Podcast Viking Death Burial and Afterlife

Welcome to the Other Side of the Axe podcast, where we explore the misrepresentations of Viking culture. Today, we'll focus on Viking death, burials, and afterlife. The public's understanding of Viking funerals is often inaccurate, with misconceptions propagated by movies and TV shows. Marvel's Thor Ragnarok and Game of Thrones depict Viking-like funerals, but they take artistic liberties for entertainment purposes. The Northmen, a 2022 film, attempts to portray accurate Viking burials. Viking afterlife consists of Valhalla, where worthy warriors go, and Falkenvar, a beautiful meadow for fallen soldiers. Hell, ruled by the goddess Hel, is also part of Viking beliefs, but it differs from the Christian concept. It's important to critically analyze media's portrayal of Viking culture and consider the motives behind these representations. Welcome to the Other Side of the Axe, an informational podcast where we dive deep into the misrepresentations of Vikings and their culture. A culture which has been passed down through generational storytelling is inevitably going to be altered through each story. The goal of this podcast is to talk with various professionals within the field of Viking history to help inform the general public and re-install your understanding of different parts of Viking culture. In today's episode, we are going to be talking about death, burials, and afterlife. When studying a group of people who are no longer alive, an important tool is death and burials. You can understand a culture by what they are buried with, how they are buried, and also their beliefs and afterlife. While Viking deaths and burials are a heavily researched field, it seems like the public's understanding does not link up with the research that has been done. If you ask a general member of the public, what is a Viking funeral, they would respond with, oh yeah, that's when they light a bone on fire and push it into the water. While that can be the case, this is not the overarching type of burial that is done and can be seen as a lesser-used form compared to all other types. While this is only a general one-off example of the public's misrepresentation of Viking culture through the lens of burials, the more things that are misrepresentation, the more they fade away from their true selves. Throughout this podcast, I will be interviewing many different Viking professionals who will be providing insight on how we see Viking funerals in modern media, the transition into afterlife, hell, Valhalla, Vikings' influence in the 19th century, a royal Viking burial, and Neil Price in dealing with the dead. Through these different lenses on Viking culture, we aim to present you with all the information with the hopes that you can improve your understanding of Viking death, burials, and afterlife through conversation and answering questions. Our first specialist will be talking about the importance of movies in our culture and the good and bad that comes along with it. As we know, movies can be very helpful as a tool to learn more about different subjects, but if we trust them too much as our primary source, there can be major discrepancies between the truth and what we believe it to be. With that thought in mind, I would like to introduce Efka. Hey Harry, thanks for having me on today. I'm super excited to chat with you. It is truly an honor. Tell me a little bit more about what we are going to discuss today. Absolutely. Going deeper into the topic of death, burial, and afterlife, I will aim to debunk some myths and stereotypes through the lens of media in our modern culture. Perfect. Let's get into it. I want to start off by discussing Thor Ragnarok, a 2017 Marvel movie. This movie revolves around the god of thunder, Thor, and his action-packed adventure to save his home, Asgard. The scene that I want to dive into from this film is the scene upon the cliffs overlooking what Odin claims to be their future home. Thor and his adopted brother Loki come to Odin here, and Odin tells them that his time has come. After some arguing and begging on the children's part, his last words are an inspiring and hopeful message for the remainder of Thor's journey to save the world. After this, Odin evaporates in a golden mist and is dispersed across the sky. That's wild. That's an interesting way to portray death in a film. A sudden decomposition into dust doesn't seem very realistic. Why would they have his death happen this way? Now, Harry, it's important to put scenes like this into context. While this film is made to be a Viking movie, the Marvel industry aims to profit and to entertain from these movies. In Norse mythology, Odin actually dies during Ragnarok, not before it happens, while fighting the Fenris Wolf. This highlights some of the artistic freedom Marvel takes that erases important features of the Viking age to prioritize profit over accuracy. That's really interesting. It must be super important to keep a skeptic mind while analyzing and viewing Viking media produced with different intentions in mind. Do you have any other examples of Viking burial in modern media? Why, Harry, yes I do. Have you watched Game of Thrones? No, Eska. I haven't, and what would that have to do with funerals? Let me tell you. There's a scene in Season 3, Episode 2 of Game of Thrones, where we come across a group of Viking-like people. These folks live close to the water and present in Viking-like ways. When interacting with this episode, Lord Hoster Tully of the area passes away. His funeral takes place on the water, where he is in a boat on a pyre surrounded by flammable hay. He lies upon this flammable stuff on the boat, covered neck down by the flag of his house. He is holding a sword down his chest. There is a horn, either for drinking or signaling, it is unclear, above his head, and a shield at his feet adorned with the emblem of his house. This is how I always imagined a Viking funeral would go about. What happened next in this scene? Right. It does align pretty perfectly with the stereotypical Viking funeral. The next part of the scene is where the boat is set on fire. The stream carries the vessel down the river, and the son of the recently deceased lord utilizes the boat to attempt to fire an arrow onto the boat. The uncle eventually has to step in and alight the pyre on the boat after the son misses a couple times. The boat goes up in flames and floats away. Oh wow, that's an interesting perspective on how they used the Viking-like funeral in this movie. Lastly, I want to quickly touch on The Northmen, which is a Robert Eggers 2022 film that gives a perspective on both burial and also afterlife, as it is a violent and death-heavy film. The first burial I want to look at is the burial of Prince Thorir. This individual was a high-standing member of the society which he lived in. He is again on a boat, and due to his rank, a young woman is stabbed and sacrificed. A horse is beheaded by the younger sibling of the prince, and the blood of the horse is collected and splashed onto the new heir and his father by the queen, utilizing a stick covered in said blood. The father of the prince swears his vengeance on the killer, and then the scene ends before we figure out whether or not he is buried or burned. Later, the queen and the heir-gunner are killed by Omleth, the main character, and the rightful king. The pretender king, his uncle, drags the queen and the heir away, as the truce is temporarily formed between Omleth and the pretender king. We later see the bodies displayed on the hard Icelandic soil above another horse which has been beheaded. From what I have read briefly, the film prides itself on the accuracy of the Viking Age and their ways. That is true, Harry. While it does claim to be accurate, it is always crucial to be critical of all work and hold space for other explanations and backgrounds. The last thing that happens in the Northmen is the death of Omleth, who dies in the battle with his uncle, the current king. He is carried off on horseback by a ferocious blonde warrior, who we can only assume is a Valkyrie, and into the light of Valhalla. These scenes were just a couple of Viking examples of burial and afterlife in modern media. If I could have listeners take one thing away from our discussion today, I would tell you to keep in mind ulterior motives of corporations who utilize the Vikings as their figureheads and or movie characters. Interesting. Thank you so much for all your insight on media and how they portray Viking funerals, the good and the bad. Hi, Harry. Thanks for having me on today. I want to talk about the Vikings' afterlife and how there's much more than it than people really think. I think when people think about Vikings' afterlife, the world's Valhalla usually comes to mind, Viking heaven. But what really is Valhalla? Valhalla is actually the improper translation to Valhall, one of the real Vikings' afterlife. It is described as a great hall with 550 doors and asgard and is ruled by Odin. So you're talking about afterlife? Yep, that's right. I said one of the Vikings' afterlife. Experts, such as Neil Price, believe that there are at least two or three afterlives that the Vikings believed in. The first one already mentioned is Valhalla. Valhalla is known to be the afterlife that all worthy Vikings belong to and will arrive to when they are killed in battle. In comparison to Christian religions, it is an honor to be in battle and kill others and still make it to Valhalla. Since anyone who dies in battle will go to Valhalla, killing others in battle is not perceived as a bad thing but as an honor. It is interesting that there are multiple different afterlives in their culture and that it doesn't follow the traditional, if you're good, you go to heaven, if you're bad, you go to hell, like in Christian beliefs. Yeah, but what's even cooler, not all Vikings who die in battle go to Odin and Valhalla. There's a goddess, Freyja, who will take half of the fallen soldiers to Falkenvar first. This afterlife is seen as beautiful meadows or a field that you live the rest of your life on. I find it kind of funny because Freyja gets first pick of the soldiers and leaves the rest to Odin. I remember hearing about the Vikings' version of hell. What's that like? Yeah, most Vikings who die in battle will usually go to hell. It is different from the Christian hell and can be a misconception due to similarly spelled names. Hell is said to be located in the north. There is no exact location but it is a long and far journey. It is ruled by hell and she is a half beautiful goddess and half of a dark and deep blue corpse. Isn't the goddess hell really evil and hell not a great place? In reality, there are many misconceptions about hell and that she is evil and tortures people there, particularly from the movie Thor or Ragnar, which personifies her as such. But in mythology and in the sagas, she is not evil and outlandish. Oh, okay. Then what is it actually like? The place of hell is described as mostly with tall and ever-growing halls to prepare for its growing population since most of the people end up going there. And hell is not necessarily a bad place but more of a neutral place where Vikings go to when they pass away. Science examines hell not to be as bad because of the lack of information about where women go to in the afterlife. It is said that almost all women go to hell since they usually don't die in battle. I know you mentioned Christianity a little earlier. How else has it affected the interpretations of Viking religion? Yeah, that's a good question. It is essential to remember that the Vikings' afterlife was not affected by their decisions and questionable morality. Since they believed in fate, they would end up in a proper afterlife that was fit for them and would not have negative consequences. The saga retellings of mythology was significantly influenced by Christian religions, so many generalizations were made about their afterlives and misconceptions were created. Is there anything else that you find interesting about the Norse afterlife? Yeah, absolutely. There are some who believe that there are other afterlives and for an example of that, there might be an afterlife for the enslaved people that the Vikings held in their possession and they were sent to the storm god when they passed away. Also, there was another thought that people who passed away at the sea. Since Vikings went on many voyages across the ocean, many drowned in sinking ships and in other accidents. The people who drowned were caught in nets of Vran, who was a sea goddess, and she was married to Igor, the lord of the ocean. Their unnamed underwater hall was seen as a marine version of hell in Valhalla. I just want to say thank you so much for having me on your show and it was an honor. Next up we have Eli, who will be talking about the perspectives other cultures have on Viking burials and the influence Viking culture has had on other cultures. Welcome to the show, Eli. Thanks for having me. Tell us about Viking burials, something unique to their culture and how it has managed to have a much wider influence. Well, the dominant historical narrative shows how Christianity began to influence Vikings and eventually became the dominant religion. But what the main historical narrative leaves out is that cultural influence goes both ways. And one major way that the Vikings were able to influence Christian culture, specifically in Britain but also in a wider Christian context, is the practice of cremation. That's interesting. Was cremation uncommon in Christian burial practices prior to Viking influence? Actually, cremation was not allowed at all in Christianity. That's strange. Why wasn't cremation allowed in Christian burial rituals? It had to do with the perception of the soul and ideas of what happened to your spirit after death. Christians believed it proper to bury the dead with their bodies intact to protect the soul as it moves up to heaven. But in 1893, a British painter named Frank Dixie challenged this idea. He painted a beautiful portrayal of his interpretation of a Viking funeral. The dead warrior is placed on a ship, his sword in his hands laying across his chest and a shield by his side. His comrades are pushing the boat out into the water while the leader of this Viking horde ignites the ship with a torch. Dixie's portrayal of a Viking warrior being burned is supposed to represent the freeing of his soul from his body. The fire frees the soul of this warrior to be taken to Valhalla. And in the evolving society of Victorian England, this idea that fire can free the soul to be taken to heaven became a much more accepted notion amongst Christian authorities. So does that mean that cremation practices all stemmed from the Vikings? Well, it's not that simple. Dixie's painting is more of a reflection of increased interest in Vikings in Victorian England. His depiction of the burning of the fallen warrior definitely had influence on England moving past their traditionalist Christian ways and opening up to newer ideas, but that was not necessarily his intent. So what was the purpose of his painting? Well, Victorian England is where we get our modern notions of Vikings. It was this period of time that practically invented the image of the Viking warrior that we were all taught, as well as creating the definition of the Viking era as spanning from 730 to 1066 CE. They must have known a lot about the Vikings if they were the ones who properised this modern image of the Vikings. Actually, not really. It shouldn't surprise you that their perception of the Vikings was not very accurate. For one, Dixie's painting has the infamous horned helmets, which were not historically accurate. And then the most striking inaccurate detail in the painting is that the leader of the Viking hordes were in golden armour. This armour is definitely not something that would have been worn by Vikings, but rather looks almost Romanesque. It seems like Dixie was trying to draw upon civilisations known for their strength in warriors from throughout history, especially civilisations that had history of conquering the British Isles, to draw comparisons to their growing empire. Exactly. The Vikings, like the Romans, left a lot of influence in England. Their funeral practices, while not adopted word for word, inspired change and willingness to move beyond strict traditions and Christian cultures. But from Victorian times through now, it's clear that Viking influence has been carefully selected to fit the narrative pushed by the British of strong Viking warriors, rather than showing the Vikings with accuracy and acknowledgement of their own perspective. Well, that's really interesting to see how the Viking funerals changed other cultures' burial practices, and how Viking culture has continued to affect the world today. Thanks again, Eli, for coming on the show. Our next guest has been using the work of Thorleif Sjövold to help us understand the importance of different ceremonies surrounding burials, and also the different items which are found beside different people once they are buried, and the significance behind them. With that said, let's hear from her. Thank you for having me, Harry. Very excited to be here. So let's get right to it. Can you tell me more about what this article is about? Definitely. Sjövold's study offers a glimpse into the ceremony surrounding the burials of Viking royalty. His research not only elaborates on the ceremonies and rituals associated with these burials, but the artifacts and treasures that are buried with the deceased. Wow. So could you possibly paint a picture of what a royal Viking burial might have looked like? Yes. I'll use the burial chamber on the Osberg ship in Norway as an example. The ship was 71 feet long and 17 feet wide. The chamber was airtight, packed with peat sods, which are an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. This chamber contained a great array of artifacts from wood carvings, metal work, and textile remnants. These artifacts hold great symbolic significance, reflecting the social status and religious beliefs of the deceased. Another important object that was found in the Osberg burial chamber is the Buddha bucket. This remarkable piece of craftsmanship revealed no direct connection with Buddhist art, but the intricate enamel work on the figures suggests a Western European origin, possibly British. This speculation is supported by the rich tradition of enamel technique in Britain during the Viking Age and the discovery of similar British enamel work in other Viking finds. Is there anything else in the article that stood out to you? Yes, definitely. I could talk about this forever, but I think one thing that particularly stood out to me was the presence of animal head posts in the chambers. These animal head posts displayed incredible carving and craftsmanship. The wood carving technique transition between early and late Osberg revealed artistic development throughout the Viking era. Strollvold also introduces the importance of cultural exchange during the Viking era, which contributed to the richness of burial artifacts. That must be so interesting to learn about and important for understanding Viking culture. Yes, burials were a huge part of Viking culture, and unraveling their mysteries is extremely important. I'll leave you guys with one last thing to think about. Strollvold leaves us with, is the Osberg burial directly tied to Norwegian history, or does it hint at something intriguing beyond its borders? Definitely something to think about. Thank you for joining us, Lily. Now on to our next guest, Daniel, who's been reading up on a specific historian of the Viking age. You may have heard of him. His name is Neil Price. Welcome to the show, Daniel. Thanks for having me, Harry. For our listeners who may not know, Neil Price is one of the leading experts on Vikings, and is currently a professor and chair of archaeology at Uppsala University in Sweden. He's written a bunch of books and countless papers on different aspects of the Viking age, but the one I'd like to focus on today is his book called Children of Ashen Elm, which was published in 2020. Was there anything that drew you to this book specifically? Yeah, there was, Harry. What really caught my attention was that Price is keenly aware of what he doesn't know and what might never be known. What I find is that many historians attempt to account for every aspect of past life or otherwise ignore those that cannot be explained, but Price writes openly about intricacies that remain a mystery. Yeah, I've experienced that as well. Well, it must be refreshing to read something that fully acknowledges its own information gaps. So does he bring that attitude to his discussions of Viking funerals and burial practices? He certainly does. Although there were certainly regional variations and preferences when it came to graves, cremations, and burials, there is such a wide array of practices surrounding the dead that it's impossible to say that one in particular was the true Viking funeral. Price describes funerary behavior during Viking Age as having, quote, regular irregularity. While cremations seem to be the overwhelming preference in Sweden, Vikings in Norway and Denmark practiced both cremations and burials. Just to give you a sense of the possibilities, there's evidence that Vikings were buried in wagons, buried in boxes that were larger than coffins, in chamber graves the size of rooms, in boats, or simply in the ground without structure around them. Some were cremated on boats, like the popular stereotype in modern media, but others were cremated on land in wooden pyres constructed by funerary specialists. Mass burials have been found, but the vast majority of Vikings were buried individually. So what you're saying, if I understand you correctly, I mean, what Neil Price is saying, is that the idea of the burning boat funeral isn't necessarily inaccurate, but it was just one of a huge number of practices in which the Vikings dealt with the dead. That's exactly right. Could you tell us a bit about the actual contents of the graves? I'm assuming weapons are included, but what else accompanied the dead? Yeah, so once again, there's evidence of a super wide variety of items in graves and at cremation sites. Aside from weapons, which were found in almost all graves, weapons, swords, axes, shields as well, there were also jewelry, furs, staffs, cooking ware, and chests that have all been found accompanying the Vikings. In chamber graves and boat burials for the wealthy or privileged members of communities, animals were buried as well. Horses and hunting dogs and livestock, as well as expensive and rare birds of prey, have been found. Another thing is that with cremations and burials alike, the same range of objects were found alongside the dead. Price is hesitant to assign a specific name for these objects. He says they could have been funerary gifts or offerings or mortuary possessions, but what is certain is that the decisions made around burial, cremation, and what was placed in the grave or next to the body were not random at all. The objects that accompanied Viking bodies were important to the individual when they were living. It comes back around to Price's statement about regular irregularity. No Viking grave site will be exactly the same because no Viking life was exactly the same. What defined individual lives of people in the Viking age would accompany them beyond the realm of the living. And so examining the diversity of these funerary practices allows us to appreciate the diversity of life and culture in the Viking age, as well as the celebration and attention to each individual being. I think we can finish off by one more quote from Price I thought was particularly powerful. He says, in every case, there is a sense of the individual, of the appropriate way to send a specific person across the border into a different life. Wow. Thank you for such great insight on Viking burials and how what we think of them today might not be the actual case. Thanks for having me, Harry. Well, this has been the first iteration of The Other Side of the Axe. I hope that the information that has been discussed throughout this inaugural episode has challenged your understanding of Vikings in a way where you feel more informed about the cultural aspect of Viking deaths, burials, and afterlife. Each of these specialists have allowed for full access of their knowledge, and I hope that you can use what they have learned and what questions they may have asked you as a starting point of your journey towards a full understanding of the world, of the past, and what made Vikings and their culture so important. Now, as a final remark, I just want you listeners to leave today feeling better about Vikings than when you first decided to press play on this episode. If you have accomplished that, it means that we have accomplished our goal of informing you. Stay safe and have a good day. Thank you.