At 11/11/09 06:53 AM, sirtom93 wrote: Hey guys :3

If you´re really you sirtom93, my most sincere welcome back!

At 10/7/09 05:31 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 10/7/09 03:45 AM, vdviking wrote: Exactly, Vikings didn't feel any national unity since there were no nations. Their major loyalty was towards their family and heritage, and to a lesser extent towards a king or other leader, but they had to pay for it!

Well, if by "they had to pay for it" you mean taxes, well, don't we have taxes to this day?Although admittedly they are much less...

No, I meant that a king or other leader that weren't the kin of a warrior had to pay for his loyalty.

At 10/6/09 02:49 PM, HeavyTank wrote: So what you're tryng to say is that Vikings didn't believe in national unity, much like ancient Greeks....there were towns that were also like nations, with their own coins, laws etc.?
If that is the case, yeah, l don't see how could there be a civil war :P

Exactly, Vikings didn't feel any national unity since there were no nations. Their major loyalty was towards their family and heritage, and to a lesser extent towards a king or other leader, but they had to pay for it!

At 10/7/09 02:37 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 10/6/09 09:13 PM, Aleks55 wrote: Well I think they would all use the same type of currency.....or would they?....hhmmm now I'm curious.

Back then, if a city wasn't part of a bigger state it always had a currency of its own, and that made trading quite hard and complicated...there were no such things as a global currency...

Vikings didn't use coins as such until very late, for them a golden coin from Bagdhad was only worth it's weight in gold. No made up values like today. The first Swedish coins were minted around the year 1000 AD by king Olof Skotkonung.

At 10/6/09 04:53 AM, HeavyTank wrote: Okay then, since you want questions, l'll ask one:
Were there any civil wars between VIkings?And if yes, why did it happen?

Several, but there are a few which are more important than the others, if you see in how it affected the growth of what was to become Sweden. I'll concentrate on Sweden for know.

In the year circa 985 there was a great battle at Fyrisvall close to the king's hall in Uppsala. The battle stood between the armies of Erik Segersell (king of Svealand or the area around Uppsala) which had taxation rights over huge parts of what is now Sweden, and his nephew Styrbjörn Starke's army of joms vikings, skanians and danes. Erik won and Styrbjörn was killed.

This was a rather simple war because Styrbjörn just wanted part of the throne, handed down to him by his father Olof, the brother of Erik. As brothers they had shared the throne.

Between the years 1084-87 the heathen king Blot-Sven ruled over Svealand, he had banished the Christian king Inge the older, and Inge's work to reclaim the throne, which he did in 1087 by killing Blot-Sven in a small battle, can be described as a civil war.

The problem is that for a civil war to happen you must have something that resembles a nation a lot more than what the Vikings had before the very end of the 8th century. Before that it was just warriors, chiefs or kings fighting for the power over a relatively small area. In a way you can say that the Vikings weren't civilised enough to have civil wars.

At 10/4/09 04:01 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 10/3/09 05:34 AM, vdviking wrote: Hi everybody, sorry for not posting forquite some time, but I haven't even visited NG that much in the last couple of weeks. To make up for that I'd like to tip you off about a couple of really good films by director Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, all about Icelandic culture around the year 1000 AD. They are a bit old so perhaps some of the younger ones in the NGVA may never have heard about them.

QUite some time doesn't quite say it...more like months >:
I was on the verge of PMing our leader and ask him to delcare the army officcialy out of business...

I can understand that, both new and old members have become very inactive, and with no new discussions or questions it is difficult. As you know I always try to answer questions to the best of my ability, but since no questions are asked...

I leave the final decision to you, but I'll answer questions as long as they are asked.

1) Hrafninn flýgur (1984)

2) Í skugga hrafnsins (1988)
3) Hvíti víkingurinn (1991)
All three films are beautifully filmed with a lot of shots of warriors riding along beaches, dirty looks and proud people.

..they have subtitles right?

I would guess so, but that is easy to check on the back of the DVD case or in the descriptive text if you're ordering online.

Hi everybody, sorry for not posting forquite some time, but I haven't even visited NG that much in the last couple of weeks. To make up for that I'd like to tip you off about a couple of really good films by director Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, all about Icelandic culture around the year 1000 AD. They are a bit old so perhaps some of the younger ones in the NGVA may never have heard about them.

1) Hrafninn flýgur (1984)
AKA Revenge of the Barbarians or When the Raven Flies
A story about honour and revenge.

2) Í skugga hrafnsins (1988)
AKA Shadow of the Raven
This film is about family honour and the clash between Christianity and the Old Norse beliefs.

3) Hvíti víkingurinn (1991)
AKA The White Viking
Another great film about honour and blood, and again the clash between the new and the old.

All three films are beautifully filmed with a lot of shots of warriors riding along beaches, dirty looks and proud people.

At 9/1/09 10:23 PM, Aleks55 wrote: Hooray for more people joining!

Also I got to ask does the name Ymiron have any reference to Norse mythology? Since most vrykul (viking based guys) stuff is based of vikings and norse mythology.

Ymir was the name of the very first giant in Norse Mythology, but I believe that Ymiron is just a made up name, perhaps based on Ymir.

I did a search on Ymiron on the net and found out that quite a lot of names associated with the vrykul in WoW are taken from or based on names from Norse Myths.

At 8/30/09 03:39 PM, Faito wrote: Hello, i've seen references to viking mithology over the years, mostly in games but also in some animations, and im intrested in learning more about it.

Well thats why i want to join the Army, i look forward to your answer.

Until either DeathNote or HeavyTank, Jarl and Stallari of the NGVA respectively, officially welcomes you I say welcome, since we've yet to turn someone down who wanted to join the army. Just make sure you read the rules found by clicking the link "Thul of the NG Viking Army" in my sig.

At 8/30/09 05:01 PM, Soapbubble wrote: How was the world created, according to Norse Mythologi?

In the beginning there was a great void known as Ginnungagap, in the north end a frosty area called Nifelheim and in the south a fiery area called Muspelheim. Frost and fiery embers met in the middle of Ginnungagap and finally they formed a giant who's name was Ymir. Out of his sweat grew the first giants.

At the same time Ymir was created so was the cow Audhumbla. She licked on a salty rock and after a while a man by the name of Bure appeared. Bure got the son Bur, who married the giantess Bestla, and they got three sons, Odin, Vile and Ve.

These three promptly killed Ymir, and dragged his carcass into Ginnungagap and created the world out of his body parts. The blood became rivers and seas, the meat land, his bones became cliffs and mountains and his teeth gravel. The top of Ymirs head became the heavenly firmament and his brain the clouds floating in the sky.

At 8/30/09 09:32 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 8/29/09 07:44 AM, vdviking wrote:

Basically were the so called Cradle of Sweden were located. Either in the East, around the area where the ship was found, or more to the West. And also how advanced the pre-Viking culture was, and to what extent they had contact with other foreign cultures.

Good...make sure to inform us if you have any news :D
Got any links?

Certainly
And another one

At 8/29/09 05:25 AM, HeavyTank wrote: Holy shit!That's awesome!By the way, what could change about what we thought about the Pre-Vking era?

Basically were the so called Cradle of Sweden were located. Either in the East, around the area where the ship was found, or more to the West. And also how advanced the pre-Viking culture was, and to what extent they had contact with other foreign cultures.

I'm quite exited - the news that a old ship burial from the 7th century has just been found in Sweden have just come out. The skeletons of two people, perhaps a man and a woman, and several animals have been found inside the burnt ship. It is the first find of this kind of burial in Sweden, a practise more known from the British Isles. This may change what we thought we knew about pre-Viking era culture in Sweden.

I will try to keep you posted about further developments.

At 8/25/09 02:26 AM, TiberiumCrystalKutu wrote:

At 8/19/09 08:02 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

Yeah as far as l know shamans all around the world use some kind of drugs to go into trance and see some kind of "visions"..

I also know that when they were into trance their eyes were whie and they were foaming from their mouth. This happens because the organism makes careless acts to try to remove the drugs. During this state, the mind cannot think, so the shaman "sees" his thought and he believes that these are visions:)

It is pretty much the same thing with the North American Indian tradition of Totem or Spirit walk where you supposed to walk out into the wild with no food or water. After a while, perhaps several days, and being delirious from lack of food and water you will see your totem or protective spirit.

At 8/18/09 06:24 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 8/18/09 02:52 AM, vdviking wrote:

Galdr were magic songs and the name suggests that they were sung in a high pitched voice imitating a cocks crow. The only person who ever used them was Odin.

Lol, why would they imitate a cock's crow?

To understand this better you have to be aware that the Odin cult originally was shamanistic, and that a common part of a shaman's rituals was to transcend into a higher state of mind, going into trance, to be able to communicate with gods or spirits. To achieve this the shaman used several tools, alcohol or drugs, fasting or frenzied music and songs and probably a combination of several. The Vikings' galdrs are the cultural heritage of these songs.

Some time ago there was a small discussion about Viking magic, and I thought it was time for me to put my thoughts about into print.

The Vikings in my opinion probably didn't care very much for magic as they saw it as unmanly and cowardly. But then again, if they thought it would mean advantages for themselves they would most probably use it!

I separate magic into three different types: Symbol magic, sejd and galdr.

Symbol magic would be everyday magic such as amulets, including carving runes into things for protection and also blot (sacrifices) and other religious rituals. Omens are also part of symbol magic.

Sejd was practised by women only, and the name is connected to the word for seing. A sejdkona (almost the same as witch) could see things not seen by others, for example invisible evil spirits, curses and perhaps even the future. Of course they also had the ability to counteract spirits and curses. These women were also known as a Völva/Vala, and seems to have been greatly honoured.

Galdr were magic songs and the name suggests that they were sung in a high pitched voice imitating a cocks crow. The only person who ever used them was Odin.

DeathNote - Hopefully you will again find reason to visit NG in a more regular way. You have done a good job leading the NGVA so far and I would hate to see you go!

But I can understand you, I've had it the same way for some time too. Basically it is the crappiness of the flash portal that fails to draw me back to NG.

And I've also done a small update of the members' list.
Current Organisation of the NG Viking Army
Jarl - DeathNoteetoNhtaeD
Stallari - HeavyTank
Stambo -
Thul - vdviking
Blotgodi - Leidolfr

Degns

House Carls
TiberiumCrystalKutu

Sveins
HaveUbeenFooFighting
jew193
Aleks55
EchoRun
Wrothgar-the-best
vitleysingur
Soapbubble

Non-Active
RainGod
CrypticPoptart
corando

Niding
Me-Patch
GuitarrMaster92

That was very nice, as your other art work vitleysingur. As HeavyTank has hinted, I do believe we might have found our first Skald.

At 8/4/09 04:12 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 8/3/09 10:08 PM, Wrothgar-the-best wrote:
I thinks its because its called viking answer lady.

Well yeah l have to admit that it's a strange name for a site...

Not so strange actually. Viking Answering Lady = VAL.
In Norse myths a "val" was a soothsayer or sibyl if you want.
Val is known from the big poem Voluspa which means "The Val's prophecy".

The Viking era's ways of surviving the cold were pretty close to today's. Well insulated houses, warm clothes and heated houses. They just used more primitive methods like mosses (to insulate houses), furs and wool (to make warm clothes) and fire (to heat the houses).

Of course they also lived closer to each other. A lot of people on a small area helps keep everybody warm, and lets not forget about the animals that were often living in the same house as the people, even if it is in another part.

At 7/22/09 08:14 AM, TiberiumCrystalKutu wrote: Interesting. Tell me, was anything about a coward god for those who have fled during battle or allied with their opponents?

The Vikings seems to have been very pragmatical, and there are many stories of warriors surrendering and then taking service under their conqueror. They saw no shame in being defeated by a stronger or more skilled opponent. That is in most cases.

There are of course plenty of stories were warriors and kings fight to the bitter end despite impossible odds, and they are deemed heroes for that. Then there's always the thing when the conqueror thinks he can't trust the newly defeated and kills them outright.

No specific god, but Loki would probably be the one to sacrifice or pray to before entering a deceitful or cowardly scheme.

Hello again boys and girls, I'm back after a long time with no computer. Quite refreshing actually.

At 7/21/09 12:17 PM, TiberiumCrystalKutu wrote: Tell me guys, what was death in norse mythology?
I mean, at Greece, death was thought as a shadow with a soul-taking sword but what was he like at Scandinavian mythology?

In Norse myths there were no death personified, but several deities ruled over dead or fallen souls. Odin and Freya got half of the fallen warriors each, Hel in Helheim ruled over those who died by their own hand or by disease and Aegir (the sea god) probably ruled over those who died at sea.

We've been trolled. The NGVA has finally grown big enough to draw the attention of a troll!
Seriously, who gives a F about trolls.

I'll be gone for a week or so, with no access to computers, so it'll be quite quiet from my part for a while. To make up for it I've been through the last couple of thread pages to try to figure out the current NGVA roster.

Current Organisation of the NG Viking Army
Jarl - DeathNoteetoNhtaeD
Stallari - HeavyTank
Stambo -
Thul - vdviking
Blotgodi - Leidolfr

Degns

House Carls
TiberiumCrystalKutu

Sveins
HaveUbeenFooFighting
jew193
Aleks55
EchoRun
Wrothgar-the-best
RainGod
CrypticPoptart
corando

Niding
Me-Patch
GuitarrMaster92

RainGod, CrypticPoptart and corando are uncertain as they haven't posted for some time.

At 7/9/09 02:27 PM, Wrothgar-the-best wrote:

Quick question why did Odin and Rindir kill his twin blind brother Hoor when he had no idea what he was doing?

I assume you're talking about how Våle, the son of Odin and the giantess Rind, killed Höder, as a revenge for him killing Balder. Exactly why isn't clear, but there are older myths where Balder and Höder are rivals, and where Höder kills Balder in cold blood. The myths where Loki tricks Höder into killing Balder are of a younger date.

At 7/7/09 08:21 AM, Raingod wrote: I want to join

I'm pretty sure you'll be accepted, so I'll give you an informal welcome until HeavyTank gives the official thumbs up. Click on the link starting with "Thul..." in my sig and you'll find some info about the NGVA and some rules. If you're serious about the NGVA put a link to the thread in your sig.

At 7/1/09 12:30 PM, HeavyTank wrote: Another question: since Vikings believed in magic, were there any mages n the social structure?

Not as such, but sagas, folk stories and myths are full of people who could use magic. Invariably they were evil and their magic were used to cause illnesses or diseases or to cast illusions.

Having said that both blotgodis and rune carvers were in a way seen as user of magic. The blotgodi had a certain magical connection with the gods and the rune carver, also called Rune Master, used what was inherently magic, the runes.

Spells as we see them today from fantasy novels and such didn't really exist in the Viking sagas, except for Odin's "galdrar", which could make a woman love you, turn away arrows in flight and much more. The name "galdR" comes from the way you were supposed to sing/chant them in a high pitched voice, like a rooster (gala in Swedish), very much like a shaman does in most primitive tribes.

At 7/1/09 10:33 AM, TiberiumCrystalKutu wrote: I would like to know about what exactly were the vikings planting and growing. I mean, if they were not taking some minor vitamins from fruits, they should have died and in their frozen home little things grow. May someone tell me about viking agriculture?

The Viking era people grew quite a lot of what we now grow. Wheat, rye and oath were common, beets and turnips too, as well as apples and pears. Also all forms of berries could be found wild and cultivated. Old recipes included ginger, mustard seed and onion. The old time produce were less abundant than today, but they had much more place and much less people to feed, so that wouldn't be a problem.

At 6/30/09 11:42 PM, HeavyTank wrote: Oh, by the way, are the any "zombies" in Viking culture?

The Viking myths don't have zombies as in modern myths, but they believed that the dead still "lived" within their graves. Especially those who were rich and famous and who had been buried in a burial mound. They stayed to protect the treasures they'd been buried with. A living dead were called a "draug".

There are also stories about evil or bad persons who left their graves to make trouble for the living. There are even stories of undead animals of exceptional strength and evilness that could only be killed by magic.

Murdered children, "mylingar" were said to haunt their parents and/or the house they had lived in.

People who drowned and didn't get a proper burial were said to come back and try to drag unwary people to a watery death.

One common trait for all Viking undead are that they are "hard", i.e. impervious to ordinary weapons and can only be killed by special weapons or magic.

At 6/23/09 07:42 AM, Sheizenhammer wrote: Switch your layout back to 'classic view'. You'll be able to watch it through a pop-up, and if it messes with your computer, just ctrl-alt-del out of your browser, then go back and flag it (as well as the mandatory 0 vote).

The script involves getting your printer to start printing things automatically, so having your printer turned off or unplugged is a good ideawhen watching flashes you suspect have the script in them.

Thanks for the answer and good advice, it will be good to remember when someone tries the same trick again.

Hi guys, Chris Beer is at it again, under the guise of Crebb. The submission is called "Meet'N'Fuck Hentai Bitch!". Problem is that with the new autoloader system the printer window pop-up this generates it is impossible for me to flag it or even vote.

Any suggestions?

About Vikings facial hair - a couple of wood and bone figures from the Viking Era suggests that Vikings cut their beards rather short, and usually with a moustache.

A small wooden head from the Oseberg ship
A small head carved from reindeer antlers

At 6/19/09 07:48 PM, Leidolfr wrote: VDviking [who hasn't been around as of recently for some reason]

Yeah, I know, I've somehow been busy with other things, but I'll try to do better.

usually someone will say something, and I'll post an answer, and then vd will take something i said, and elaborate on it more, and by the time we're done, we've answered all kinds of questions that weren't even asked.

Yes that how it works here, you get to know everything you might want to know about a subject and probably even a couple of things you might not want to know. Tiberium once reflected that the NGVA thread is probably the most information heavy thread of all of NG, he is probably right.