The Vikings have inspired the creation of movies, TV shows, video games, and books, although that inspiration is almost always in the stereotypical sense of war, plundering, and pillaging. But aside from the stereotypes—which are stereotypical because they are true—the Vikings actually contributed to Western civilization in ways we often don’t consider.
Arthur Herman, historian and bestselling author of numerous works, including his latest, “The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World,” suggests that we can tie many of our customs, laws, and commercial enterprises to the Norse, along with the obvious popular culture.
The start of that cultural influence can easily be traced back to A.D. 793, when Vikings, either the Danes or Norwegians, raided a monastery off the eastern coast of England. The monks of Lindisfarne suffered brutally, but it was just the beginning of two centuries of Viking dominance. That dominance is typically noted as ending in 1066, when the last great Viking, King Harald Hardrada of Norway, was killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge—a battle that ensued shortly before the Battle of Hastings, where William the Conqueror of Normandy defeated, and therefore dethroned, King Harold Godwinson of England.
“It is an era ripe with violence, wars, and pillaging,” Herman said during an interview on “The Sons of History” podcast. “Not just Vikings against their neighbors, but among the Vikings themselves, among the different Scandinavian tribes.”
Political Impact
Herman quickly pointed out that these tribes of warriors weren’t led by warlords or tyrants, but that their leaders were actually democratically elected. Well before the Vikings stormed the shores of England, they had been practicing a form of democracy.
“They were very much what we would call today ‘self-governing,’” he said.
He explained that the chieftains and kings were elected by a tribal assembly called “The Thing”―termed among the Norse as “Althing.” The term is still used today in Iceland, which was founded as a Norwegian colony. In fact, the practice of Althing continues to this day.
“The line of succession has remained pretty much the same,” Herman said. “The participation of voters has gotten bigger. Women as well as men vote. But the idea that those who govern you are responsible and accountable to you, and that their authority relies on your consent, that’s part of the Viking way. It’s part of Viking politics.”
The historian noted that the Vikings didn’t leave their democratic tradition in Scandinavia. They brought it with them wherever they landed, and they ended up in many places throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.
“The Vikings leave a long-standing impact in England on political thinking in terms of land settlement, laws, customs, and language,” he said. “The direct line from our Anglo-Saxon ideas about democracy to the Viking tribal assembly is a long, but very discernible and impactful, one.”
Nautical and Commercial Impact
It may be difficult to conceive that such seemingly brutal and harsh people would practice such civilized political and legal customs. Another aspect of Viking culture that benefitted the West, though definitely not surprising, was their nautical prowess. The longships are now the stuff of legend, with their long bodies, dragon heads, and shield walls. These ships, however, were quite singularly what made the Vikings so deadly. Herman noted that the Vikings simply used existing nautical technology to expand their empire.
“You have these two technologies: the longship with its shallow draft and buoyancy, which is impressive, but hardly revolutionary; then you have the square sail, which is not really an innovation,” he explained. “But when you put the two together, you have a weapon system that gives you enormous shock and awe that allows you to strike with lightning speed, go anywhere the river courses will carry you. When the wind fails, you hit the oars and you are able to move upstream as far as the river will carry you, even to a city like Paris down the Seine River. That’s the secret to the Viking Age.”
Though the Vikings, as mentioned, are usually known for raiding, Herman proffered the fact that they should also be remembered for their trading and their advancement of regional and global trade routes.
“Those Viking raiding patterns became trading patterns that created a whole global trading network extending from Eastern Europe to the capital at Constantinople, reaching as far east as Baghdad, all the way across Northern Europe into Ireland, eventually Iceland and Greenland, and finally to the shores of North America,” he said. “The Vikings established a global trading network that really never diminished, and it became the basis for the Atlantic trading system in the later ages of the 16th and 17th centuries.”
A very interesting fact about those raids and trades was that it was very common for women to be found aboard the longships. Herman pointed out that evidence, specifically DNA evidence, has established that these “shield maidens” are more than just Norse legend, but factual. It also substantiates the notion that women enjoyed a level of “independence” and “respect in the law and custom” that, according to Herman, “stands out among other Dark Age societies.”
Impact on Popular Culture
Indeed, the Vikings, for more reasons than just “shield maidens,” stood out among their civilizational contemporaries. And perhaps it’s that most obvious reason that is most notable: their impact on popular culture from the 19th century to today.
Herman indicated that the West has been so affected by the Vikings because of what was left behind by their skalds, those who composed poems and sagas. These works of literature established, in documented form, the mythology and epics of the Norsemen, which were eventually discovered, reproduced, and celebrated throughout Western culture.
Historically, Herman said that it was “The Saga of Erik the Red” that provided the first clues that the Vikings arrived in North America and established a settlement well before Christopher Columbus arrived. Fictionally, it was the “Volsunga Saga,” which tells the story of the mighty warrior Sigurd and his quest for a treasure hidden and kept secret by the dragon Fafnir, which inspired the dragon Smaug and other elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”
Before Tolkien created his classic fantasy tale, however, it was the German composer Richard Wagner who was inspired by the “Volsunga Saga” to create his “Ring of the Nibelung” operas. These German operas led to the British author’s fantasy trilogy, which led to the New Zealand film director Peter Jackson’s epic film adaptation of the trilogy, which grossed nearly $3 billion in global box office revenue. In addition, “Egil’s Saga,” “Njal’s Saga,” and the Edda manuscripts influenced some of the most influential creators of today, including George Lucas with “Star Wars,” J.K. Rowling with the “Harry Potter” series, and George R.R. Martin with “Game of Thrones.” There are also the Norse mythological characters in the Marvel movies and the various Viking films and TV shows, video games, and countless novels.
“The Viking sagas still have their influence on shaping modern pop culture,” Herman stated. “How we think about fantasy, literature, the characters, the realm of possibilities, so much of this springs out of those original Norse sagas.”
As the years go by, the Vikings, nearly a millennium after the death of their last great king, continue to affect Western civilization.
