Ancient Solar Flare Sheds Light On How Nordic Seafarers Became The Vikings

[Judi Lynn]

PUBLISHED
8 hours ago

Evidence from historical solar storms and flares is now being used to improve radiocarbon dating analysis and its having a huge impact on our understanding of the past.

Russell is a Science Writer with IFLScience and has a PhD in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology
DR. RUSSELL MOUL

As much as they are a staple feature of modern pop culture, there is still much we do not know about the Northern European travelers who became known as the Vikings. In particular, until recently, scholars have struggled to identify a reason why a disparate bunch of Scandinavian farmers transformed into fierce raiders and extensive travelers in the space of a few decades.

What caused these famed people to set out on a life of exploration and occasional violence? To answer this question, archaeologists and medieval scholars have started turning to an unlikely source for additional information – the Sun.

The birth of the Viking Age?
The Vikings are a tricky subject for historical analysis. There is no denying the impact they had on the early medieval world – but because of centuries of storytelling, misconceptions, mythology, and political appropriation, the idea of the Vikings as hypermasculine blood thirsty raiders has become the predominant image we have today. The situation is not helped by the fact that the Vikings themselves – defined here as scattered groups of people from Scandinavia – were largely illiterate, so left few written records related to their early activities.

As such, much of what we do know comes from second-hand reports, most of which were produced by Christians who benefited from portraying them as violent pagans. But this idea is inaccurate. Instead, scholars believe the impetus for Viking expansion and exploration was initiated by the need for trade, especially for silver. According to this explanation, the Vikings took part in the growing trade networks that expanded from the Middle East through Russia.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/ancient-solar-flare-sheds-light-on-how-nordic-seafarers-became-the-vikings-70552

[Faux pas]

1. Kickin' & Rec'n

Fascinating! Will be looking forward to more precise info on my ancestors.

[Warpy]

2. Part of the reason they turned into raiders

and were particularly hard on monasteries was because of edicts being handed down that forbade Christians from trading with non Christians. While that was aimed mostly at the infidel Muslims in the Middle east who had taken control of "their" holy land, Vikings also felt a chill from that policy. Once they found out how much bling those impoverished monks had stashed, the race was on.

Rome and Byzantium had wanted to keep the profits in the family during the Crusades. Vikings objected,

They were definitely a mixed bag, preferring to trade if there were enough men around to defend a village, taking captives for ransom if there weren't, selling those captives elsewhere if they weren't ransomed, and being ruthless fighters if anyone gave them much of an argument. They had huge trading networks and founded settlements wherever they went. Eventually they threw in the towel and slowly became Christianized, trading without raiding.

The Vikings weren't all that illiterate, histories were kept in the colonies of Iceland and Greenland. The bulk of the sagas were written down 1200-1500. Some were pre Christian, some were transitional and if you've never read them, consider it, it's great stuff full of love and jealousy and blood feuds and magic swords, as well as the more mundane details of who came when and who married whom.