Amon Amarth frontman Johan Hegg says many of the things we thought we knew about the Vikings are simply untrue.
The seafaring Scandinavians known as Vikings are often portrayed as violent, bloody warriors who pillaged their way around parts of what is now Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries.
But one of the best-known faces in the Viking Metal genre says the truth is much less dramatic.
In a new interview with Metal Injection in which he addresses 10 of the biggest Viking-related myths, Hegg says Vikings didn’t even wear horns on their helmets and that they were known for their “impeccable hygiene.”
On the belief that Vikings were ‘unclean’, Hegg says: “Here’s a fact, Vikings were known for their impeccable hygiene in Europe because they would wash once a week, which was definitely not the common thing to do in Viking Age and Medieval Age Europe, let me tell you.
“So Vikings were cleaner than most. They would groom their beards and they were actually quite vain. They would cut their hair and stuff so they were fairly clean actually.”
On the classic image of Viking helmets with impressive horns, Hegg adds: “That’s actually a 19th century construction. In fact, very few Viking helmets have ever been found and those that have been found did not have horns. Also, on picture stones and stone carvings where Vikings have been depicted, there were no horns on their helmets.”
Explaining that Viking was a job description rather than a group of people, Hegg also says that Vikings did not drink from the skulls of their ‘victims’, they were not completely ‘lawless’, and they were mostly farmers by trade.
“The Viking society actually had very elaborate laws about a lot of stuff,” he says.
“In fact, in very late Viking Age and early Medieval Age Scandinavia we have some of the first written law books in the world. So there was a structure to society that was not found anywhere else.
“And the laws were not connected to religion. They were by men, for men.”
Watch the full video below.
Amon Amarth will release their new album Gjallarhorn in October.
