In theOld Norse written corpus,berserkers (Old Norse:berserkir) were Scandinavian warriors who were said to have fought in atrance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English adjectiveberserk'furiously violent or out of control'. Berserkers are attested to in numerous Old Norse sources.
The Old Norse form of the word wasberserkr (pluralberserkir), a compound word ofber andserkr. The second part,serkr, means'shirt' (also found inMiddle English, seeserk). The first part,ber, on the other hand, can mean several things, but is assumed to have most likely meant'bear', with the full word,berserkr, meaning just'bear-shirt', as in'someone who wears acoat made out of a bear'sskin'.[2]
Thirteenth-century historianSnorri Sturluson, an Icelander who lived around 200 years after berserkers were outlawed in Iceland (outlawed in 1015), on the other hand, interpreted the meaning as'bare-shirt', that is to say that the warriors went into battle withoutarmour,[3] but that view has largely been abandoned, due to contradicting and lack of supporting evidence.[2][4]
It is proposed by some authors that the northern warrior tradition originated from hunting magic.[5][6] Three main animalcults appear to have developed: thecult of the bear,the wolf, and thewild boar.[5]
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Thebas-relief carvings onTrajan's column in Rome, completed in 113 AD, depict scenes ofTrajan's conquest ofDacia in 101–106AD. The scenes show his Roman soldiers plus auxiliaries and allies from Rome's border regions, including tribal warriors from both sides of theRhine. There are warriors depicted as barefoot, bare-chested, bearing weapons and helmets that are associated with theGermani.[7]
Scene 36 on the column shows some of these warriors standing together, with some wearing bearhoods and some wearing wolfhoods. This is the only potential record of Germanic bear-warriors and wolf-warriors fighting together until 872 AD, withThórbiörn Hornklofi's description of thebattle of Hafrsfjord, when they fought together for KingHarald Fairhair of Norway.[7]
In 1639 and 1734 respectively, two vastly decorated horns made of sheet gold, theGolden Horns of Gallehus, were discovered in Southern Jutland, Denmark. As part of its decoration, the first horn, the larger of the two, depicts two animal headed men facing each other, armed with what appears to be asickle and a wood-splittingaxe. Dated to the early 5th century, these depictions could represent something related to berserkers.
In the spring of 1870, fourVendel era cast-bronze dies, theTorslunda plates, were found by Erik Gustaf Pettersson and Anders Petter Nilsson in acairn on the lands of the farm No 5 Björnhovda in Torslunda parish, Öland, Sweden, one of them showing what appears to be a berserker ritual.[8][9]
In 1887, the graves of two 7th centuryAlemanni men were found during construction work in the immediate vicinity of the St. Gallus Church in the Gutenstein district of the city ofSigmaringen, Germany. One of the graves contained, among other things, a silver sword scabbard, theGutenstein scabbard [de]. Highly ornate, it features a warrior figure with a wolf's head, holding a sword and a spear. It is thought this depicts anulfheðinn (wolf warrior), as pre-Christian Central Europe was part of the same tradition as the Norse.[10]
Other animal headed figures have been found, such as an antlered figure on theGundestrup cauldron, found on northern Jutland, Denmark, in 1891, which has been dated from 200 BC to 300 AD.
![Animal headed warriors on the Gallehus horns.[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGallehus_horns%2c_animal_head_characters.jpg)
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![A wolf headed warrior on the Gutenstein scabbard [de].](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWolfskrieger_(cropped).jpg)
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It is proposed by some authors that the berserkers drew their power from the bear and were devoted to thebear cult, which was once widespread across the northern hemisphere.[6][13] The berserkers maintained their religious observances despite their fighting prowess, as theSvarfdæla saga tells of a challenge to single-combat that was postponed by a berserker until three days after Yule.[5] The bodies of dead berserkers were laid out in bearskins prior to their funeral rites.[14] In battle, the berserkers were subject to fits of frenzy. They would howl like wild beasts, foam at the mouth, and gnaw the rims of their shields. According to belief, during these fits, they were immune to steel and fire, and made great havoc in the ranks of the enemy. When this fever abated, they were weak and tame. Accounts can be found in the sagas.[15][16]
To "go berserk" was to "hamask", which translates as "change form", in this case, as with the sense "enter a state of wild fury". Some scholars have interpreted those who could transform as a berserker as "hamrammr" or "shapestrong" – literally able to shapeshift into a bear's form.[17]: 126 For example, the band of men who go with Skallagrim inEgil's Saga to see King Harald about his brother Thorolf's murder are described as "the hardest of men, with a touch of the uncanny about a number of them ... they [were] built and shaped more like trolls than human beings." This has sometimes been interpreted as the band of men being "hamrammr", though there is no major consensus.[18][19]
Another example of "hamrammr" comes from theSaga of Hrólf Kraki. One tale within tells the story ofBödvar Bjarki, a berserker who is able to shapeshift into a bear and uses this ability to fight for kingHrólfr Kraki. "Men saw that a great bear went before King Hrolf's men, keeping always near the king. He slew more men with his fore paws than any five of the king's champions."[20]
Wolf warriors appear among the legends of the Indo-Europeans, Turks, Mongols, and Native American cultures.[21] The Germanic wolf-warriors have left their trace through shields and standards that were captured by the Romans and displayed in thearmilustrium in Rome.[22][23]
Frenzy warriors wearing the skins of wolves calledulfheðnar ("wolf-skin-ers" or possibly "wolf-heathens"; singularulfheðinn), are mentioned in theVatnsdæla saga, theHaraldskvæði and theGrettis saga and are consistently referred to in the sagas as a group of berserkers, always presented as the elite following of the first Norwegian kingHarald Fairhair. They were said to wear the pelt of a wolf over their chainmail when they entered battle. Unlike berserkers, direct references toulfheðnar are scant.[23][24]
Egil's Saga features a man called Kveldulf (Evening-Wolf) who is said to have transformed into a wolf at night. This Kveldulf is described as a berserker, as opposed to anulfheðinn.[23][24]Ulfheðnar are sometimes described asOdin's special warriors: "[Odin's] men went without theirmailcoats and were mad as hounds or wolves, bit their shields...they slew men, but neither fire nor iron had effect upon them. This is called 'going berserk'."[17]: 132
The helm-plate press from Torslunda depicts a scene of a one-eyed warrior with bird-horned helm, assumed to be Odin, next to a wolf-headed warrior armed with aspear and sword as distinguishing features, assumed to be a berserker with a wolf pelt: "a wolf-skinned warrior with the apparently one-eyed dancer in the bird-horned helm, which is generally interpreted as showing a scene indicative of a relationship between berserkgang ... and the god Odin".[25][26]
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In Norse poetry, the wordjǫfurr, which originally meant "wild boar", is used metaphorically for "a prince, monarch or warrior", which probably stems from the custom of wearing boar's heads as helmets orboar crested helmets in battle.[27]
Swine played a central role inGermanic paganism, featuring in bothmythology and religious practice, particularly in association with theVanir,Freyr andFreyja. It has been proposed that similar to berserkers, warriors could ritually transform into boars so as to gain strength, bravery and protection in battle. It has been theorised that this process was linked to the wearing ofboar helmets as a ritual costume.[28][29]
Berserkers appear prominently in a multitude of othersagas andpoems. Many earlier sagas portrayed berserkers as bodyguards, elite soldiers, and champions of kings.[30] This image would change as time passed and sagas would begin to describe berserkers as boasters rather than heroes, and as ravenous men wholoot, plunder, and kill indiscriminately.[31][30] Within the sagas, Berserkers can be narrowed down to four different types. The King'sBerserkr, the Hall-ChallengingBerserkr, theHólmgangumaðr, and the VikingBerserkr.[30] Later, by Christian interpreters, the berserker was viewed as a "heathen devil".[32]
The earliest surviving reference to the term "berserker" is inHaraldskvæði, askaldic poem composed byThórbiörn Hornklofi in the late 9th century in honor of KingHarald Fairhair, asulfheðnar ("men clad in wolf skins"). This translation from the Haraldskvæði saga describes Harald's berserkers:[33]
I'll ask of the berserks, you tasters of blood,
Those intrepid heroes, how are they treated,
Those who wade out into battle?
Wolf-skinned they are called. In battle
They bear bloody shields.
Red with blood are their spears when they come to fight.
They form a closed group.
The prince in his wisdom puts trust in such men
Who hack through enemy shields.
The "tasters of blood" (akenning) in this passage are thought to beravens, which feasted on the slain.[33]
The Icelandic historian and poetSnorri Sturluson (1179–1241) wrote the following description of berserkers in hisYnglinga saga:
His (Odin's) men rushed forwards without armour, were as mad as dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and were strong as bears or wild oxen, and killed people at a blow, but neither fire nor iron told upon them. This was calledBerserkergang.[34]
King Harald Fairhair's use of berserkers as "shock troops" broadened his sphere of influence.[citation needed] OtherScandinavian kings used berserkers as part of theirarmy ofhirdmen and sometimes ranked them as equivalent to a royalbodyguard.[30] It may be that some of those warriors only adopted the organization orrituals of berserkMännerbünde, or used the name as a deterrent or claim of their ferocity.
Emphasis has been placed on the frenzied nature of the berserkers, hence the modern sense of the word "berserk". However, the sources describe several other characteristics that have been ignored or neglected by modern commentators. Snorri's assertion that "neither fire nor iron told upon them" is reiterated time after time. The sources frequently state that neither edged weapons nor fire affected the berserks, although they were not immune to clubs or other blunt instruments. For example:
These men asked Halfdan to attack Hardbeen and his champions man by man; and he not only promised to fight, but assured himself the victory with most confident words. When Hardbeen heard this, a demoniacal frenzy suddenly took him; he furiously bit and devoured the edges of his shield; he kept gulping down fiery coals; he snatched live embers in his mouth and let them pass down into his entrails; he rushed through the perils of crackling fires; and at last, when he had raved through every sort of madness, he turned his sword with raging hand against the hearts of six of his champions. It is doubtful whether this madness came from thirst for battle or natural ferocity. Then with the remaining band of his champions he attacked Halfdan, who crushed him with a hammer of wondrous size, so that he lost both victory and life; paying the penalty both to Halfdan, whom he had challenged, and to the kings whose offspring he had violently ravished...[35]
Similarly,Hrolf Kraki's champions refuse to retreat "from fire or iron". Another frequent motif refers to berserkers blunting their enemy's blades with spells or a glance from their evil eyes. This appears as early asBeowulf where it is a characteristic attributed toGrendel. Both thefire eating and the immunity to edged weapons are reminiscent of tricks popularly ascribed tofakirs.In 1015,JarlEiríkr Hákonarson ofNorway outlawed berserkers.Grágás, themedievalIcelandiclaw code, sentenced berserker warriors tooutlawry. By the 12th century, organised berserker war-bands had disappeared.
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TheLewis Chessmen, found on theIsle of Lewis,Outer Hebrides,Scotland, and thought to be of Norse manufacture, includeberserkers depicted biting their shields.
ScholarHilda Ellis-Davidson draws a parallel between berserkers and the mention by theByzantineemperorConstantine VII (CE 905–959) in his bookDe cerimoniis aulae byzantinae ("Book of Ceremonies of the Byzantine court") of a "Gothic Dance" performed by members of hisVarangian Guard, Norse warriors in the service of theByzantine Empire, who took part wearing animal skins and masks: she believes this may have been connected with berserker rites.[36]
The rage the berserker experienced was referred to asberserkergang ('berserk fit/frenzy' or 'berserk movement'). This condition has been described as follows:
This fury, which was calledberserkergang, occurred not only in the heat of battle, but also during laborious work. Men who were thus seized performed things which otherwise seemed impossible for human power. This condition is said to have begun with shivering, chattering of the teeth, and chill in the body, and then the face swelled and changed its colour. With this was connected a great hot-headedness, which at last gave over into a great rage, under which they howled as wild animals, bit the edge of their shields, and cut down everything they met without discriminating between friend or foe. When this condition ceased, a great dulling of the mind and feebleness followed, which could last for one or several days.[37]
Some scholars propose that certain examples of berserker rage had been induced voluntarily by the consumption ofdrugs such ashallucinogenicmushrooms,[37][38][39] massive amounts ofalcohol,[40] or a mixture only known as 'butotens.'[41] This is much debated[42] but the theory is further supported by the discovery of seeds belonging to black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) in a Viking grave that was unearthed near Fyrkat, Denmark in 1977.[43] An analysis of the symptoms caused byHyoscyamus niger revealed that they are also similar to the symptoms ascribed to the berserker state, which suggest it may have been used to generate their warlike mood.[44] Other explanations for the berserker's madness that have been put forward include self-inducedhysteria,epilepsy, ormental illness, among other causes.[45]
One theory of the berserkers suggests that the physical manifestations of the berserker alongside their rage was a form of self-induced hysteria. Initiated before battle through a ritualistic performance meant for effect, which included actions such as shield-biting and animalistic howling.[46]
Jonathan Shay makes an explicit connection between the berserker rage of soldiers and thehyperarousal ofposttraumatic stress disorder.[47] InAchilles in Vietnam, he writes:
If a soldier survives the berserk state, it imparts emotional deadness and vulnerability to explosive rage to his psychology and permanent hyperarousal to his physiology — hallmarks of post-traumatic stress disorder in combat veterans. My clinical experience with Vietnam combat veterans prompts me to place the berserk state at the heart of their most severe psychological and psychophysiological injuries.[48]
It has been suggested that the berserkers' behavior inspired the legend of thewerewolf.[49]
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