this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2025
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I mean, if you look at the endemic warfare of Christian Europe in the same period, the main difference is that the Vikings, as a seafaring culture, had a wider range. The brutality and frequency of warfare amongst squabbling aristocrats and clan structures in Christian Europe was not particularly better, just generally limited to literal neighbors, on account of the difficulty of traveling across a neutral party's land.
Because most wars were more about land and revenge. So you had a "good" mix of offensive and defensive.
Vikings were generally about money until they truly realized how much home sucked and started long term occupations. So it was almost purely offensive for much of their (meaningful) existence.
The barbarians at the gate was very much rooted in xenophobia. But it was sometimes also rooted in violent mother fuckers at the gate.
I mean, the Vikings had plenty of defensive wars against their neighbors
It’s just that most of their neighbors were other Vikings
… Northern Europe is a bit isolated if you aren’t big on boats.