Posted on 03/25/2009 2:07:14 PM PDT by decimon
OLD Kveldulf knew it was time to get out of Norway. He had pushed his luck by refusing to swear allegiance to Harald Tanglehair - a king not to be trifled with. When the king slew his son Thorolf, Kveldulf went berserk. He and his surviving son Skallagrim ambushed two of the king's emissaries, killing them and 50 companions, and fled to sea.
Luckily, safer shores awaited them. This was the 9th century and Norsemen had lately begun to settle Iceland, a thousand kilometres to the west. As they sailed, though, father and son's ships became separated. Exhausted by his killing spree, Kveldulf felt his strength slipping away, as the Norse sagas tell us often happens to berserkers when they come down. When he felt he was close to death he instructed his companions to "make me a coffin, and put me overboard" that he might "come to Iceland and take land there", and to tell his son "that if he reaches Iceland and I am there already, to make himself a home as close as possible to the place where I have come ashore". They obeyed, and later chanced upon the coffin washed up in a creek entering the firth called Borgarfjord. Skallagrim dutifully built his farmstead there and prospered.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
Tangled tales ping.
George Weber?
That guy at the bottom is making a risky assumption about blondie.
It’s true, they brought SPAM to England in their Long Ships.
Now THAT’s one good Viking!
Email would have saved them the trip. Why risk your life in a pillage when you can pull a Nigerian type scam?
(Historically accurate reproduction)
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Thanks decimon. Hey, at least this study didn't discover that the Vikings were all lumberjacks with silly walks, a hunger for exotic cheeses, and a dislike for the gannet. |
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Female Vikqueen fan? eh!
No, Spam arrived on Liberty Ships
Why aren’t we given cool descriptive names any more?
“Harald Tanglehair”
How *great* is that?
Henceforth, I want to be called Sharhilda Crazyhair.
I don't think you get to choose your tag. You could be Sharhilda Longshanks or some such.
Can you pick something that doesn’t associate me with *Edward* “Longshanks”, please?....:))
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