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| Description of the Berserk
The modern popular conception of the Viking warrior is one of a murderous savage, clad in animal skins, howling into battle. This conception probably owes more to literary tradition than to historical fact: it reflects not the ordinary Scandinavian warriors, but rather a special group of fighters known as *berserks* or *berserkers*.
The etymology of the term *berserk* is disputed. It may mean “*bare*-sark,” as in “bare of shirt” and refer to the berserker’s habit of going unarmored into battle. Ynglingasaga records this tradition, saying of the warriors of Odhinn that “they went without coats of mail, and acted like mad dogs and wolves” (Snorri Sturluson. Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway. trans. Lee M. Holander. Austin: U of Texas P. 1964. p.10).
Others have contended that the term should be read “*bear*-sark,” and describes the animal-skin garb of ther berserker. Grettirs Saga calls King Harald’s berserkers “Wolf-Skins,” and in King Harald’s Saga they are called *ulfhedinn* or “wolf-coats,” a term which appears in Vatnsdoela Saga and Hrafnsmal (Hilda R. Ellis-Davidson,”Shape-Changing in the Old Norse Sagas, ” in Animals in Folklore. eds. J.R. Porter and W.M.S. Russell. Totowa NJ: Rowman and Littlefield. 1978. pp. 132-133), as well as in Grettirs Saga (Denton Fox and Hermann Palsson, trans. Grettir’s Saga.” Toronto: U of Toronto P. 1961. p. 3).
The berserker is closely associated in many respects with the god Odhinn. Adam of Bremen in describing the Allfather says, “Wodan — id est furor” or “Wodan — that means fury.” The name Odhinn derives from the Old Norse *odur*. This is related to the German *wut*, “rage, fury,” and to the Gothic *wods*, “possessed” (Georges Dumezil. The Destiny of the Warrior. Chicago, U of Chicago P. 1969. p. 36). This certainly brings to mind the madness associated with the berserker, and other Odhinnic qualities are seen to be possessed by the berserk. Ynglingasaga recounts that Odhinn could shape-shift into the form of a bird, fish, or wild animal (Snorri Sturluson, p. 10). The berserker, too, was often said to change into bestial form, or at least to assume the ferocious qualities of the wolf or bear. Kveldulfr in Egils Saga Skallagrimsonar was spoken of as a shapechanger (Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards, trans. Egil’s Saga. NY: Penguin. 1976. p. 21), and Hrolf’s Saga tells of the hero Bjarki, who takes on the shape of a bear in battle:
Men saw that agreat bear went before King Hrolf’s men, keeping always near the king. He slew more men with his forepaws than any five of the king’s champions. Blades and weapons glanced off him, and he brought down both men and horses in King Hjorvard’s forces, and everything which came in his path he crushed to death with his teeth, so that panic and terror swept through King Hjorvard’s army…” (Gwyn Jones. Eirik the Red and Other Icelandic Sagas. NY: Oxford U.P. 1961. p. 313). Dumezil refers to this phenomenon as the *hamingja* (“spirit” or “soul”) or *fylgja* (“spirit form”) of the berserker, which may appear in animal form in dreams or in visions, as well as in reality (Georges Dumezil. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Los Angeles: U of California P. 1973. p. 142).
The berserk was sometimes inherently possessed of this immunity, or performed spells to induce it, or even had special powers to blunt weapons by his gaze. Many tales say of their berserkers, “no weapon could bite them” or “iron could not bite into him.” This immunity to weapons may also have been connected with the animal-skin garments worn by the berserk. As we saw above, while in animal form, “blades and weapons glanced off” Bodvar Bjarki. Similarly, Vatnsdoela Saga says that “those ebrserks who were called *ulfhednar* had wolf shirts for mail-coats” (Ellis-Davidson, “Shape Changing,” p. 133). This concept of immunity may have evolved from the berserker’s rage, during which the berserk might receive wounds, but due to his state of frenzy take no note of them until the madness passed from him. A warrior who continued fighting while bearing mortal wounds would surely have been a terrifying opponent.
It is likely that the berserk was actually a member of the cult of Odhinn. The practices of such a cult would have been a secret of the group’s initiates, although the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII refers in his Book of Ceremonies to a “Gothic Dance” performed by members of his Varangian guard, who took part wearing animal skins and masks: this may have been connected with berserker rites Hilda R. Ellis-Davidson. Pagan Scandinavia. NY: Frederick A. Praeger. 1967. p. 100). This type of costumed dance is also seen in figures from Swedish helmet plates and scabbard ornaments, which depict human figures with the heads of bears or wolves, dressed in animal skins but having human hands and feet. These figures often carry spears or swords, and are depicted as running or dancing. One plate from Torslunda, Sweden, may show the figure of Odhinn dancing with such a bear figure.
Other ritual practices attributed to berserks may represent the initiation of the young warrior into a band of berserkers. Such bands are mentioned in the sagas, oftentimes numbering twelve warriors. Another commin feature of these bands is the name of the leaser, which is often “Bjorn” or a variant, meaning ‘bear.” The form of this initiation is a battle, either real or simulated, with a bear or other fearsome adversary. Grettirs Saga tells of a situation of this sort, when a man named Bjorn throws Grettir’s cloak into the den of a bear. Grettir slays the bear, recovers his claok, and returns with the bear’s paw as a token of his victory (Fox and Palsson, pp. 62-67). Bodvar Bjarki has a protege, Hjalti, who undergoes a simulated encounter as his initiation in Hrolf’s Saga. Bodvar first slays a dragon-like beast, then sets its skin up on a frame. Hjalti then “attacks” the beast and symbolically kills it before witnesses, earning his place among the warriors (Jones, pp. 282-285). Bronze helmet plates from locations in Sweden and designs upon the Sutton Hoo pyrse lid seem to show examples of these initiatory encounters, where a human figure is seen grappling with one, or often two, bear-like animals (Margaret A. Arent. “The Heroic Pattern: Old German Helmets, Beowulf, and Grettis Saga.” in Old Norse Literature and Mythology. ed. Edgar C. Polome. Austin, U of Texas P. 1969. pp. 133-139). Modern scholars believe that certain examples of berserker rage to have been induced coluntarily by the consumption of drugs such as the hallucinogenic mushroom *Amanita muscaria* (Howard D. Fabing. “On Going Berserk: A Neurochemical Inquiry.” Scientific Monthly. 83 [Nov. 1956] p. 232), or massive quantities of alcohol (Robert Wernick. The Vikings. Alexandria VA: Time-Life Books. 1979. p. 285). While such practices would fit in with ritual usages, other explanations for the berserker’s madness have been put forward, including self-induced hysteria, epilepsy, mental illness or genetic flaws (Peter G. Foote and David m. Wilson. the Viking Achievement. London: Sidgewick & Jackson. 1970. p. 285).
The physical appearance of the berserk was one calculated to present an image of terror. Dumezil draws parallels between the berserk and the tribe of Harii mentioned in Tacitus’s Germania who used not only “natural ferocity” but also dyed their bodues to cause panic and terror in their enemies, just as the berserk combined his fearsome reputation with animal skin dress to suggest the terrifying metamorphosis of the shape changer (Dumezil, Destiny of the Warriro, p. 141). Indeed, berserkers had much in common with those thought to be werewolves. Ulf, a retired berserker, is mentioned in this light in Egils saga Skallagrimsonar:
But every day, as it drew towards evening, he would grow so ill-tempered that no-one could speak to him, and it wasn’t long before he would go to bed. There was talk about his being a shape-changer, and people called him Kveld-Ulf ["Evening Wolf"] (Palsson and Edwards, Egil’s Saga, p.21).
In the sagas, berserks are often described as being fantastically ugly, often being mistaken for trolls, as were Skallagrim and his kinsmen in Egils saga Skallagrimsonar (Palsson and Edwards, Egil’s Saga, p. 66). Egil himself is described as being “black-haired and as ugly as his father” (Ibid., p. 79), and at a feast in the court of the English king Athelstan, Egil is said to have made such terrible faces that Athelstan was forced to give him a gold ring to make him stop:
His eyes were black and his eyebrows joined in the middle. He refused to touch a drink even though people were serving him, and did nothing but pull his eyebrows up and down, now this one, now the other.. (Ibid., pp. 128-129).
Going Berserk – a Description of the Berserkergang The actual fit or madness the berserk experienced was known as *berserkergang*. This condition is described as follows:
This fury, which was called berserkergang, 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 color. 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 dicriminating bewteen friend or foe. When this condition ceased, a great dulling of the mind and feeble- ness followed, which could last for one or several days (Fabing, p. 234). During the berserkergang, the berserk seemed to lose all human reason, a condition in which he could not distinguish between friend and enemy, and which was marked by animalistic screaming. In Arrow-Odd’s Saga, Odd remarks upon hearing a group of berserkers, “Sometimes I seem to hear a bull bellowing or a dog howling, and sometimes it’s like people screaming” (Edwards and Palsson, Arrow-Odd, p. 40).
Another characteristic of berserkergang was the great strength showed by the berserk. This strength was sometimes expressed in the sagas by describing the berserker as a giant or as a troll. The berserker was thought not only to have assumed the ferocity of an animal, but also to have acquired the strength of the bear. In token of this, the berserk might assume a “bear name,” that is, a name containing the element *bjorn* or *biorn*, such as Gerbiorn, Gunbiorn, Arinbiorn, Esbiorn or Thorbiorn (Saxo Grammaticus. The History fo the Danes. trans. Peter Fisher. Totowa NJ: Rowman and Littlefield. 1979. Vol II, p. 95). Bjarki, whose name means “Little Bear,” was said to actually take the shape of the bear in combat.
To gain this bear-like strength, the berserk might drink the blood of a bear or wolf (Ibid., p. 45): Straight away bring your throat to its steaming blood and devour the feast of its body with ravenous jaws. Then new force will enter your frame, an unlooked-for vigor will come to your muscles, accumulation of solid strength soak through every sinew” (Saxo, Vol. I, p. 25).
The aftermath of the berserkergang was characterized by complete physical disability. Egils saga Skallagrimssonar says:
What peoplke say about shape-changers or those who go into berserk fits is this: that as long as they’re in the frenzy they’re so strong that nothing is too much for them, but as soon as they’re out of it they become much weaker than normal. That’s how it was with Kveldulf; as soon as the frenzy left him he felt so worn out by the battle he’d been fighting, and grew so weak as a result of it all that he had to take to his bed (Palsson and Edwards, Egil’s Saga, p. 72).
A common technique used by saga heroes to overcome berserks was to catch them after their madness had left them, as Hjalmar and Arrow-Odd do in Herverar Saga, and slay the berserkers while they lay in their enfeebled state after their fury (Christopher Tolkein, trans. The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. NY: Thomas Nelson & Sons. 1960. pp. 5-7).
The Role of the Berserker in Viking Society The berserker’s place in society was limited by the terror and violence that was associated with berserkergang. As superb warriors, they were due admiration. However, their tendency to turn indicriminately upon their friends while the madness was upon them went squarely against the heroic ethic, which demanded loyalty and fidelity to one’s friends. The berserk skirted the classification of *ni(dh)ingr*, one who was the lowest of men and the object of hate and scorn. An eleventh-century monument raised in Soderby in Uppland, Sweden in memory of a brother reads: “And Sassur killed him and did the deed of a *nidingr* — he betrayed his comrade” (Foote and Wilson, p. 426).
The primary role of the berserk was as a warrior attacked to a king’s army. Both King Harald and King Halfdan had berserker shock-troops. Aside from their military value, the berserker’s ties to Odhinn would have been welcome in a royal army, since Odhinn also had a particular association with rulership, being venerated in Anglo-Saxon England as the ancestor of chieftains, and throughout the North as god of kings and protector of their royal power (Dumezil, Gods of the Ancient Northmen, p. 26). Outside of this role, however, the berserker became the stock villain of the sagas, typified as murderous, stupid brutes, or as one modern critic has it, “a predatory group of brawlers and killers who disrupted the peace of the Viking community repeatedly” (Fabing, p. 232). Saxo Grammaticus speaks of such a band in his Gesta Danorum:
The young warriors would harry and pillage the neighborhood, and frequently spilt great quantities of blood. They considered it manly and proper to devastate homes, cut down cattle, rifle everything and take away vast hauls of booty, burn to the ground houses they had sacked, and butcher men and women indicriminately” (Saxo, Vol. I, p. 163).
In addition to their warlike activities within their communities, berserkers are characterized by their sexual excesses, carrying off wives, daughters and betrothed maids who then must be rescued by the heroes of the sagas.
It was no doubt due to these excesses of the berserker that resulted in their demise. In 1015 King Erik outlawed berserks, along with *holmganga* or duels (Fabing, p. 235): it had become a common practice for a berserker to challenge men of property to holmgang, and upon slaying the unfortunate victim, to take possession of his goods, wealth, and women. This was a difficult tactic to counter, since a man so challenged had to appear, have a champion fight for him, or else be named *ni(dh)ingr* and coward.
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