this post was submitted on 28 May 2024
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Ooo - a true master on Viking history here!! Tell us all about how it really was and what values they had. What ethnicities they accepted and how they viewed homosexuality?
Accusing a man of being “ergi,” which is basically unmanly, was enough of an insult to be answered with blood. A specific instance of something that qualifies a man of being ergi is taking the passive role (bottom) in homosexual intercourse.
Author and Norse historian Neil Price describes “Viking” culture as being one of the most homophobic in history.
So is a gay man calling another gay man a faggot. The use as essentially equivalent with "bottom" is only attested since the medieval age.
On the flipside we have things like shield maidens and the survival of the old gods alongside with the patriarchal Indo-European newcomers, very uncommon, those things don't happen by accident. People don't talk about peace treaties between gods out of the blue -- And Odin isn't even the sky father, that'd be Thor (to wit, lightning and thunder) while Odin is engaging in seidhr. Call him a bottom, then! Making a claim such as "most homophobic in history" out of a single word given what else there's attested about the society is rather rich.
The truth is that we don't know much but this: That any contemporary political group leaning it one way or the other is full of shit.
Please don’t accuse me of making claims I did not. I gave one example of Viking homophobia. It’s also a big example, as “not appearing as an ergi” is pretty much the driving motivation for many of the gods in the tales we have. This means being manly in general, and being penetrated by another is just one thing that immediately labels you as ergi.
Neil Price did not make his claim that Vikings were severely homophobic from a single word either (no idea where you got this). You are free to read his work yourself for more information.