Skeletal Studies Show Viking Age Norway was a Hyper-Violent Nation

The Vikings were known for their marauding ways, and have gained a reputation as ferocious warriors and conquerors. But the various nations that comprised the Viking world were unique entities with different societal and cultural norms, some of which related to the use of violence to solve interpersonal disputes.

In a new study just published in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, an international research team revealed the results of their study of skeletal trauma in bodies excavated from Viking Age cemeteries in two Scandinavian countries. What the evidence they collected shows is that Norway was a markedly more violent society than Denmark during this era, with a shocking degree of lawlessness that led to the frequent use of violence by citizens against other citizens with whom they had a grievance.

The team of researchers, which included scholars from Norway, the United States, and Germany, were interested in finding an explanation for this difference. After comparing certain measurements of social order, they concluded that Norway was a more anarchic society in this era than Denmark, lacking the basic infrastructure of authority and law and order that could either control vigilante violence or make it unnecessary.

The study authors wrote in their journal article:

“Weapons and interpersonal violence in Norway was much more widespread than in Denmark, and the social pyramid in Denmark was progressively steeper and more complex than in Norway. “Official” executions accounted for the preponderance of violence in Denmark, while rare in Norway. Denmark was evidently a more “civilized” society than Norway.”

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From the Viking skeletal study: A skull displaying blunt force trauma with radiating lines. (Lisa Mariann Strand/ Journal of Anthropological Archaeology)

In Viking Age Norway, an Argument with Your Neighbor Could be Fatal

For the purposes of this study, the researchers analyzed the skeletal remains of dozens of individuals excavated from Viking burial sites in Denmark and Norway. They were intrigued to discover that 37% of the Norwegian skeletons they examined belonged to people who had died from lethal trauma, in comparison to just 6% of the Danish skeletons. Fully one-third of the Norwegian specimens had suffered weapons-related traumatic injuries that had healed, offering more evidence to show that violent encounters were especially common in their home country.

Another fascinating aspect of this study is what it revealed about the nature of the violent deaths among the Danish. The vast majority of the traumatized skeletons from Denmark incurred their injuries from executions carried out by legalized authorities. This was in sharp contrast to the violent deaths in Viking Age Norway, which seldom resulted from injuries inflicted by official executioners who used the same methodology time after time (normally decapitation).

From the Viking skeletal study: Weapon related lesions identified on sacrum side and tibia. (Lisa Mariann Strand/ Journal of Anthropological Archaeology)

In the graves of the individuals from Norway, the discoverers found more than 3,000 swords from the Late Iron Age (400 to 800 AD) and Viking Age (800 to 1050 AD) buried alongside the deceased. Things were quite different in the Danish cemeteries, where only a few dozen swords were recovered from the ancient graves.

All of the findings of this study are consistent with the idea that Viking Age Norway was a violence-prone society where weapons were everywhere and where settling disputes via swordplay was common practice. The fact that Denmark was not like this shows that Viking culture was not monolithic, and instead followed different pathways of development in different countries.

From the Viking skeletal study: Antemortem damage is observable with remodeling of the occipital bone. (Lisa Mariann Strand/ Journal of Anthropological Archaeology)

How Social Order Suppressed Violence in the Viking World

To determine why Viking Age Norway was so much more violent than Denmark, the researchers focused on the social and political structures that were present in each country during this time period. They did so by analyzing messages imprinted on runestones, which were used extensively in ancient Scandinavia for all kinds of record-keeping, and by looking at patterns of large monument construction, which required centralized authority to mobilize and discipline large numbers of laborers.

Through this methodology, they discovered that Danish society in the Viking era was more socially stratified and featured more institutions that represented centralized authority than Norway. In general, there was little tolerance for those who took the law into their own hands in Denmark, or who did anything else to disturb the established social order.

In Norway, on the other hand, it seems justice was defined not by the state but by each individual according to their own standards. This inevitably created chaos and promoted a social climate where violent vigilantism was considered normal and acceptable.

Notably, monumental construction in Denmark was accelerated in the latter half of the 10th century,  during the reign of the legendary Scandinavian king Harald Bluetooth (he served as Denmark’s ruler from 958 to 986).

“Harald’s reign thus stands out as exceptional in terms of the sheer volume of earthworks, an indication that he was able to command hitherto unseen, massive extent of resources,” the researchers concluded.

Interpersonal violence was especially uncommon in Denmark during this time, as the people apparently had more trust in authority when there was a strong and respected sovereign in charge.

Setting the Record Straight about a Complex and Diverse Culture

The discovery that Norway was more violent than Denmark during the Viking Age upends previous notions about how Scandinavian society functioned during this era. This is one of the most important  revelations to emerge from this new study, according to University of South Florida sociologist and study co-author David Jacobson.

“The findings of these patterns suggest that we are talking of distinct societies in the regions of Norway and Denmark,” he stated in a University of South Florida press release. “This is quite striking, as the assumption has been that socially Viking Scandinavia was largely a singular space.”

The surprising results of this research are likely to motivate other scholars to look more deeply at the Viking Age cultures of Sweden and Iceland, and other parts of the expansive Viking world, to see if the same variations in cultural tolerance for interpersonal violence can be detected.

Top image: Violent Viking attack on a village.     Source: ContentHub/Adobe Stock

By Nathan Falde