Posted on 12/28/2015 10:24:11 PM PST by SunkenCiv
New clues suggest slaves were vital to the Viking way of life -- and argue against attempts to soften the raiders' brutish reputation...
Archaeologists are using recent finds and analyses of previous discoveries -- from iron collars in Ireland to possible plantation houses in Sweden -- to illuminate the role of slavery in creating and maintaining the Viking way of life.
"This was a slave economy," said Neil Price, an archaeologist at Sweden's Uppsala University who spoke at a recent meeting that brought together archaeologists who study slavery and colonization. "Slavery has received hardly any attention in the past 30 years, but now we have opportunities using archaeological tools to change this."
Small houses surround a great hall at a Viking site in Sweden called Sanda. Some archaeologists believe this may have been a Viking plantation with slaves as the labor force.
Scandinavian slavery still echoes in the English language today. The expression "to be held in thrall," meaning to be under someone's power, traces back to the Old Norse term for a slave: thrall.
Slavery in the region long predates the Vikings. There is evidence of vast economic disparity as early as the first century A.D., with some people living with animals in barns while others live nearby in large, prosperous homes. In 2009, archaeologist Frands Herschend at Uppsala detailed a burnt structure from this early era in which people and animals were immolated. The human bodies were left in the ruins rather than retrieved for burial.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
IIRC, they first visited and occupied it during a warm period when the coastal region was green. (I know...said in jest...)
I’m not sure where the idea came from of “kinder and gentler” Vikings. The sacking of monasteries and churches and coastal towns is well known. I’m not at all surprised they were brutal to slaves.
And yes.
Don't you know that our ancestors had nothing better to do with their time then make parchment, ink and pens and spend their time writing down horror fiction about people who did them no harm?
I can see reading some historical accounts with a certain amount of skepticism but the "modern" way is to regard all written accounts as outright lies unless there are major archaeological finds that firmly support them.
Wasn’t there a standard prayer that ended: and God save us from the wrath of the Northman. Does anyone know the original.
“From the Fury of the Northmen, O Lord Deliver Usâ€
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