Vikings and death

This blog is about the Vikings but can be seen as leading for many other Indo-European cultures. 

In our modern materialistic world we see life as infinite and death as an unwelcome surprise that ends our life. In Indo-European cultures, this was different. Our ancestors were dharmic and understood that without death there was no life, just as there is no summer without winter. For them, death was part of life, in contrast to the Abrahamic religions where life is merely a prelude to death. Death was seen as the natural 'rest state' from which a person comes to life. After all, there are more people dead than alive.

Thus, the dead in Europe were buried in burial mounds for thousands of years. This is a remnant of the steppe herder culture. They wanted aristocrats who had led honorable lives to be seen from afar. The largest of these burial mounds can be found on the Pontic-Caspian steppe, but you can also find them in the Netherlands, Norway, and Scotland. The Vikings also used burial mounds, thus continuing the 4500-year-old tradition of our ancestors.

Ancestors who had performed honorable deeds were revered long after their deaths. These collective ancestors remained part of the society they had been part of during their lives. This tradition served as a moral compass, where insignificant ancestors or those who had lived dishonorably were forgotten.

Ancestors are not distant strangers. You see them in the mirror. Naturally, people believed in reincarnation: the immortal soul of the ancestors reincarnates in their descendants. And their honorable deeds played a prominent role in this belief. In the animistic The worldview of their descendants also kept their honor alive. Your heroic ancestors watch over you and give you the strength to perform honorable deeds yourself. From this perspective, actions have great consequences and cannot be forgiven as in Christianity, but continue through generations.

The Old Norse religion recognized different realms where the dead would go. Unlike in Christianity, morality did not determine the afterlife of non-heroic people.

According to Snorri, half of the fallen warriors were brought to Valhalla, while the other half went to  Fólkvangr: the realm of the goddess Freyja. People who died from illness or old age went to Hel, a realm ruled by the goddess of the same name. The god Baldr was also brought to Hel after his death. However, in pagan poetry from the Viking Age, "Hel" refers exclusively to the goddess, not a specific place in the afterlife. Snorri also mentions other possible destinations for the dead, such as the hall of Brimir in Gimlé, or that of Sindri in the Niðafjöll mountains.

In the Old Norse world, the manner of death was of great importance. A natural death, especially in bed, was referred to by the term strádauði or strádauðr, which literally means "straw-dead" — a reference to dying on a bed of straw. In contrast was the vígdauði (warrior's death), where someone fell in battle, which was considered honorable and desirable.

The strádauði was often seen as dishonorable, especially for warriors and kings. This view is clearly expressed in various Old Norse texts. In the Heimskringla by Snorri Sturluson, for example, King Harald Hardråde says on his deathbed:

 "Now I lie on straw like an ox, and it is not granted to me to die in battle."

Also in the Hávamáll, the importance of fame and deeds after death is referenced. Although it does not literally speak about strádauði, the contrast between a glorious and inglorious death sharp is depicted:

"Cattle die, kinsmen die, you yourself will also die;

But fame never dies, for those who perform true deeds."

This is also reflected in the Völsunga saga, where heroes like Sigurd die in violent ways, which despite their tragic nature, are seen as more honorable than a natural death.

The Old Norse term for zombie ‘draugr’ has Proto-Indo-European roots. Zombies appear in various Indo-European cultures. 

The draugr is mentioned in Old Norse mythology and saga. It is a ‘corporeal ghost’ with a tangible, physical body, unlike the more immaterial spirits or souls. These undead were known for their superhuman strength and their terrifying appearance: their bodies were often blue or black of colour, necrotic in nature, and emitted a disgusting stench of decay. 

In the Laxdæla saga, for example, the bones of a dead sorceress are described as appearing in dreams “blue and malevolent in appearance". In other sagass, like the Harðar saga, two men die before even entering the burial mound of the Viking Sóti, simply due to the “gust and stench” rising from it. Also, Þráinn, a well-known draugr, filled his burial mound with an evil odor when he became enraged.

Draugrs arose from people who died dishonorably or did not perform honorable deeds in their lives.  Most medieval Icelandic draupnir are people who were marginal, unpopular, or downright evil during their lifetime. A strádauði was more likely to become a draugr.

The greatest honor that could befall a Viking warrior was to die on the battlefield. Then you would be taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla, where you could dine in the Great Hall at the table of Odin. There, the dead awaited Ragnarök, the total chaos, when they would fight alongside the gods under Odin's leadership.

In the Edda poem Grímnismáll, Valhalla is described as an imposing hall with 540 doors, guarded by a wolf and with an eagle circling above. Every day a boar, Sæhrímnir, is slaughtered and eaten, and a goat named Heiðrún provides the warriors with an endless stream of mead. 

According to the Vikings, there was a constant struggle between order and chaos. Those who brought chaos to society acted dishonorably and contributed to the impending Ragnarök. Therefore, troublemakers were preferably cast out of society, like Erik the Red who murdered his own neighbor. Honorable deeds served the people and the culture. Societies were small and vulnerable, constantly threatened by war and disease. Every man was expected to be willing to fight and die for his community.

We see that both the Vikings and other Indo-European peoples had a completely different view of death than we modern people do. Ultimately, however, death comes for everyone. The main question is what honorable deeds you have performed for your culture and how you will be remembered.

Unlike Islam and Christianity, the Vikings did not adhere to a Platonic view where the afterlife was seen as a better world. This was reserved exclusively for the warrior culture, provided they died in battle.