Half of Viking city of Sigtuna were immigrants: study

[rangerrebew]

Half of Viking city of Sigtuna were immigrants: study
 
25 August 2018
12:13 CEST+02:00
No fewer than half the population of the Viking town of Sigtuna were immigrants, a new genetic analysis of human remains from the 10th to the 12th century has discovered.

While rough half of the 38 people whose bones and teeth were genetically tested grew up in or around the nearby Lake Mälaren area, the other half came from as far away as Ukraine, Lithuania, northern Germany, the British Isles, and parts of central Europe, as well as from southern Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

“It was a sort of Viking Age Scandinavian Shanghai or London,” Anders Götherström, Professor of Molecular Archeology at Stockholm University, told the TT newswire. “Anyone who wanted to do something, to work their way up in the church or in politics were first forced to come to Sigtuna.”

https://www.thelocal.se/20180825/half-of-sigtuna-swedens-first-capital-were-immigrants

[Sanguine]

What do they think "Viking" meant?

[endicom]

All sea lanes lead to Sigtuna.

[dfwgator]

Cue Led Zeppelin....


! No longer available

[musiclady]

What do they think "Viking" meant?

My people were travelers.

[DCPatriot]

Somebody had to pick the lettuce.     

[musiclady]

While rough half of the 38 people whose bones and teeth were genetically tested grew up in or around the nearby Lake Mälaren area, the other half came from as far away as Ukraine, Lithuania, northern Germany, the British Isles, and parts of central Europe, as well as from southern Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

You know what's funny...... other than Ukraine, that's exactly what showed up in my Ancestry.com DNA test.

All my family back to great great grandparents came from Nora/Orebro and the Lake Vanern/Karlstad area.

[musiclady]

Somebody had to pick the lettuce.     

Jobs no self-respecting Swedes would do, I'm sure.....

[Sanguine]

My people were travelers.

Basically, yes.

[musiclady]

Basically, yes.

There's a big statue in central Kiev of the three Swedes who founded the city and settled in Ukraine.

Not surprising that some came back to the homeland.

[sneakypete]

You would think historians would know that Vikings kept and sold slaves,wouldn't you?

[sneakypete]

There's a big statue in central Kiev of the three Swedes who founded the city and settled in Ukraine.

Not surprising that some came back to the homeland.

@musiclady

There is a HUGE bronze statue of the Russian/Viking of the prince in downtown Moscow  that drove the the Mongol hordes out of Russia. Russia got it's name from the Viking tribe named "Rus" that brought order there.

[Gefn]

@To-Whose-Benefit? Viking ping

[Sanguine]

The Correct Usage Of The Term ‘Viking’

Many people tend to mistake the term ‘Viking’ for the broader sense of all Norsemen (i.e. the early medieval Scandinavians). In fact, the term only denotes the occupation of a Norseman and not the ethnicity of the respective individual. Regarding the etymology of the word ‘Viking’, various linguistic theories had been proposed in order to explain from which root had it been derived.

...

The correct usage of the term ‘Viking’ can be explained in a nutshell as follows: All Vikings were Norsemen but not all Norsemen were Vikings. In other words, to be Viking was an occupation. It meant that a certain person would go a Viking if he or she would have been disposed to raid, plunder, loot and explore lands overseas.

To be a Viking was not the same thing as being a thief. Theft was not tolerated under any circumstances in the Norse society. In the end, what separated Vikings from thieves were the raids. The raids represented the unique and most valuable chances for one to prove worthy in battle, gain honour and respect, thus exponentially increasing his or her social status, evidently depending on the achievements made on the battlefield...

http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php?action=post;topic=330115.0;last_msg=1782076

[musiclady]

@musiclady

There is a HUGE bronze statue of the Russian/Viking of the prince in downtown Moscow  that drove the the Mongol hordes out of Russia. Russia got it's name from the Viking tribe named "Rus" that brought order there.

I've never been to Moscow (never been east of St. Petersburg in Russia) so haven't seen that statue, but I have been to Ukraine and loved that it was the Swedes who not only settled Kiev, but gave the name "Rus" to Russia.

Too bad all the Swedes are wimps nowadays.  They should have stopped somewhere between raping and pillaging and being Milquetoasts like they are now. 

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

@Sanguine

Is there another link involved here - to read more - beside the one you have to comment?

[Gefn]

I've never been to Moscow (never been east of St. Petersburg in Russia) so haven't seen that statue, but I have been to Ukraine and loved that it was the Swedes who not only settled Kiev, but gave the name "Rus" to Russia.

Too bad all the Swedes are wimps nowadays.  They should have stopped somewhere between raping and pillaging and being Milquetoasts like they are now. 

Swedish girls are gorgeous

[Sanguine]

@Sanguine

Is there another link involved here - to read more - beside the one you have to comment?

I just did a search.  I knew that  "go a viking" is an action, not an ethnicity.

Here's some search results:


What does to 'go a viking' mean and how did the term originate ...

https://www.quora.com/What-does-to-go-a-viking-mea... Proxy  Highlight

Aug 4, 2017 ... According to To Go A Viking, Viking is a verb. The oldest man in a Norse family would inherit the family's possessions when the father died.
Viking History: Facts & Myths - Live Science

https://www.livescience.com/32087-viking-history-f... Proxy  Highlight

1 day ago ... ... and was used as a verb by the Scandinavian people for when the men traditionally took time out of their summers to go "a Viking.
The Correct Usage Of The Term 'Viking' - The Dockyards

www.thedockyards.com/the-correct-usage-of-the-term-viking/ Proxy  Highlight

Aug 17, 2015 ... It meant that a certain person would go a Viking if he or she would have been disposed to raid, plunder, loot and explore lands overseas.
Go a Viking by Frank Lane on Amazon Music - Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Go-a-Viking/dp/B01MY4XBY1 Proxy  Highlight

Check out Go a Viking by Frank Lane on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.com.
Norway: Go "a-viking" - Pafko.com

www.pafko.com/trips/norway/n12/ Proxy  Highlight

Norway: Go 'a-viking'. In 793 AD, several slender longboats sailed toward the English Coast. When the wind died down the single mast was laid bare and each ...
Go-a-Viking (when only one person tells it.) | DeviantArt

https://www.deviantart.com/go-a-viking Proxy  Highlight

"It was bound to happen someday wasn't it?" he gave a cheerful smile towards the other norwegian. "I finally found you. Although this has to be the wrong place..
Go A Viking (Original Mix) Frank Lane by La Vena Music | Free ...

https://soundcloud.com/la-vena/go-a-viking-frank-l... Proxy  Highlight

Nov 6, 2016 ... FIrst pre-release track on new label La Vena Music. Go A Viking (Original Mix) Frank Lane. 2016 All Rights Reserved.
GOING A VIKING — ACADEMY of VIKING MARTIAL ARTS

https://www.vikingmartialarts.com/going-a-viking-1/ Proxy  Highlight

In the sagas, the phrase "to go a Víking" meant to go on a voyage of discovery. Part-time farmer/hunter/warriors from Norway who went 'a Viking' and traveled to ...
What does to go a-viking mean - Answers.com

www.answers.com/Q/What_does_to_go_a-viking_mean Proxy  Highlight

To "go a-viking" means to go raiding. "Viking was originally a Norse term describing a raid for loot and only later came to describe the Norse people who did ...
Vikings Word Search - Let's Go a Viking! by Curriculum Hound | TpT

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Viking... Proxy  Highlight

Vikings Word Search - Let's Go a Viking! Introduce or reinforce Viking-related vocabulary with this delightful themed word search! This puzzle includes fifteen ...

[sneakypete]

Swedish girls are gorgeous

@Freya

Muslims seem to like raping them,anyhow.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

What do they think "Viking" meant?

@Freya

Thanks for the ping.

It's hard to actually say, since translations of Old Norse can sometimes be tricky things without knowing the culture well enough to know when you're dealing with a 'Kenning' / poetic metaphor.

Most likely mention I've hit upon would be "Creek Man" as in sneaking in up a small creek in a big boat designed especially for that job.

Viking longships were relatively shallow draft (about 3 ft) and the steering rudder could be easily tilted up, out of the water for a getaway as fast, in reverse down a creek, as the way they snuck in.


As for translations, I've seen some flat out ludicrous ones of Valkyries in particular: looked like they were pulled out of a hat. So I translated them myself as literally as I could:

http://wulfanson.blogspot.com/search/label/Valkyries

19th Century Romanticism painted the Valkyries into Dilbert Cartoons.

They were not chubby love puppies who rescued the dead from the field as strains of Wagner wafted them through the air to Asgard.

Owning a martial spirit was more than an ideal a Viking aspired to. It was who you were, and many Old Norse names are quite blunt about it.

Want in to Valhalla? Die in battle.

Waiting for illness or old age to kill you sent you to Hel. The term is Ana Sótt. (die of disease)

Valhalla’s actual name is Valhöll: Carrion Hall: where you trained in mortal combat every day, all day, and died again and again: hardening you against death by steel to confront the final death you and your mead bench mates would all suffer at Ragnorök: liberating your progeny from the forces of Hel.

Valhöll was full contact, full death and dismemberment, and near eternal, bootcamp.

Odin’s daughters hovered above the battle choosing the doomed and sending death to them. Odin wanted the best and they were at the front of the fight.

So, with that, here's my stab at translating some of the original Valkyrie names.


Hrist: To Shake: as in Shudder, Shock, an Earthquake: from Hrista: To Shake.

Mist: To Avenge: from the Slavic name Mmsti: To Avenge.

Skeggjöld: Old Beard. The Viking Bearded Ax had an extended cutting tail on it called a beard.

Skjógul: Skjóg: Forest, and Ulfr: Wolf: the Forest Wolf

Hlökk: possible variant of Hrörri: Sword

Herfiotr: Army Fetterer: Hirð: a company of men, usually military, fjoturr: to fetter

Hildi: Battle

Þruð: Might (Þor’s daughter)

Göll: Gollr, the talon or claw of a hawk.

Geirölul: Geirr: Spear, Olla: to cause, as in Valda: Authority

Randgrið: Rand: Shield, Grið: Peace, IE, peace through triumph of shields.

Raðgrið: Counsel (of) Peace IE: Accept Peace, on our terms, or else

Reginleif: Regin: Power of the Gods, Leif: Inheritence or Legacy

[Gefn]

@Freya

Muslims seem to like raping them,anyhow.

Must be the blondes? I don’t know. Every Muslim I know is a brunette

[sneakypete]

Must be the blondes? I don’t know. Every Muslim I know is a brunette

@Freya

No,it's the religion/culture. If they rape a Muslim woman wearing the full bag and mask,they can't get in Paradise. Raping a non-Muslim woman that shamelessly goes around showing her elbows and ankles is an activity highly approved by Mohammed. So is enslaving them.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

I've never been to Moscow (never been east of St. Petersburg in Russia) so haven't seen that statue, but I have been to Ukraine and loved that it was the Swedes who not only settled Kiev, but gave the name "Rus" to Russia.

Too bad all the Swedes are wimps nowadays.  They should have stopped somewhere between raping and pillaging and being Milquetoasts like they are now. 

@musiclady

You do know about this guy, right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd_the_Crusader

He took being converted seriously.

[To-Whose-Benefit?]

Here's from the Cleasby/Vigfusson dictionary of Icelandic - English, 1874

http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oi_cleasbyvigfusson/b0716.html

VÍK, f., gen. víkr, pl. víkr, [from víkja; Dan. vig], prop. a small creek, inlet, bay; vík gékk upp fyrir austan nesit en upp at víkinni stóð borg mikil, Eg. 161; þeir námu víkr þær er við þá eru kenndar, Landn. 236; í vík eina ... hjá vík þeirri, 57; sá ek at í hverja vík vóru rekin brot af þessu tré, Fms. vii. 163; víkr ok fjörðu, Fbr. 14 new Ed.; tveim megin víkriunar, Fs. 143; margar víkr, 146; róa vik á e-n, to row one round, get the better of another; þætti mér mikit vaxa mín virðing, eðr þess höfðingja er á Hrafnkel gæti nökkura vík róit, Hrafn. 16 (metaph. from pulling in a race), Þjal. 48. II. freq. in local names, Vík, Víkr, Húsa-vík, Reykjar-vík, etc.: the name of Vík or Víkin was specially given to the present Skagerack and Christianiafjrord with the adjacent coasts; í Vík austr, í Víkinni, sigla inn, út Víkina, Fms. passim. The form -wick or -wich in British local names is partly of Norse, partly of Latin origin (vicus); all inland places of course belong to the latter class. COMPDS: víkr-barmr, m. a little bay; kómu í einn víkrbarm, Krók. 460. víkr-hvarf, n. a creek, Grett. 128 new Ed.; spelt víkhvarf, Fms. vii. 260. Vík-marr, m. the bay at Bergen. Fms. vii.

Vík-dælskr, adj. from the county W., Fms. vii.

víking, f. a freebooting voyage, piracy; see víkingr. In heathen days it was usual for young men of distinction, before settling down, to make a warlike expedition to foreign parts, this voyage was called 'víking,' and was part of a man's education like the grand tour in modern times; hence the saying in the old Saga, -- 'when I was young and on my voyage (víking), but now I am old and decrepit;' so a son begs his father to give him a 'langskip,' that he may set out on a 'víking,' cp. the scene of the young Egil and his mother Bera, and the reference Fms. i. 69; see B. The custom was common among Teutonic tribes, and is mentioned by Caesar B.G. vi. ch. 23 (latrocinia nullam habent infamiam, quae extra fines cujusque civitatis fiunt, sqq.), only there it is a foray on land; (cp. the mod. American filibustering.)

B. REFERENCES illustrating this word: Leifr fór í hernað í vestr-víking, Landn. 32; Ólafr inn hvíti herjaði í vestr-víking ok vann Dyflinni, 108; Geirmundr heljar-skinn var herkonungr, hann herjaði í vestr-víking, 121; hann kom út síð landnáma-tíðar, hann hafði verit í vestr-víking ok haft ór vestr-víking þræla Írska, 133; Ánn varð missáttr við Harald konung inn hárfagra, hann fór því ór landi í vestr-víking, 140; Ingimundr var víkingr mikill ok herjaði í vestr-víking jafnan, 174; Ævarr fór til Íslands ór víkingu, ok synir hans, 185; Björn var á sumrum í vestr-víking en á vetrum með Öndótti, Eyvindr fór þá í vestr-víking, 204; þá var Þorsteinn son Ásgríms í víkingu, en Þorgeirr annarr son hans var tíu vetra, 292; hann var í víking á sumrum ok fékk sér fjár, Hkr. i. 171; Hjörleifr konungr féll í víkingu, Fas. ii. 35; leggjask í víking ok hernað, Fms. xi. 73; fara í víking, Eg. 260; Grímr, þeir vóru í vestr-víking, ok drápu í Suðreyjum Ásbjörn jarl skerja-blesa, ok tóku þar at herfangi Ólöfu konu hans, Grímr fór til Íslands, Landn. 314; þá er ek var ungr ok í víkingu ... en nú hálfu síðr at ek em gamall ok örvasi, Glúm. 337; ek vil senda yðr austr til Svíþjóðar á fund tins bezta vinar míns, er nú er kallaðr Hákon gamli, við vórum lengi báðir samt í víking, var með okkr inn kærasti félagskapr, ok áttum einn sjóð, Fms. i. 69; en er hann var á unga aldri, lá hann í víkingu ok hernaði, Eg. (begin.); Björn var farmaðr mikill, var stundum í víking en stundum í kaupferðum, 154; er mér þat nær skapi, sagði hann, at þú fáir mér langskip ok þar lið með, ok fara ek í víking (the words of a son to his father), 157: of an expedition in the East (in the Baltic), þeir fóru um sumarit í víking í Austrveg, fóru heim at hausti ok höfðu aflat fjár mikils ... skip þat höfðu þeir fengit um sumarit í víking, Eg. 170, 171; Björn var nú í víkingu at afla sér fjár ok frægðar, Bjarn. 13: the word occurs also on Swed. Runic stones, sá varð dauðr í vestr-vegum í víkingu, Baut. 962: þá lögðusk sumir menn út í víking ok á herskip, ok mörg endemi tóku menn þá til önnur þau er nú mundi ódæmi þykkja ef menn henti slíkt, Bs. i. 62 (referring to Iceland of A.D. 1056-1180): one of the last instances on record is Sturl. i. 152, -- hann hafði verit útan nokkura vctr ok verit í víkingu, referring to A.D. 1195: in the Orkneys, among the Norsemen, the viking-life lasted till the 13th century, if not longer.

víkingligr, adj. like a viking, martial, Ld. 276.

víkingr, m. a freebooter, rover, pirate, but in the Icel. Sagas used specially of the bands of Scandinavian warriors, who during the 9th and 10th centuries harried the British Isles and Normandy: the word is peculiarly Norse, for although it occurs in A.S. in the poem Byrnoth (six or seven times), it is there evidently to be regarded as a Norse word; and prob. so too in the poem 'Exodus,' in the words rondas bærun sæwicingas, over saltne mere; lastly, in 'Widsith,' as the name of a people, and Liðvicingas (= Liðungar? q.v.) The word 'víkingr' is thought to be derived from vík (a bay), from their haunting the bays, creeks, and fjords; -- or it means 'the men from the fjords,' the coincidence that the old Irish called the Norsemen 'Lochlannoch.' and Norway 'Lochlan,' is curious.

B. A few selected references will illustrate the word :-- Naddoddr hét maðr, hann var víkingr mikill, Landn. 26; Flóki Vilgerðarson hét maðr, hann var v. mikill, 28; slógusk í Eyjarnar víkingar ok herjuðu ok ræntu víða, 41; Úlfr víkingr ok Ólafr bekkr fóru samskipa til Íslands, 202; en er þeir lágu til hafs kómu at þeim víkingar ok vildu ræna þá, en Gautr laust stafnbúann þeirra við hjálmun-veli, ok lögðu víkingar við þat frá, siðan var hann kallaðr Hjálmun-gautr, 223; Hrafn hafnar-lykkill var víkingr mikill, hann fór til Íslands ok nam land ..., 269; Ölvir barna-karl hét maðr ágætr í Noregi, hann var víkingr mikill, hann lét eigi henda börn á spjóta-oddum sem þá var víkingum títt, því var hann barna-karl kallaðr, 308; maðr hét Þorsteinn, gamall maðr ok sjónlítill, hann hafði verit rauða-víkingr (q.v.) í æsku sinni, Þorst. S.; Þorkell miðlangr, hann er rauðr víkingr ok í missætti við Hákon jarl, Fms. xi. 121; her-víkingr, a pirate, i. 225 (p. 259); víkings efni, víkinga höfðingi, konungr, Eg. 190, Fms. vi. 389, Fas. ii. 132; víkinga lið, Stj.; víkinga skip, skeið, snekkja, Hkr. i. 296, Korm. 236, Fms. i. 289; víkinga bæli, Eg. 251; víkinga rán, Fms. vi. 291; Bera kvað Egil vera víkings-efni ... þegar hann hefði aldr til ok honum væri fengin herskip, Eg. 190 (and the following verse -- þat mælti mín móðir, at mér skyldi kaupa fley ok fagrar árar, fara í hring með víkingum ...); af Gizori má göra þrjá menn, hann má vera víkinga höfðingi ..., þá má hann ok vera konungr ..., með þriðja hætti má hann vera biskup, ok er hann bezt til þess fallinn af þessum þremr, Fms. vi. 389: on Swed. Runic stones, sá var víkinga-vörðr með Gauti, Baut. 267; allir víkingar, Brocm. 197. Of old poems the Hkv. Hund. well illustrates the life and warfare of Vikings of the 9th and 10th centuries, where also the word itself occurs (verpr vígroða um víkinga); as also vinr víkinga, in the song in Hervar. S.; víkingr Dana, Helr. 11; the saying, víkingar fara ekki at lögum. 2. in after times the word fell into discredit, and is used, esp. in eccl. legends, as = robber, being applied by a misnomer even to highwaymen, Stj. passim; víkingsins Alexandri, Al. 98; Besso þeim vánda víkingi, 122; víkinga dráp, Grett. 100; þessum vansignaða víkingi, Stj. 463 (of Goliath), so in Grág. ii. 136; or even in the Landn., Þorbjörn bitra hét maðr, hann var v. ok íllmenni, 159. For the laws of the ancient Vikings, their discipline and manners, see esp. Hálfs S. ch. 10, Jómsvík. ch. 24 (Fms. xi), Flóam. S. ch. 2, Vd. ch. 2, Yngl. S. ch. 34, 41, Eg. ch. 48, Ó.T. (Hkr.) ch. 101, 102, Ó.H. ch. 21, the Orkn. S. (Sweyn Asleifson) ch. 115, Þorvalds S. Víðf. ch. 1 (Bs. i. 36, 37): records of their wars and voyages, the Landn. passim, the first chapters of Eg., Eb., Ld., Grett., Orkn., Hkr. i. passim. II. Víkingr, a pr. name, Landn. and several times on the Swed. Runic stones; cp. Súð-víkingr, a man from Súðavík, Bs.

víkingskapr, m. piracy, Fms. i. 98, Fs. 13.

[musiclady]

@musiclady

You do know about this guy, right?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigurd_the_Crusader

He took being converted seriously.

No, I didn't........ but shame on me for not having heard of him!

(Especially since Edvard Grieg wrote an Orchestral Suite about him!)

Thanks for the info.  You are a veritable font of knowledge!