The Vikings on the Continent in Myth and History
Simon Coupland
The Vikings have a bad reputation, and it was no different on the Continent in middle ages where they were regularly portrayed as brutally cruel, devilishly cunning of superhuman stature. This article examines evidence for Vikings’ supposed cruelty, remarkable height investigates how true stereotypes were. What emerges is that all three contained grain truth, but led to exaggeration distortion later medieval texts even some ninth-century sources. There were, example, tall individuals among invaders, little difference overall between average Frank Dane. likewise instances Scandinavian brutality, not large scale, worse than acts carried out by Franks same period. Nor, surprisingly, there clear Viking rape: certainly known ‘rape pillage’ ninth century. Finally, though invaders capable duplicity, Carolingian parallels are once again hard find. In sum, tales tall, treacherous brutal Northmen can be shown grown telling, an evident gap myth history.
History