Barrington 1

Syd Barrington

Research Essay

Viking Funerals and Their Depiction in the Entertainment Industry

When discussing the Vikings, the images of axes, horned helmets, braided beards, wooden ships, and drunken barbarians are some of the first to pop into one’s mind. The entertainment industry has taken the basic underlying facts of this ancient Scandinavian group and transformed them into savage, drunken raiders, who are bloodthirsty and crude. Many people are taught through the cinematic world that the Vikings were malicious, alcoholics, dirty, rapists, and unable to care about anything other than battle, such as in the film The Vikings; however, the ​ ​ Vikings were capable of much more than this exaggerated depiction. The Vikings were traders who shared a common culture and religion, and they cared for their communities and honored many in life and in death. Viking funerals are one of the largest misconceptions within the entertainment industry, as Hollywood has taken one small historical aspect from the group, and enhanced the funeral ceremony to be more dramatic and entertaining. The modern-day portrayals of Viking funerals in media enhances the stereotype of barbarism that is often associated with

Vikings, and, by comparing ancient Norse mythology to some modern-day film adaptations, one can see that there is little validity to Hollywood’s perspective on the tradition Viking burials.

Historically, Viking funerals most often consisted of honoring Viking kings, chieftains, and warriors by cremation and mound burials1. Sometimes, there were ceremonies that involved

1Morgan, Thad. 2017. “How Did The Vikings Honor Their Dead?” History.com. History Channel. July 20, 2017. https://www.history.com/news/how-did-the-vikings-honor-their-dead. Barrington 2 a ship burial, which does not involve sending a ship off into the open sea and lighting it on fire with a flying arrow, but rather it was where the deceased was placed in their boat and given grave offerings that reflected their status and profession. After the body was laid with the possessions, then piles of stone and soil were laid on top in order to create a sort of tomb burial.2

For wealthier Vikings, some common grave offerings included hair combs, red or blue cloth, arm rings, and sometimes even a sacrificed slave3 or a few animals, and for all other Vikings, they were buried with trinkets such as amulets that would protect them, or tools/weapons that related to their craft they had while living. If they were not buried in a physical boat, individuals were still buried “in a ship” by having stones laid out specifically to resemble the shape of a boat.

Cremation in a funeral pyre was also common, as the pyre was constructed so that there was one exit for the smoke, which made the pillar of smoke as massive as possible, which aided the deceased Vikings in being elevated into the afterlife.

Some of the most accurate works from the time of the Vikings have come from a historian named Snorri Sturluson, who wrote The Prose Edda, and many other notable works ​ ​ from the era. Though The Prose Edda is a source of Norse mythology stories, the stories reflect ​ ​ what rituals and ceremonies the Vikings most likely carried out themselves. In the Gylfaginning, ​ ​ Snorri describes the death of Baldr, Odin’s son, and the cremation ceremony that took place after his death. It is written that “The Æsir took the body of Baldr and carried it to the sea. Baldr’s ship was called Ringhorn and it was greatest of all ships. The gods wanted to launch it and use it for Baldr's funeral pyre, but the ship would not budge”.4 This passage shows where the

2 Nau, Erich, and Niku. 2018. “Enormous, Rare Viking Ship Burial Discovered by Radar.” Rare Viking Ship Burial, ​ Long Houses, Discovered in Norway. October 15, 2018. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/10/viking-ship-discovered-norway-archaeology/#close. 3 Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. Revised 2nd ed. translated by Susan M. Margeson and Kirsten Williams, pg 31 ​ ​ ​ 4 Sturluson, Snorri. 2005. The Prose Edda. Translated by Jesse L. Byock., pg.67 ​ ​ Barrington 3 entertainment industry conceived the idea of Vikings being set on a ship, pushed out to sea, and then set on fire. In the first line, Snorri states that the gods wanted to set Baldr aboard his ship and push it into the open sea as his funeral pyre burned, but the ship would not move when they tried. It seems that Hollywood took this idea and used it in their showcasing of Viking funerals, because it makes them seem more violent and uncaring to set their deceased warriors on fire and let them sail into the sea.

In Else Roesdahl’s text, The Vikings, she recounts Ibn Fadhlan’s account of a Viking ​ ​ burial he witnessed. He stated that after multiple words were said over the deceased chieftain, and the dead was dressed in their finest clothes and placed with weapons, food, and drink for the afterlife, then “The closest relatives of the deceased now lit the fire would under the ship. Others threw more flaming brands on the fire and within one hour everything was burnt. Then they built a mound on the spot and raised the pole at its centre with the name of the chieftain and his king on it”.5 Additionally, when Ibn Fadhlan had asked why the Vikings would cremate the dead before burying them, he was told “We burn him in fire in a moment, and he goes at once to

Paradise”6. The Vikings were known for cremation as much as they were known for their mound burials, as they were always looking for a way to aid their deceased clan member into the afterlife.

The entertainment industry has taken small aspects of these historical writings, and

Hollywood has overemphasized certain areas of Viking funerals, which fuels the stereotype of the angry, heartless barbarians that so many people know them as. The depiction of Viking funerals in the films The Vikings, Thor: The Dark World, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 are ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

5 Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. Revised 2nd ed. translated by Susan M. Margeson and Kirsten Williams, pg 157 ​​ ​ ​ 6 Ibid., pg. 156 ​ Barrington 4 all different, but each contains the same misconceptions on how funeral ceremonies were carried out. In The Vikings, the funeral scene is that of Einar, the son of legendary Viking King Ragnar ​ ​ Lodbrok, meaning Einar was a very wealthy and powerful Viking. Einar’s death scene consists of him being place on his ship with his shield and helmet, being pushed out to sea, and then his fellow Vikings shot flaming arrows at his boat and watched it burst into flames7. A true funeral of a Viking such as Einar would have been more ceremonial. Instead of carelessly pushing Einar out to sea with only protective gear, the Vikings would have given him provisions, such as an alcoholic beverage and food rations, they’d have wrapped fine cloth around him, and they would’ve sacrificed a slave and some animals. Additionally, they would not have set his ship out to sea to drift off, but rather they would have buried it on land underneath rocks and stone, which was considered a proper burial for someone of his status. The depiction of Einar’s funeral in The ​ Vikings makes the Vikings see careless and the ceremony was not honoring a wealthy Viking ​ prince, but instead just letting go of another warrior. By choosing to show the funeral in this way,

Hollywood managed to lose the meaning behind sacrifices and giving the deceased personal items that will help make their afterlife as similar to their life on earth as possible, which in turn makes the Vikings look careless towards members of their own communities.

In the film Thor: The Dark World, the funeral shown is that of Frigga, Odin’s wife and ​ ​ Thor’s mother. The beginning of the funeral shows Frigga’s body on a boat, magically gliding by all people living in Asgard, and as her boat gets further away from the onlookers, Odin gives a signal to a warrior to shoot a flaming arrow that lights Frigga’s pyre. In addition to Frigga’s float boa8t pyre, this scene also has multiple other boat pyres that are being lit, and are floating along

7 Fleischer, Richard, dir. 1958. The Vikings. United Artists. 8 Taylor, Alan, dir. 2013. Thor: The Dark World. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Barrington 5 behind the queen’s boat. When Frigga’s boat reaches the edge of Asgard, instead of falling off the edge of their world, Odin lifts Frigga’s soul into the sky and makes her a part of the stars, and he lets the boat that carried her fall off the edge of Asgard. Again, this funeral scene depicts wrong facts about traditional Viking funerals. The flaming arrow imagery may be entertaining for dramatic purposes, but it gives off the wrong impression of Vikings and their beliefs. It is not explained as to why they would set their queen adrift and on fire, floating to the edge of their world. The significance of speaking words to Frigga before laying her in a boat with the best cloth, jewelry, and provisions is all lost when Hollywood simply sets important and powerful people off in a flaming boat.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, the funeral scene starts off with a small crown watching ​ ​ their Chieftain’s bat float away with his body, however, this particular depiction is different from the others I have mentioned, because there is a sort of prayer being spoken before the boat is engulfed in flames from a flaming arrow. The words that are being uplifted are spoken to Odin, and they speak of safe passage into Valhalla9, and the hope that the deceased Chieftain will sit at the table of Kings with all others that have preceded him in death. Of course, as I mentioned, after this speech, the new Chieftain shoots a flaming arrow and ignites his father’s floating pyre, which then is followed by everyone in the small crowd doing the same. As the funeral goes up in flames, they show that the body of the Chieftain was covered in a nice cloth, and he has his weapon, helmet, and shield with him as he floats away. Although this scene also contains the common stereotypical floating Viking funeral pyre, it differs from the other because of its ceremonial depiction. The other two scenes mentioned did not speak words during the burning of

9 DeBlois, Dean, and Chris Sanders, dirs. 2014. How to Train Your Dragon 2. DreamWorks Animation. Barrington 6 the pyre, but instead it all felt very unimportant, as if they weren’t the funerals of a powerful individual, but instead just a funeral of yet another fallen Viking. The scene from How to Train ​ Your Dragon 2 shows that Vikings can be emotional. Many characters are seen weeping for their ​ fallen leader, and discussing some of their regrets in life that involved interactions with him. The scene from Thor: The Dark World, also shows emotions from the people of Asgard who are ​ ​ watching their queen’s final journey in their world.

After comparing the Old Norse mythological sagas to modern day interpretations, I concluded that the entertainment industry has fueled the stereotype of barbarism in Vikings by creating fiery and dramatic funerals, rather than the emotional and ceremonial ones that took place in ancient Scandinavia. Hollywood has managed to take out most of the significant rituals that surround Viking funerals, such as the preparation of funeral pyre and the prayers said over the deceased. Another aspect that isn’t explained is the meaning behind putting Vikings on a boat, which is not because they were warriors and raiders, but because the boat “symbolized safe passage into the afterlife on the same vessel that aided their travels in life”10. Quite often, the media depicts Vikings as stoic and cold: never allowing themselves to be seen as vulnerable by weeping for their fallen clan member.

10 Morgan, Thad. 2017. “How Did The Vikings Honor Their Dead?” History.com. History Channel. July 20, 2017. ​ https://www.history.com/news/how-did-the-vikings-honor-their-dead. Barrington 7

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