After hearing this on a radio game show, it hit me deep inside and made me feel a strange compassion for these men, who were deemed as some of the most horrible people ever. However, it makes sense when you think about all of our needs collectively, as human beings...which disregards culture/perspective/location...etc. the desire for a family/companionship/status. All i can think of is...how strong was that testosterone?! They sound like they were a very passionate people with such a determination and display of eagerness to be suitably acceptable for a woman. It was said that the vikings held up women with much esteem, besides the fact that men had free reign and could do whatever he pleased. In our day and age, men use such things as fancy cars, impressive jobs or portfolios, talents, even cooking or domestic skills. a much more civilized way of setting up a love nest than taking human life, but are we still seeing the same marks of the viking culture in our men (and some women) today with regards to faithfulness/monogamy? However, is this all for personal gain....to say, i have a woman! and not for love? If this is true, then it's no wonder why we have so many divorces, as the marriage begins and ends on a selfish note, even though there was the beginnings of what could have been so beautiful.
The responsibility of the man is quite a heavy one, but when it all comes down to it, if you're truly in love, none of that stuff matters if you truly commit to stick it out to the end, no matter how you may or may not feel from day to day, your financial situation or your talents. i'd still rather be "happily" married to a poor penniless sitar player than a great big rich maharajah! [Moulin Rouge]
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During the Viking Age from the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, Scandinavians tore across Europe attacking, robbing and terrorizing locals. According to a new study, the young warriors were driven to seek their fortunes to better their chances of finding wives.
The odd twist to the story, said researcher James Barrett, is that it was the selective killing of female newborns that led to a shortage of Scandinavian women in the first place, resulting later in intense competition over eligible women.Barrett's analysis of Nordic historical records found that Scandinavian men often served as warriors, frequently forming "military brotherhoods," until they were able to marry and establish their own households, which were key to prestige and power.
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According to Barrett, honor and religious fatalism — the idea that the time and manner of death is predestined — also fueled the Vikings, helping explain why men were willing to risk death in violent battles and risky seafaring. The Viking religion held that "the cosmos began in the frozen emptiness ... and will end in fire with the last battle," said Barrett.
Despite the infanticide, he still believes the Vikings "highly valued" women. Aside from lavishing bridal prospects with plundered goods, they held solemn burials at sea for women. In fact, one of the most important known Viking Age burials, involved numerous goods and two female skseltons encased in a ship called the Oseberg.
Soren Sindbaek, assistant professor of medieval and Renaissance archaeology at Denmark's University of Aarhus, told Discovery News that the new paper "is very right in pointing out the inadequacy" of former explanations for the Viking Age.
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