Viking Berserkers: Fearsome Norse Warriors

Fierce warriors shrouded in legend, Norse berserkers have long captured the imagination with tales of their ferocious battle frenzy and superhuman strength. Could these men summon strange animalistic powers in the face of battle? Were they the ultimate in determination, training and power, or were they simply everyday warriors driven to a frenzy through dark age drugs? Or is none of that true because they didn’t even exist?

Today, our understanding of berserkers comes from a mix of historical texts, such as the Icelandic sagas, and writings by medieval historians. These sources often overlap historical events with myth and legend, making it hard – indeed almost impossible – to distinguish fact from fiction.

This time trip a thousand years into the past will attempt to shed light on one of the greatest mysteries of the Viking Age, the story of Norse berserkers.

Around the end of the ninth century, Scandinavian society saw the rise of powerful rulers, just as England did around the same time. Under these kings, military organisations began to form, the most prominent of which was known as the retinue – a group of dedicated warriors retained in the service of the king. Yet, there was one group of fighting men who struggled with authority and found little or no place in the world of the organised, disciplined army. Known as the berserkers, they existed in the famous Norse sagas, in myth and in folklore, sometimes depicted as elite warriors or royal bodyguards, but more usually as an unruly gang of brutal, bloodthirsty savages, utterly fearless and filled with wild, uncontrollable rage.

Their legendary prowess and seemingly supernatural strength have been the subject of fascination for centuries, blending the lines between historical fact and mythological fiction. A number of the Norse sagas – some written more than two centuries after the Viking berserkers were thought to have existed – said they fought naked in a trance-like state while wearing the skins of bears, wolves or boars, howling like wild beasts and biting their shields. One saga described them as ‘the hardest of men… they were built and shaped more like trolls than human beings.’

Yet behind the myths and the cloudy veil of history, sources do at times point to the existence of warriors who thrived on the edge of life and death, fueled by war and distinguished by their ecstatic battle fury.

Historians, scholars and those who have studied the Norse sagas can’t quite agree on the berserker meaning, but there are two main schools of thought. It’s generally agreed that it came from the Old Norse word berserkr, the plural of which is berserkir, and the second part of the word ‘serk’ translates to shirt. But debate rages on about the first part.

‘Ber’ has been written to mean both bear, as in the animal, and bare, as in unclothed. Bear-shirt may mean that the berserkir wore a coat or cloak made from bear skin, as depicted in illustrations over the centuries. Alternatively, it could mean bare-shirt, as in they fought naked. Thirteenth century Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson is believed to have suggested ‘bare’ meant they went into battle without any armour.

There’s very little evidence to suggest either answer is definitive, however one thing is for certain, the ancient term berserker is where the modern English word berserk comes from, as in to become uncontrollable or frenzied with excitement, anger or rage.

Archaeological evidence suggesting the existence of Norse berserkers is limited and often open to interpretation, but several artefacts provide intriguing insights into these formidable warriors of Norse culture.

The Torslunda Plates

Discovered on the Swedish island of Öland and dating from around the sixth century, the Torslunda plates are bronze dies used for pressing decorative images onto helmets or armour. One of these plates depicts a warrior wearing what appears to be a bear skin, engaging in what could be a ritual dance or martial activity. The figure’s animalistic attire and dynamic posture have led some scholars to associate it with berserkers, although its age predates the Viking era by some two centuries.

The Lewis Chessmen

Found on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and dating to the twelfth century, the Lewis Chessmen are a set of intricately carved chess pieces made from walrus ivory. Among them are warriors depicted biting the tops of their shields, behaviour linked to the Viking berserkers, symbolising a frenzied state before combat. Again, these chess pieces were made long after the Viking Age so their connections to berserkers is speculative at best.

Osberg Tapestry

Ninth century fragments of a tapestry unearthed from the Oseberg ship burial in Norway feature scenes that some have suggested are rituals or processions involving figures in animal costumes, ceremonial practices associated with berserkers. However, the Oseberg ship burial is more commonly associated with high-status women, and the tapestries may depict mythological or everyday scenes unrelated to berserkers.

Additional artefacts suggesting the possible existence of Norse berserkers have been found in Viking-age graves across Scandinavia. These include weapons; small amulets, pendants, and figurines with animal features; helmets adorned with animal motifs; and even bear claws and wolf teeth.

While no single piece of archaeological evidence definitively proves the existence of berserkers as described in literary sources, the sum total of these findings suggest that warrior figures associated with bears and wolves held an important place in Norse society. The combination of physical artefacts and historical texts paints a picture of a warrior culture that revered strength, courage, and ferocity in battle and may have included individuals or groups who embodied these traits.

The idea that Viking berserkers entered their frenzied states due to the ingestion of hallucinogenic substances is a topic of much debate among historians and scholars. While there’s no definitive evidence to confirm the practice, several suggestions have been proposed to explain their reputation for bizarre battlefield behaviour.

One theory, which originated in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, suggested berserkers may have taken Amanita muscaria, a type of hallucinogenic mushroom thought to induce altered states of consciousness, including heightened aggression and pain insensitivity.

In a similar vein, they may have ingested Myrica gale, known as bog myrtle, used in brewing alcoholic drinks like ale and mead which was thought to induce intoxication and, as a common by-product of drunkenness, potentially aggressive behaviour when taken in large quantities.

Another theory however focuses on the idea that the berserkers’ battle frenzy was achieved through psychological rather than chemical means. Techniques such as intense physical preparation, ritualistic practices, and self-induced trance states could have heightened their aggression and pain threshold. These methods might have included chanting, dancing, or other activities that could lead to an adrenaline-fueled state, known as berserkergang.

One key difficulty for historians is that many sources which describe berserkers – such as the Icelandic sagas and poems – were often written centuries after the events they depict, and usually blended history with mythology. These texts sometimes portrayed berserkers as shape-shifting warriors or imbued with supernatural powers granted by the god Odin.

The tales of these ferocious warriors epitomise the complexities of the Viking Age, where the boundaries between reality and legend often blur. While definitive evidence of the existence of berserkers remains elusive – shrouded in sagas, inconclusive archaeological findings, and ongoing scholarly debate – the fascination with these ferocious Viking warriors endures.