The Draconian Viking (Part 1.4)
Convinced?
After being freed from his bound legs, Ketilbjörn and the princess went outside to meet with the group that would be accompanying them; after breakfast of course. He was surprised to see the same group that was present last night were waiting for them outside the hut. "Are these the women that are travelling with us?" he whispers to Kiriad.
"Something the matter?" she asked, whispering back.
"No, not at all. Unless you remember the few that you just fought with and they remember how you were the one who punched and/or injured them."
Smiling, she reassured him. "It'll be alright. Just play nice and they'll come around. I guarantee it." They greeted the warriors who were armed, with one of them, being Kanti, had some rope in hand. Nervous, he gave them a wave and a bow. Clearing his throat, he spoke to them in a polite tone. "Good morning everyone. I am Ketilbjörn, son of Dufniall and Viking warrior of the Ragnar clan. I do wish to, first and foremost, apologize for the misunderstanding yesterday. I do wish to start over with you all and pray that we can come to get along with each other." The tigers were impressed, by both how he was able to speak their language and from his apology. But it didn't seem like that with Ashaki at first. She walked up to him and looked down at him. Even at six foot tall, she stood a foot and a half taller than him. After looking him over, she suddenly swung at him and connected to his stomach knocking the wind out of him. With a wheeze, he bowed over as he tried to get his breath back. "Ashaki! Why did you do that?!" Kiriad asked with an incredulous look on her face just the same as everyone present.
"Just a little payback for that headbutt before." Ashaki replied, new axe in hand as she showed a satisfied grin. Understanding, Ketilbjörn nodded in compliance. "It's quite alright. Seems fair enough." Feeling a little better, he then stood back up and nodded to them all. "Shall we get going then?" he asked the princess.
"We shall, but first um..." She then nodded to Xiu who came up to him with the rope. With a sly smile, the slim tigress tied a part of it around his neck. Getting the hint, he sighed and nodded again in consent. As Xiu proceeded, he couldn't help but notice the sly smile on her face not really sure what to make of it. Everything set, the group soon set off with Ketilbjörn, Kiriad and Xiu out front with Tam'syn behind him. As they made their way to his camp, Ketilbjörn was soon bombarded with questions about his people; as he was more than happy to answer.
As he simply put it, the Vikings were usually farmers, traders, blacksmiths, and craftsmen. On occasion, they took to raiding towns, churches and monasteries. Many of the places they attacked were along the coasts for they were the easiest to reach. With their swift and easily landed ships, the Vikings would quickly swarm over the communities, killing and looting, and just as fast return to their ships and leave. They were gone before any defense or counter-attack could be made; though it was only part time. When Viking's weren't busy farming, planting crops, for instance, they left their farms and went raiding. They often returned in time for harvest in the fall. Raiding was very profitable, however, and many farmers became full time pirates and raiders. The Vikings were also fearless explorers who actually reached North America, making them the first Europeans to discover America. Some had settled in Iceland and tried to colonize Greenland. They were also shrewd and competent traders and merchants. They traded all the goods of the north (furs, amber, iron and timber) for all the goods of the south (silver, gold, silks and spices). And all along the trade routes, the Vikings traded in slaves (this fact Ketilbjörn left out because even if he did explain it to the tigers and told them truthfully that his clan had no part in it, they probably wouldn't believe him).
He then continued telling them about the Viking gods and goddesses his people worshipped including his clans' god Tyr, the god of war, justice in battle, victory and heroic glory; as well as the center of the Vikings' cosmos the ash tree Yggdrasil, growing out of the Well of Urd. Yggdrasil held the Nine Worlds, the home of the gods, men and all spiritual beings. The gods lived in Asgard and Vanaheim, humans inhabit Midgard, giants in Jotunheim, elves in Alfheim and dwarves in Svartalfheim. Another was the primordial world of ice, Niflheim, while Muspelheim was the world of fire. The last world comprised Hel, the land of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel.
His people also ate food based on a feudal economy. On a typical day at the farm, the family would eat two meals: the dagmal (day meal) which was served an hour after rising and the nattmal (night meal) at the end of the working day. For breakfast, the dagmal, the adults might eat a bit of some leftover stew still in the cauldron from the night before, with bread and fruit. The children would have porridge and dried fruit or perhaps buttermilk and bread. The evening meal could be fish or meat, stewed with vegetables. They might also eat some more dried fruit with honey as a sweet treat. Honey was the only sweetener the Vikings knew. Vikings drank ale, mead or buttermilk daily. Feasts would include the same foods--meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, wild greens, bread and fruit, but in a greater variety than usual meal and more of it. Vikings enjoyed drinking ale and mead at feasts. Mead is a strong, fermented drink made from honey. The women cooked meats, vegetables and breads over the hearth (an open fire pit in the middle of the hall). The wife either roasted the meat on a spit over the fire or boiled it in a soapstone pot or iron cauldron. Vikings loved rich stews, so often meats, vegetables and wild greens were stewed in the cauldron with water. Breads were baked on flat stones or iron griddles over the fire. Salt and pepper were available to most Vikings while costlier spices were imported and added to the foods of wealthier Vikings.
When farming crops, barley and rye were the grains that grew best in the northern climate, along with oats. From these grains, Vikings made beer, bread, stews and porridge. Barley was used mostly for beer, with hops to flavor it. Flatbread was the daily bread of the Vikings. A simple dough was made from ground oats or barley, water was added and then the dough flattened out on a griddle and baked over the fire. Vikings consumed a variety of vegetables including cabbage, onions, garlic, leeks, turnips, peas and beans. These garden crops were sowed in spring and harvested in late summer and fall. Women and children gathered wild plants and herbs, mostly greens. These wild vegetables included nettles, docks, cresses and lambs-quarters. Vikings also grew some herbs such as dill, parsley, mustard, horseradish and thyme. Vikings also raised cows, horses, oxen, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens and ducks. They ate beef, goat, pork, mutton, lamb, chicken and duck and occasionally horsemeat. The chickens and ducks produced eggs, so the Vikings ate their eggs as well as eggs gathered from wild seabirds. Because most Vikings lived on the coast, they ate all kinds of fish, both ocean-going and freshwater fish. In fact, fish was probably a good 25 percent of their diet. While Vikings enjoyed drinking milk, whey and buttermilk, they also used the milk to make other dairy products including cheese, skyr (a soft, yogurt-like cheese), curds and butter. Sour whey was used to preserve cooked meats in the winter. Viking farms included apple orchards and such fruit trees as pears and cherries. Wild berries were harvested in the summer, including sloe-berries, lingon berries, strawberries, bilberries and cloud-berries. Walnuts were imported, but hazelnuts grew wild and nuts were a favorite treat.
The tigers were all fascinated about his peoples' culture and wished to know more, even Zurina was a bit impressed. They wanted to know more, but that would have to wait for they were close to his range of exploration from when he first landed as he caught sight of his markings. Following the trail, they soon arrived upon his camp still where he left it yesterday. "There it is." said Ketilbjörn as he pointed it out to them, and then to his personal knarr. "And there's my ship." The knarr was a cargo ship with the hull being wider, deeper and shorter than a longship, and could take more cargo and be operated by smaller crews. Normally built with a length of about 16 m (54 ft), a beam of 5 m (15 ft), and a hull capable of carrying up to 24 tons, his was built with half the usual measurements to accommodate his needs. Upon permission from the princess, he took off the sheets covering the goods that he brought with him for such the occasion. Upon reveal, the look on the tigers' faces: priceless. Their faces were filled with wonder and curiosity as they gazed upon his hoard of goodies with glee. A large grin sat upon the Viking's face as he observed. He chuckled as he saw Zurina who at first looked as happy as everyone else present until she saw him looking at her then frowned. "So, am I in the clear?" he asked Kiriad.
"Just one last thing." she said. She nodded over to Scyde who in turn turned to Xiu, Ashaki and Zurina and they split off in separate directions along the shoreline for any sign of his people anywhere in case they were hiding. As they did so, the questions continued as the remaining tigers asked him about the women of his clan. He went to explain that Viking girls were usually forced to marry around the age of 12 and tend to a household full of kids while their husbands sailed off into awesome adventures. However, when compared to other women during that time, they enjoyed a wide range of freedoms. They had the right to inherit property, file for a divorce, and even reclaim settlements if the marriage failed. The women's role was domestic, taking care of the family, preparing food, laundry, milking cows, sheep and goats, making butter and cheeses, preserving food for winter, gardening, cleaning and the most time-consuming task of all, making the family's clothes. Spinning, carding, weaving, cutting and sewing took a long time. It could take a Viking woman 35 hours to spin enough yarn for a day's weaving, to give you some idea of how much time it took to make clothing.
Viking women married young--as early as 12 years old. By the age of 20, virtually all men and women were married. Life expectancy was about 50 years, but most died long before reaching 50. Only a few lived to 60. Marriages were arranged by the parents of the young couple. A marriage was a contract between two families: the groom's family paid a bride price to bride's family when the couple was betrothed. At the marriage, the bride's father paid a dowry. Since both families had a financial investment in the new couple, a marriage was as much a matter for the families as it was for the people involved.
The Viking children had education of their own. The boys learned all the men's work, taught by their fathers, brothers and uncles. Girls worked along with their mothers and aunts learning how to cook, garden, take care of the domestic animals and make clothing. By the time they reached adulthood at 12 to 15, both boys and girls could effectively run a household and a farm. As is always the case, there were exceptions to these general societal rules of behavior. When the men went to settle Iceland, Greenland and Finland, women went with them. Vikings settled in England, Ireland and France as families. However, only men went raiding and trading while women stayed home and minded the farm. Women in Viking society had more power than most other European women of the time. They could divorce their husbands, own some property and sell their own handicrafts. Some women became wealthy landowners. Others participated in trade--scales used for weighing silver used in trade have been found in women's graves. Even a few weapons were found in female graves, giving the notion that some women were fighters along side of their men. Most women in Viking society, however, lived and worked in the domestic realm of the household.
While the age to marry in his culture seemed off-putting to the tigers, they did seem to love the idea of having control in a relationship just the same as their mates. The other three tigers soon retuned a few minutes after Ketilbjörn finished his tale. "There's no one else here." said a convinced Scyde. "He's the only one of his kind that's here."
"I guess you're okay...for now." grumbled Zurina, folding her arms still holding her weapon of choice: a scythe.
"Glad to hear it." Ketilbjörn smiled, at least happy that he got some consent from her. "So does that mean...?"
"Yes, I believe it does." said Kiriad as she took one of Kanti's knives from her, pausing for a moment. "Unless there are any other objections." She proposed this to the ladies to see if anyone else would say otherwise. It looked unanimous as no one seemed to speak up against this. Zurina hesitated for a moment, but then kept her peace. "Then it's settled." Smiling, Kiriad turned to Ketilbjörn and cut off his bonds. Free of his bonds, he was finally able to rub his wrists from the pressure and the itching. He then pulled of the makeshift leash from his neck and handed it back to Xiu. "I believe this belongs to you." he said to her.
"Why thank you, mister Viking." she said in a flirty tone which surprised the young human as he tugged on his collar nervously.
"Aaanyway, I suppose we should probably get back to the campsite then huh?"
"I suppose we should." said Kiriad.
"But what about all of this stuff?" questioned Tam'syn as she gestured to the goods that were still in the boat. Ketilbjörn thought about it for a moment. "Is there a river possibly large enough for the knarr that connects to the ocean?" he asks Kiriad and the other tigers?"
(*Here are the links that I got for the information about the Vikings. I hope they prove quite informational for all those who are either fans of Viking culture or curious about the history of Vikings.