Norway’s Vikings were the fiercest

The word Viking evokes ferocious Norse warriors, but recent research suggests Norwegian seafaring marauders were fiercer than their Danish neighbours.

A joint project between the University of Oslo (UiO) and University of Florida (USF) found that violence was more widespread in Norway during the Viking Age than in Denmark, UiO professor Jan Bill told the NRK broadcaster.

“The risk of a violent death was much greater in Norway than Denmark,” Bill said.

The academics compared the remains of Norwegians and Danes who died during the Viking Age, accepted as beginning  in the 8th century AD and ending around 1080.

They found that at least 33 per cent of the skeletons found in Norway had died a violent death, compared with only 6 per cent in Denmark. Many had been buried with their swords.

Norway had more access to iron and, therefore, to more weapon-making, with a society that focused on the family and the clan. In contrast, Denmark placed more emphasis on society’s interests, with building and defence projects.

The two universities’ research concluded that Norway and Denmark were sociologically-distinct societies, which was in line with recent findings that the respective regions displayed distinct, though still similar, genetic profiles.