As a Swedish man, i loved this video. All your videos are great, but seeing Norse content hits close to home and i love it!! Hope you do more videos on Nordic culture in the future.
@@metatronytwould be cool if you visited us as well, as there's a lot of Viking Markets all over Scandinavia (though the biggest is in Wollin, Poland), and a lot of metal festivals (Yes I know that you're a metalhead). We even combine those here in Norway, with something we call "Midgardsblot", located close to Horten and Tønsberg.
Yeah, while we can practice content selection, it still does flood the feed, so I unsubbed from the language and gaming channel so that there's only one Metatron channel I can skip 90% of content of.
Yeah the sperging out on random drama crap bores the crap out of me. 🤣 When he just researches a topic he's interested in for its own sake is when he brings out a bunch of really awesome and engaging insights.
@@PoetofHateSpeech if you make such a claim, I kindly request an explanation why you think the berserker of stamford bridge was female. i'd also like to know where you heard the claim there were just as many female warriors as male in norse culture
You may also want to check out the latest Grimfrost podcast episode where they interview professor Anders Kaliff of Uppsala university on the subject of "wolf warriors".
I think they were a kind of Shamanic Warrior. I think they could draw on the powers of various animals(mainly wolves and bears) as well as Odin. Also I feel they would draw on yelling similar to the Japanese Kiai. They seemed to be highly specific killing machines.
In Rome Total War 2 Barbarian Invasion expansion, I had my favorite general with a dozen berseker units east of Italy in the only city that could replenish them near. I had a couple light cavalry and inconsequential units with them. A total of 200 or so troops. 10,000 Huns appeared and sieged the city. I was figuring I would lose this general. I set up in a choke point near the courtyard. I put all my junk in front and berserkers in the back. I figured I would see how many I coukd kill before losing. As soon as the first Huns engaged in the narrow streets, I unleashed the berserkers. 120 or so berserkers ended up killing 9000 Huns. I couldn't believe it. My Eagle Taker Alemani general was saved!!
The Huns must have panicked. It’s not entirely impossible (assuming the Huns don’t just retreat) since they were mainly horse soldiers and that’s not great in narrow places.
@@Ciek0Karanthus One of my favorite games of all time. I played so many campaigns. The remake just didn't have the same feel. I liked how generals could get offices and titles and gain bonuses.
This video is what I signed up for. I know that these take a lot more production than reaction videos but they're so much more entertaining and educational. I don't even watch the reaction videos anymore. Well that's my two cents.
Awesome video as always, Metatron. The pronunciation is pretty decent, Old norse/Icelandic is one of the hardest languages to pronounce! Icelandic is pretty much just old norse with extra steps.
Old Norse is full of puns and inside jokes. I believe Tominn means the male personification of Empty. It was a blessing and a joke so the only thing empty in the boy's life was his name. I could be wrong. Just some random things I researched out of some paper or study
Another interesting idea I've seen that I'd like more information on is that human beings, perhaps even non-Homo sapiens human species, used to make young men go out into the world in war bands for months or years at a time as part of ritual or lack of food in winter and in famines; and these war bands had something to do with a deity that might have been Oðinn's predecessor and would have had something to do with dog and/or wolf heads and pelts: possibly for warmth during winter to avoid being entirely naked.
@Josh-rv7cx Interesting concept. What would be the method of forcing slaves to raid for them? My initial though is that thralls would flee given first chance, so it seems difficult to force them to fight unless they were always restrained and transported along with a primary war band or army, and then they were only let loose to fight when they had no way out. Otherwise, it seems more likely that young men from a specific town would fight hard so they could return. The thrall thing is interesting though if it is feasible
@leroilapue15 Well that's the interesting thing: the practice I'm talking about, if real, would have predated the Spartan practice and is supposed to have been the exact reason the Spartans had their ritual you are talking about. Basically, there is an idea being researched that the PIE had a specific practice with several variations that eventually got more and more differentiated over time in different areas. So the Spartans might have been some of the last remnants of that cultural ritual, and the Greek stories of soldiers going to Troy and other places might also be linked. It's all fascinating.
@@t.r.everstone7 maybe by letting them keep whatever they can find and do whatever they wanted to women/children as bad as it sounds. That would be my guess but as far as how they would accomplish it I have no idea. I'm not cut from that type of cloth
Actually the first thing that comes to my mind are the longships. I visited the viking ship museum in Oslo and saw the Oseberg ship. I was gobsmacked by the level of craftsmanship it displayed. But I enjoyed your post anyway. Happy New Year to you, buddy.
Another aspect is that the Norse gods were known for having "suits" that would make them look like animals and get them some properties of animals, Loke/Loki used that quite a lot. Eg, an Eagle "suit" would give them the ability to fly.
Im SO looking forward to watch this LOVE the Berserkers ! 🥰😍😘 A Danish guy here .... DNA : 85,8% Scandinavia 14,2% English 🤪 (No English ancestors as far back that can be traced through Church books about : baptisms, weddings, burials etc.) PS : Liked the video ... a bit short .... but would like more 😉
I knew a guy IRL who was once described, aptly, as a "berserker." He was mostly nice, but in a very aggressive sort of way. If something set him off, though...but it wasn't like a tantrum. He got hyper focused, his eyes would light and he'd smile, and he was just gone. Nobody home. He wasn't a big guy, about 5'7", like me, and kind of slender (not like me; broad shouldered and barrel chested here), but he was nigh unstoppable in that state. One of the scariest things I've ever seen. As you can imagine, he was in and out of all kinds of trouble. Imagine weaponizing a dozen of him.
Through Genome me I have a Viking index of 66%. Our parents stressed to us our entire life that we could never lose our temper. It only had to happened once and we fully understood why it was not aloud. I can't run over a bunny without saying a prayer for it I'm a very gentle soul but the one time I lost my temper a few things happened. I felt zero pain, I was out to kill and my strength increased beyond imagination , I didn't remember what I did, and I i also enjoyed it while it was happening The neighbors and cops filled it in for me what i did. My siblings had similar experiences. We all agreed it was unnatural. It is not a good thing to know you are capable of going to a place like that mentally and physically. We called it going beserker. You can believe this or not but I've seen it and experienced it. They didn't need mushrooms etc to get crazy.
That sounds more like someone with Bi-polar issues, not a berserker. Or your friend has a substance abuse issue. A dozen well trained fighters with discipline would be a much better force than a dozen angry people with mental issues. There are reasons we dont let bi-polar people into the military.
It was fantastic hearing Jackson Crawford being used as a reference. I love his channel as much as this one. It’s also nice He’s also a local professor in my area too.
I have often thought, that Berserkers were rather like war elephants. Fantastic at frightening and demoralising the enemy, difficult to control, probably expensive to keep, though could be devastating, if used well, but more often than not, as much of a danger to one’s own troops as to the enemy.
Sounds about right, I remember reading a summary from a saga where a man is gifted two or three Beserkers , however they are so much trouble that he resorts to barricading them inside the sauna and baking them alive to be rid of them.
David Anthony and Dorcas Brown have a study out about ritualistic dog sacrifice as a an initiation ritual on the Russian steppe between 1900-1700bc. I think this goes wayback. Indo European tradition (with loads of variation trough time and space ofc)… Spartans, wild hunt, werewolves, cattle riding myth, Wotan (shamanic fury, something like that), romelus and Remus, the cattle raiding myth…
@@koderamerikaner5147nah, he's talking about the site of srubnaya that was unearthed, they found bones of sacrificed wolves etc, you don't know anything beyond yamnaya and basic indo european surface level knowledge btw, stop going around the comment section and pretend to be a anthrogenica member
I'm already subbed to Dr. Crawford. Great channel. I really wanted to take his Old Norse course - but my work scheduling sadly didn't allow it. Next year!
In Irish Gaelic Mythology, the hero Cúchulainn (The Hound (!) of Culan) when furious in battle would undergo a monstrous physical transformation and enter an uncontrollable murderous rage, the 'riastrad' that Metatron mentions (too) briefly, which would usually end with him being surrounded by 'walls of corpses'. According to 'The Cattle-Raid of Cooley' it went like this: "The first 'riastrad' seized Cúchulainn, and made him into a monstrous thing, hideous and shapeless, unheard of. His shanks and his joints, every knuckle and angle and organ from head to foot, shook like a tree in the flood or a reed in the stream. His body made a furious twist inside his skin, so that his feet and shins switched to the rear and his heels and calves switched to the front... On his head the temple-sinews stretched to the nape of his neck, each mighty, immense, measureless knob as big as the head of a month-old child... he sucked one eye so deep into his head that a wild crane couldn't probe it onto his cheek out of the depths of his skull; the other eye fell out along his cheek. His mouth weirdly distorted: his cheek peeled back from his jaws until the gullet appeared, his lungs and his liver flapped in his mouth and throat, his lower jaw struck the upper a lion-killing blow, and fiery flakes large as a ram's fleece reached his mouth from his throat... The hair of his head twisted like the tangle of a red thornbush stuck in a gap; if a royal apple tree with all its kingly fruit were shaken above him, scarce an apple would reach the ground but each would be spiked on a bristle of his hair as it stood up on his scalp with rage" Kind of like The Incredible Hulk but more terrifying. He also had a spear from which, when it entered a body, would spring out lots of smaller spears. That would seriously mess you up. Just stories though ;-)
@@leroilapue15 I like to think so too. The idea of the 'riastrad' must have come from somewhere, although here it has obviously been exaggerated enormously for entertainment purposes.
True Story: I have spent well over a decade exploring psychedelics, delving into the inner experience and pursuing OBE (out-of-body experiences) or breakthrough states. There is much I could share on that topic, but this story is about something else entirely. I had never understood the idea of the Berserker. How could the mushrooms I know, be used for such means? It made no sense. However, that perspective has since changed. Last year, I was undergoing a heavy, high-dose mushroom journey, using fresh Liberty Cap mushrooms-one of the most visually potent and psychoactive varieties, which is native to the UK and northern Europe. I was experiencing a difficult trip, but a part of me has always relished the challenge of overcoming a tough journey. That was the mindset I tapped into that day. Physically, it felt like a battle raging inside me-a clash between mind and matter. It was as though consciousness was fusing with the body, like mapping mind to muscle in a yogic sense. Mentally, however, I was enduring grotesque and harrowing inner visuals-images of death, gore, and horror. My mind wrestled with these unwanted images, just as my body seemed to wrestle with itself. And then, something shifted. A switch activated within me. I embraced the suffering and, strangely, I enjoyed it. Instead of turning away from these disturbing images, I crawled towards them-through them-in a very visceral, and primal way. It felt as though I was clawing my way through the gore and grotesque, dragging myself through the very heart of the darkness, with a big grin. When I overcame these visions and fully accepted the suffering, I had a second set of visions involving a giant cobra. I had to face an opposing cobra, but I too had become one, with it's hood enshrining me. Rather than a battle it was more like a stand off, in which I could read the intent of the serpents strike, and would move to indicate anticipation of the strike - holding it off. Kind of like snake charming. There’s more to that particular vision, but these details are less important. After victory and climbing higher, I was greeted by an old, bearded man with one eye (Note: I was aware prior to this trip of the idea of Odin and one eye, so could have been this influence). Afterward this encounter, I felt invincible-like an instrument of the gods. I cannot fully describe the sensation, but it was as if divine power flowed through me. I felt like Thor or some other mythical force, with the power of Gods flowing through me. it felt like If I was to fight, that I could anticipate every movement, to react faster, and to overcome anything that stood before me. There was zero fear of death or pain, and almost a delight in meeting them. It was a truly powerful feeling and words cannot do it justice. In this state, I felt truly unstoppable. Like even if an axe was to cleave my arm off, it felt like I would be laughing and in delight of suffering. I imagined that anyone witnessing this state of frenzy on a battlefield would be truly terrified. It felt like once this state had been reached, that it could easily be reached again through ingestion and practice/ritual. That is when I understood the Berserker, it's connection to mushrooms, and how closely linked it is to the path of the Shaman.
If any substance was used by berserkers, the most likely would seem to be henbane, or henbane and alcohol, given henbane was known to the Norse. Henbane also is noted for reducing pain and causing a numbing of the body (the idea of then seeming impervious). Henbane is also a deliriant
They were mentally ill plus on something to enhance the madness and weaponized as shock troops. They never were allowed to live in civilized areas and keeps away.
The scandinavians as a culture partook of mind altering substances, yes, but there are records in the sagas of beserkers entering this state of battle frenzy against their will, as well as individuals attempting to work themselves into this altered state of consciousness.
In Ireland we had Laignech Fáelad or Luchthonn. Wolf warriors. The legends of these wolf warriors may have originated from the activities of ancient Irish warriors who were frequently compared to wolves in literature. These warriors were known for their ferocity and were sometimes described as having wolf-like qualities, which could include wearing wolf skins or adopting wolf-like hairstyles. The last recorded wolf in Ireland was killed in 1786, but the legends of these ancient wolf warriors continue to be a significant part of Irish folklore and have inspired literature, poetry, and mythology.
I think this is a type of superstition, like a cultural thing that instills fear, much like demon nuns do now, seeing that on the battlefield would be very off-putting. i think this was the concept and since it worked in making people scared, the people dressing this way fell into the iconography and it gave them fervor.
It’s all connected to a broader Indo European tradition. You can find cognates of these furious beast warriors in almost every Indo European culture. Just look at Hercules, a Greek heroic warrior dressed in a lion skin. The totem if you will may vary but the concept remains the same.
hi, random Dane here... nice to see you cover this topic, and about the wolf-skin thing, I remember from Eigil Skallagrimssons saga that his grandfather was called Kveldulf which I guess translates to "evening wolf" or "night wolf"... he was a berzerker, and he died from exhaustion after the battle, which gave me the idea that the trancelike state of the bersærkergang was extremely physically exhausting, but you only felt something after it was over, a sort of extreme form of meditation where you're able to focus on the battle and ignore everything else... and you don't need any substances to induce such a state, although I think I heard about the mushroom thing somewhere before..
Yes, Kveldulf! "Ulf is said to have been a very clever farmer... Sometimes he would talk to people who were in need of his advice, for he was shrewd and always ready to make useful suggestions. *But every day towards evening he would grow so bad-tempered that few people dared even to address him. He always went to bed early in the evening and woke up early in the morning. People claimed he was a shape-shifter and they called him Kveldulf (Night Wolf)." (Egil's Saga, Ch. 1) Interesting to note that Kveldulf's antisocial behavior in the evening is implied to be wolf-like, in opposition to his more social daytime behavior. Violence and bad temper is linked with berserkers and shapeshifters. The saga almost makes it seem to me that Kveldulf had some kind of mental condition, like maybe PTSD or something?
@@chane8824 interesting theory, the berzerk state as something that can be triggered by external factors like with PTSD... while I don't think this would apply to all berzerkers, I do find it likely that this could be true for some of them...
Eigil Skallagrimssons saga is not historical, but fictional, which means that we should be aware that the author uses irony, parody, satire, etc. to make a point.
There is a common wolf warrior cult in all the Europeans ancient cultures ( probably derived from the yamnaya). Even the Roman republic had the Velites, young warriors with wolf skin.
I am Swedish, Finnish and Danish...i love norse history videos, and the "bear shirts" are the best. I was always told it was more "bear of shirt" or bareskin. Berserkers are amazing. I hope to see more, all the best!
I doubt it was drug induced. In the sagas they’re ready to fight in a moments notice, no waiting around for half an hour for the shrooms to kick in before scrapping. Their rage does have a time limit tho and they get an almost drug like come down after it, which is probably where some of the confusion comes from
That's what I've kept telling people for YEARS. And honestly, I'm so SICK of people going with the whole 'drugged out lunatic' explanation for the berserkers. It's been debunked time and again, but fools still keep going back to it.
@@oceanberserker Narren, die nie einen wirklich emotionalen Moment erlebte haben, in welchem einem alles egal ist und man blutig rote Schleier vor den Augen hat.....Wer mal mit einer Tasse heißen Kaffee mit dem großen Zeh gegen den Bettpfosten gerannt ist und das Bett anschliessend in wirbelnde Hölzer verwandelt hat, würde die drogensubstituierte Geschichte wohl auch anzweifeln.......das ist einfach eine Kopfsache.....:)
Drugs probably had something to do with the ritual. They descend from the Indo-European Kóryos, and we know the Yamnaya used hemp in rituals, so it's entirely plausible that it was just inherited alongside the Kóryos ritual.
Fun fact: In Swedish berserker is called "bärsärk" in modern form, which can also be translated to "carries shirt" I always thought of it as a uniform of a professional/hired soldier, or something akin to that. Much appreciated to get a better take on it than most I've seen!
I highly recommend The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, for a fantasy story about a story following a band of ulfhednar. Fantastic read. Awesome descriptions of Viking/Norse type battles and raids in the most realistic descriptions I've seen yet. Although fantasy it pulls from history to give a fun and authentic feel to it.
Great video as always. If you are interested in Norse language, a modern survivor is Norwegian Høgnorsk. It keeps cool features like dative nouns and reflexive verbs, as well as pre-Danish vocab. For example "Ég med bæzta folkum vandrast". Compare Bokmål "Jeg vandrer med de beste folken". There's barely anyone talking about this beautiful language.
@@bernardj7800 The Bokmål form is very close to Swedish, as Bokmål is heavily influenced by Danish. Danish and Swedish are East Norse languages, meanwhile Norwegian is West Norse. The Høgnorsk form is still very different: "Ég med bæzta folkum vandrast" or also "Ég med bæzta tjódum vandrast" where tjód means "folk" and comes from Old Norse þjóð.
Not an expert but I remember being impressed with the Norse use of kennings in both their poetry and the sagas. That may be something to keep in mind when interpreting the latter as they seamed to be trying to evoke an image rather than tell literal history in many of their works. I'm not sure how consistent this was over time or space though.
I was wondering if you ever did anything looking at Newgrange? I think it is so interesting, Newgrange's precise alignment with the winter solstice sunrise, where a beam of light illuminates its inner chamber, showcases remarkable astronomical knowledge from its builders. This ancient connection to the solstice, marking the "rebirth" of the sun, has deeply influenced numerous cultural celebrations and holidays throughout history, many of which are still observed today, highlighting the enduring significance of this astronomical event... all done around 3200bc
This is great. Can you do a series on different pagan gods/pantheons/mythologies/literatures/etc. (whatever you find interesting)? I think mainly your audience would would want to know about Greek, Norse, Roman, Celtic, Slavic, Egyptian, Shinto, Chinese, Aztec/Mayan, Hindu, roughly in that or a similar order give or take, perhaps.
I think, given that we know the Celts fought naked and also had at least some level of contact with Germanic tribes, the idea of being "bare or shirt" might not be too far fetched. The naked warriors were actually surprisingly intimidating, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Norse tribes and other Germanic tribes picked up this tradition
It's not that the Norse picked up the tradition from the Celts, but rather that both their cultures have the same ancestors. The Celtic Fianna and the Germanic Ulfhéðnar come from the Proto-Indo-European/Yamnaya Kóryos.
@@leroilapue15 I've just read a book about this a couple of weeks back - you'll have to forgive me, because I don't remember the source the author used, but there was a greek who wrote about the Galatian Celts (from turkey, so admittedly a warmer climate) as being a "sea of white, as they do not remove their clothes, except for in battle". There's a lot of iconography from the more northern Celts as well, such as cauldrons and scabbards, etc which the Celts decorated quite intricately which very much show them as being butt naked apart from their shields. So you'd be surprised! I think the reason why this was possible in northern Europe is because you generally didn't want to be fighting in winter or during harvest time in these periods, so most fighting would be done in the summer where you can quite easily walk around without too many layers even in Northern Europe.
@@JoelTehMole ah good to know and thanks for the response, I wonder how they avoided getting their bollocks sliced off?? Seems like it would make an easy target...but then maybe it was like a macho points thing "I fought the enemy naked" was basically their version of "I'll do it with one hand behind my back"
Hi Metatron Very good video. Thanks for not spreading the myth that berserkers eat mushrooms. And that it was so common to breed berserkers that a Norwegian king illegally made it illegal in the 11th century
Berserkers are also mentioned in Hervarar's Saga, which would have taken place during in the Gothic kingdom in modern-day Ukraine shortly before the Hun invasions. It is hard to say with any certainty, but this saga is particularly notable because, although it was recorded at a much later date, the names used were in their archaic forms that would have been correctly used at the time the story takes place (4th Century A.D.). There is some speculation that this sort of animal cult was common amongst many Indo-Europeans going back potentially thousands of years before the Viking Age. One similar example being the Old Irish Fianna.
Didn’t know that records of the Vikings went that far back, even before the Huns arrived at Rome. Usually when I think of the Vikings I think of the Medieval Period.
@@AlexKS1992 Well, it was written around the same time as Snorri's works on Norse Mythology, during the High Middle Ages (1200's), but it was an oral tradition up until then, apparently. What makes it amazing is that the word forms for locations and names were not the type used in the 1200's but were what fit for the 4th century when it was supposed to take place, which suggests relatively little changed in the retelling almost 800 years later. Of course, it deals with the Goths, a Germanic Pagan group and not the Vikings, which were merely the last remaining in a long line of Germanic Pagan peoples (both Scandinavian and Continental Germanic).
Animalistic warriors existed everywhere for millennia, from China, Egypt to Mesoamerica, and also naked or shirtless warriors, those traditions are not exclusive to the vikings.
Hi Metatron, nice vid! Since I wrote my bachelor thesis on berserkir I'd like to point out at some small corrections. First of all, concerning the etymology of the word, the "bare shirt" hypothesis is now considered to be outdated, in favor of "bear shirt". As you pointed out, the latter is perfectly specular with ulfhedinn, but it also happens to be more solid from a linguistical perspective. Moreover, while we have a decent amount of evidences (both literary and archeological) of warriors with wolves and bear skins, the few cases when berserkers are said to get rid of armor and clash into battle are part of a literary trope, which doesn't involve only them but also kings and heroes. I know that Snorri says that they went into battle without armor, but he wouldn't have known first person and scholars have explained why he would have fallen for the "bare shirt" etymology (also it wouldn't be the first time when Snorri made up the origin of a word). It's true that we have few representations of men wearing bear skins, but besides the stone you mentioned, we also have a berserker on the Oseberg tapestry, some bear-looking masks found in ship burials and literary accounts of bear shirts found in warrior graves. On berserkers' reputation, it is true that Christian sagas depict them as evil, but on the contrary from old skaldic verses we know that they would have been some of the most respected warriors at Harald Harfagri's court and we have some traces of this even in some saga passages, like in Egill's saga when talking about Egill's ancestors. Btw you mentioned something very interesting about berserkir being part of a much longer tradition of feral warriors. This seems to be somehow enrooted in extremely old Indo-European warrior culture and religion. Hope this helped 😊
Some of the descriptions sound like successful modern soldiers who are probably some kind of psychopath/sociopath. An absolute menace to their society everywhere outside of combat. But when the barbarians are at the gates who are you gonna send out to meet them? I've also heard them called "A break glass in case of war, human."
I don't know about the berserkers but it makes perfect sense for people getting ready to battle to scream and yell and slap their chest because it releases adrenaline.
I love how our ancestors always had the simplest solutions to a problem. When it comes a time to fight someone, you just get guys like that to lead the charge and don't give them any armor. Odin will protect them, and if not, no more problem. Shieldmaidens were probably also a great way to get rid of karens back then. You just tell them they aren't allowed to fight in a war, they demand to speak with the thane and the rest is history.
12:42 John DeSouza (ret. FBI) said they had an old case that happened before he ever started working there about these bank robbers. They would not give up their "earthly vessel" shall we say. They kept pew pewing at them, was hitting them and they didn't stop until someone pew pewed one of the guys through his spinal cord. Well, when they investigated their houses, they found an alter with an animal "donation" to the berserker spirits. Pretty interesting. This is a great topic. Happy New Year to you and yours. 🙏🥳🎉
I wonder if the “bear shirts” and “wolf shirts” in the Norse culture are similar to the Aztec jaguar warriors and eagle warriors. Maybe an “elite” unit with a specific job, aside from wrecking the enemy in battle. Thoughts?
Herakles and Biblical characters like John The Baptist were also known for wearing animal skins. Who knows how far back it goes. But as with most things I suspect it has a very similar source, same as languages.
The former is a descendent of the Indo-European Kóryos. It is possible that native americans had some form of it, if we assume the Kóryos tradition precedes even the Indo-Europeans and comes from the Ancient North Eurasians, whence the IE and Natives would've lived in proximity.
Similar traditions of animalistic cults existen on any civilization way before viking era, nudist warfare was also depicted on several regions in the world.
I had read that they had 3 schools of super soldiers. Berserkrs, bear men, Ulfenthar, wolf men and Joufur or something like this, boar men. Can you confirm this? Also, a version of them states that not all metal weapons cannot hurt them, but only the blades. So, hammers, stones or blunt weapons could hurt them.
Correct. Blunt force trauma was one of the surefire ways to actually stop a berserker in their tracks when they got rolling. For everything else, it was ineffective unless if was a critical hit. Piercing the heart, decapitation, dismemberment, disembowelment, etc. Nothing else, again, aside from the aforementioned blunt force trauma, would stop them.
Metatron, I highly recommend you check out The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, it's a book series and it is about Berserkir, Úlfhéðnar and many other tainted beings and its world is inspired by Norse mythology and the Norse/Viking culture even the armor and weapon descriptions are very accurate I think you will love this! It's fantasy meets realism!
An interesting interpretation that I have heard is that berserkergang was a manifestation of extreme PTSD. Berserkers behaved erratically and were subject to bouts of extreme depression and lethargy marked by brief periods of out-of-control violence, which is one way PTSD can manifest. Too often we think of ancient warriors as unaffected by the mayhem they witnessed, suffered, and caused, but they were just human beings prone to the same afflictions that we suffer today.
And their killing was done close enough to smell what their enemy ate for breakfast on their breath. The act of killing has an effect on the psyche; more so when done at arms reach. Their behavior is why they were often "Foreign" as they were often ostracized and considered too unpredictable to be around "normal" society and would band together at times. Like attracts like.
It's due to extended stress & noise without release, combat lasting days & non physical. It's likely ptsd was much lower in hand to hand combat and was fairly novel for the napoleonic wars. If it were caused by witnessing horrors, we'd not have any doctors/surgeons who were not psychopaths (they're seemingly immune to ptsd) Though regular depression, for sure. Not everything is shell shock or battle fatigue, it's quite specific. Torture victims demonstrate it in ancient times however. & i can attest to it some. TL;DR, PTSD refers to medical trauma, not psychologically difficult situations. Seeing a horrific experience never leaves you, but doesn't have triggers that make you feel physically you are reliving the event. Having had an... interesting life, I can talk about the horrific events and the one specific one that gave me some ptsd. I was also fully conscious & able in intensive care, which must be a rare occurrence. One sole psychopathic doctor worked there with a cheery irish accent as the fates decided if I lived or died.
I have read that PTSD was not really an issue before modern warfare. PTSD is generally caused by prolonged exposure to stress (and other stimuli) so battles back then did not normally last long enough to cause PTSD, where now battles can last for days/weeks/months. This is not to say that battles back then were not psychologically damaging to people. Of course they were. But not all psychological issues from combat are PTSD. BTW - I suffer from PTSD due to experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. My 5 year old son thinks its both funny and terrifying when I have had "incidents" while he has been around.
Town Cryer: "Metatron goes into the public square to explain the barbarian berserker origins. Be Aware *hand gesture * No actors or unclean people allowed . Noble Ones only. Thus has spoken Gaius *hand gesture* Julius *hand gesture* Caesar *hand gesture* The capitoline brotherhood of millers - true roman bread, for true romans"
I did a project on the Vikings in 5th grade. I meticulously constructed a beautiful model of a longship - and at the very last minute my teacher told me I also needed to give a short oral report as well (in front of *6th graders* ). That was the point at which I put what I had learned about berserkers into actual practice. The story made the local papers.
I would postulate that if a man’s fear and rage were strong enough he might well expert temporary insanity during which he became impervious to pain. If such a man survived the battle and was able to heal back to fitness he might find reaching such a mental state easier, even become normal for him. PTSD is not always associated with anxiety and depression but sometimes causes intense bouts of anger or rage. In the violence of intertribal warfare and seasonal raiding it’s likely that some few warriors became addicted to their rage and these, perhaps are the foundation of the berserkers of legends and myth.
Something that I have wondered myself (this of course being personal speculation and theorizing), would be the possibility for the origin of the werewolf mythos being in a situation of say... A berserker going utterly rampant, howling, screaming, wailing and practically foaming at the mouth. And even then it would not even have to be anything more than that very pelt. Hyperbole has spawned so, SO many stories. Our myths most often have a base in even a shred of truth... And then to mind comes the sentence: "Like a man possessed." Now clearly this has most often been used to refer to an evil spirit, most often the biblical Devil. But the Berserkers seemingly involve a lot of "channeling" of the animal spirit through themselves. Imagine witnessing this as someone who has never heard or partaken in the culture of these men. Must've been quite an experience... A spectacle of horror, rage and rampant might. I also suspect that the myth of the Draugr, Draug, Drög may have been the way for the Scandinavians of old to try and explain sleep paralysis. Or may have evolved as such over time! An ability which the Draug are mentioned to have in myth is that of transformation and shapeshifting. Specifically, taking the shape of a black cat that sits upon the victim's chest once they've fallen asleep. The cat then slowly becomes heavier, and heavier, making it harder for the victim to breathe. And as stories are told and adopted, perhaps that mental image of the cat spread? Perhaps that is why it became so prevalent? People who suffered from the same heard it, and the subconscious did it's thing? Of course these are just theories of someone whom has merely made observations and noticed possible similarities and connections with this and that. I do not have the background of study and research to back this all up.
Old Norse its pretty clear about the etymology, there are dictionaries of Old Norse. Where Ber- means naked, Björn- means bear, Ulfh- means wolf. Besides depictions of different kind if "skin-changers", there are several like in 8:47 of an Ulfhedinn warrior at the side of a Berserkr, showing him as a shirtless warriors wearing a horned helmet(probably were the stereotypical vikings wearing horned helmet came from) and something that looks like cow ears. In one of the sagas that describes all of the macho deeds of a king, cant remember the name, which mentions the king's warriors, cheering after a victorious battle and describe both as separated, 'the Berserkir roaring and the Ulfhédnar howling', it is understood that a shirtless warrior with horned helmet and cow ears, roars like a bull, not like a bear.
Speaking so confidently only to get the horn helm myth completely wrong. It came from a Wagner opera, just like Hollywood nowadays makes people think Thor was blonde.
@@Nightwalk444 the Horned God motif is very old, as old at least as the Spear Dancer. It is thought to relate to Odinn. Wagner put horny helmets on his Valkyries
@ I think comics like Hagar the Horrible probably had more to do with that. Just as Marvel have made Thor very blonde instead of his ‘ruddy’ description. Horns have a solid Germanic and Celtic mythological heritage but generally on the head of a ‘God’ of some kind
You're correct!! I make a lot of money without relying on the government. Investing in stocks, BTC, and XRP and digital currencies is beneficial at this moment.
As a beginner, it is essential that you have a mentor to help you stay accountable. In my case, Elizabeth Marie Hawley has guided me for months and I highly recommend her. I focus on her. To be honest, I'm almost hesitant to let someone take charge of growing my finances, but I'm so glad I did.
Wow I'm shocked you mentioned expert Mrs Elizabeth Marie Hawley, when someone is straight forward and good at what she does best. People will always speak for them.
@fjalarhenriksson I am pretty sure some of people have had strange gods everywhere, finns just got famous with it because of the wars. What I mean by finnish history that we are one of the oldest indigenous nations and descend from the israelites of Judea. That is probably where the knowledge about God or "gods" for some people come from. No jewish people were harmed in Finland during the ww2 and the wars always ended after the russians and the finns made nazis flee.
I've often wondered if bersekers were criminals who were banished for committing crimes and then often used as mercenaries by other villages, tribes, nations, etc.
It fascinates me that up to this day we still use 'beserk-er' in metaphors. It's as though the rumours and myths just won't die after thousands of years.
As a Swedish man, i loved this video. All your videos are great, but seeing Norse content hits close to home and i love it!! Hope you do more videos on Nordic culture in the future.
I will and thank you!
@@metatronytwould be cool if you visited us as well, as there's a lot of Viking Markets all over Scandinavia (though the biggest is in Wollin, Poland), and a lot of metal festivals (Yes I know that you're a metalhead). We even combine those here in Norway, with something we call "Midgardsblot", located close to Horten and Tønsberg.
@@Xirque666 I love going to Wollin and Midgardsblot, they are always amazing
@@Hwelhosold never been in Wollin, but know several that visits annually, but I volunteer at Midgardsblot every year
@@Xirque666 Then there has been a big chance that we once have seen each other :p
Finaly not responding video. This is the stuff I am subscribed to.
Yeah, while we can practice content selection, it still does flood the feed, so I unsubbed from the language and gaming channel so that there's only one Metatron channel I can skip 90% of content of.
Yeah the sperging out on random drama crap bores the crap out of me. 🤣 When he just researches a topic he's interested in for its own sake is when he brings out a bunch of really awesome and engaging insights.
yeah got kinda fed up with the response videos i was missing this kind of content.
To witness that unnamed Viking berserker on Stamford bridge would definitely be on my time travel list.
That dude was a monster wielding axes, slaying 40 English soldiers before they spear him from below the bridge.
It was obviously a female warrior....I've just been informed that there was just as many female norse warriors as male....🤣
@@PoetofHateSpeech if you make such a claim, I kindly request an explanation why you think the berserker of stamford bridge was female. i'd also like to know where you heard the claim there were just as many female warriors as male in norse culture
@@PoetofHateSpeech You forgot to add the sarcasm note at the end of your comment,it was funny as heck!
@@palmagius It was sarcasm lol
It's great to see content I actually subscribed for on this channel, almost a decade ago.
Cheers and happy new year!
Thanks more to come!
You may also want to check out the latest Grimfrost podcast episode where they interview professor Anders Kaliff of Uppsala university on the subject of "wolf warriors".
Was just about to say this ✌️
ah those guys that sell over priced tourist traps?
I think they were a kind of Shamanic Warrior. I think they could draw on the powers of various animals(mainly wolves and bears) as well as Odin. Also I feel they would draw on yelling similar to the Japanese Kiai. They seemed to be highly specific killing machines.
In Rome Total War 2 Barbarian Invasion expansion, I had my favorite general with a dozen berseker units east of Italy in the only city that could replenish them near. I had a couple light cavalry and inconsequential units with them. A total of 200 or so troops. 10,000 Huns appeared and sieged the city. I was figuring I would lose this general.
I set up in a choke point near the courtyard. I put all my junk in front and berserkers in the back. I figured I would see how many I coukd kill before losing. As soon as the first Huns engaged in the narrow streets, I unleashed the berserkers. 120 or so berserkers ended up killing 9000 Huns. I couldn't believe it. My Eagle Taker Alemani general was saved!!
The Huns must have panicked. It’s not entirely impossible (assuming the Huns don’t just retreat) since they were mainly horse soldiers and that’s not great in narrow places.
Barbarian Invasion is probably my favorite total war campaign for the fun stuff like this that can occur!
@@raydrexler5868 There was so much lag. Yeah the berserkers caused a chain reaction of routing that spread all through the streets.
@@raydrexler5868 I played on VH/VH too. I usually fought by bridges and chokepoints to make that work.
@@Ciek0Karanthus One of my favorite games of all time. I played so many campaigns. The remake just didn't have the same feel. I liked how generals could get offices and titles and gain bonuses.
This video is what I signed up for. I know that these take a lot more production than reaction videos but they're so much more entertaining and educational. I don't even watch the reaction videos anymore. Well that's my two cents.
Agreed. Usually reacting/debunking videos I wouldn't have watched anyway.
I had to unsub from his other two channels to keep the feed bloat manageable.
Awesome video as always, Metatron. The pronunciation is pretty decent, Old norse/Icelandic is one of the hardest languages to pronounce! Icelandic is pretty much just old norse with extra steps.
åh använder ni fortfarande kronor? ❤ nu blev jag lycklig
What a berserk way to bring in the new year....I love it!!!
Old Norse is full of puns and inside jokes. I believe Tominn means the male personification of Empty. It was a blessing and a joke so the only thing empty in the boy's life was his name. I could be wrong. Just some random things I researched out of some paper or study
Another interesting idea I've seen that I'd like more information on is that human beings, perhaps even non-Homo sapiens human species, used to make young men go out into the world in war bands for months or years at a time as part of ritual or lack of food in winter and in famines; and these war bands had something to do with a deity that might have been Oðinn's predecessor and would have had something to do with dog and/or wolf heads and pelts: possibly for warmth during winter to avoid being entirely naked.
Was thinking the same thing except more like a Mandingo fight type of thing. Like they forced slaves to raid type of thing
Same idea the Spartans had, send em off to survive
@Josh-rv7cx Interesting concept. What would be the method of forcing slaves to raid for them? My initial though is that thralls would flee given first chance, so it seems difficult to force them to fight unless they were always restrained and transported along with a primary war band or army, and then they were only let loose to fight when they had no way out. Otherwise, it seems more likely that young men from a specific town would fight hard so they could return. The thrall thing is interesting though if it is feasible
@leroilapue15 Well that's the interesting thing: the practice I'm talking about, if real, would have predated the Spartan practice and is supposed to have been the exact reason the Spartans had their ritual you are talking about. Basically, there is an idea being researched that the PIE had a specific practice with several variations that eventually got more and more differentiated over time in different areas. So the Spartans might have been some of the last remnants of that cultural ritual, and the Greek stories of soldiers going to Troy and other places might also be linked. It's all fascinating.
@@t.r.everstone7 maybe by letting them keep whatever they can find and do whatever they wanted to women/children as bad as it sounds. That would be my guess but as far as how they would accomplish it I have no idea. I'm not cut from that type of cloth
Actually the first thing that comes to my mind are the longships. I visited the viking ship museum in Oslo and saw the Oseberg ship. I was gobsmacked by the level of craftsmanship it displayed. But I enjoyed your post anyway. Happy New Year to you, buddy.
take a look at the hjortspring boat too. the shipbuilding tradition goes way back
Yes, their langboats or drakkars were viking's special weapons, or "game-changer" weapon like some like to say in modern days.
Another aspect is that the Norse gods were known for having "suits" that would make them look like animals and get them some properties of animals, Loke/Loki used that quite a lot.
Eg, an Eagle "suit" would give them the ability to fly.
Very good video. Thank you for exploring this topic
The openening music hit me in the headphones. That was brilliant ❤
Thank you very much for such an entertaining video. I learned a couple of things I didn't know about berserkers, thanks. Greetings from Uruguay
Im SO looking forward to watch this LOVE the Berserkers ! 🥰😍😘
A Danish guy here ....
DNA : 85,8% Scandinavia 14,2% English 🤪
(No English ancestors as far back that can be traced through Church books about : baptisms, weddings, burials etc.)
PS : Liked the video ... a bit short .... but would like more 😉
I knew a guy IRL who was once described, aptly, as a "berserker." He was mostly nice, but in a very aggressive sort of way. If something set him off, though...but it wasn't like a tantrum. He got hyper focused, his eyes would light and he'd smile, and he was just gone. Nobody home. He wasn't a big guy, about 5'7", like me, and kind of slender (not like me; broad shouldered and barrel chested here), but he was nigh unstoppable in that state. One of the scariest things I've ever seen. As you can imagine, he was in and out of all kinds of trouble. Imagine weaponizing a dozen of him.
Through Genome me I have a Viking index of 66%. Our parents stressed to us our entire life that we could never lose our temper. It only had to happened once and we fully understood why it was not aloud. I can't run over a bunny without saying a prayer for it I'm a very gentle soul but the one time I lost my temper a few things happened. I felt zero pain, I was out to kill and my strength increased beyond imagination , I didn't remember what I did, and I i also enjoyed it while it was happening The neighbors and cops filled it in for me what i did. My siblings had similar experiences. We all agreed it was unnatural. It is not a good thing to know you are capable of going to a place like that mentally and physically. We called it going beserker. You can believe this or not but I've seen it and experienced it. They didn't need mushrooms etc to get crazy.
That sounds more like someone with Bi-polar issues, not a berserker. Or your friend has a substance abuse issue.
A dozen well trained fighters with discipline would be a much better force than a dozen angry people with mental issues. There are reasons we dont let bi-polar people into the military.
Yea like a (videogame) army unit of berserkers losing their mind all at once, beating whomever is closest. :D
Hahahahaahha, this is such a cute thing I read, remember to change his diaper
What a weird time to bring up your fetish @@jasrajsandhu1658
It was fantastic hearing Jackson Crawford being used as a reference. I love his channel as much as this one. It’s also nice He’s also a local professor in my area too.
Here is the usual full support for channel growth.
I have often thought, that Berserkers were rather like war elephants. Fantastic at frightening and demoralising the enemy, difficult to control, probably expensive to keep, though could be devastating, if used well, but more often than not, as much of a danger to one’s own troops as to the enemy.
Sounds about right, I remember reading a summary from a saga where a man is gifted two or three Beserkers , however they are so much trouble that he resorts to barricading them inside the sauna and baking them alive to be rid of them.
David Anthony and Dorcas Brown have a study out about ritualistic dog sacrifice as a an initiation ritual on the Russian steppe between 1900-1700bc. I think this goes wayback. Indo European tradition (with loads of variation trough time and space ofc)… Spartans, wild hunt, werewolves, cattle riding myth, Wotan (shamanic fury, something like that), romelus and Remus, the cattle raiding myth…
Yep! The common term in Indo-European anthropological studies for it is the Kóryos ritual.
@@koderamerikaner5147nah, he's talking about the site of srubnaya that was unearthed, they found bones of sacrificed wolves etc, you don't know anything beyond yamnaya and basic indo european surface level knowledge btw, stop going around the comment section and pretend to be a anthrogenica member
I'm already subbed to Dr. Crawford. Great channel.
I really wanted to take his Old Norse course - but my work scheduling sadly didn't allow it. Next year!
In Irish Gaelic Mythology, the hero Cúchulainn (The Hound (!) of Culan) when furious in battle would undergo a monstrous physical transformation and enter an uncontrollable murderous rage, the 'riastrad' that Metatron mentions (too) briefly, which would usually end with him being surrounded by 'walls of corpses'. According to 'The Cattle-Raid of Cooley' it went like this:
"The first 'riastrad' seized Cúchulainn, and made him into a monstrous thing, hideous and shapeless, unheard of. His shanks and his joints, every knuckle and angle and organ from head to foot, shook like a tree in the flood or a reed in the stream. His body made a furious twist inside his skin, so that his feet and shins switched to the rear and his heels and calves switched to the front... On his head the temple-sinews stretched to the nape of his neck, each mighty, immense, measureless knob as big as the head of a month-old child... he sucked one eye so deep into his head that a wild crane couldn't probe it onto his cheek out of the depths of his skull; the other eye fell out along his cheek. His mouth weirdly distorted: his cheek peeled back from his jaws until the gullet appeared, his lungs and his liver flapped in his mouth and throat, his lower jaw struck the upper a lion-killing blow, and fiery flakes large as a ram's fleece reached his mouth from his throat... The hair of his head twisted like the tangle of a red thornbush stuck in a gap; if a royal apple tree with all its kingly fruit were shaken above him, scarce an apple would reach the ground but each would be spiked on a bristle of his hair as it stood up on his scalp with rage"
Kind of like The Incredible Hulk but more terrifying. He also had a spear from which, when it entered a body, would spring out lots of smaller spears. That would seriously mess you up. Just stories though ;-)
You gotta wonder where such fantasies originated though...I believe there is almost always a kernal of truth in every legend
@@leroilapue15 I like to think so too. The idea of the 'riastrad' must have come from somewhere, although here it has obviously been exaggerated enormously for entertainment purposes.
@@leroilapue15 Indo-European Kóryos tradition. Also, maybe a conflation with the Divine Twins.
True Story: I have spent well over a decade exploring psychedelics, delving into the inner experience and pursuing OBE (out-of-body experiences) or breakthrough states. There is much I could share on that topic, but this story is about something else entirely.
I had never understood the idea of the Berserker. How could the mushrooms I know, be used for such means? It made no sense. However, that perspective has since changed.
Last year, I was undergoing a heavy, high-dose mushroom journey, using fresh Liberty Cap mushrooms-one of the most visually potent and psychoactive varieties, which is native to the UK and northern Europe. I was experiencing a difficult trip, but a part of me has always relished the challenge of overcoming a tough journey. That was the mindset I tapped into that day.
Physically, it felt like a battle raging inside me-a clash between mind and matter. It was as though consciousness was fusing with the body, like mapping mind to muscle in a yogic sense. Mentally, however, I was enduring grotesque and harrowing inner visuals-images of death, gore, and horror. My mind wrestled with these unwanted images, just as my body seemed to wrestle with itself. And then, something shifted.
A switch activated within me. I embraced the suffering and, strangely, I enjoyed it. Instead of turning away from these disturbing images, I crawled towards them-through them-in a very visceral, and primal way. It felt as though I was clawing my way through the gore and grotesque, dragging myself through the very heart of the darkness, with a big grin.
When I overcame these visions and fully accepted the suffering, I had a second set of visions involving a giant cobra. I had to face an opposing cobra, but I too had become one, with it's hood enshrining me. Rather than a battle it was more like a stand off, in which I could read the intent of the serpents strike, and would move to indicate anticipation of the strike - holding it off. Kind of like snake charming. There’s more to that particular vision, but these details are less important. After victory and climbing higher, I was greeted by an old, bearded man with one eye (Note: I was aware prior to this trip of the idea of Odin and one eye, so could have been this influence). Afterward this encounter, I felt invincible-like an instrument of the gods. I cannot fully describe the sensation, but it was as if divine power flowed through me. I felt like Thor or some other mythical force, with the power of Gods flowing through me. it felt like If I was to fight, that I could anticipate every movement, to react faster, and to overcome anything that stood before me. There was zero fear of death or pain, and almost a delight in meeting them. It was a truly powerful feeling and words cannot do it justice.
In this state, I felt truly unstoppable. Like even if an axe was to cleave my arm off, it felt like I would be laughing and in delight of suffering. I imagined that anyone witnessing this state of frenzy on a battlefield would be truly terrified. It felt like once this state had been reached, that it could easily be reached again through ingestion and practice/ritual. That is when I understood the Berserker, it's connection to mushrooms, and how closely linked it is to the path of the Shaman.
If any substance was used by berserkers, the most likely would seem to be henbane, or henbane and alcohol, given henbane was known to the Norse. Henbane also is noted for reducing pain and causing a numbing of the body (the idea of then seeming impervious). Henbane is also a deliriant
Correct me if I wrong but I thought magic mushrooms, put into mead , possibly along with hebane and other herbs was very common?
Try some it's not at all true. They were in massive amounts of pain hence the shield bites and swallowing coal.
They were mentally ill plus on something to enhance the madness and weaponized as shock troops. They never were allowed to live in civilized areas and keeps away.
@@domm5715 I remember hearing about tea and smoke from smoke of fly agaric being the magic poison.
The scandinavians as a culture partook of mind altering substances, yes, but there are records in the sagas of beserkers entering this state of battle frenzy against their will, as well as individuals attempting to work themselves into this altered state of consciousness.
In Ireland we had Laignech Fáelad or Luchthonn. Wolf warriors. The legends of these wolf warriors may have originated from the activities of ancient Irish warriors who were frequently compared to wolves in literature. These warriors were known for their ferocity and were sometimes described as having wolf-like qualities, which could include wearing wolf skins or adopting wolf-like hairstyles.
The last recorded wolf in Ireland was killed in 1786, but the legends of these ancient wolf warriors continue to be a significant part of Irish folklore and have inspired literature, poetry, and mythology.
I think this is a type of superstition, like a cultural thing that instills fear, much like demon nuns do now, seeing that on the battlefield would be very off-putting. i think this was the concept and since it worked in making people scared, the people dressing this way fell into the iconography and it gave them fervor.
Slaine from 2000ad
What sort of hairstyles do wolfs have?? 🤔
@juliadove1006 usually like a left parted fade.
It’s all connected to a broader Indo European tradition. You can find cognates of these furious beast warriors in almost every Indo European culture. Just look at Hercules, a Greek heroic warrior dressed in a lion skin. The totem if you will may vary but the concept remains the same.
hi, random Dane here...
nice to see you cover this topic, and about the wolf-skin thing, I remember from Eigil Skallagrimssons saga that his grandfather was called Kveldulf which I guess translates to "evening wolf" or "night wolf"...
he was a berzerker, and he died from exhaustion after the battle, which gave me the idea that the trancelike state of the bersærkergang was extremely physically exhausting, but you only felt something after it was over, a sort of extreme form of meditation where you're able to focus on the battle and ignore everything else...
and you don't need any substances to induce such a state, although I think I heard about the mushroom thing somewhere before..
I think it is pure anger due to personal experience as someone who used to have anger issues
Yes, Kveldulf!
"Ulf is said to have been a very clever farmer... Sometimes he would talk to people who were in need of his advice, for he was shrewd and always ready to make useful suggestions. *But every day towards evening he would grow so bad-tempered that few people dared even to address him. He always went to bed early in the evening and woke up early in the morning. People claimed he was a shape-shifter and they called him Kveldulf (Night Wolf)." (Egil's Saga, Ch. 1)
Interesting to note that Kveldulf's antisocial behavior in the evening is implied to be wolf-like, in opposition to his more social daytime behavior. Violence and bad temper is linked with berserkers and shapeshifters.
The saga almost makes it seem to me that Kveldulf had some kind of mental condition, like maybe PTSD or something?
It was the strain of combat after the Berserk state had worn off his old age & sickness during the Voyage
@@chane8824 interesting theory, the berzerk state as something that can be triggered by external factors like with PTSD...
while I don't think this would apply to all berzerkers, I do find it likely that this could be true for some of them...
Eigil Skallagrimssons saga is not historical, but fictional, which means that we should be aware that the author uses irony, parody, satire, etc. to make a point.
Nice as always metatron happy new year
This was fascinating thank you. Love your videos of Europe history particularly ✨⭐️💫
There is a common wolf warrior cult in all the Europeans ancient cultures ( probably derived from the yamnaya).
Even the Roman republic had the Velites, young warriors with wolf skin.
Which in Indo-European anthropology/ethnography is termed as the Kóryos, after a reconstructed word for what they were probably called (in PIE).
It's strange that Rafael didn't mentioned the velites, being a fan boy of the Romans.
All the Germanic cultures*. the others had other things going on.
@@fjalarhenriksson No, all Indo-European cultures had a form of the Kóryos.
Fascinating!
I am Swedish, Finnish and Danish...i love norse history videos, and the "bear shirts" are the best. I was always told it was more "bear of shirt" or bareskin. Berserkers are amazing. I hope to see more, all the best!
It's bear of shirt. The animal bear, has nothing to do with berserkir, it's a common confusion with English speakers.
@@JnSobre bär särk Swedish for Dressed in Shirt
I doubt it was drug induced. In the sagas they’re ready to fight in a moments notice, no waiting around for half an hour for the shrooms to kick in before scrapping. Their rage does have a time limit tho and they get an almost drug like come down after it, which is probably where some of the confusion comes from
That's what I've kept telling people for YEARS. And honestly, I'm so SICK of people going with the whole 'drugged out lunatic' explanation for the berserkers. It's been debunked time and again, but fools still keep going back to it.
@@oceanberserker Narren, die nie einen wirklich emotionalen Moment erlebte haben, in welchem einem alles egal ist und man blutig rote Schleier vor den Augen hat.....Wer mal mit einer Tasse heißen Kaffee mit dem großen Zeh gegen den Bettpfosten gerannt ist und das Bett anschliessend in wirbelnde Hölzer verwandelt hat, würde die drogensubstituierte Geschichte wohl auch anzweifeln.......das ist einfach eine Kopfsache.....:)
Drugs probably had something to do with the ritual. They descend from the Indo-European Kóryos, and we know the Yamnaya used hemp in rituals, so it's entirely plausible that it was just inherited alongside the Kóryos ritual.
@ There could have been an initiation ritual that involved the use of plant medicine but it’s too impractical to rely on in battle.
@@joeyfive5245 James Woods: "YOU ARE CORRECT, SIR!"
Well, I learned something today. A big thanks as I have never heard of Berserkers. I gotta know more now! ⚔️🛡️
Hell yes! Perfect timing and perfect video subject! Happy New Year everyone
Fun fact: In Swedish berserker is called "bärsärk" in modern form, which can also be translated to "carries shirt"
I always thought of it as a uniform of a professional/hired soldier, or something akin to that.
Much appreciated to get a better take on it than most I've seen!
yes warrior cultists would be hired because of their expertise
I highly recommend The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, for a fantasy story about a story following a band of ulfhednar. Fantastic read.
Awesome descriptions of Viking/Norse type battles and raids in the most realistic descriptions I've seen yet. Although fantasy it pulls from history to give a fun and authentic feel to it.
Thank you.I am interested in this topic.
Great video as always. If you are interested in Norse language, a modern survivor is Norwegian Høgnorsk. It keeps cool features like dative nouns and reflexive verbs, as well as pre-Danish vocab. For example "Ég med bæzta folkum vandrast". Compare Bokmål "Jeg vandrer med de beste folken". There's barely anyone talking about this beautiful language.
That's also very close to Swedish: "Jag vandrar med de bästa folken"
(And it's great to wander by your side, Norway.)
@@bernardj7800 The Bokmål form is very close to Swedish, as Bokmål is heavily influenced by Danish. Danish and Swedish are East Norse languages, meanwhile Norwegian is West Norse. The Høgnorsk form is still very different: "Ég med bæzta folkum vandrast" or also "Ég med bæzta tjódum vandrast" where tjód means "folk" and comes from Old Norse þjóð.
Happy New years Medatron!🤗❤️🔥🥂🎉🎊🥳👋👋 and all the lovely peeps!❤️🔥🤗
Highly recommend the BLOODSWORN series by John Gwynn. Epic fantasy centered around the Norse folklore
Since the ancient Norse were very fond of the flyting, I like your personnal interpretation of the etymology.
My love for you is ticking clock, Berserker.
"Olaf, metal!!"
Would you like to make the fuck, Berserker!
My love for you is like a truck, berserker!
Came here for this, was not disappointed.
Olaf!
Not an expert but I remember being impressed with the Norse use of kennings in both their poetry and the sagas. That may be something to keep in mind when interpreting the latter as they seamed to be trying to evoke an image rather than tell literal history in many of their works. I'm not sure how consistent this was over time or space though.
Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone!!! God bless!!!🎉🎉🎉
I was wondering if you ever did anything looking at Newgrange? I think it is so interesting, Newgrange's precise alignment with the winter solstice sunrise, where a beam of light illuminates its inner chamber, showcases remarkable astronomical knowledge from its builders. This ancient connection to the solstice, marking the "rebirth" of the sun, has deeply influenced numerous cultural celebrations and holidays throughout history, many of which are still observed today, highlighting the enduring significance of this astronomical event... all done around 3200bc
Love these videos
This is great. Can you do a series on different pagan gods/pantheons/mythologies/literatures/etc. (whatever you find interesting)? I think mainly your audience would would want to know about Greek, Norse, Roman, Celtic, Slavic, Egyptian, Shinto, Chinese, Aztec/Mayan, Hindu, roughly in that or a similar order give or take, perhaps.
I think, given that we know the Celts fought naked and also had at least some level of contact with Germanic tribes, the idea of being "bare or shirt" might not be too far fetched. The naked warriors were actually surprisingly intimidating, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Norse tribes and other Germanic tribes picked up this tradition
It's not that the Norse picked up the tradition from the Celts, but rather that both their cultures have the same ancestors. The Celtic Fianna and the Germanic Ulfhéðnar come from the Proto-Indo-European/Yamnaya Kóryos.
Naked could also mean without armour...I find it hard to believe men would fight naked especially in the chilly northern Europe
@@leroilapue15 I've just read a book about this a couple of weeks back - you'll have to forgive me, because I don't remember the source the author used, but there was a greek who wrote about the Galatian Celts (from turkey, so admittedly a warmer climate) as being a "sea of white, as they do not remove their clothes, except for in battle". There's a lot of iconography from the more northern Celts as well, such as cauldrons and scabbards, etc which the Celts decorated quite intricately which very much show them as being butt naked apart from their shields. So you'd be surprised!
I think the reason why this was possible in northern Europe is because you generally didn't want to be fighting in winter or during harvest time in these periods, so most fighting would be done in the summer where you can quite easily walk around without too many layers even in Northern Europe.
@@koderamerikaner5147 excellent point!
@@JoelTehMole ah good to know and thanks for the response, I wonder how they avoided getting their bollocks sliced off?? Seems like it would make an easy target...but then maybe it was like a macho points thing "I fought the enemy naked" was basically their version of "I'll do it with one hand behind my back"
First to bear witness to the awesome power of the Metatron!
The extras on Vikings were HUMONGOUS
A good old-fashion Metatron video.
Hi Metatron Very good video. Thanks for not spreading the myth that berserkers eat mushrooms. And that it was so common to breed berserkers that a Norwegian king illegally made it illegal in the 11th century
I like what Shadiversity had to say about them some years ago, them not being the madman high on shrooms but stalward Viking Champions.
more like warrior cultists for hire
Excellent video, this is the kind of stuffI subscribed to see, not react/critique content
Berserkers are also mentioned in Hervarar's Saga, which would have taken place during in the Gothic kingdom in modern-day Ukraine shortly before the Hun invasions. It is hard to say with any certainty, but this saga is particularly notable because, although it was recorded at a much later date, the names used were in their archaic forms that would have been correctly used at the time the story takes place (4th Century A.D.).
There is some speculation that this sort of animal cult was common amongst many Indo-Europeans going back potentially thousands of years before the Viking Age. One similar example being the Old Irish Fianna.
Didn’t know that records of the Vikings went that far back, even before the Huns arrived at Rome. Usually when I think of the Vikings I think of the Medieval Period.
@@AlexKS1992 Well, it was written around the same time as Snorri's works on Norse Mythology, during the High Middle Ages (1200's), but it was an oral tradition up until then, apparently. What makes it amazing is that the word forms for locations and names were not the type used in the 1200's but were what fit for the 4th century when it was supposed to take place, which suggests relatively little changed in the retelling almost 800 years later. Of course, it deals with the Goths, a Germanic Pagan group and not the Vikings, which were merely the last remaining in a long line of Germanic Pagan peoples (both Scandinavian and Continental Germanic).
Animalistic warriors existed everywhere for millennia, from China, Egypt to Mesoamerica, and also naked or shirtless warriors, those traditions are not exclusive to the vikings.
@@JnSobre ofcoarse but weaponised animalistic autism was exclusive to the germanic tribes
Hi Metatron, nice vid!
Since I wrote my bachelor thesis on berserkir I'd like to point out at some small corrections.
First of all, concerning the etymology of the word, the "bare shirt" hypothesis is now considered to be outdated, in favor of "bear shirt". As you pointed out, the latter is perfectly specular with ulfhedinn, but it also happens to be more solid from a linguistical perspective. Moreover, while we have a decent amount of evidences (both literary and archeological) of warriors with wolves and bear skins, the few cases when berserkers are said to get rid of armor and clash into battle are part of a literary trope, which doesn't involve only them but also kings and heroes. I know that Snorri says that they went into battle without armor, but he wouldn't have known first person and scholars have explained why he would have fallen for the "bare shirt" etymology (also it wouldn't be the first time when Snorri made up the origin of a word).
It's true that we have few representations of men wearing bear skins, but besides the stone you mentioned, we also have a berserker on the Oseberg tapestry, some bear-looking masks found in ship burials and literary accounts of bear shirts found in warrior graves.
On berserkers' reputation, it is true that Christian sagas depict them as evil, but on the contrary from old skaldic verses we know that they would have been some of the most respected warriors at Harald Harfagri's court and we have some traces of this even in some saga passages, like in Egill's saga when talking about Egill's ancestors.
Btw you mentioned something very interesting about berserkir being part of a much longer tradition of feral warriors. This seems to be somehow enrooted in extremely old Indo-European warrior culture and religion.
Hope this helped 😊
I remember watching a documentary about Norse Beserkers and them being conected to a spirit animal.
made in america? would explain the "spirit animal" thinking
Love the original content, keep it up!
Less review/reaction/debunk of other peoples' content.
Some of the descriptions sound like successful modern soldiers who are probably some kind of psychopath/sociopath. An absolute menace to their society everywhere outside of combat. But when the barbarians are at the gates who are you gonna send out to meet them? I've also heard them called "A break glass in case of war, human."
Nah, morality was completely different from modern day and warriors back then loved war and violence
@jasrajsandhu1658 I agree
I hope Metatron tries making a documentary one day.
And calls it Long Metatron
I wish this video was an hour longer. I'd like to hear more.
Did they have Buckfast back then? Certainly helps me to get into the mood when charging a bouncer wearing my birthday suit.
I don't know about the berserkers but it makes perfect sense for people getting ready to battle to scream and yell and slap their chest because it releases adrenaline.
That was a practice for the average soldier, beserkers were a smaller, distinguished warrior class.
Awesome intro! Shield underneath the tree, I’m assuming it’s supposed to represent Yggdrasil 🔥
The intro to this video had me so excited, I had to replay it.
Thanks for this- a great summary of what is known. Happy New Year
The weird guy in the village who runs around pretending the be a bear. Sometimes a dog just because he dosnt want to work
its called schizophrenia
Furries?
Furries even back then...fml lol
I love how our ancestors always had the simplest solutions to a problem. When it comes a time to fight someone, you just get guys like that to lead the charge and don't give them any armor. Odin will protect them, and if not, no more problem.
Shieldmaidens were probably also a great way to get rid of karens back then. You just tell them they aren't allowed to fight in a war, they demand to speak with the thane and the rest is history.
@raics101 lol I like your thinking about shieldmaidens...maybe we can do the same today 😆
When i took mushrooms i couldn't even walk straight
Too much man, you took too much :D
Might be amanita muscara mushrooms not psilocybin
12:42 John DeSouza (ret. FBI) said they had an old case that happened before he ever started working there about these bank robbers. They would not give up their "earthly vessel" shall we say. They kept pew pewing at them, was hitting them and they didn't stop until someone pew pewed one of the guys through his spinal cord. Well, when they investigated their houses, they found an alter with an animal "donation" to the berserker spirits. Pretty interesting. This is a great topic. Happy New Year to you and yours. 🙏🥳🎉
I wonder if the “bear shirts” and “wolf shirts” in the Norse culture are similar to the Aztec jaguar warriors and eagle warriors. Maybe an “elite” unit with a specific job, aside from wrecking the enemy in battle. Thoughts?
Herakles and Biblical characters like John The Baptist were also known for wearing animal skins. Who knows how far back it goes. But as with most things I suspect it has a very similar source, same as languages.
The former is a descendent of the Indo-European Kóryos. It is possible that native americans had some form of it, if we assume the Kóryos tradition precedes even the Indo-Europeans and comes from the Ancient North Eurasians, whence the IE and Natives would've lived in proximity.
Similar traditions of animalistic cults existen on any civilization way before viking era, nudist warfare was also depicted on several regions in the world.
11:50 it’s like Robert E. Howard knew what he was talking about when writing those Bran Mak Morn stories
I had read that they had 3 schools of super soldiers. Berserkrs, bear men, Ulfenthar, wolf men and Joufur or something like this, boar men. Can you confirm this?
Also, a version of them states that not all metal weapons cannot hurt them, but only the blades. So, hammers, stones or blunt weapons could hurt them.
Correct. Blunt force trauma was one of the surefire ways to actually stop a berserker in their tracks when they got rolling. For everything else, it was ineffective unless if was a critical hit. Piercing the heart, decapitation, dismemberment, disembowelment, etc. Nothing else, again, aside from the aforementioned blunt force trauma, would stop them.
Metatron, I highly recommend you check out The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, it's a book series and it is about Berserkir, Úlfhéðnar and many other tainted beings and its world is inspired by Norse mythology and the Norse/Viking culture even the armor and weapon descriptions are very accurate I think you will love this!
It's fantasy meets realism!
An interesting interpretation that I have heard is that berserkergang was a manifestation of extreme PTSD. Berserkers behaved erratically and were subject to bouts of extreme depression and lethargy marked by brief periods of out-of-control violence, which is one way PTSD can manifest. Too often we think of ancient warriors as unaffected by the mayhem they witnessed, suffered, and caused, but they were just human beings prone to the same afflictions that we suffer today.
And their killing was done close enough to smell what their enemy ate for breakfast on their breath. The act of killing has an effect on the psyche; more so when done at arms reach. Their behavior is why they were often "Foreign" as they were often ostracized and considered too unpredictable to be around "normal" society and would band together at times. Like attracts like.
Except that psychiatrist was referring to Greek poetry. Not bersekergang.
It's due to extended stress & noise without release, combat lasting days & non physical. It's likely ptsd was much lower in hand to hand combat and was fairly novel for the napoleonic wars.
If it were caused by witnessing horrors, we'd not have any doctors/surgeons who were not psychopaths (they're seemingly immune to ptsd)
Though regular depression, for sure. Not everything is shell shock or battle fatigue, it's quite specific. Torture victims demonstrate it in ancient times however. & i can attest to it some.
TL;DR, PTSD refers to medical trauma, not psychologically difficult situations. Seeing a horrific experience never leaves you, but doesn't have triggers that make you feel physically you are reliving the event.
Having had an... interesting life, I can talk about the horrific events and the one specific one that gave me some ptsd. I was also fully conscious & able in intensive care, which must be a rare occurrence. One sole psychopathic doctor worked there with a cheery irish accent as the fates decided if I lived or died.
I have read that PTSD was not really an issue before modern warfare. PTSD is generally caused by prolonged exposure to stress (and other stimuli) so battles back then did not normally last long enough to cause PTSD, where now battles can last for days/weeks/months.
This is not to say that battles back then were not psychologically damaging to people. Of course they were. But not all psychological issues from combat are PTSD.
BTW - I suffer from PTSD due to experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. My 5 year old son thinks its both funny and terrifying when I have had "incidents" while he has been around.
wrong about the last part
I still can't hear the word "berskerkers" without seeing Lindybeige biting a shield in my inner picturebox.
I can't wait to see a collaboration between Metatron and Dr. Crawford
BROTHER SAME
Together, they shall be known as Crawtron!
@@mercianthane2503 sounds like a terrifying mechanized crawfish monster from Louisiana
@@mercianthane2503 that or the new Transformers character
SAME! Just started Dr. Crawford's translation of the Volsunga Saga
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. Keep up the great work. Respect from Guyana 🇬🇾
Town Cryer:
"Metatron goes into the public square to explain the barbarian berserker origins.
Be Aware *hand gesture *
No actors or unclean people allowed . Noble Ones only.
Thus has spoken
Gaius *hand gesture*
Julius *hand gesture*
Caesar *hand gesture*
The capitoline brotherhood of millers - true roman bread, for true romans"
Such an entertaining topic!
I enjoyed this!
I did a project on the Vikings in 5th grade. I meticulously constructed a beautiful model of a longship - and at the very last minute my teacher told me I also needed to give a short oral report as well (in front of *6th graders* ). That was the point at which I put what I had learned about berserkers into actual practice. The story made the local papers.
And then everyone clapped...
@That weird kind of subdued awkward clapping of a whole crowd of people wondering what the heck just happened.
appreciate the surprisingly good pronounciations of my language
A vid on the Indo European Koryos, East and West, would be good.
Metatron is COOKING these days.
I would postulate that if a man’s fear and rage were strong enough he might well expert temporary insanity during which he became impervious to pain. If such a man survived the battle and was able to heal back to fitness he might find reaching such a mental state easier, even become normal for him. PTSD is not always associated with anxiety and depression but sometimes causes intense bouts of anger or rage. In the violence of intertribal warfare and seasonal raiding it’s likely that some few warriors became addicted to their rage and these, perhaps are the foundation of the berserkers of legends and myth.
Something that I have wondered myself (this of course being personal speculation and theorizing), would be the possibility for the origin of the werewolf mythos being in a situation of say... A berserker going utterly rampant, howling, screaming, wailing and practically foaming at the mouth. And even then it would not even have to be anything more than that very pelt. Hyperbole has spawned so, SO many stories.
Our myths most often have a base in even a shred of truth... And then to mind comes the sentence: "Like a man possessed." Now clearly this has most often been used to refer to an evil spirit, most often the biblical Devil. But the Berserkers seemingly involve a lot of "channeling" of the animal spirit through themselves.
Imagine witnessing this as someone who has never heard or partaken in the culture of these men. Must've been quite an experience... A spectacle of horror, rage and rampant might.
I also suspect that the myth of the Draugr, Draug, Drög may have been the way for the Scandinavians of old to try and explain sleep paralysis. Or may have evolved as such over time! An ability which the Draug are mentioned to have in myth is that of transformation and shapeshifting. Specifically, taking the shape of a black cat that sits upon the victim's chest once they've fallen asleep.
The cat then slowly becomes heavier, and heavier, making it harder for the victim to breathe.
And as stories are told and adopted, perhaps that mental image of the cat spread? Perhaps that is why it became so prevalent? People who suffered from the same heard it, and the subconscious did it's thing?
Of course these are just theories of someone whom has merely made observations and noticed possible similarities and connections with this and that. I do not have the background of study and research to back this all up.
Pronunciations on point 🐺
A proper video great video instead on yet another reaction video, thank you 🙏🏻
Old Norse its pretty clear about the etymology, there are dictionaries of Old Norse. Where Ber- means naked, Björn- means bear, Ulfh- means wolf. Besides depictions of different kind if "skin-changers", there are several like in 8:47 of an Ulfhedinn warrior at the side of a Berserkr, showing him as a shirtless warriors wearing a horned helmet(probably were the stereotypical vikings wearing horned helmet came from) and something that looks like cow ears.
In one of the sagas that describes all of the macho deeds of a king, cant remember the name, which mentions the king's warriors, cheering after a victorious battle and describe both as separated, 'the Berserkir roaring and the Ulfhédnar howling', it is understood that a shirtless warrior with horned helmet and cow ears, roars like a bull, not like a bear.
Hamingya…..to ‘walk in shapes’
Speaking so confidently only to get the horn helm myth completely wrong. It came from a Wagner opera, just like Hollywood nowadays makes people think Thor was blonde.
@@Nightwalk444 the Horned God motif is very old, as old at least as the Spear Dancer. It is thought to relate to Odinn.
Wagner put horny helmets on his Valkyries
@@captainl-ron4068 That he did and that's why people still think Wikangzzz have horned helmets
@ I think comics like Hagar the Horrible probably had more to do with that.
Just as Marvel have made Thor very blonde instead of his ‘ruddy’ description.
Horns have a solid Germanic and Celtic mythological heritage but generally on the head of a ‘God’ of some kind
Good to hear Dr Crawford mentioned. He taught me quite a bit about my lineage. Excellent video.
Very interesting! Thanks for the incites on Berserkir!
First! ( having got that out I can watch what is always fab content thank Metatron!
All the best for the New Year
Hit 200k today. I'm really grateful for all the knowledge and nuggets you had thrown my way over the last months. Started with 14k in June 2024
You're correct!! I make a lot of money without relying on the government. Investing in stocks, BTC, and XRP and digital currencies is beneficial at this moment.
As a beginner, it is essential that you have a mentor to help you stay accountable. In my case, Elizabeth Marie Hawley has guided me for months and I highly recommend her. I focus on her. To be honest, I'm almost hesitant to let someone take charge of growing my finances, but I'm so glad I did.
Wow I'm shocked you mentioned expert Mrs Elizabeth Marie Hawley, when someone is straight forward and good at what she does best.
People will always speak for them.
The very first time we tried, we invested $2000 and after some weeks, we received $8500. That really helped us a lot to pay up our bills.
I have heard about her excellent trading expertise in CNBC news, guess she's more popular in United States.
Do a video about Finland, finns and their history! Thanks! Respect from Finland Metatron! God bless your family brother!
that is actually interesting too you had some strange gods over there
@fjalarhenriksson I am pretty sure some of people have had strange gods everywhere, finns just got famous with it because of the wars. What I mean by finnish history that we are one of the oldest indigenous nations and descend from the israelites of Judea. That is probably where the knowledge about God or "gods" for some people come from. No jewish people were harmed in Finland during the ww2 and the wars always ended after the russians and the finns made nazis flee.
I've often wondered if bersekers were criminals who were banished for committing crimes and then often used as mercenaries by other villages, tribes, nations, etc.
It fascinates me that up to this day we still use 'beserk-er' in metaphors. It's as though the rumours and myths just won't die after thousands of years.
I can totally see the name coming from a pun.
The pun even works in modern English! Bear-shirter and bare-shirter!