Get the look: Viking berserker

The term "berserker" finds its origin in the Old Norse word "berserkr," which translates to "bear shirt" or "bear warrior." This name possibly reflects the untamed strength and fierce courage that characterized these warriors.

The berserker can be associated with war bands that appear in many Indo-European cultures. In Indo-European cultures, young men often joined a war band (kóryos) during their teenage and adolescent years. This group or cult was dedicated to a god or animal such as the wolf, boar, or bear. Examples include the Germanic Berserkers, Celtic Fianna, Roman Velites and Spartan Krypteia. These animals symbolized traits like cunning, strength, and aggression.

After rigorous trials, the young men lived for several years as landless warriors in the wild. Within groups of two to twelve members, lawless actions such as nocturnal raids and cattle theft were common. Their possessions consisted only of weapons, and they lived on the fringes of society, relying on what nature provided. They focused on fighting, hunting, and plundering, as well as telling heroic tales of the past and legends of semi-mythological heroes.

The initiation period within the kóryos marked the transition to the status of an adult warrior and usually ended with participation in the tribe or city-state. Symbolically, the kóryos were associated with death and liminality, but also with fertility and sexual licentiousness.

The relief of Trajan's column possibly depicts a Germanic berserker during the Roman conquests of Dacia in 101–106 AD. The scenes show his Roman soldiers plus auxiliaries and allies from the border regions of Rome, including tribal warriors from both sides of the Rhine. Warriors are depicted barefoot, bare-chested, with weapons and helmets associated with the Germani. In scene 36 on the column, some of these warriors are gathered together, some wearing bear hoods and some wearing wolf hoods. Nowhere else in history are Germanic bear warriors and wolf fighters recorded together until 872 AD, with Thórbjörn Hornklofi 's description of the battle of Hafrsfjord when they fought together for King Harald Fairhair of Norway.  

In the spring of 1870, four 6th-7th century bronze casts were found in Sweden possibly depicting the Berserker ritual. On one of the Torslunda plates, two warriors armed with sword and spear are depicted. Both wear a helmet with a boar or bear motif. This depiction may refer to the cult of the boar. 

The second plate shows the image of a bare-chested man holding a axe. Opposite him stands a bear that he holds with a belt.  

This image possibly represents the initiation ritual where the initiate had to fight a bear. And defeat a bear to become a bear himself. 

Another image shows a warrior dressed in bearskin and armed with sword and dagger surrounded by bears. This possibly symbolizes the berserker while he lives among his kind, the bears. 

The last plate depicts a warrior with sword and two spears wearing a horned helmet. Next to him stands a man dressed as a wolf or bear, his head fully merging into an animal head, he is armed with spear and sword. This possibly symbolizes the transformation that the wolf or bear warrior undergoes before engaging in combat actions. 

A fresco from the 11th century. Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev depicts a berserker ritual that may have been performed by the Varangian guard. On one side, a man with trousers and a short tunic can be seen. He wears a large Dane axe, for which the Varangian guard is known. In his other hand, he holds a shield. Opposite him stands a man with a bare upper body. He may have been armed with a spear, but that is no longer visible in the fresco. His head has transformed into the head of an animal, possibly a bear or a wolf. 

A more nuanced depiction of possibly a berserker is various chess pieces in the Lewis chess set. This chess set was found on the island of Lewis in Scotland, but it was probably made in Norway and dates from the 12th century. The chess piece shows a warrior equipped with shield, sword, and a helmet. He bites on his shield. A practice attributed to the berserkers when they go berserk. 

During battles, the berserkers had fits of rage. They howled like wild animals, had foam at the mouth, and bit the edges of their shields. According to belief, they were immune to steel and fire during these attacks and inflicted significant damage on enemy troops. Once this rage subsided, they became weak and tame. There are accounts found in the sagas.

"Going mad" was considered "hamask," which in this case means "to change form," with the meaning of "entering a state of wild rage." Some scholars have interpreted those who could transform into a berserker as 'hamrammr' or "shape-strong" – literally able to change shape into the form of a bear. For example, in the saga of Egil, a group of men who go with Skallagrim to see King Harald about the murder of his brother Thorolf is described as "the toughest men, with a touch of eeriness about some of them... they [were] more built and shaped like trolls than human beings." This is sometimes interpreted as the group of men being 'hamrammr,' although there is no broad consensus.

In another story, men saw a large bear leading the way for King Hrolf and always staying close to the king. This bear killed more men with its forepaws than any five of the king's champions. Hrólfr Kraki, a berserker who could transform into a bear, used this ability to fight for King Bödvar Bjarki. An example of "hamrammr" also appears in the story of the Saga of Hrólfr Kraki.

Wolf warriors appear in the legends of the Indo-Europeans, Turks, Mongols, and Native American cultures. The Germanic warriors who symbolized wolves left their presence through shields and standards captured by the Romans and displayed in the armilustrium in Rome.

An example of these wolf warriors comes from Migration Period Germany, which was part of the same tradition. In various legends, frenzied warriors wearing wolf skins are referred to as Ulfheðnar ("Wolf Coats"; singular Ulfheðinn). They are mentioned in the Vatnsdæla saga, the Haraldskvæði, and are often described with a sword as a distinguishing feature. It is suspected that they were berserkers who wore a wolf pelt. Thus, a warrior with a wolf skin is described as 'a warrior with a wolf skin and the seemingly one-eyed dancer in the helmet with bird horns, which is generally interpreted as a scene indicating a relationship between berserking and the god Odin'. A helmet plate from Torslunda also shows a scene of a one-eyed warrior with a helmet with bird horns, likely Odin, next to a warrior with a wolf's head armed with a sword. These warriors were described as raging, biting on their shields, and were immune to fire and iron. This phenomenon is known as 'going berserk'.

Sometimes Ulfheðnar are described as special warriors of Odin, men who 's would turn into wolves at night. An example of this is Kveldulf in Egil's Saga, a berserker who wore the pelt of a wolf over his chainmail shirt. Unlike berserkers, there are few direct references to Ulfheðnar, but they are often mentioned in the sagas as an elite retinue, such as in the Grettis saga and the saga of King Harald Fairhair.

Boars played an important role in Germanic paganism and were present in both mythology and religious practices, especially in connection with the Vanir, Freyr, and Freyja. It is suggested that warriors, similar to berserkers, could ritually transform into boars to gain strength, courage, and protection during battles. It is speculated that this process might have been related to wearing boar helmets as part of a ritual costume.

Berserkers play a prominent role in numerous sagass and poems. In earlier stories, berserkers were often portrayed as bodyguards, elite soldiers, and champions of kings. However, this perception would evolve over time, with later sagas describing berserkers as braggarts rather than heroes. This aligns with the fact that Christianity increasingly turned away from the ritual of war bands. They were depicted as predatory men who plundered indiscriminately, conducted raids, and sowed death and destruction.

In 1015, Jarl Eiríkr Hákonarson of Norway banned berserkers. Grágáss, the medieval Icelandic law code, condemned berserker warriors to outlawry. By the 12th century, the organized berserker war bands had disappeared.

Within these stories, berserkers can be divided into four distinct types: the King's Berserkr, the Hall-challenging Berserkr, the Hólmganga Warrior, and the Viking Berserkr. In later times, the berserker was even seen by Christian interpreters as a 'pagan devil'.

The oldest known reference to the term "berserker" is found in Haraldskvæði, a skaldic poem composed at the end of the 9th century by Þórbiörn Hornklofi in honor of King Harald Fairhair. In this poem, they were described as ulfheðnar, which translates to "men clad in wolf skins". The Haraldskvæði saga describes Harald's berserkers in this way:

I will ask the frenzies, you blood tasters,

Those fearless heroes, how are they treated,

Those who go into battle?

Wolf-skinned they are called. In the battle

They wear bloody shields.

Red of blood are their spears when they come to fight.

They form a closed group.

The prince, in his wisdom, trusts such men

Who hack through enemy shields.

The Icelandic historian and poet Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) wrote the following description of berserkers in his Ynglinga saga:

His (Odin's) men rushed forward without armour, were as mad as dogs or wolves, bit on their shields, and were as strong as bears or wild oxen, and killed people with a blow, but fire or iron did not affect them. This was called Berserkergang.

This fury, called berserkergang, occurred not only in the heat of battle but also during arduous work. Men thus seized performed feats that otherwise seemed impossible for human power. It is said that this state began with shivering, chattering teeth, and coldness in the body, after which the face swelled and changed to colour. This was accompanied by great hot-headedness, which eventually turned into great rage, under which they howled like wild animals, bit on the edge of their shields, and hacked down everything they encountered without distinguishing friend from foe. When this state ceased, a great weakening of the mind and weakness followed, which could last one or more days.

When Viking villages went to war together, the berserkers often wore special clothing, such as fur of a wolf or bear, to indicate that this person was a berserker and would not be able to distinguish friend from foe in the "bersærkergang". In this way, other allies would know to keep their distance.

When Viking villages went to war together, berserkers often chose special clothing, such as the fur of a wolf or bear, to denote that they were berserkers. As a result, they could not distinguish between friend and foe during the "bersærkergang," and other allies knew to keep their distance.

According to some researchers, certain outbursts of rage may have been deliberately induced by the use of drugs, such as hallucinogenic mushrooms or excessive alcohol consumption. Although there is much debate about this, the theory is supported by the discovery of seeds of the plant henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) in a Viking grave excavated in 1977 at Fyrkat, Denmark. An analysis of the symptoms caused by Hyoscyamus niger matches the symptoms attributed to the berserker state, suggesting it may have been used to generate their warlike mood. Other explanations for the berserker madness include self-induced hysteria, epilepsy, mental disorders, and other causes.

We have based this Berserker on various images and descriptions of the Berserker. Additionally, we have added practical adjustments, because it would be a bit strange to experiment with the fur of a real bear. The berserker we have put together is named Harald and lived in the 9th century in Norway. If you want to create an earlier, Germanic berserker, you only need to exchange the trousers and leg wrappings for a Thorsberg Trousers.

Berserkers like Harald can be found throughout the Viking world. The image from Kiev and descriptions from the Byzantine Empire show that Berserkers existed from Constantinople to Iceland. 

Harald wears a Viking trouser that was used everywhere. They are depicted, among other things, on the tapestry of the Oseberg ship.

Harald wears leg wrappings over his trousers. These leg wrappings are woven in a herringbone pattern. But others are of course also possible

The Viking shoes that Harald wears are the well-known model from Jorvik (York). York was part of the Danelaw. Optionally, a berserker can also be depicted perfectly without leg wrappings and footwear. 

The belt that Harald wears is relatively simple and dates back to the 9th century. It is not entirely clear how wealthy Berserkers were. As special forces and the king's bodyguard, they could of course be wealthy. But nothing is known about this. 

https://www.celticwebmerchant.com/nl/viking belt-borrestijl.html

Now the tricky part, how do we depict a bear pelt without having to shoot a bear. We have created two approaches for this, each with their own pros and cons.

The advantage of this fur cloak is that it keeps you warm. Especially if you are going to colder events as a berserker, it is nice to wear something warmer. You can easily wrap this cloak around you. Another advantage is that this cloak is equipped with a hood. Berserkers possibly wore a bear head above their heads. With this hood with fur edges, you can simulate this. 

A disadvantage is that other Vikings also wore fur cloaks. The berserker made himself recognizable by wearing bear fur. And could thus be clearly distinguished from other Vikings.

The bear fur can be simulated by using a black or brown fur collar. With this collar, you distinguish yourself more from other Vikings. Especially if you have a bare torso under the fur collar. An additional advantage is that with this fur collar you can fight a lot easier than with a fur coat. 

The bear head that the berserker might have worn on his head can be simulated with a fur hat. 

Historical images depict the berserker with spears and swords. Assuming that berserkers were likely professional warriors, it could justify the cost of sword, which was expensive. 

In this composition, Harald is armed with two Viking axes. Axes were cheaper and universally available. Often we see that Viking warriors were buried with multiple axes, therefore we have equipped the berserker with two axes. It is unknown if Vikings also used multiple axes simultaneously in battle. 

Berserkers used shields. They are known for biting the edges of their shields before battle. We have equipped Harald with a standard Viking round shield.

The berserker would undoubtedly have been smeared with the blood of his enemies in battle. With two different types of fake blood, you can create different blood textures.