The children who dreamed of becoming Vikings

Since the beginning of time, children have played at imitating their elders, which may tell us what kind of society they lived in. Among the Vikings, not all children stayed in their Scandinavian villages, but some traveled on ships or were born in the settlements. Despite this, their games were virtually the same in all territories. As we shall see, their games reflected the militarized and masculinized society in which they lived.

Games

Toys

Just as children today may be happier with a cardboard box than with the most spectacular toy, Norse children played perfectly well with discarded objects that were not originally created as toys. However, they also had toys made of wood, tree bark, bone or deer antlers that could represent weapons, ships, boats, animals such as horses or tools such as hand mills, demonstrating their interest in the dominant areas in their culture: military, shipping and agriculture. Interestingly, despite their dispersion and mixing with other cultures, these types of toys were always present.

The toy weapons are notorious because they are not crude representations, but respected the proportions and details of those used by adults in Viking times. Thus, we can find swords, arrows, bows, axes, spears and knives made of wood, clay or stone with the right size for children. It is possible that, as they grew older, they used larger toys. Since adults used wooden swords in training, it is possible that these toys were a way to familiarize children with the practice.

Strategy games

Board games could introduce children to military contexts. In hnefatafl, the centerpieces of the king and his retinue must flee from the surrounding armies, whose numbers were greater. As recounted in the eddic poem Rígsþula, swimming and playing, including board games, were part of any aristocratic child's apprenticeship. It is likely that it was used to teach leadership and strategy in future elites. The rest of the population could have created tafl boards with other materials. It has even been argued that children could have improvised a board with pieces of wood or stone. In reference to these, the rules of the game could have made clear the differences between the elites and the rest, as it is possible that the rules favored the king's forces. In addition, his entourage had to sacrifice themselves to facilitate the king's victory.

Physical activities

Although there is no archaeological evidence for this, it is believed that physical activity would have been the most important, as it would have provided physical well-being, leadership, loyalty, group formation and competitiveness. Its performance allowed strength and skill to be demonstrated to others, which would have been socially desirable. As the saying goes, it would have demonstrated that boys would be men of achievement. Thus, the Icelandic sagas highlight swimming, archery or rowing as activities that fostered masculine traits. Other practices were water drowning or fighting. According to the literature, knattleikr involved boys and men, leading to violence and resulting in injury or murder of participants of all ages. As examples, in Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar, 14-year-old Grettir fights with an older boy named Auðunn in this same game because the latter intentionally hit him in the head with the ball, while in Egils saga Skallagrímssonar, Egill's father gets angry and kills a member of the other team.

These games would have attracted an audience of both men and women, so they were motivated to show off, although they could also end up humiliated. Cruelty and the desire to fit in would have predisposed to violence, as told in Flóamanna saga, where a group of children insult and exclude Þorgils because only those who had killed a living being could participate, so Þorgils kills his stepfather's horse the next night. These reactions not only established expected behaviors, but also established hierarchies.

Preparation for adulthood

Taken together, these activities would have prepared the child for adult life and its difficulties. In the graves where adolescents and children are found, injuries compatible with the traumas and physical activities of contact sports can be found. Taking into account that some remains are of children under 10 years of age, they would indicate that some of them would have trained from a very young age. Similarly, it has been observed that exposure to violence could have affected them psychologically, making them aggressive and perpetuating these behaviors for generations.

The objects with which they were buried also indicate that some may have had expectations of becoming great warriors, as evidenced by graves of children with weapons, military equipment and/or sacrificed bridled horses. This grave goods could be present even if the child had not been able to use them, such as that present in children with severe degenerative diseases, infants, or children with adult weapons and shields.

Becoming adults

Together, the game and the practice were intended to satisfy social conventions. In the case of boys, they had to achieve masculinity that demonstrated their superiority. To do so, they needed traits such as aggression, recklessness, physical qualities, imposing command structure and openly expressing their heterosexuality. Their adherence to these traits would determine their social position, so women and those who ignored them were looked down upon. This difference was reflected in the objects that accompanied him at death.

Regarding this, we should keep in mind that the concept of becoming an adult at the age of 18 or 21 is relatively recent and, technically, somewhat arbitrary. In some cultures, there is usually a rite of passage that marks the beginning of adulthood. For the ancient Norse, a child had to demonstrate that he or she had become an adult through the practices mentioned above. As it was a continuous process, some adult legal rules applied to different ages.

Girls and women

For Scandinavian society, overstepping the boundaries of your gender had social and legal repercussions. For example, Icelandic Grágás laws indicated that a woman who cut her hair, wore men's clothing or carried weapons would become an outcast. However, the hierarchical system in place was linear and had a certain fluidity. That is, a man's actions could raise or lower him, but so could a woman's, but she had to show the masculine qualities that were valued.
 
In Laxdæla saga, "Breeches Auðr" dressed like a man and used weapons, being admired in spite of it. In Hervararar saga ok Heiðreks, Hervör was beautiful but strong like a man, independent was better with the arrow and bow than with the needle. Since this lifestyle was incompatible with what was expected for a woman, something that did not spare her from criticism, she changed her name to Hervarðr and lived as a Viking, composing poems and playing board games, men's activities. In Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar, Ϸornbjörg trains as a child with sword and horse. To her father's dissatisfaction, she replies that "you have only been given one life to rule this kingdom and I am your only daughter and heir...it seems likely that I will have to defend it against a few kings and princes when you are gone."

Although in the minority, some women acquired positions of military leadership. As in men, girls as well as adolescents and women could be accompanied by weapons, real or toy, in their graves. However, it is debated whether it had the same significance as in men or not. In this aspect, they could have experienced conditions that would have made their warlike participation necessary or that their own characteristics, such as their position, would have brought them closer to these activities. However, these seem to be exceptional situations that did not apply to all women at all times.

Source

• Raffield, B. (2019). Playing Vikings: militarism, hegemonic masculinities, and childhood enculturation in Viking Age Scandinavia. Current Anthropology, 60(6), 813-835.