In the comical video some seriously real medical ideas from Viking Age were mentioned. The support from lore can be found in various sources. First, let’s look at Olafs Saga Helga, Heimskringla. In chapter 234 Thormod sought treatment for an arrow wound. Here we find reference to the leek and herb stew to check for a belly wound. In the end, Thormod died as he pulled the hooked piece of iron out; tearing a piece of his heart with it. In Eyrbyggja saga, chapter 45, recounts how Snorri goði treated men after a battle, possible an attestation of the minor surgical capabilities the people of that time were capable of. Thoroddr Thorbrandson had a great neck wound. After Snorri goði removed and arrow from Thoroddr’s throat, and stitched up the sinews of the neck, Thoroddr was concerned of his head setting crooked; however, Snorri goði deemed the head would come straight once the sinews were healed – which sure enough Thoroddr’s head came right. There was some mystical influences in the healing arts as well. For example, the goddess Eir was associated with healing. Her relation to the Valkyrie gives a clue as to how physicians were viewed in regards to fate. Through them, Eir would assist in deciding who would live and who would die; aided by their skills, or not because the wounds were beyond the skills and resources available. Also, the Second Merseberg Charm, an incantation recorded in 10th century Old High German, is an example of the type of magical healing practice in use across the Indo-European world, and hints at the type of charm the Vikings likely used. Variants of this same charm have been found as early as Vedic literature (circa 500 BCE), while others have been preserved in England, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland and Hungary. While a specific Old Norse example has not been discovered, it is quite likely that a very similar charm would have been known and used in the Viking World (source: Storms, Anglo-Saxon Magic, pp. 108-113) (secondary source: bit.ly/1sMvjyY). The video also mentioned carving runes into bone. An example of this can be found in Egil’s Saga. As Egil tended to an obviously sick woman, a whalebone carved with runes was found in her bed. Then Egil said: “No man should notch a rune- not without knowing how to control it. Carved lines can muddle meddling men. I counted ten crude runes cut in that piece of bone. Theyve done damage to your daughters health all this time. Egil carved runes and placed them under the pillow in the bed where she lay. It seemed to her as though she woke from sleep, and then she said that she was well, though she was still weak. Surviving archaeological examples of runic carvings include the Skull Fragment With Runic Healing Spell. Ribe, Jylland, Denmark. (Viking Age, c. 800); An Amulet from Sigtuna, Uppland, Sweden (Viking Age, ca. 1000); Bone from Fishamble Street, Dublin, Ireland (Viking Age); as well as a few others. When it came to childbirth, women were the only care-givers at birth, and a midwife or official witness of a birth was termed as bjargrýgr, or “helping woman.” Jenny Jochens gives a good summary of the little that is known about childbirth in the Viking Age in the book, Women in Old Norse Society, (p. 80). The “helping woman’s” role was more than just basic mechanics of delivery. She was also responsible for the magical assistance to ease the birthing process. This is described in the the Eddaic poem Oddrúnargrátr. And just like healing, runes were also used in childbirth, according to the Eddaic poem Sigrdrífumál. I did not find anything about the using the blood of a bull and meat offering to the elves, but that doesn’t mean it’s not sourced somewhere. (Original article with Bibliography: bit.ly/1sMvUR9)
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 16:43:38 +0000
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