When the Vikings had free time from their work, they loved to play board games. Surprising, right? There was a popular board game called Hnefetafl, which is a game of pure strategy. There is a king and a small group of defenders that take up the center of the board. Then, a much larger force of attackers, twice the size of the defenders, occupies the positions around the edge of the board.
If you were the king, you would use your defender pieces to protect yourself, no matter what the cost. If you were an attacker, you wanted to overthrow the king by getting to the opposite corner of the board.
Comic Books and Viking Culture
You may have already taken notice of this, but our modern-day comics have a lot to do with the Viking Culture. Not everything is about Superman, Batman, or any other hero all children dream of. The characters we are all familiar with, like Thor, Odin, Loki, and Freyja, are basically Viking gods that are put into modernized scenarios.
In the comics we read today, Thor makes efforts to save the Earth and the people living on it. In addition to the comics, there are plenty of video games that have taken the Viking culture storylines and brought them to life.
Vikings Had Their Teeth Done
Teeth medicine has been around longer than you think. No, they didn't have their teeth done the same way we do today with orthodontists and anesthetic, and they didn't do it for the same purpose we do today either. Back in 2009, archaeologists discovered Viking skulls with meticulous carvings filed into the teeth.
We are not sure how the filing was done back then, but there are a few theories. One says they were markings symbolizing a great warrior, and another says they were done to scare enemies. The procedure wasn't as simple and painless as it might have been today.
Vikings' Most Storied Execution Method
Out of all the Vikings' myths, the idea of the Viking’s “Blood Eagle” is one of the biggest legends of the Viking Culture. Apparently, the Vikings would break someone’s ribs, open up their back, and then throw salt inside their body. However, this was completely made up and never happened. Thankfully, it was not something that actually took place.
We are not sure where this myth came from, but the Vikings were not as brutal as people often make them out to be. The Norse culture came up with an execution idea, but it was only portrayed in their literature.
Vikings and Their Weapons
The Vikings loved their weapons so much that they would decorate them. They wouldn’t carve awful pictures of fighting; instead, they added some pizzaz. They loved using pictures of animals and would craft pictures of creatures such as snakes, horses, and wolves into their weapons. In addition to crafting, they also carved figures on the weapons.
All of these added a personal flair to their swords. It's funny how we live our lives believing one thing ( Egypsons and their reliefs - wall art), and then all it takes is reading one paragraph to discover the Egypsons were not the only ones.