Vikings: Their History and Legacy

Upcoming INLUS Author’s Corner: Men of Terror | 

About one thousand years ago, a man named Fraði died in Sweden. His kinsmen raised a granite runestone to his memory in Denmark.

Fradi’s runestone – Denmark

The inscription tells us that Fraði was the “first among all Vikings” and that he was a “terror of men.” What did Fraði do that caused him to be memorialized with this stone? What was this society that immortalized men like Fraði in a stone that has stood for one thousand years, people who were men of terror?

William R. Short and Reynir A. Óskarson recently wrote a book entitled Men of Terror, which takes its title from Fraði’s stone. The book is based on more than two decades of research by the authors and their research group, Hurstwic. Using a new and unique scientific-based approach and relying on a vast array of sources from a wide range of fields, taken from many lands, the authors have created a holistic view of Viking combat and Viking society that previously had only been seen in disparate parts. In conducting their combat research, the authors dug deep into the society of men like Fraði to better understand their mindset and culture.

With this understanding of Viking combat, it is possible to have a clear picture and clear understanding of Viking people. It was a weird, twisted society – not romantic heroes as seen by the Victorians, but not evil, blood-thirsty monsters, either. It was a society of humans who had different values than ours today, and a very different code of conduct from ours today, and different from what has been perceived before.

Stora Hammars stone – Sweden

Learn more about Viking society from William and Reynir on Monday, April 11, 2022 at 4:00 PM Eastern/ 3:00 PM Central/ 2:00 PM Mountain/ 1:00 PM Pacific.  Information on joining the Author’s Corner webinar may be found in the INLUS Featured Events Calendar.