Sunday, May 4, 2008
Medieval fish sticks--not again!
Nothing changes more than history. The reputation of the Vikings seems to be in a state of constant flux. Thanks to archaeologists of the codfish trade (another in the ever-expanding set of niches for medieval geneticists), it begins to appear that some of the poor Norse were just long-distance fishmongers (think Amazon grocery delivery a-la 10th century). This opens a whole new set of possibilities for interpreting the prayers for protection from the Northmen! It's interesting, but as an explanation for Viking mobility in general, well, it sounds a little fishy.
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3 comments:
I agree--it's a little off. Actually, the article doesn't articulate the thesis of optimism about the Vikings very well. I may like the Vikings, but they were still ravagers and plunderers.
Among other things... I am excited about such research, though, as it will give a sense of the extent of the trade routes. The mobility of those people was truly astounding. I was reading a YA book about medieval peasant life in England that made much of the limited geographical horizons of those who were tied to the land. While not everyone among the Norse got to travel, no one was probably without an acquaintance who could tell first-hand tales of the wider world.
I find the use of the word "perfected" for any scientific endeavor a dubious choice--like our apparent opinion of the vikings, scientific studies and methodologies are changing on a daily basis.
Also, on a sidenote, Vikings were apparently the first ocean-going ecological terrorists, then. Huh.
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