The vikings believed in one god whom they called oden and that when they died they went to a place called val haller that was their god and that place was their heaven a viking had to have a sword in his hand when he died because if he didnt he believed he would not go to val haller instead he would roam aimlessly forever the vikings were a very intelligent race deanna

They also liked to attack their enemies using a technique called the "blood eagle" whereby they would slice the victim down the chest and while they were still alive, rip their lungs out and flick them up over the victims shoulders.

So...you know...not too pleasant.

wrote on Mar 19^th, 2006 at 12:50pm:

They also liked to attack their enemies using a technique called the "blood eagle" whereby they would slice the victim down the chest and while they were still alive, rip their lungs out and flick them up over the victims shoulders. So...you know...not too pleasant.

haha...very true matt.

also the word berserk comes from the viking battle charge, where they sniffed magic mushrooms and ran at there enemy's naked.

such a spiritual people.....  ;)

i DIDNT KNOW THAT ABOUT THE VIKINGS YOU LEARN SOMETHING EVERY DAY DEANNA

wrote on Mar 19^th, 2006 at 12:50pm:

They also liked to attack their enemies using a technique called the "blood eagle" whereby they would slice the victim down the chest and while they were still alive, rip their lungs out and flick them up over the victims shoulders. So...you know...not too pleasant.

Where did you hear this rubbish from?  Sounds like lies to me.  But a song by Led Zep somes up the vikings for me.

"We come from the land of the ice and snow,
 from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
 The hammer of the gods
 Will drive our ships to new lands,
 To fight the horde, singing and crying:
 Valhalla, I am coming!

 How soft your fields so green,
 Can whisper tales of gore,
 Of how we calmed the tides of war.
 We are your overlords."

In fact the norsemen were very advanced for theire era in terms of spirituality.

[quote author=Deanna] The vikings believed in one god whom they called oden [/quote]

Actually Deanna they had several gods before they converted to christianity.  The most famous was Thor, god of war and thunder

They also liked to attack their enemies using a technique called the "blood eagle" whereby they would slice the victim down the chest and while they were still alive, rip their lungs out and flick them up over the victims shoulders.

So...you know...not too pleasant.
*****************
One major opportunity for becoming wealthy for a
Viking, as I've read it, was to do mercenary work for the Eastern Roman/Byzantine empire (a CHRISTIAN political entity, BTW) as a member of the "Varangian Guard." The Byzantines were well-known for their refinement in the arts of torture and "terror tactics", among other things.
These Vikings, if they survived the near-constant fighting against Muslim armies (typically they found themselves in the front line doing the Byzantines' "dirtier" work for them - i.e. savage, close-in hand-to-hand infantry combat using their famed battle-axes) would typically return home to Scandinavia as rich men, by Viking standards. (Byzantium had lots of money to throw around in those days.) One can only wonder if these Vikings didn't take home some of their new-found knowledge of "civilized" dismemberment techniques as well.
SO... was the "lung flip" maneuver a Viking invention, or something they picked up from the most "advanced" nation in the world at that time (800's-900's A.D.)? One can only guess...

B-man

wrote on Mar 19^th, 2006 at 10:51pm:

Where did you hear this rubbish from?  Sounds like lies to me.  But a song by Led Zep somes up the vikings for me. "We come from the land of the ice and snow,  from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.  The hammer of the gods  Will drive our ships to new lands,  To fight the horde, singing and crying:  Valhalla, I am coming!  How soft your fields so green,  Can whisper tales of gore,  Of how we calmed the tides of war.  We are your overlords." In fact the norsemen were very advanced for theire era in terms of spirituality. Actually Deanna they had several gods before they converted to christianity.  The most famous was Thor, god of war and thunder

A viking historian explained it on an episode of Time Team.

While 5 minutes of Google searching got me this :-

http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/vikingorkney/bloodeagle.html

ok fair enough

;)