The popular image of the shaggy, dirt-covered "Viking" seems to spark everyone's imagination, but is it accurate? In all likelihood, no, as evidence from the period, such as art and writing, seems to paint a picture of men who took great pride in their appearance and grooming procedures. Such standards usually included things such as a neat, trimmed goatee or beard, as well as clean, combed and washed hair.
While the grooming standards and techniques for Viking Age Scandinavians are still primitive by our modern standards, they were state-of-the-art for the period, and were marked as unique among the Northmen everywhere in Europe they went. Sometimes these were even seen as such an extreme it was mentioned in one Anglo-Saxon account that the men were jealous of the Northmen due to them stealing all the British women with their stunningly good looks when compared to the British men! Physical evidence of these standard has also been recovered, with an astonishing number of combs, tweezers, ear spoons, and other hygiene implements being recovered from Viking Age settlements and graves, both in male and female contexts, telling us that men put just as much emphasis on their own cleanliness and appearance as the women in the same society did. A more detailed article is in the works on this subject, however, hopefully this very basic run-down can shed a small degree of light on what an actual Viking Age male would have likely looked like! No evidence for dreads, mops on one's head, or long, unkempt, shaggy beards, but rather a neat and trimmed appearance with strong emphasis on clean, straight hair and a well-kept amount of facial hair! Comments are closed.
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AboutThis part of the site will look at the various aspects of life on Viking Age Danish people. From what they ate, to how they may have fought. Archives
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