On the Viking trail

Our interest in Vikings was initially sparked by the TV series of the same name. Then late last year we read Saga Land by Richard Fidler and Kari Gislason a kind of travel journal intertwined with traditional Icelandic Sagas. This then led to reading more Icelandic Sagas in all their brutal glory.    

Whilst visiting Denmark it seemed opportune to learn more about the Vikings and see first-hand their ships, burial mounds, artefacts, etc. 

Having shared this interest with our very kind friend and host Gitte, we were whisked off to the National Museum of Denmark in Jelling.  

Jelling

Jelling is on the island of Jutland and was home to the Viking kings, Gorm the Old and his son Harald Bluetooth who built many of the monuments in the area more than 1000 years ago. The most significant of these are the Rune Stones (carved rocks in the form of a tablet). 

The oldest rune stone was raised by King Gorm in memory of his wife Thyra. Here the name Denmark is mentioned for the first time.  The larger of the two rune stones was raised by Harald Bluetooth around 956 AD. It states that Harald won all of Denmark and made the Danes christian.  Danes consider this stone to be their nation’s birth certificate. The current Danish royal family are direct descendants of King Harald Bluetooth.

On either side of the Rune stone and church in Jelling are two Viking burial mounds. They are the largest two mounds that have been found from this age. During the winter of 958/59 old King Gorm died and it was decided that he should be buried in a wooden chamber inside a low mound.  The slaves of the royal seat then spent three years cutting and carrying turf to place on top of the chamber to create the mound. 

Harald converted to christianity from the old Norse theology and built one of the first stone churches in Denmark at Jelling. It is believed that Harald had his father’s remains removed from the mound and buried under the church.

Jelling also has the world’s largest stone ship. According to Norse mythology the dead could sail in this ship to the gods in Valhalla. The stone ship encompasses the two burial mounds, church and rune stones, it is visible from the tops of either mound.

Harald also built a Palisade (wooden defensive wall) around Jelling towards the late 960s AD. The palisade was made of oak and rose about 4 meters tall and a length of 1.4km.  

Ladby

Ladby is a small village on the island of Fyn. It is close to Kirteminde and about 15km north of Odense. Ladby is home to the only Viking ship in the world which is still insitu. 

The Ladby ship which was buried with its unknown owner was found and uncovered in 1936. It pre-dates King Gorm and is from around 900 AD, before unification of Denmark. The burial mound was most likely for the king who ruled the northern portion of Denmark. He was buried with his personal possessions, weapons, food, 11 horses and 2-3 dog.  The timber has obviously rotted away but the metal rivets, chain, anchor, ornaments, armoury, etc., remain. You can enter the burial mound via an air lock and see the ship as it was unearthed complete with the imprint of the animal skeletons.

Whilst at Ladby we learned that life expectancy in Viking times was short, a male could expect to live until 39 and a female 42. Child mortality was high with only 1/3 of children surviving to the age of nine.  Also, due to their physical lifestyle arthritis was significant in older Vikings.  Injury was a common form of death. Not only did Vikings wage war on other people but disputes within their community were often settled through fighting. Loss of face was taken very seriously, if you shamed a Viking you were likely to die. In fighting, death was sometimes caused by a fatal blow or more often a minor wound would become infected, spread and prove fatal. There were no anti-biotics and the importance of hygiene was not fully understood.

Roskilde

No Viking trail can be complete without a visit to Roskilde. Music fans may know Roskilde for its festival but it is also home to a museum, displaying  five Vikings ships excavated from the mud near the town. The ships are now housed in a large building on the fjord. Part of the museum is a living and interactive village where they are building Viking boats using traditional methods. 

We talked to a weaver who was making a woollen sail for a boat. A large sail takes 8000 man hour to compete and if handled with care can provide over 40 years of service. The wooden hulls of the ships are covered in a pine based tar to make them watertight, the hulls last approx. 30 years before they become unrepairable. This museum is focused on education and interactivity: you can help sail a ship or build one, or make rope, fabric etc.      

Overall impressions

All three Viking museums were great. Jelling gave us an overview and historical context. It is a fantastic interactive museum that is both in Danish and English.  They use lighting and special digital effects to tell the stories.

Ladby provided a greater social context of Viking-age life. Seeing the ship in-situ was special.  Ladby largely used art-work (tapestry, painting), period dress-ups, Quick Facts, and artefacts to convey what life was like for the Vikings. 

Roskilde has the five Viking ships. The associated living museum where traditional boat building, rope making, sail weaving methods are used and taught, gave insights to the work and skills required to build ships in this era.