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I read somewhere that Christian inquisition into Nordic region basically washed and labeled the Vikings as barbarians, brutes, and overall abusive people. Is t

I read somewhere that Christian inquisition into Nordic region basically washed and labeled the Vikings as barbarians, brutes, and overall abusive people. Is that true? I mean the other inquisitions ended up with labeling other native people as savages or not fully human. I wouldn’t be surprised if it is true that they were just called bad because they had a pagan religion.

pard68 4y ago
Can't speak to the Christian angle, though probably not an "Inquisition" that term is for when Catholics tried "cleaning house" and I think it may have been a one-off thing in Spain. Any way, what I wanted to say was that the Vikings (strictly referring to the warrior class here) tended to be fairly abusive and brutal. Ibn Fadlan’s writings document some of the rather barbarous acts they engaged in.
krapp 4y ago
They got that reputation partly because they were pagan, but mostly because of all the sacking, pillaging and brutal murdering. Of course, Christian armies were just as brutal to Jews and Muslims, but the Vikings being pagan made it easier to propagandize them as being a literal satanic horde.
bombolo 4y ago
Did the inquisition and the vikings even exist at the same time? According to wikipedia, no. Vikings were gone a good century before the inquisition existed at all. > Is that true? Probably not. The dates don't seem to even match for it to have happened.
vintermann 4y ago
First, you probably mean incursion, there was no Scandinavian inquisition. And no, it isn't true. First, remember that by the time the first churches were built on the Scandinavian peninsula, Christianity had existed for about 700 years. Before that time, Christian ideas had perculated up and been incorporated, in garbled form, in Norse religion. And even after that, they had 300 years to get to know what it was about until being Christian became a civic obligation like it was in the rest of Europe. The viking raiders absolutely were savages, but the Norse did not identify with them, the way we equate them today. For them, viking was just the word for pirate, and if you did it - as could be tempting, seeing your neighbours come home with loot - you still probably wouldn't want to brag about it.

pard68 4y ago

Can't speak to the Christian angle, though probably not an "Inquisition" that term is for when Catholics tried "cleaning house" and I think it may have been a one-off thing in Spain. Any way, what I wanted to say was that the Vikings (strictly referring to the warrior class here) tended to be fairly abusive and brutal. Ibn Fadlan’s writings document some of the rather barbarous acts they engaged in.

krapp 4y ago

They got that reputation partly because they were pagan, but mostly because of all the sacking, pillaging and brutal murdering. Of course, Christian armies were just as brutal to Jews and Muslims, but the Vikings being pagan made it easier to propagandize them as being a literal satanic horde.

bombolo 4y ago

Did the inquisition and the vikings even exist at the same time? According to wikipedia, no. Vikings were gone a good century before the inquisition existed at all. > Is that true? Probably not. The dates don't seem to even match for it to have happened.

vintermann 4y ago

First, you probably mean incursion, there was no Scandinavian inquisition. And no, it isn't true. First, remember that by the time the first churches were built on the Scandinavian peninsula, Christianity had existed for about 700 years. Before that time, Christian ideas had perculated up and been incorporated, in garbled form, in Norse religion. And even after that, they had 300 years to get to know what it was about until being Christian became a civic obligation like it was in the rest of Europe. The viking raiders absolutely were savages, but the Norse did not identify with them, the way we equate them today. For them, viking was just the word for pirate, and if you did it - as could be tempting, seeing your neighbours come home with loot - you still probably wouldn't want to brag about it.