The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1961, Side 44

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Summer 1961
6THK VIKING SPIRIT
by TRYGGVI J. OLESON
One of the great and vital forces in
history has been the VIKING SPIRIT.
By this term I do not, of course, mean
the spirit of fury, violence and slaugh-
ter—the berserk spirit—which, no
doubt, sometimes characterised the
Viking raids of the ninth and tenth
centuries and which caused the church
to include in the litany the prayer:
“From the fury of the Northmen, O
Lord, deliver us.” This aspect of the
Viking Age has often been unduly
emphasised, but there is now more and
more general recognition of the fact
that it is by no means the most import-
ant feature of the expansion of the
Scandinavian peoples, but rather an
inevitable accompaniment of expan-
sion in all early ages. Excesses mark
such ventures especially in warlike
times and are to be deplored. Of more
lasting importance, however, is the
tremendous vitality, which was shown
by the Vikings, the indomitable spirit
and adamantine will to overcome and
break all resistance of the visible. The
same spirit which gave the Vikings
their invincible courage in battle, when
battle was necessary, enabled them to
overcome problems of every kind—of
a spiritual as well as of a physical na-
ture. In that great poetic work, the
Havamal, the virtues of a nobleman are
set forth. He is one who is taciturn
rather than locquacious, thoughtful
rather than indiscreet, striving to
understand the essence of all things.
He is indeed courageous in battle, and
battle here may be understood not
only in a narrow sense, but signifying
all the difficulties which a man must
solve and the obstacles he must over-
come to render the material environ-
ment conducive to better living. The
true nobleman will also be of good
cheer and a congenial companion, vital-
ly filled with a spirit of good fellow-
ship.
Had the Viking been nothing but a
freebooter the Viking Age would not
be memorable today. We should then
be able to point to few achievements.
Any conquests made by the Vikings
would have been as ephemeral as those
of Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan,
the Emperor of all Men. Instead the
Viking expansion remains one of the
most incredible and significant events
in the history of mankind. Sweeping
out of the north the Vikings in the
course of three centuries left a rich and
lasting monument to their genius. In
England, France and Sicily they created
in Western Europe the outstanding
political states of the Middle Ages.
After a short period during which
Christianity suffered at their hands
they became its most ardent champions,
the benefactors of the church in their
new homelands, the principal carriers
of the Gross in the mighty crusade
against the Crescent. In the east the
Swedish Vikings, rivalling their bro-
thers the Danes and Norwegians in the
west, laid, in the principality of Kiev,
the foundations of Russia,one of the
tremendous feats in history. In the
north the Vikings founded the unique
republic of Iceland and produced as
great literature as the Middle Ages
were to produce. Their adventurous
spirit made them the first Europeans
to sail the open seas far from the sight
of land and these voyages led to the dis-