red haired girl warrior spear girl viking

#RED HAIRED GIRL WARRIOR SPEAR GIRL VIKING HOW TO#
#RED HAIRED GIRL WARRIOR SPEAR GIRL VIKING FREE#

The concept of a regal king was foreign to Norsemen. As discussed in the article on raiding, power raids were a tool often used to destabilize a king, raining destruction on his land and demonstrating to his people their king's weakness at providing the protection they expected from a king.

The king's supporters seized the initiative and assassinated their king so that a stronger leader could be installed prior to the expected attack ( Fornkonunga saga, ch.7). There are examples in the literary sources of a weak or elderly king whose lands were threatened. Likewise, a king unable to protect his kingdom was in jeopardy. Indeed, these armed supporters might look for better opportunities elsewhere if the king didn't deliver. If the king didn't deliver the prestige gifts and the opportunities needed to gain orðstírr in battle, he was unlikely to attract the best men to his circle of armed supporters: the men who fought for and by the side of the king, such as his earls and his hirð.

Yet, kings were dependent on their supporters. Instead, kings were viewed as exceptionally able and imperious men. Kings were not viewed as sacred, or special. As the leader in battle, he was expected to be cunning, capable, strong, and the very model of a drengr, a concept discussed in the article on mindset. A king or earl was expected to be generous with food and drink, as well as with weapons, clothing, and other precious gifts. King Óláfr gives the gift of a sword, after Krohg Other sources, including runestones, sagas, histories, and law codes, tend to confirm what is taught in Rígsþula.

#RED HAIRED GIRL WARRIOR SPEAR GIRL VIKING FREE#

The portion of the poem that does survive gives a clear picture of the three classes of an ideally arranged Norse society, along with the duties and occupations of each class: a noble, ruling class a class of free men and a class of subservient workers. Young Konr ( Konr ungr) is clearly a king ( konungr) in training, and presumably the poem continued telling of his upbringing and his duties. The poem has been imperfectly preserved and ends abruptly. Jarl married Erna, and their youngest son was named Konr.

#RED HAIRED GIRL WARRIOR SPEAR GIRL VIKING HOW TO#

He learned how to make bows and wield shields and throw spears and use runes and make war. In the third house, furnished with luxury items and a table set with exotic food and drink, the boy was named Jarl (Earl), with blond hair and piercing eyes. From them came the class of free farmers and other free men. He married a woman named Snør (Daughter-in-law), and they built a farm, trained oxen, made carts, and created a household. In the second house, a well-furnished house with fine, dainty food, the boy was called Karl (Freeman), a red-haired, rosy lad. Rígr visits the first house, after Collingwood He married a woman named Þír (Slave-woman), and their children spread dung on the fields, dug the turf, and worked with swine and goats. He grew up to twist rope and carry brushwood. In the first house, a poor house with coarse food, the boy was called Þræll (Slave), who was crooked, wrinkled and ugly. Rígr slept with each couple for three nights, lying between husband and wife, and later a boy was born to each couple, the progenitor of each class. He visited three households in turn and received the hospitality of the couple living in each house. The prose introduction tells us that Rígr was the god Heimdallr in disguise. Rígsþula is an eddic poem that tells how Rígr created the three classes of Norse society. It is thought to be a loanword from Latin added to the language after the Viking age, perhaps brought over by the church. In later writings and in the modern language, stétt is used, but this word does not appear in the ancient literary sources. In the Old Norse language, there does not seem to be a word for class.

The first and most clear aspect of Viking-age hierarchy is class. A person's place in society could move up or down, sometimes in an instant. The divisions were blurry at times and not clearly defined, nor were they always static. Where a person fit into Viking society - his ranking - seems to have depended on three factors: class status and occupation. Disagreements happened both between men and between women. Literary sources give numerous examples of disagreements between people over who held the higher level - disagreements that could escalate to insults, violence, lawsuits, and bloodshed. Yet the divisions of society and where a person fit into that society were more complex than this simple ranking. The ancient myths tell us how Norse society was divided into three classes of people.

Red haired girl warrior spear girl viking