Between
Thor's presence in the Marvel movies and the hit History channel show
there is a renewed interest in those savage Nordic warriors known
collectively as the Vikings.
Known for their ingenuity and
hardiness as much as their ferocity in combat, the Vikings were a
diverse and loosely banded group of clans whose heroes were hardly what
you'd call heroic.
Have you heard tales about the great Viking hero Erik the Red? Turns out
his fellow Vikings saw Erik as too violent.
Erik
found trouble with his fellow Vikings wherever he called home, and
having a disagreement with Erik meant you and yours would be killed in
cold blood.
His life was a series of deadly brawls and banishment,
but he did sire the great explorer Leif Erikson, so his life wasn't all
death and destruction.
Speaking
of death and bodily dismemberment- it's funny that the Vikings found
Erik to be such a brute, considering Vikings were known for
bloody duels called Holmgangs,
ritual sacrifice,
infanticide and a brutal torture technique called
the Blood Eagle.
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