Lesson 7 - Viking Spirituality
Spirituality, in historical terms, is something quite difficult to assess. That being said, I do not expect to touch on everything nor to be the only interpretation that is out there. This lesson will also be a little sparse on detailed information. Instead, it will focus more on giving a general impression of spirituality during the Viking Age. If you would like more detail on any of the information provided below, feel free to send me an ask (there is plenty I could elaborate on).
I will cover the following topics:
Religious Sites and Practices
The Afterlife and Burials
Spirituality in Viking Age Scandinavia was diverse and varied from place-to-place. Customs and beliefs were loose traditions, but they were strongly integrated into daily life. In fact, it would be impossible to separate daily life from these customs and beliefs. This is partially why it is a challenge to focus on such a topic historically, since most of the material is embedded within other contexts. Also, there was no priestly class in society - no group of people solely in charge of religious affairs. Viking spirituality was very individualistic and formed around families and communities. No one was in charge of it and I honestly doubt anyone tried to tell others they were wrong. It was a way of life, and that path could have many different branches to it.
Religious Sites and Practices
There were few to no structures that were built specifically for religious purposes (at least none that have lasted or left an impression in our current archaeological record). However, there are famous “sites”, such as Uppsala, which have been written about. Still, it is most likely that halls served as religious sites for feasting and celebration on a community scale. The closest thing that pre-christian, medieval Scandinavians had were sacred enclosures called vé (temple, sanctuary). Though, do not be fooled by our words used to describe a holy place, because vé were open air enclosures used for rituals and offerings to the gods. Fires and sacrifices took place here, which would need open air to ensure the smoke has a place to escape.
In other words, religious practices took place in nature. Their holy sites were already created by the world itself, so they found no need to make their own sites on top of it. They celebrated and honored the gods at these open air enclosures with a cultic festival known as a blót (sacrifice, sacrificial feast). These rituals were often small and personal. By this I mean that they were mostly done among a single household, kin, or even just a few local neighbors. However, they could also be done on larger scales, as would be done in local halls.
Sacred groves were quite common among many Germanic pagans. After all, trees and nature have a special place in such a religion (Yggdrasil). These groves, at least for the Vikings, were often associated with sacrifices for Odin. It is known that Odin hung and sacrificed himself in order to gain the knowledge of runes, and so many rituals formed surrounding this practice of hanging men in trees for Odin. The Tollund man is an example of a possible sacrifice done in this manner. As “barbaric” as such a practice might be seen as, many victims to human sacrifice were possibly criminals being punished as well. It is not so different than capital punishment today, if one must relate the practice to today’s standards.
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