[url]http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131001091338.htm[/url]
[IMG]http://images.sciencedaily.com/2013/10/131001091338.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE][B]Academics at Coventry University have uncovered complex social networks within age-old Icelandic sagas, which challenge the stereotypical image of Vikings as unworldly, violent savages.[/B]
Pádraig Mac Carron and Ralph Kenna from the University's Applied Mathematics Research Centre have carried out a detailed analysis of the relationships described in ancient Icelandic manuscripts to shed new light on Viking society.
They applied methods from statistical physics to social networks -- in which nodes (connection points) represent individuals and links represent interactions between them -- to home in on the relationships between the characters and societies depicted therein.
The academics used the Sagas of Icelanders -- a unique corpus of medieval literature from the period around the settlement of Iceland a thousand years ago -- as the basis for their investigation.
Although the historicity of these tales is often questioned, some believe they may contain fictionalised distortions of real societies, and Mac Carron's and Kenna's research bolsters this hypothesis.
They mapped out the interactions between over 1,500 characters that appear in 18 sagas including five particularly famous epic tales. Their analyses show, for example, that although an 'outlaw tale' has similar properties to other European heroic epics, and the 'family sagas' of Icelandic literature are quite distinct, the overall network of saga society is consistent with real social networks.
Moreover, although it is acknowledged that J. R. R. Tolkien was strongly influenced by Nordic literature, the Viking sagas have a different network structure to the Lord of the Rings and other works of fiction.
Professor Ralph Kenna from Coventry University's Applied Mathematics Research Centre said: "This quantitative investigation is very different to traditional approaches to comparative studies of ancient texts, which focus on qualitative aspects. Rather than individuals and events, the new approach looks at interactions and reveals new insights -- that the Icelandic sagas have similar properties to those of real-world social networks.[/QUOTE]
I thought it was fairly common knowledge that the vikings weren't anger-blinded mindless raping savages
a chap who will have a cup of tea with you then take your arm off afterward, how charming
Being a viking must have been cool.
It's pretty obvious they were smart. To be proficient at sailing you need at least a basic understanding of mathematics and astronomy, they had a parliament, trade routes all over the place, you name it
Plus they had Odin guiding them
[QUOTE=Grabigel;42372886]Being a viking must have been cool.[/QUOTE]
Minus the fact it would be classified as a third world country.
Enjoy your subsistence agriculture. (That was reality for about 80% of the population).
Of course it got a lot better in the high middle ages. English peasants could eat pretty well and import French wine in the 1200s when the harvests good and it was peaceful. Good weather as well.
[img]http://i.imgur.com/ZXgcEMn.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=thisispain;42372997][img]http://i.imgur.com/ZXgcEMn.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
It's like straw feminists, but with vikings
Reminds me of [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y95oud9WfFs"]this[/URL]
Tell that to medieval british monks :v:
[QUOTE=andy85258;42373281]Tell that to medieval british monks :v:[/QUOTE]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rerm4Bu-Cf4[/media]
[QUOTE=DaysBefore;42373011]It's like straw feminists, but with vikings[/QUOTE]
the webcomic is called "hark! a vagrant" and its hilarious
I remember my physics teacher going on a rant about how the Irish people used to be susceptible to all kinds of diseases and conditions, she maintained that the Vikings sacking Irish coastal towns and raping villagers was one of the best things that ever happened to the race, diversifying the gene pool and building up resistances to things. In her own words "In fairness, the Irish needed a good raping,"
Ha! I trust Amon Amarth over your [i]Academics[/i].
The entire plot of 'fuck shit up' must be reworked
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;42373363]Ha! I trust Amon Amarth over your [i]Academics[/i].[/QUOTE]
I always thought Bathory was a better Viking Metal band. Not *all* of the songs are about war and conquest, a lot of them touch on other aspects of Viking culture.
Vikings were incredibly social. They wouldn't have had the coordination to raid England so often if they hadn't been.
Their religious/spiritual ideologies/beliefs were more "savage," when compared to the cultural values we hold today. All about competition, fame, glory, revenge - none of that love your neighbor stuff. If they threatened you, you killed them. Evil would always beat good. You did what you needed to do to stay on top. It doesn't mean they weren't social - they definitely were - they just had very pessimistic, competitive, and aggressive ideologies.
They've been misconstrued as savage brutes due to their cultural values and views of the world, plus their general stereotyped social image. They were probably more cooperative than certain other areas in the world at the time, they just valued competition more than other comparable cultures.
Vikings were fucking cool, too.
[QUOTE=Grabigel;42372886]Being a viking must have been cool.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, raiding defenseless towns and monasteries is pretty cool.
[QUOTE=HighdefGE;42374314]Yeah, raiding defenseless towns and monasteries is pretty cool.[/QUOTE]
It'd be pretty damn sweet if I was a viking.
[QUOTE=Obnobs;42373396]I always thought Bathory was a better Viking Metal band. Not *all* of the songs are about war and conquest, a lot of them touch on other aspects of Viking culture.[/QUOTE]
Manowar is clearly the best Viking Metal band.
I'm always surprised when these articles are posted. It's been well known that the vikings were fairly well groomed, social, and even a bit sophisticated (for the time, at least.) But everyone only seems to know about the Berserks, and that becomes their entire image of vikings.
[QUOTE=Paramud;42374449]Manowar is clearly the best Viking Metal band.
I'm always surprised when these articles are posted. It's been well known that the vikings were fairly well groomed, social, and even a bit sophisticated (for the time, at least.) But everyone only seems to know about the Berserks, and that becomes their entire image of vikings.[/QUOTE]
You contradict yourself by saying that it's well known but not well known.
For the millionth time, Viking is not something you are, it's something you do. Even the term Viking is inherently misappropriated basically 99% of the time.
The majority of Scandinavians who went viking were usually just traders, adventurers or mercenaries who fought for others. It was pirates and/or noblemen who led raids or besieged things.
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;42374538]You contradict yourself by saying that it's well known but not well known.[/QUOTE]
It's well known by pretty much anyone who's had any actual interest in vikings beyond Skyrim, How to Train Your Dragon, and European Black Metal.
I wish I had a time machine so I could claim my heritage as a true viki-
wait shit im an introvert
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;42372934]Minus the fact it would be classified as a third world country.
Enjoy your subsistence agriculture. (That was reality for about 80% of the population).
Of course it got a lot better in the high middle ages. English peasants could eat pretty well and import French wine in the 1200s when the harvests good and it was peaceful. Good weather as well.[/QUOTE]
That's true for every country at that time
In truth the Vikings weren't even the ones who did most of the raping and pillaging, it was mainly the Vandals and other Germanic tribes, the Vikings were actually pretty peaceful and integrated themselves into foreign tribes in a social and reasonable manner
[QUOTE=.Isak.;42374231]Vikings were incredibly social. They wouldn't have had the coordination to raid England so often if they hadn't been.
Their religious/spiritual ideologies/beliefs were more "savage," when compared to the cultural values we hold today. All about competition, fame, glory, revenge - none of that love your neighbor stuff. If they threatened you, you killed them. Evil would always beat good. You did what you needed to do to stay on top. It doesn't mean they weren't social - they definitely were - they just had very pessimistic, competitive, and aggressive ideologies.
They've been misconstrued as savage brutes due to their cultural values and views of the world, plus their general stereotyped social image. They were probably more cooperative than certain other areas in the world at the time, they just valued competition more than other comparable cultures.
Vikings were fucking cool, too.[/QUOTE]
Even the image of Vikings as extraordinarily aggressive and competitive is seriously overblown. They had a very modern justice system, and men who killed other Vikings were liable to be exiled (a death sentence, since exiles could legally be killed by anyone without repercussions), held to severe compensation to the victim's family, or even a blood feud. Even becoming a king was generally seen as a duty rather than a reward, since kings were often the first to be horribly sacrificed to the gods when times were bad.
[QUOTE=Flyingman356;42378561]In truth the Vikings weren't even the ones who did most of the raping and pillaging, it was mainly the Vandals and other Germanic tribes, the Vikings were actually pretty peaceful and integrated themselves into foreign tribes in a social and reasonable manner[/QUOTE]
Now, despite what I said above, 'pretty peaceful' is not a good description of the Vikings. Their attacks ranged from Lindesfarne to as far south as Spain. If you go to the Hagia Sophia, there are Viking runes carved into the wood by the Varangian Guard, who were essentially Vikings paid to act as bodyguards rather than sack the place. The Vikings were rightly feared in coastal towns all across Europe, it's just that most literature also ignores that they were primarily farmers and had a very progressive legal system and gender views.
[QUOTE=Hiccuper;42373307]I remember my [B]physics teacher[/B] going on a rant about how the Irish people used to be susceptible to all kinds of diseases and conditions, she maintained that the Vikings sacking Irish coastal towns and raping villagers was one of the best things that ever happened to the race, diversifying the gene pool and building up resistances to things. In her own words "In fairness, the Irish needed a good raping,"[/QUOTE]
What an interesting story.
Fun fact: Vikins had no horns on their helmets
It's not hard to uncover complex social networks in the sagas. All you have to do is... read the sagas.
[editline]2nd October 2013[/editline]
Just kidding we all know vikings all wore nothing but a fur loincloth and horned helmet and swung two axes around
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