About Vikings

Post 59:

            Whew, what a week. There was this thing where two disparate groups of people went to these places and pushed buttons for the thing… I’m done thinking about it, at least for a little while, so I’m doing some light reading on the Vikings and how they went around slaughtering people strictly for personal gain.

            It’s pretty awesome.

            I feel bad, though. These blokes were a little wound up, to say the least. What’s crazy is that this society existed at all. No doubt they were made hard and intransigent by a very bleak climate and an extremely short life span. They had religion, but not like most of ours. They pretty much just wanted to be badass so they could be remembered, and do the Valhalla thing, of course. At least that’s according to the book I’m reading right now.

            But what does this guy know? More than me. I’ve seen the TV show Vikings but that’s about it. I find the culture pretty fascinating. Brutal, slightly horrifying, but fascinating all the same.

            It’s like they were living to die well. Now certainly there were complex individuals and not the simple brutes one sometimes imagines them to be. But they weren’t playing. Death was always knocking. They were poised, ready to answer with a frigging hammer.

            Luckily we can take a little more time these days. Savor life in the moment, at least, I hope we can. Next time I think my lot’s a little too tough I’m going to picture freezing my knickers off in a low-draft boat, wondering if the cold or an ax or a shipwreck was going to get me.

            Yeah, anyway. Wonder what they’ll be saying about our culture in a thousand years? Hopefully they’ll find us just as fascinating. Brutal, slightly horrifying, but…

            Take a breath. There’s always another village to plunder. See you after.