Krigsgaldr - "War Magic"
Tyr was the son of the leader in a small village of Southern Svealand. A faith that came with obligations he did not want.
Freke was a wolf shapeshifter, a descendant of Fenrir some would say, and they were both loved and h...
While video games and movies tend to portray Vikings as ruthless savages with oversized helmets and hollow brains, their culture and motives reach far beyond that. The term Viking could be explained as, "pirate raid" in the Old Norse language. The people of Scandinavia commonly used the word as a verb to describe a tradition where men would take off in the summers and go "viking." Contrary to popular belief, the majority of these expeditions did not consist of raiding villages and raping women. Instead, their purpose was usually to discover new land and trade.
Catholic propaganda is probably responsible for most of the modern misconception about Vikings (probably because they were pagans, not Christian). A lot of us believe that because the church lost several facilities, treasures, and relics to Scandinavian people, they made it their mission for many years to make them look like wild beasts.
My characters,
Freke is inspired by the myths of the Úlfhéðnar as well as a Vitki.
Úlfhéðnar - are told to be stronger than the more commonly known Berserkir (The Berserkers). They are known as Odin's special warriors, and elite Viking forces. They are metaphorically associated with wolf pelts (in contrast to regular Berserkir who are associated with bear pelts), as they are known to be inhabited by the spirit of wolves. Úlfhéðnar are capable of performing feats far beyond the abilities of other warriors. Úlfhéðnar are hamrammir (shape shifters). They don't wear a helmet or a mail coat, they are said to bite their shield in a rage prior to each battle, kill enemies with just one blow, and are immune to fire or iron. Úlfhéðnar are exclusively males.
The Úlfhéðnar were not only the best warriors of the time, they were also the most feared according to legends. And Vidar is a great example of one.
Vitki - I've removed the word shaman from this book and I'm now using the word Vitki (means wise), which was the only norse term for a male sorcerer I could find. It is described a wise man who practised magic. But a man that practised Seidr (Magic, in old Norse, is called seiðr) was seen down upon and called unmanly, so usually it was the women who did this and they were called Völvas. Which might be the reason why you don't hear much about vitkis - even though Odin probably was one.
Also, I've read a lot about samesex partners in the old norse culture and I've made the conclusion that it wasn't a big deal who you chose as a sexual partner as long as you were married and had children. This was for the survival of the bloodline and the growth of the communities.
There are some records of homosexuality being described as shameful at that time. It must be remembered, however, that these laws and sagas reflect the Christian consciousness of the people who wrote about it well after the Pagan period. Because the old myths and legends show that honored gods and heroes were believed to have same sex partners, which may indicate that pre-Christian Viking Scandinavia was more tolerant of homosexuality. The god Loki is often portrayed as both male and female and could be described as gender fluid or bigender, he/she even gave birth to several children.
I wanted to use this to some extent in my story, adding the importance of marriage in their culture. Even though they are not in love, they need to uphold a new generation of children. But as always I never use my character's sexuality as a dilemma. In my books it is always a natural part of the world, (which it should be!)
We hear a lot about the fearless vikings who kill and raid and long for the halls of Valhalla. But I wanted to create characters that are challenging this view of a Viking. That is why Freke and Tyr are both inspired by the tales of Odin – He is the one-eyed All-Father, who sacrificed his eye for wisdom, and not in battle as you might think.
Odin was a shapeshifter, meaning that he could change shape. He could fall into an ecstatic trance and send out his soul, allowing him to adopt the form of another person or an animal. While his body lay in a trance, he could travel as a bird or a four-legged animal, a fish or a snake, through all the worlds and to far-off places.
Odin is often portrayed as a charming man who enjoys drinking mead and wine. But he was accused of "unmanly behaviour" when he "beat the drum and practised prophecy", something that was associated with women. I've read that the fact that he was a seer and a man provoked disgust in some quarters. And we still see that in tv shows and movies - if you were a man, you had to be quite manly to be accepted as a viking. And I decided to use that in my book as well - and this is why some people, like Tyr's uncle called Freke Tyr's pet with disgust in his voice, even though he accepted his help as a seer.
So, what about the women? Well, in Viking Age Scandinavia the women did enjoy an unusual degree of freedom for their day, while their husbands were away they were the head of the household. They could own property, request a divorce and reclaim their dowries if their marriages ended.
But there's no real evidence, except in myths and sagas, that there were shieldmaidens who joined on the viking expeditions, if they were it wasn't that common. Even though my main characters are 90% male in all of my books, I believe that we need to read about more strong female characters and that is why I have shieldmaidens in this one.
While Freke is inspired by Odin and Fenrir, the character Tyr is inspired by the god Tyr - Vidar is also inspired by the norse god Vidar. Vidar was one of the few Gods who survived Ragnarok. He is the son of Odin and avenged his death by killing Fenrir. He is a warrior god and he stands for vengeance. It is said that only Thor is stronger than him, but while Thor seems to have been quite boastful, Vidar is known as the silent god.
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Hope you enjoyed this fact based rant ;) I am not a trying to speak ill of any religion - I just wanted to point out that the voices of the people in our history color the way we view things today and we should have an open mind to that.
