PaperGhoul

The perception of Viking culture within contemporary spheres is one of contradiction, discrepancy, and dissonance. The Viking attacks on England took place and increased over the span of years, beginning with a period of raids on the area, including the North-Eastern stronghold of Lindisfarne, developing into settlements in the North of England before a Scandinavian conquest by a Viking army under Danish king Cnut.[1] The primary settlement of the Viking people in the British Isles was the modern-day city of York, known by these migrants as Jorvik.

         This Scandinavian, or Viking, migration and invasion of the British Isles around the 9^th Century played a significant role in the development and formation of culture moving forward, particularly within the Northern and Eastern Danelaw area, where their cultural impact can be seen in the landscape and etymology of the surroundings. For example, Danish etymological suffixes remain to this day within North-Eastern place names, such as the suffix ‘thorp’ for farm, as in Scunthrope, and the suffix ‘-by’ for village, as in Grimsby and Wetherby.[2]

         Moving forward to contemporary times, the Jorvik Viking Centre began as an archaeological expedition, the Coppergate dig, in 1976. The Jorvik Viking Centre opened in 1984 as a means of monetising, exhibiting, and preserving the findings surrounding the Viking history of the area in this dig.[3] Speaking in an article by United Press International in September 1983, Peter Addyman of the York Archaeological Trust stated that “’we’re hoping to give an extraordinarily detailed picture of what it was like to live, eat, work and sleep in Viking Jorvik.”[4] The Jorvik centre has been described as an “archaeologically accurate representation of a Viking town,” which displays alleys and houses, allowing tourists to “see structures, artefacts, and fully-clothed mannequins.”[5] The motivation of the Jorvik Viking Centre, it seems, is to provide a historically and archeologically accurate representation of Viking culture within York.

Expanding upon the success of the Jorvik Centre, the Jorvik Viking Festival developed as a further commodification of this heritage; it has been estimated that the festival generates £6.6 million for the local economy of York.[6] As described by the company, “The JORVIK Viking Centre had been an instant success since its launch in April 1984.” Openly describing motivations of commodification and tourism, they go on to further state that “the JORVIK Viking Festival aimed to boost footfall in York during the February half-term holiday.”[7] The Renaissance Magazine outlined a range of activities available to participants, stating that “visitors can eat Viking food and watch dozens of events including a Viking battle, a boat burning, strongman competitions, best beard competition, academic lectures, craft markets and more.”[8] 

In considering the background and context of the Viking conquest in the 9^th Century, it can be questioned whether the Jorvik Viking Festival a celebration of the history and culture of York, or if instead the festival functions as a glorification of violent migration, a wilful erasure or myopia of a history of violence, war, and brutality. Chris Tuckley writing on the Vikings of Jorvik declares that “by 1984 the term ‘Viking’ as exclusively applicable to armed males or denoting only martial pursuits was already undergoing revision in popular histories of the period. This was in no small part due to the widespread interest that had been fostered by the Coppergate dig and its extensive coverage in print and broadcast media,”[9] highlighting a growing acceptance that the Scandinavian Viking migrants were not solely a violent war-mongering group people, but instead a communal civilisation consisting of settlers, traders, and farmers as well as warriors. Considering this, can it be perceived that the Jorvik Viking Festival is doing a disservice to the heritage of York, and the work of The Jorvik Centre and the Coppergate dig, by focusing heavily on a mythological caricature of the masculine, horned helmet wearing, violent Viking?

Certainly, the lived experience of those during the initial Viking migration and incursion in the British Isles would have been one of distress and upheaval. Described unflinchingly by the writing of Thomas Williams in the book, Viking Britain: A History, he writes “the inhabitants of the timbered hamlets and farmsteads would have been woken, if they were lucky, by dark news riding hard up the Great North Road” and that the Viking army would be “taking the wheat and slaughtering the livestock, ransacking the church and burning the homes.”[10] Therein, it could be considered peculiar that the Viking culture is positioned as a family-friendly topic, one which is targeted at school children as the subject of a yearly celebratory festival in the City of York.

It has been argued that the public have been previously encouraged to perceive the Vikings as either ‘raiders’ or ‘traders’, though Williams highlights that “raiding and trading were never mutually exclusive phenomena,” and that “the burning, killing, and plundering that accompanied Viking activity around the coast of Britain and Ireland were carried out by the same individuals who might have been found weeks later hawking their captives in the Hedeby Slave Market or peddling bits of plundered church furniture in the bazaars of central Asia.”[11] Considering and expanding upon these contradictions can lead one to deconstruct the terminology and language surrounding the contemporary myth of the Viking, namely the phrase ‘rape and pillage.’ Erika Ruth Sigurdson dissects the history of this term and its application in Viking Media in Violence and Historical Authenticity: Rape (and Pillage) in Popular Viking Fiction, determining that “rape, abduction, and other forms of violence against women have become an iconic aspect of Viking identity, and by the middle of the twentieth century, this image of the Viking was firmly planted in the popular imagination.”[12]

Sigurdson highlights the first usage of the term rape and pillage, which is the poem Blue Lights by J.M. Scott in 1817, utilised to stimulate lust and barbarity within the English Soldiery.[13] It is inferred that the application of this term toward the Vikings developed organically throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, following on from romantic associations with pirates. Comedian and satirist David Mitchell questions the usage of the phrase and it’s legacy in contemporary culture, exhibiting this in his Soap Box series by stating “add pillage to rape and suddenly it has a certain air of knockabout fun,” hypothesising that the phrase is insouciant due to the audiences’ preconceived notion and caricatures of Vikings; “we’re not picturing rapists, we’re picturing Vikings; cartoon Vikings with ginger beards and horns on their helmets.”[14]

This contradiction is arguably at the root the dissonance posed by the Jorvik Viking Festival and contemporary Viking folklore as a whole. To consider a similar historic regime with a background of violence, theft, and displacement, the history of the European colonisation of the Americas and the figure of Christopher Columbus particularly have been under heavy scrutiny over recent decades due to the violence toward the Native Americans by the European colonisers during this period. The contemporary perspective is being pushed further to position Columbus as an invader and murderer, guilty of committing atrocities and genocide, particularly amongst the indigenous Native American community.[15] This is very much reflective of the acts committed within the Viking conquest of England. Resultingly, some states within the USA where Columbus Day was previously celebrated are now making the switch to instead celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day, as a manner of condemning the violent atrocities committed during the colonisation of the Americas.[16] This raises the question of the disparity between the Colonial Americans and the Vikings; both are considered to be migratory invaders, forcibly and violently claiming land, displacing and murdering native residents. However, these colonisers are now beginning to be condemned in mainstream culture for these actions, whereas the Vikings are being celebrated through the Jorvik Viking Festival.

Resultingly, considering attitudes to Viking culture from an ideological perspective could also serve to provide insight into the both the onus and repercussions of the Jorvik Viking Festival. Namely, while discussing Viking heritage and history, Nordic medieval researchers Sara Ellis Nilsson and Stefan Nyzell state that “it seems that Vikings are everywhere in contemporary culture, fiction, TV series, comics, computer games, museum exhibitions, and re-enactments. Neither is it trivial when ideological uses, often on the far right, connect with this revival.”[17] Furthermore, in discussing the contemporary myth of the Viking, Carl Olof Cederlund is clear that “there is no doubt that the concept of the Viking has a central place in our imaginations today.”[18] The modern perception of the Viking is a figure which “often represents a very specific form of masculinity, one that encompasses notions of violence, dominance, and other aggressive traits.”[19] Aligning with these points, there can be a perception of these notions of masculinity within the modern Viking subculture coincide with contemporary far-right movements, which glamourise traits such as violence, aggressiveness and masculine superiority, further lending credence to the argument that festivities such as the Jorvik Viking Festival serve as a celebration of violence as opposed to heritage.

To consider the conceptual root of a ‘festival’ and where the Jorvik Viking Festival sits within it, one can refer to Alessandro Falassis’ definition of festival, which is derived from an analysis and amalgamation of definitions from various disciplines including folklore, anthropology, psychology and theology. In addition to referring to ideological values and celebrations of historical continuity within festival traditions, Falassi defines festival as follows:

“a periodically recurrent, social occasion in which, through a multiplicity of forms and a series of coordinated events, participate directly or indirectly and to various degrees, all members of a whole community, united by ethnic, linguistic, religious, historical bonds, and sharing a worldview.”[20]

Jorvik Viking Festival is considered by the organisers to have roots within the Viking custom of Jolablot, themselves stating that this provides the “suggestion” that the festival was “reviving an ancient tradition,”[21] in turn offering a suggestion that they are fully aware and embracing the fact that creative liberties are being taken with Jolablot. In Dimensions of Heritage and Memory, authors Mads Daugbjerg, Gönül Bozoğlu and Christopher Whitehead define Jolablot as “a Norse festival that heralded the end of winter and the coming of spring;”[22] the Jorvik Viking Festival taking place in February of each year substantiates this. However, considering this alongside the previously mentioned activities and festivities taking place throughout the festival, it can be perceived that despite this root in traditional Viking customs, the festival functions instead as an amalgamation of historic recreations and an expansion popular cultural perception of Viking traditions. Daugbjerg et al succinctly define these festivities as “Viking Britain re-imagined through layers of popular culture – betrayals, vengeance, honour, violent battle.”[23] Working off of the basis of this and reflecting on the discrepancy between Viking traditions and those displayed within the Jorvik Viking Festival, it can be concluded that these festivities can be considered as a manner of Folklorismus, an adaptation of tradition.

Venetia J. Newall defines this adaptation of tradition as encompassing one of three forms:

1. “The performance folk culture away from its original local context”
2. “The playful imitation of popular motif by another social class”
3.  “The invention and creation of folklore for different purposes outside any known tradition.”[24]

Depending on the stance of the observer of what remains of the tradition of Jolablot within the Jorvik Viking Festival, arguments could be made to position the festival as either an independent and decontextualised performance of folk culture, or as an invented tradition, completely independent of any tradition.

As put by Newall, “by using folklorismus we are able to treat the past in such a way that it can be fitted into the present. We select certain significant areas and use them to our advantage.”[25] Considering this argument and applying it contextually to the Jorvik Viking Festival, it can be witnessed that the festivities instead serve to provide an element of distance from reality and historical events, instead positioning the culture as one which is more fantastical; a celebration of a joint mythology developed throughout hundreds of years of folktales and culture. Building upon this notion, contemporary Viking mythology has been defined as a “a way in which the public can engage with the past on their own terms,” and also as “a tool in which one can manipulate the past to make it more digestible and sanitary to the public.”[26] Comparisons can be drawn between the Jorvik Viking Festival and the Up Helly Aa festival of the Shetland Islands. The festival aims to “celebrate the islands’ Viking past with communities coming together for a night of “guizing” (dressing up), burning torches through the streets and enjoying traditional Shetland music,”[27] although it is generally deemed to be lacking in authenticity due to the relative recency as a festival and liberties taken with Viking culture.[28] Up Helly Aa is an entirely invented tradition, without any roots in a historic custom, and as such, further parallels can be drawn between this and the Jorvik Festival.

In discussing identity and meaning in folklore tourism and festivals, Sally Everett and Denny John Parakoottathil state that research into these matters have highlighted findings such as the manner in which “visitors become part of the process of embedding folkloristic stereotypes” and “that they provide vessels for the articulation and expression of a collective recognition of heritage and inherited rituals.”[29] Considering this, would it instead be more suitable to consider the Jorvik Viking Festival as being akin to a Renaissance Fair as opposed to a folk festival in the traditionalist sense? Similar to the Viking Festival, a Renaissance Faire is also a representation of history, but from a vague and mythologising positioning. Renaissance Fairs tend to playfully alter the boundaries of realism and history, prioritising aesthetic and roleplay over accuracy. Describing a Renaissance Fair, Patrick McCarthy describes areas “where the sacrilization of objects, identities, and behaviours take place.” He mentions a “ritual space”, one which contains “an enclosed setting wherein “shoppes” of all kinds existed, and where food and materials were sold,”[30] with a further suggestion that the wares and food are completely inauthentic to the represented period. Much like the Viking Festival and Up Helly Aa, the Renaissance Fair is a manner of folklorismus, one which is not based on a tradition, but is instead a manufactured entity separate to any historic basis.

As culture develops, advances and progresses, so does the approach and perspective to history, memory, and legacy. This can function in both positive and negative senses. It can be argued that the activities provided during the Jorvik Festival do not do enough to separate the public from hypermasculine modern Viking mythology. However, considering the festival as separated from tradition, history, and heritage through the act of folklorismus, it also serves to educate and inform on the nature of the Viking Community beyond contemporary mythology.

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[1] David M. Wilson, ‘Archaeological evidence for the Viking Settlements and raids in England’, Frühmittelalterliche Studien, 2.1 (1968), p. 19.

[2] Jonathan Jones, ‘Viking York’, Medieval Warfare Magazine, September 2024, p. 50.

[3] Jorvik Viking Centre, ‘JORVIK Story’, <https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/about/jorvik-story/&gt; [accessed 3 November 2024]

[4] Gregory Jensen, ‘Viking city under a shopping center will offer trip back to 10th century’, United Press International, 13 Sept. 1983.

[5] Chris Halewood & Kevin Hannam, ‘Viking Heritage Tourism: Authenticity and Commodification’, Annals of Tourism Research, 28.3 (2001), p. 570.

[6] Chris Tuckley, ‘The Vikings of JORVIK: 40 Years of Reconstruction and Re-enactment’ in Digging into the Dark Ages: Early Medieval Public Archaeologies, ed. by Howard Williams and Pauline Magdalene Clarke (Archaeopress, Oxford 2020), p. 76.

[7] Jorvik Viking Festival, ‘About the JORVIK Viking Festival’, <https://jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk/about/&gt; [accessed 10 November 2024]

[8] Roy Stevenson, ‘The Jorvik Viking Festival’, Renaissance Magazine, 19.3 (2014), p.55.

[9] Tuckley, p. 79.

[10] Thomas Williams, Viking Britain: A History (William Collins, London, 2017), p. 96.

[11] Williams, p. 79.

[12] Erika Ruth Sigurdson, ‘Violence and Historical Authenticity: Rape (and Pillage) in Popular Viking Fiction’, Scandinavian Studies (2014), 86.3, p. 264.

[13] Sigurdson, p. 256.

[14] David Mitchell, ‘The Phrase ‘Rape and Pillage’ | David Mitchell’s SoapBox’, YouTube, 20 November 2009 < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJqEKYbh-LU&ab_channel=DavidMitchell%27sSoapbox&gt; [accessed 10 November 2024]

[15] Cut, ‘Christopher Columbus | Native Americans | One Word | Cut’, YouTube, 24 November 2025 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYTXRDtYzYc&ab_channel=Cut&gt; [accessed 10 November 2024]

[16] Clark Mindock & Meredith Clark, ‘Indigenous People’s Day: Why some Americans don’t celebrate Columbus Day’, Independent, 14 October 2024. < https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/indigenous-peoples-day-columbus-2024-b2628911.html&gt; [accesed 12 November 2024]

[17] Sara Ellis Nilsson and Stefan Nyzell, Viking Heritage and History in Europe: Practices and Re-creations (Routledge, New York, 2024), p. 10.

[18] Carl Olof Cederlund, ‘The Modern Myth of the Viking’, Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 61 (2011), p. 09.

[19] Sigurdson, p. 250.

[20] Alessandro Falassi, ‘Festival: Definition and Morphology’ in Time out of Time: Essays on the Festival, ed.by Alessandro Falassi (University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1987), p. 2.

[21] Jorvik Viking Festival, ‘About the JORVIK Viking Festival’, <https://jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk/about/&gt; [accessed 10 November 2024]

[22] Mads Daugbjerg, Gönül Bozoğlu & Christopher Whitehead, ‘Reversion and reprisal: The allure of going back and the negotiation of historical identities’ in Dimensions of Heritage and Memory: Multiple Europes and the Politics of Crisis, ed. by Christopher Whitehead, Susannah Eckersley, Mads Daugbjerg & Gönül Bozoğlu (Routledge, London, 2019), p.77.

[23] Daugbjerg, Bozoğlu & Whitehead, p.78.

[24] Venetia J. Newall, ‘The Adaptation of Folklore and Tradition (Folklorismus)’, Folklore (1987), 98.2,

p. 133.

[25] Newall, p. 133.

[26] Madeline Walsh, ‘Dressing for Ragnarök? Commodifying, Appropriating and Fetishising the Vikings’ in Digging into the Dark Ages: Early Medieval Public Archaeologies, ed. by Howard Williams and Pauline Magdalene Clarke (Archaeopress, Oxford, 2020), p.65.

[27] ‘Up Helly Aa: What happens at Shetland’s Viking fire festival?’, BBC News, 30 January 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-68131664 [accessed 15 November 2024]

[28] Kevin Hannam & Chris Halewood, European Viking Themed Festivals: An Expression

of Identity, Journal of Heritage Tourism, 1.1 (2006), p.22.

[29] Sally Everett & Denny John Parakoottathil, ‘Transformation, meaning-making and identity creation through folklore tourism: the case of the Robin Hood Festival’, Journal of Heritage Tourism (2018), 13.1, p. 31.

[30] Patrick McCarthy, ‘”Living History” as the “Real Thing”: A Comparative Analysis of the Modern Mountain Man Rendezvous, Renaissance Fairs, and Civil War Reenactments’, ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 71.2 (2014), p. 110.