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I'm presently nearly done reading (fiction) The Long Ships about this region 1022 years ago. I'm enjoying seeing how cultural attitudes that took root in the tr
by kridsdale2 4y ago
I'm presently nearly done reading (fiction) The Long Ships about this region 1022 years ago. I'm enjoying seeing how cultural attitudes that took root in the transition from a bunch of guys doing whatever they wanted, and everyone can be a king as long as they can murder would-be-murderers well enough, to accepting a (supposed) life of peace as followers of Christ.
It makes me want to understand the subsequent 1000 years of history to see how they became as they are now.
- Bakary 4y agoWhat I enjoyed about the Long Ships is how the author avoided moral handholding and let the reader make their own appreciation of it. Interestingly, the contrast highlights the concept of master vs. slave morality pretty well. The Vikings see strength as the ultimate determinator and servitude as the appropriate result of weakness. Insofar as they have rules surrounding honor or other meta/legal considerations, these are there to facilitate the resolution of power struggles through duels or other such concepts. They nonetheless have a fairly stable civilization. And of course Christianity is the canonical (no pun intended) example of slave morality as identified by Nietzsche.