Viking History: Facts & Myths維京人歷史之真真假假

瑞安·古德里奇 鐵文霖

The Vikings were a seafaring people from the late eighth to early 11th century who established a name for themselves as traders， explorers and warriors. They discovered the Americas long before Columbus and could be found as far east as the distant reaches of Russia.

While these people are often attri-buted as savages raiding the more civil-ized nations for treasure and women， the motives and culture of the Viking people are much more diverse. These raiders also facilitated many changes throughout the lands from economics to warfare.

The Viking Age

Many historians commonly associate the term “Viking” to the Scandinavian term vikingr， a word for “pirate.” However， the term is meant to reference oversea expeditions， and was used as a verb by the Scandinavian people for when the men traditionally took time out of their summers to go “a Viking.” While many would believe these expeditions entailed the raiding of monasteries and cities along the coast， many expeditions were actually with the goal of trade and enlisting as foreign mercenaries.

The Viking Age generally refers to the period from A.D. 800， a few years after the earliest recorded raid， until the 1050s， a few years before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066， according to Angelo Forte， Richard D. Oram and Frederik Pedersen， authors of “Viking Empires” （Cambridge University Press， 2005）. During this time， the reach of the Scandinavian people extended to all corners of northern Europe， and many other nations found Vikings raiding their coasts. The farthest reported records of Vikings were in Baghdad for the trading of goods like fur， tusks and seal fat.

The Viking ship

At the heart of the Viking culture lies the Viking ship. These extraordin-ary vessels—longships in particular—shaped the lives of the sea-faring Norse1 and changed the course of European history.

Honed for more than 10 centuries， the ship-building skills of the Norse led to a variety of vessels—from small fishing boats and big-bellied cargo vessels to the famous lightning-fast longships used for raiding. But no matter the size， most of the ships were designed to be narrow in shape with short drafts2 （vertical distance between waterline and bottom of ship）， features that gave them high adaptability for use in the ocean and rivers.

The Vikings ship-building craft reached a high point in the 7th century when they invented the keel， a structural beam that runs from the bow to the stern3 and sits lower than the main body of the ship. This feature increased speed and stability and prevented unwanted lateral movement， according to Yachting & Boating World.

To begin the ship-building process， the Vikings would drive wedges into freshly-cut trees until the wood split along the grain4. Up to 20 great oaks might be cut down for a ship. The wood was shaped and arranged so that the planks fit together perfectly in a clinker construction5， overlapping like a fan. In clinker shipbuilding， the outside is started first， and then the frame is put inside it， according to the living history site Regia Anglorum. The ship was coated with a watertight mixture of tar-soaked animal hair， wool or moss and stabilized with iron rivets. The end result was an incredibly fast and flexible longship that nothing could catch.

The men rowed with a series of oars， supplemented with a large sail most likely made of wool. Rather than a rudder， the longships had a steerboard fastened to the right-hand side of the ship at the stern， according to Royal Museums Greenwich.

By the middle of the 9th century， the raids really picked up as word spread across the Norse region of Europes removable wealth. Norse villages and communities came together to build ships with the intention of improving their lives through the business of raiding. In 842， Vikings ruthlessly attacked Nantes on the French coast， and because of their ability to maneuver up rivers， they went on to raid towns as far inland as Paris， Limoges， Orleans， Tours and Nimes.

The Vikings longships were usually adorned with carved dragon heads at the bow， which were believed to keep evil spirits away. The dragon head coupled with a large square， red-striped sail would come to be known as the signature of the Vikings. The sight would strike fear into the hearts of Europeans for three centuries.

Viking myths

Many modern perceptions of Vikings found their origins through Catholic propaganda. Upon the sacking of multiple Christian facilities and the loss of countless relics and treasures， the Catholic ministry sought to dehumanize them. Until Queen Victorias rule of Britain， the Vikings were still portrayed as a violent and barbaric people. During the 19th and 20th centuries， perceptions changed to the point where Vikings were glamorized as noble savages with horned helmets， a proud culture and a feared prowess in battle.

With regards to the more popular Viking myths created through these misperceptions， the following are proven to be clearly false according to historical record：

Vikings wore horned helmets

Vikings traditionally went bareheaded or wore simple leather and metal-frame helmets with the occasional face guard. The idea behind horned helmets came about from the Viking revival during Victorias reign.

They were filthy and unkempt

Archaeologists find evidence on a regular basis of combs， razors， ear spoons and other grooming utensils that indicate the Viking people were very keen on maintaining personal hygiene.

They spent all their time raiding and warring

While raiding proved an excellent source of income， many of the Vikings held farms back in their homeland that their wives maintained during Viking season. When the men returned home from a raid， they resumed their normal routine of farming.

Vikings were a unified army

Due to the difficult geographic location， the Scandinavian people were very spread out to conserve limited farmland. In addition， the penetration of Christianity caused many great divisions among the people still worshipping the traditional Nordic pantheon， further emphasizing the divided nature of the people.

They were large and heavily muscled

Due to the short summer seasons， growing crops was difficult and resources were always scarce. As a result， many of the Scandinavian people were much smaller than commonly depicted due to limited food sources.

While the living conditions in Scandinavian regions were certainly harsh and made a hard people， many Vikings suffered from the scarcity of resources and the people set up their homes over great distances with no real unified leadership. During the Viking Age， the Scandinavian people were able to make a stronger push to the outside worlds and create a reputation for themselves beyond simple barbarism. While some Vikings were driven with the lust for riches， many sought more peaceful economic relationships with the surrounding nations.

維京人是個航海民族，興起于8世紀(jì)晚期，消亡于11世紀(jì)早期，是公認(rèn)的商人、探險家和勇士。遠(yuǎn)在哥倫布發(fā)現(xiàn)新大陸之前，他們就已踏上了美洲。他們也曾向東挺進(jìn)，直抵俄國的邊遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)。

由于維京人會為了財色而去襲擊比他們先進(jìn)的民族，他們常被看成是野蠻人，但他們的作戰(zhàn)動機(jī)絕沒那么簡單，維京人的文化也遠(yuǎn)比人們所想的更為豐富多樣。這些劫掠者也促成了當(dāng)時歐洲社會的諸多變革，所涉領(lǐng)域從經(jīng)濟(jì)到軍事不一而足。

維京時代

斯堪的納維亞語中有個詞叫vikingr，意為海盜。許多歷史學(xué)家都把Viking（維京人）和vikingr聯(lián)系在一起。然而，Viking這個詞的本義卻是海外探險，在斯堪的納維亞語中是動詞，指的是古時男子夏季的例行遠(yuǎn)航。許多人都認(rèn)為維京人遠(yuǎn)征不外乎是襲擊沿海的修道院和城市，但實際上，許多遠(yuǎn)航的真正目的是通商以及參加外國雇傭軍。

盎格魯·福特、理查德·D.奧拉姆和弗雷德里克·佩德森是《維京帝國》（劍橋大學(xué)出版社，2005）的三位作者。據(jù)他們所說，維京時代一般指公元800年至1050年代這一段時期，有史可查的最早的突襲行動就發(fā)生在公元800年之前那幾年，而維京時代結(jié)束后沒幾年的1066年就發(fā)生了諾曼征服。在此期間，斯堪的納維亞人的勢力范圍擴(kuò)展到了北歐的每個角落，維京人還襲擊了北歐之外許多國家的沿海地區(qū)。據(jù)說，走得最遠(yuǎn)的維京人曾到過巴格達(dá)，他們在那里做買賣，出售皮貨、海象牙及海豹油脂等物。

維京艦船

維京艦船集中體現(xiàn)了維京人的文化。這些奇特的船只——尤其是長船——決定了以航海為業(yè)的古斯堪的納維亞人的生活，也改變了歐洲歷史的發(fā)展進(jìn)程。

憑著磨煉了千余年的造船技藝，古斯堪的納維亞人能造各種船——從小漁船、大肚貨船到著名的長船，種類繁多。其中，長船是突襲時用的，速度奇快。但不管船只大小如何，它們大都外形狹窄，吃水不深（水位線與船底間的垂直距離），這樣的特點使船極適宜在河海中航行。

到了7世紀(jì)，維京人發(fā)明了龍骨結(jié)構(gòu)，造船技藝已達(dá)到了很高的水平。龍骨是船體結(jié)構(gòu)中縱貫首尾的那根梁，位于船只主體的下方。根據(jù)“賽艇與劃船世界”網(wǎng)站的說法，由于采用了這種結(jié)構(gòu)，船只行駛得更快更穩(wěn)了，這種構(gòu)造還有防止過度橫搖的作用。

維京人造船的第一步是在剛砍下的樹上打楔子，要打到樹干沿木紋裂開為止。那時人們可能要砍掉20棵大橡樹才能造出一艘船。削成形的板條重疊搭接在一起，如扇子般疊合固定，接合處嚴(yán)絲合縫。歷史重現(xiàn)學(xué)會Regia Anglorum網(wǎng)站稱，在以重疊搭接法造船時，人們先從船體外殼造起，而后再把肋骨構(gòu)架放進(jìn)去。維京人會以鐵鉚釘加固船身，最后在船體外部覆一層由浸過瀝青的動物毛、羊毛或苔蘚混合而成的防水層。至此，一條長船就造好了，它不但速度飛快，而且極為靈活，沒什么能趕上它。

水手們行船，除了要搖槳，還要把帆也升起來，那巨大的帆極有可能是羊毛做的。按格林威治皇家博物館網(wǎng)站所述，長船沒有舵，但在船尾右舷固定著一根舵槳。

到了9世紀(jì)中葉，有關(guān)可在歐洲獲取財寶的傳言傳遍了古斯堪的納維亞地區(qū)，于是維京人襲擊的頻次大大增加。古斯堪的納維亞各地的村莊和部族都聚在一起建造戰(zhàn)船，想通過劫掠來改善生活。842年，維京人無情地攻擊了法國的海岸城市南特，他們有溯游而上的本事，所以接著又襲擊了遙遠(yuǎn)的內(nèi)陸城市，如巴黎、利摩日、奧爾良、圖爾和尼姆。

由于維京人認(rèn)為龍頭能避邪，所以長船的船頭通常都有龍頭雕飾。后來，龍頭和帶有紅色條紋的方形巨帆就成了維京人的標(biāo)志。在后來的300年中，歐洲人一見這個標(biāo)志就害怕。

對維京人的錯誤認(rèn)識

現(xiàn)代人對維京人的許多認(rèn)識得自以前的天主教的宣傳。當(dāng)時的天主教神父著力宣揚(yáng)維京人非人道的一面，因為維京人洗劫了基督教的很多重要場所，古物珍寶損失無數(shù)。在維多利亞女王統(tǒng)治英國之前，維京人一直被刻畫成狂暴野蠻的民族。到了19世紀(jì)和20世紀(jì)，人們改變了對維京人的看法，他們被美化成了戴著有角頭盔的高貴的野蠻人，擁有值得自豪的文化，還具備讓人膽寒的戰(zhàn)斗力。

這些錯誤認(rèn)識使人們對維京人懷有一些謬見。對照史料，下列較普遍的看法顯然錯誤：

維京戰(zhàn)士戴著有角的頭盔

維京戰(zhàn)士一般不戴頭盔，就是要戴，也只戴由金屬骨架和皮革拼接而成的頭盔，頭盔上偶爾附有面罩。帶角的頭盔是人們想象出來的，那是維多利亞時代維京文化復(fù)興的產(chǎn)物。

維京人又臟又邋遢

考古學(xué)家時常挖到維京人所用的梳子、剃須刀、耳匙及其他梳洗用具，這證明他們很愛干凈。

維京人把時間都用在劫掠和作戰(zhàn)上

雖然維京人通過劫掠獲得了大批財物，但許多人都沒有舍棄家鄉(xiāng)的農(nóng)場，在遠(yuǎn)征時節(jié)，妻子們就守著自家的農(nóng)場。當(dāng)男人們劫掠歸來時，他們?nèi)砸粘８鳌?/p>

維京軍隊是團(tuán)結(jié)的隊伍

由于地理位置不利，斯堪的納維亞人為了耕種有限的農(nóng)田而散居各地。此外，基督教的滲入使傳統(tǒng)的北歐多神教的教眾內(nèi)部出現(xiàn)了嚴(yán)重的分裂，這更說明這不是個團(tuán)結(jié)的民族。

維京人身形高大肌肉發(fā)達(dá)

由于夏天短，北歐地區(qū)莊稼難種，糧食總也不夠吃。因為食物來源有限，很多斯堪的納維亞人都比人們通常所描述的要瘦小得多。

斯堪的納維亞地區(qū)的生存條件無疑是惡劣的，當(dāng)?shù)厝艘惨虼硕纬闪死淇岬男愿?，許多維京人都飽受資源短缺之苦，人們分居各地，彼此遠(yuǎn)離，沒有真正的統(tǒng)一領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。在維京時代，斯堪的納維亞人能夠更有力地向外部世界推進(jìn)，也不再單純以殘暴的一面示人，從而為自己樹立了聲望。有些維京人一心只想掠奪財富，但有許多維京人是在尋求與周邊各國建立較為和睦的經(jīng)濟(jì)關(guān)系。

1 Norse古斯堪的納維亞人的;（尤指）北歐海盜的。

2 draft吃水深度。? 3 stern船尾;艉。? 4 the grain（木頭和織物等的）紋理。? 5 clinker construction指類似北歐疊板船（clinker boat）的構(gòu)造。建造北歐疊板船，先要將薄木板固定在龍骨和閥桿等支柱上，然后用金屬鉚釘、木釘或繩子將逐層重疊的木板固定在一起。