Not just a warrior cult? No, but...

The nation that will insist upon drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking by cowards.
~ William Francis ButlerWhen I first started upon my heathen path, I would respond aggressively to anyone who wrote off norse paganism as merely a warrior cult. Understandable, as there is so much more to the eddas, sagas and lays than that. It was these things in which I was more interested back then.

Now, however, having spent some time as a practicing heathen and having interacted with other heathens (mostly online, I will concede), I find my view changing in one very important respect.

The importance of the role of warrior, of battling one's enemies, of physical confrontation cannot and should not be ignored. The mythology is rife with references to battle and combat-related metaphors. The necessity of fighting to defend one's family or property was very real and pervasive back then.

This shaped our heathen forefathers, both physically and mentally. In a way that I feel many contemporary heathens don't appreciate. To call oneself a 'warrior' because you 'fight high insurance prices' in your daily work (or similar weak metaphor) betrays a complete lack of awareness of the huge effect that regular combat (or even intense training) can have upon a person's personality and values.

There is an argument for ignoring the warrior motif within heathen sources. After all, contemporary society doesn't require all of us to literally fight for our livelihoods. Some of us may become police or soldiers who will act on the front lines in a manner very similar to our viking ancestors, but most of us will spend our lives doing something much more pedestrian, likely in complete safety. Thankfully, very few of us will ever be required to fight at all, never mind literally fight for our lives.

However, the warrior mindset gained through training for and taking part in combat clearly informs a great portion of the beliefs and values expressed in the heathen sources, such as the eddas, sagas and heroic lays.

So, as part of my heathen path, I am taking time to investigate and, where possible, experience, what it is like to actually be a warrior. Even if that is simply some 'alive' training for my internal martial arts - my class, for example, also has a full contact sparring class on Tuesdays. Tentative exploration of this will inform my faith as well as any time spend poring over various texts.

Einherjar: Lone Fighters

I was reading somewhere else online (another heathen blog, perhaps) that the old norse name for the warriors in Valhalla, 'einherjar' literally means something along the lines of 'those who fight alone'.

The writer in question explained that viking warriors were trained in all aspects of combat and could be thought of as 'a one-man army'. Thus, they were well prepared for and perfectly able to fight alone, even outside of the shield wall, if necessary.

All of this I agreed with and admire, but it was at this point that the writer went on to use this to explain the importance, for them, of time alone.

I don't really feel that the importance of alone time (whoever enjoyable that might be) was the lesson to take from this. Rather, I think the more valuable attribute (especially in this modern age and in an overcrowded nation such as the UK) was the importance of self reliance.

Being able to operate, provide for oneself and even thrive - alone - is a very admirable trait. Especially in contemporary society, in which we are expect, and required, to rely on others for everything. Our food, our security, our entertainment, fixing our tools and even making decisions for the direction of our lives and the upbringing of our families - all are provided by third parties. This can leave us over-reliant and unable to fend for ourselves, if we are not careful.

So, perhaps, in a time where striving to be ferocious, ruthless warriors is frowned upon, being something of a Renaissance Man is the next best thing for the modern heathen?

More quotes

“The Norse ideal was a man of open, generous disposition, a man imbued with qualities of compassion and kindness, not ruthless but firm and fair, even-tempered but capable of passion, physically accomplished and strong in [a] fight, but not a bully.”
--Magnus Magnusson

“To do what lay before him openly and like a man, without fear of either foes, friends, nor fate… to be free and daring in all his deeds; to be gentle and generous to his friends and kinsmen, to be stern and grim to his foes, but even towards them to fulfill all bounden duties… to be no truce-breaker, nor tale-bearer, nor back-biter. To utter nothing against any man that he would not dare tell him to his face. To turn no man from his door who sought food or shelter, even though he were a foe.”
--George Dasent

Heathenry is more than just a warrior cult...

As non-heathens about heathenry and, if they accept that it exists at all, they may well employ the term 'warrior-cult' in their description.  As any heathens, and most will try to distance themselves completely from any suggestion of such a thing.

Few will ever try to deny that the eddas, sagas and lays, the foundation of the historical evidence available to contemporary heathens, contains a lot of references to battles and the glorification of the warrior.  This doesn't mean that constitutes the be all and end all of the philosophy, though.  There is much more to it than that.  Reading that same source material and plugging the considerable gaps with archaeological, historical and even anthropological evidence can provide a world view with a much greater scope and depth.

The vikings were great traders, they formed one of the first democratic assemblies, their sagas and lays are some of the best examples of historical literature currently available. The gods are very human and fallible and yet show such courage and fortitude in the face of their imminent demise.

But it is also wrong to ignore the role of the warrior in the mythology.  Battle, acquisition through combat, testing oneself and standing up for yourself was greatly valued.  Too many contemporary heathens are bench-ornaments.  They shie away from confrontation and competition.  Too many elect to take the passive option when disagreements arise.  Is this really how our heathen ancestors would have acted.  Or, at least, is this the attitude they would have valued?

Judging by the evidence that lay within the eddas, sagas and lays, I very much doubt it.