F: A strandhögg

When the need arose to replenish a longship's stores the Vikings would indulge in a strandhögg, a shore-raid in which cattle and sheep were rounded up and either slaughtered, or taken aboard ship alive to provide fresh meat at a later date. Anti-social as this was, it had once been customary usage even in Scandinavia itself, where a man could feel free to help himself anywhere outside his own locale. However, in the 9th century, as larger portions of the North became unified under powerful kings, the custom fell into disfavour and perpetrators were outlawed (as, for instance, was Gange-Hrolf, Hrolf 'the Walker', founder of the duchy of Normandy). Overseas, revictualling continued to depend on 'strandhewing', which was also an excuse for rounding up young women and healthy youths for the thriving slave-trade, and for relieving the locals of whatever gold or valuables they had failed to hide in time. The tall round-tower in the background— built as a refuge against such Viking raids— identifies the shore-raid depicted here as taking place in Ireland; in the foreground a slain bishop is being relieved of his gold and ivory crozier.

G: Eastern Vikings

Viking traders and warriors travelling in the East inevitably adopted, and brought back with them to Scandinavia, assorted Slavic and Central Asian modes of dress and weapons, as these figures clearly testify. Figure G₁ is a Rus warrior, based predominantly on the descriptions set down by 10th-century Arab and Byzantine writers, es­pecially that of Leo the Deacon. His justly famous portrait of Svyatoslav, prince of Kiev 962-972, runs as follows: 'He was of medium height, with a powerful neck, a broad chest and a luxurious moustache. His nose was blunt, his eyes blue, his eyebrows bushy and his head shaven except for a lock of hair on either side, a token of his noble birth. In one ear he wore a silver ring decorated with two pearls and between them a carbuncle. His white tunic differed from his men's only by being cleaner.' Elsewhere he describes Rus arms as including tall shields 'the height of a man' (in fact they would have been about four feet tall) plus swords, bows, spears and javelins. In addition many wore mail corselets. The baggy trousers worn by this figure are based on warriors depicted in the Gotland picture stones, and confirmed by the accounts of Arab travellers, who speak of the Russians wearing trousers 'of 100 spans' which they drew tight and fastened at the knees. Figure G₂ also wears such trousers, while the rest of his equipment displays considerable Central Asian influence, including Magyar-style horse harness. He is based on a reconstruction by Bertil Almgren in The Viking (published by Nordbok), which is based in turn on assorted archaeological finds, notably from Birka in Sweden, an important centre for Viking trade in the East until c.980.

The background figures are Varangian Guards­men of the 11th century, displaying the two attributes for which they were justly famous—their axes and their drinking. There are a number of anecdotes on record of drunken Varangians, and in 1103 King Eric of Denmark, visiting Con­stantinople, exhorted members of the Guard to 'endeavour to lead a sober life and not give themselves up to drunkenness'. A 12th-century description of the Varangians as the Emperor's 'wine-bags' would therefore seem to be well-deserved.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 741