In Poul Anderson's "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth," Hathawulf and Solbern die killing so many of King Ermanaric's men that they fatally weaken him. In Anderson's The People Of The Wind, Draun of Highsky Choth dies killing Terrans whom he hates but his people keep their freedom. In the Ythrian New Faith, Draun's death would honor God the Hunter. However, Draun is of the Old Faith and casts the Terrans onto hell-wind.
We see various populations resisting Terrans, with different results.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The strongest expression I've seen in Anderson's works of a Viking's warrior fear, hatred, and contempt for a "straw death" was in "The Tale of Hauk."
And, if my memory is correct, I don't think Draun succeeded in killing that many Terrans before they killed him!
Ad astra! Sean
Draun was also standing over the body of his son, IIRC?
The ferocity of Viking-era Scandinavians served a number of functional purposes. It was a deterrent -- everyone knew that if you pushed free men too far, they were likely to decide to burn everything down and try to take you with them. That actually made aggression less likely. Even if you were stronger than X, they might do you irreparable harm.
Mr Stirling,
About Draun, correct.
Paul.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I think the kind of Viking ferocity you discussed only worked up to a point. E.g. the Viking wars finally came to a stop around AD 1100 because nations like Scotland, England, France, etc., had finally pulled themselves together sufficiently that it was no longer cost effective for Scandinavians to go plundering and raiding.
Also, that ferocity could be used in self destructive ways. E.g.. the civil war era in Norway after the death of King Sigurd Jerusalemfarer and the Sturlung Age in Iceland. Both were marked by viciously violent feuds and civil wars. And in both cases ended when a strong monarchy imposed order in both Norway and Iceland.
Happy New Year! Sean
Sean. Yup. It was a primitive solution to a continuing problem.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And primitive solutions like Berserker ferocity are not going to be truly satisfactory for long periods of time.
Happy New Year! Sean
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