Viking Burials: The Aftermath

Caught up in all the gore and theatrics of Viking deaths, it is easy to forget that the story of Norse burials does not end with the funeral pyre. The funerary escapades of the still-living Vikings often go unnoticed, as they are hard to ascertain from archaeological record, and do not hold the same morbid fascination as ship burials and human sacrifice. However, in order to fully flesh out the story we have thus far told, it is important to examine what happened to those Vikings lucky enough to live past the funeral rites. How did they handle the death of a loved one? Who walked away with the fortune of the deceased?

Celebration and Mourning

As we have already established, Viking funerals were a somewhat participatory event, not unlike many Western funerals today; Ibn Fadlan's famous account tells of all the male relatives and servants of the deceased taking an active part in the ceremony by contributing grave goods, man power, eulogies, or perhaps in some cases, sexual prowess (Frye 2005: 70). Following the funeral, the nature of this participation changed. Vikings were famous for their "characteristic reserve" and stoic acceptance of death; ethnography tells us that the extent of pious mourning was the draping of black and gray fabrics over the deceased's place of residence (Williams 1920: 421). Even this small tradition did not develop until the Scandinavian Vikings encountered Christianity sometime around the eighth century (Williams 2011: 2). Open displays of grief went against Viking tradition.

Tune Stone, Norway

Drunkenness seems to have been the primary emotion experienced by the Vikings following death. The Viking funeral ale, or arvale, was a hugely important part of paying respect to death and celebrating life. The party could be held any time between the seventh and thirtieth days following the funeral (Williams 1920: 428). The Tune runestone, found in Ostfold, Norway, describes a feast  that was organized by the family and lasted for days, with countless toasts in honor of the dead. The stone, one of many stone monuments recovered from the Viking era, paints the feast as a large gathering of all the villagers, where the dead man was represented by an open seat at the head of the party (Spurkland 2005: 35). In some cases, as in the famous case of Shelty the Icelander, the parties grew to as many as 1400 attendees (Williams 1920: 428). In the account of Laxdaelia Saga, the death of Hoskuld draws leaders from nearby villages to pay their respects at a feast (Muriel Press 2008: 58).  

Inheritance

Monument Rune Stone

Immediately prior to and during the ale, inheritance and the heir to the property of the deceased were determined. All property besides land was divided into three moderately equal portions (Williams 1920: 426). One portion was given to the living relatives to divide up amongst the most pious and devoted, one portion was buried with the individual, and one portion was sold to help pay for the large feast in honor of the dead. The Hillersjo Rune Stone, recovered in Sweden from the early eleventh century, tells of the wife inheriting all of the property of her husband (Sawyer 1993: 183). In most cases, property, especially land, was held by the wife until the children were old enough to claim it. In some cases this only applied if the wife had more than two children. The inheritance would frequently be used to resurrect a monument to the deceased. These monuments, precursors to the modern day tombstone, have been found in the archaeological record throughout Scandinavia, and offer some of the best evidence we have of Viking funeral goings-on (Williams 1920:424). After Christian influences affected Viking cultures, these monuments often featured inscriptions and epitaphs (though the one pictured is merely decorative) that give insight into the individuals these monuments honor. (Photo Williams 1920: 424).

Monument Field

 In some cases, where multiple people were laid to rest these monuments were erected on a grand scale, and became something akin to tourist sites for travelling merchants. Some of these monuments, which mark grave mounds, still stand today (Duczko 2004: 90). (Photo Williams 1920: 422)

Sources

Duczko, Wladsylaw. Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. Leiden: Brill, 2004. 90. Print.

Ibn Fadlan, and Richard Nelson Frye. Ibn Fadlan's Journey to Russia: A Tenth-century Traveler from Baghad to the Volga River. Princeton: Markus Wiener, 2005. 70-71. Print.

Press, Muriel A. C. Laxdaela Saga. London: Dent and, 2008. 58. Print.

Sawyer, Birgit, and P. H. Sawyer. Medieval Scandinavia: From Conversion to Reformation, circa 800-1500. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1993. 183. 

Spurkland, Terje. Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Boydell, 2005. 35. Print.

Williams, Gareth. "Viking Religion." BBC News. BBC. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. .

Williams, Mary Wilhelmine. Social Scandinavia in the Viking Age,. New York: Macmillan, 1920. 424-28. Print.