[WesternCulture]

“She claimed that the Vikings captured many dark, gypsy Princesses on their raids and brought them home to Norway for wives.”

- An amusing story, but I really wonder if it has much to do with actual history.

My impression is that black hair is more common among Norwegians than among Swedes, Finns and Danes. But why?

Swedish Vikings did a lot of journeys eastwards and southwards (mainly to countries today known as Russia, the Ukraine and Turkey), in other words to places were we find a lot of people with black hair. The Norwegian Vikings mostly went westwards.

[blueunicorn6]

Yes, the Norwegians went West. My great, great, great Grandfather roamed the prairies of New York with two, forty five caliber Herring strapped to his sides. He was known as THE LONE LUTEFISKER.

[Fiji Hill]

My impression is that black hair is more common among Norwegians than among Swedes, Finns and Danes.

These days, there are a lot of dark-haired Norwegians, Swedes and Danes with names like Muhammad and Ahmad.

[RedMonqey]

“She claimed that the Vikings captured many dark, gypsy Princesses on their raids and brought them home to Norway for wives.”

- An amusing story, but I really wonder if it has much to do with actual history.

During their greatest period of conquest and exploration the vikings did indeed reach as far west as North American, the Mediterranean Sea and their influences as far East as Russia.

The name 'Rus' is of viking origins.

There have been discoveries of red haired Caucasians mummies in Northern China.

Now whether or not that proves blueunicorn6 is of "dark, gypsy Princesses" or of other "black Mediterranean ancestors" is unknown but it is plausible as these different peoples did interact...

[shhrubbery!]

An amusing story, but I really wonder if it has much to do with actual history.

Some say the Black Irish have ancestors who were shipwrecked Spaniards, who managed to swim ashore, e.g., when the Spanish Armada was destroyed in Elizabethan times.

Don't know if any Spanish galleons ever foundered off the coast of Norway.

Varsågod.