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.

Viking warrior cult?

While I would argue to the ends of midgard that heathenry is far more than a shallow, warrior cult of aggressive, thuggish vikings, I do think that martial aptitude and the ability to defend oneself physically is important for the modern heathen.

Myself, I train an internal chinese martial art called Baguazhang (see: http://www.manchester-bagua.org). It is similar (and indeed, related) to Tai Chi Chuan.

Training a fighting art in this manner, I believe, helps me to better understand the mindset of the original heathens and assists in the interpretation of the mythology and lays - many of which having a distinctly martial/combatative theme.

I also keep another blog based on my experiences training in Baguazhang. It is called, "Crouching Ferret, Hidden Chaffinch". Excuse my cheesy sense of humour. ;)

Kith of Yggdrasil forum post 2011: Pondering Tyr

Here is a blog entry I originally posted to the (sadly now defunct) Kith of Yggdrasil forum in Dec 2011 and then again to my UK Pagan blog just under a year later. Think it might have found its way to my internal martial arts blog at some point, too. Enjoy.



Posted ImagePosted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:04 pm Post subject: Tyr I've allowed Tyr to occupy my mind somewhat, perhaps in an effort to get to grips with him and any way that he might help in my Baguazhang training.

I've read the usual factoids regarding him, available from several sources. Perhaps once the chief deity until he was usurped by Odin in some areas. Sky god. Patron of combat. Lost his hand while binding Loki's troublesome canine offspring... yada... yada... yada...

At first I found him completely inscrutable. Very little information available regarding him and there seem to be very few authors willing to pontificate too much as to his nature, either.

Then I started to really think about what we know of him. He lost his hand when binding the wolf. Offered as a pledge of faith. Tyr must have known that the hand would be lost once the binding was complete. To look that giant, ravenous animal in the eye and to offer your hand without a solitary quiver of doubt crossing your face...? Any sign of unease would surely have warned Fenrir of the gods' true intent. To keep that calm under such immense pressure in spite of what pain and loss was to come. Now that calls for ice in your veins.

Similarly, Tyr is described as the only god brave enough to feed the bound Fenrir. When you consider the nature of the other gods, that is quite a claim to fame. Perhaps the statement is not meant to be literally true - Odin and Thor, for example, do not strike me as cowards - but to be hailed as the bravest of the gods is an incredible accolade.

The feeding of Fenrir also raises another interesting point. This wolf has just bitten your hand off, what kind of fairness of judgment must you show not to bear a grudge and to feed the animal? Hel, why not just let Fenrir starve, chained up helpless as he is? Obviously, Tyr's honour precludes him from such base flaws.

Indeed, Tyr's honour would have to be renowned for his hand to make sufficient a pledge for the wolf to allow himself to be bound. Let's face it, Odin or Thor would be likely to eschew honour in order to get the job done. Only Tyr, it seems, had enough honour, bravery, determination, pragmatism and foresight to offer his hand for the greater good and to secure the future - allowing the gods a chance to secure a better post-Ragnarok world...

What will I attempt to learn from him, then? It seems he has a lot of value to teach me, even from the superficial insights I have drawn for myself so far. I am looking forward to getting to know him even better, so that I can learn some of those traits of which, I must confess, I could use more.

Obviously, at the time I didn't feel the need to reference any of my claims within the little passage - but it is through plain, simple consideration and musing like this that I have come to feel myself closer to Tyr than before. No mystical mumbo-jumbo required. No chanting bollock-naked in my garden (good job, too, I only have a small balcony that is overlooked by the apartment block across the street). Nothing but a little time and thought.

Wonder if I could get closer to other aesir and asynior in this way? Might be worth thinking about... ;)

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.