Is It True That Vikings Were Stronger

[dave_]

I am watching tv show vikings and i am at the start of second season (so don't give spoilers).There vikings are portrayed as stronger than christians physically and spiritually.As far as i know also in reality vikings overpowered christians in battle.I believe prowess in war isn't just a sign of brutality but it is a sign of superiority in mind and spirit.(that's why muslims can't take over the world)

Later christians managed to spread their religion through bribing some viking leader and viking leaders were greedy so they went for it.After getting bribed viking leaders forced their own people to convert to christianity.So christians didn't really overpowered or outsmarted vikigns , they just took advantage of their greed.

Anyway as i said i believe prowess in war is a sign of superiority in mind and spirit.So can we say vikings were stronger than christians?

 

[Thief]

Saw a documentary about how they made swords.......WHOA!
the Japanese have nothing on the Vikings!

 

[Mindmaster]

Well, you have the situation where most viking men were over 6' at a time where others around the world averaged about 5'4"-5'6". They would have seemed gigantic and certainly had been a great deal stronger... Likewise, their weapons would have to fit this larger frame and be stronger so some of that comes just as a side effect. Samurai swords were sharp, but I have no doubt that a 6' tall man can break one easily just through use. They were small, thin, and had a blade size that suited a shorter wielder. Vikings also fought enemies that wore heavy metal armor like they did so again another argument for stronger weapons -- Samurais were fighting people in padded bamboo/leather armor or no armor at all. The blade doesn't have to be that strong to be useful... On sharpness there is no doubt in my mind that Japanese swords were a great deal sharper...

Vikings first fought with each other and then when they decided that wasn't profitable enough started raiding elsewhere. People often don't realize that most vikings were actually farmers once they took to sea -- it took a lot of food to feed those raids. Basically, when they decided to raid they had been skirmishing for years before they set out. They were well trained, but their opponents in most cases weren't.

A viking vs samurai would have been a fight to see. I would guess that samurai generally would lose though being physically outmatched and not wise to shield wall tactics that certainly the vikings would have been exposed to. Really, I think the metal armor/shields/helmets really tip the scale.

 

[Jainarayan]

Despite the word "viking" having become a demonym, the vikings were not the whole of Norse society. The vikings were raiders, traders, pirates, explorers. Most Norse were farmers and craftsmen. The Norse were physically and mentally hardy, a hardiness they developed over centuries of living in a harsh and violent world. But there was no centrality to Norse society; it was very easy for Norse society to be steamrolled by the church. It was a matter of circumstances, not intrinsic strength of the Norse or Christians.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

So can we say vikings were stronger than christians?

We can only say that they liked spam.

 

[Jainarayan]

Well, you have the situation where most viking men were over 6' at a time where others around the world averaged about 5'4"-5'6".

Actually they averaged 66-69". http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/vikheight.shtml

 

[MARCELLO]

Very WASP

 

[Jainarayan]

Very WASP

This has exactly what to do with the o.p.?

 

[MARCELLO]

This has exactly what to do with the o.p.?

Yes it is. Come on, don't take it personal,I know you are nordic and nordics are one of the kindest and best on this planet,I wish I were one of them,but I am not. If you are talking about real physical strength, nobody can race against africans. Believe me, they have six packs by their nature.

 

[Revoltingest]

Yes it is. Come on, don't take it personal,I know you are nordic and nordics are one of the kindest and best on this planet,I wish I were one of them,but I am not. If you are talking about real physical strength, nobody can race against africans. Believe me, they have six packs by their nature.

But for strength, nordics dominate the World's Strongest Man competition,
like that Icelandic fella who plays "The Mountain" in Game Of Thrones....

He's the one on the left (6'9" & over 400 pounds).

Still, I think this image is propaganda by the Viking lobby groups

 

[MARCELLO]

But for strength, nordics dominate the World's Strongest Man competition,
like that Icelandic fella who plays "The Mountain" in Game Of Thrones....

He's the one on the left.

Still, I think this image is propaganda by the Viking lobby groups

It is not a propaganda,nordics are stronger than the avarage,I know it. The problem is their females as they have bigger hands and feet than the avarage,too :

 

[Revoltingest]

It is not a propaganda,nordics are stronger than the avarage,I know it. The problem is their females as they have bigger hands and feet than the avarage,too :

A Seinfeld episode addressed this.

 

[Jainarayan]

Yes it is. Come on, don't take it personal,I know you are nordic and nordics are one of the kindest and best on this planet,I wish I were one of them,but I am not. If you are talking about real physical strength, nobody can race against africans. Believe me, they have six packs by their nature.

I have only a small % of Northern European DNA, and this is not about me. The point is that neither WASP, White Anglo Saxon Protestant nor Africans have anything to do with the o.p.

 

[Jainarayan]

But for strength, nordics dominate the World's Strongest Man competition,
like that Icelandic fella who plays "The Mountain" in Game Of Thrones....

He's the one on the left (6'9" & over 400 pounds).

Still, I think this image is propaganda by the Viking lobby groups

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (Hafthor Julius Bjornsson), yes 6' 9". Magnus Samuelsson is 6' 6". His tagline was "Viking power!"

Ahmad ibn Fadlan did a lot of exaggerating in his chronicling of his journeys with the Rus', including their physical stature. Over the centuries better nutrition and standard of living gave rise to Scandinavians, and humans in general, growing in physical stature.

 

[MARCELLO]

I have only a small % of Northern European DNA, and this is not about me. The point is that neither WASP, White Anglo Saxon Protestant nor Africans have anything to do with the o.p.

I do not want to derail something,apologizes pls.

 

[dave_]

Yes it is. Come on, don't take it personal,I know you are nordic and nordics are one of the kindest and best on this planet,I wish I were one of them,but I am not. If you are talking about real physical strength, nobody can race against africans. Believe me, they have six packs by their nature.

I have only a small % of Northern European DNA, and this is not about me. The point is that neither WASP, White Anglo Saxon Protestant nor Africans have anything to do with the o.p.

Yeah i said prowess in battle is more about strength of spirit and mind.I was intended to compare nordic paganism and christianity.

 

[George-ananda]

Well, they do look a lot stronger after Adrian Peterson returned to their fold.

 

[Sapiens]

I have heard the theory advanced that the Vikiings were so large because they had a greatly reduced parasite load due to living in areas where parasites had not co-evolved with them.

 

[Nietzsche]

I have heard the theory advanced that the Vikiings were so large because they had a greatly reduced parasite load due to living in areas where parasites had not co-evolved with them.

It helped. The cold climate aided in generally keeping disease down, period. So I'd say it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for your average Norseman/woman to be a little less sickly on average than those south of X Parallel.

I am watching tv show vikings and i am at the start of second season (so don't give spoilers).There vikings are portrayed as stronger than christians physically and spiritually.As far as i know also in reality vikings overpowered christians in battle.I believe prowess in war isn't just a sign of brutality but it is a sign of superiority in mind and spirit.(that's why muslims can't take over the world)

Later christians managed to spread their religion through bribing some viking leader and viking leaders were greedy so they went for it.After getting bribed viking leaders forced their own people to convert to christianity.So christians didn't really overpowered or outsmarted vikigns , they just took advantage of their greed.

Anyway as i said i believe prowess in war is a sign of superiority in mind and spirit.So can we say vikings were stronger than christians?

Kind of? It has more to do with the average Norseman or Viking a Christian European would see would be someone fit for combat anyway because that is literally the only reason he's there.

 

[Nietzsche]

Saw a documentary about how they made swords.......WHOA!
the Japanese have nothing on the Vikings!

Eh. Japanese sword-smiths were good because they had to work with a far inferior type of ore. Norse sword-making however only truly became exemplary after contact with Arabs.