him deodorant oil. For lower classes, keeping the dead happy and put away meant keeping them buried. Bodies not prepared for their afterlife roles could return as homeless spirits, haunting the living, ruining crops, jinxing warriors, and causing other chaos.

During bad times, like sickness, crop failures, or war defeats, rumors started circulating that an unhappy revenant caused it all.Rumors circulated that an unhappy revenant caused trouble.Norsemen dug up recently deceased during times of trouble, searching for signs of undead activity. They looked for disturbed earth or blood near the mouth. Sometimes, if the person was highly respected, they gave them more weapons, tools, scented oil, and new clothes. Other times, they drove a long, wooden stake through the body to pin it to the ground. Often, they cut off the head.

Yes, this is whereBram StokerBram Stoker got the idea for staking vampires.VampiresGeorge A. Romero decided decapitation was the only way to kill a zombie through the heart.Kill a zombie.Both methods of undead execution trace back to Norse mythology or European cultures influenced by it.

"Let us burn like the Heathen Kings of old!" Denethor said in the "Lord of the Rings" before lighting himself and his son on fire.Denethor lit himself and his son on fire in the "Lord of the Rings".Denethor lit himself and his son on fire.

Norse funerals gain fame for massive funeral pyres.Massive funeral pyres.Massive funeral pyres burned bodies atop wooden towers or other structures to boost the blaze's size and intensity. Norse mythology claimed the dead and their belongings reached Valhalla on a smoke pillar. Taller, thicker pillars meant faster, more complete travel to the afterlife. Warriors, royalty, and high-ranking members followed this custom; slaves and lower classes did not.

"At Norse Funerals, You CAN Take It With You" appears in the list '12 Crazy Viking Funeral Facts'.Grave goods were central to Norse funeral customs; Vikings and Norse people were routinely buried or burned with some belongings. Higher status meant more items went with the deceased. Burial goods included items useful in the afterlife: new clothes, shoes, beer, barter money, and weapons." were central to Norse funeral customs. Vikings and other Norse people were routinely buried or burned with some belongings. Higher status meant more items went with the deceased. Burial goods included items useful in the afterlife: new clothes, shoes, beer, barter money, and weapons.

Ritualistic binge drinking defined Norse culture. Crops arrive, so drink. A child is born, so drink a hangover instead. Whether it was a winter festival, a post-battle toast, or just Wednesday afternoon, beer was the standard in Norseland.Funerals demanded weeks of binge-drinking; this was a way of life in Norse culture. Crops come? Time to drink. Birth of a child? Birth of a hangover, more like it! Whether it was a mid-winter festival, a post-battle toast to the gods, or just two o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, it was always beer-thirty in Norseland.

No occasion or hour matched the total oblivion of binge-drinking following a notable death. Every Norseman mourned by staying five sheets to the wind for about a week before and after the funeral. This meant two full weeks of continuous drinking without stopping or recovering.

Most Norsemen were buried with a weapon, but intact blades rarely survive. Rust and corrosion caused this. Blades were also intentionally bent or broken before burial.Vikings bent or broke weapons before burial. This symbolized the individual's final death because a Norseman's soul was tied to his weapon. Breaking the blade severed the person's final connection to the world. This practice also deterred tomb raiders looking to steal weapons.Breaking or bending the blade symbolized the individual's final death; a Norseman's soul connected to his weapon. Breaking the blade severed that final connection to the world. This action also stopped tomb raiders from digging up weapons for sale or battle.

If you want to know more, this is whereTolkienTolkien got the idea of re-forging "The Blade that was Broken" as a sign of resurrection. The movie swordNarsilNarsil was a type of hand-and-a-half "bastard sword" nearlyzweihander length.This sword, along with its straight cross-guard, matches the type favored by Norse warriors. Norse warriors often made these swords using refined iron from the Northlands. Peter Jackson's design may not reflect this, but the movie sword connects to the Norse mythology that inspired Narsil.

The North people lacked lawyers because they lacked paper. To claim an inheritance, you needed to attend the funeral. There, town officials placed a "Your inheritance would be carved onto a gravestone. You must attend the funeral to get it." engraved with legal decisions about inheritance and property. Some stones used runes, others showed carved images. Usually, both. These stones and the witnesses proved inheritance.

Three legible rune-stones name women as sole heirs. The Hillersjo Stone names a widowed woman inheriting her husband's, children's, and grandchildren's property. The Hogby Stone names a woman sole heir to all her deceased uncles' property. The Ostfold Stone names the deceased person's three daughters as rightful heirs. This equality seems common in Old Norse culture.

Women held low status in much of European history. You might think Vikings were the worst. Wrong. Norse culture offered women rights. It stood as one of the few cultures where a woman could match a man's standing, own property, and slaves.

The"Angel of Death"" was a woman of high respect in Nordic groups. She prepared the final resting spot. She laid pillows under the dead. She organized the funeral. She acted as the town's full-time undertaker, or a household member who volunteered. All men followed her exact orders.

Note: This "Angel of Death" differs from the Valkyries, who Western literature often called "angels of death." Valkyries were spirits that hovered over battlefields. They took brave slain warriors to Valhalla.