The Courage, the Loyalty, the Honor
– Military Virtues in Nordic Stories and Sagas
Copyright (c) 2023 Beck Attila
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Courage, heroism, loyalty and honor are common central elements in Germanic/Scandinavian stories, which help us to understand the psychological background of their military ventures. This courage and heroism shown on the battlefield and in duels can be classified in the category of natural courage/heroism according to the classification of the science of philosophy. The fundamental source of this courage is the wyrd, which means the individual’s destiny. The heroes of the Nordic sagas must always be ready to fulfill their destiny. However, for the individual, not only courage is important, but also loyalty to the warlord and his companions. Examining the above-discussed military virtues helps in understanding the mentality of the Germanic/Scandinavian warriors and their warfare.
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