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In the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers are attested to in numerous Old Norse sources.


Etymology

The Old Norse form of the word was (plural ). It likely means "
bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
-shirt" (compare the Middle English word ', meaning 'shirt'), "someone who wears a
coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...
made out of a bear's
skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
". Thirteenth-century historian
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
interpreted the meaning as "bare-shirt", that is to say that the warriors went into battle without
armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
, but that view has largely been abandoned.


Early beginnings

It is proposed by some authors that the northern warrior tradition originated from hunting magic. Three main animal
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
s appeared: the bear, the wolf, and the
wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
. The
bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
carvings on
Trajan's column Trajan's Column ( it, Colonna Traiana, la, Columna Traiani) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Ap ...
in Rome depict scenes of
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
's conquest of
Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
in 101–106 AD. The scenes show his Roman soldiers plus auxiliaries and allies from Rome's border regions, including tribal warriors from both sides of the Rhine. There are warriors depicted as barefoot, bare-chested, bearing weapons and helmets that are associated with the Germani. Scene 36 on the column shows some of these warriors standing together, with some wearing bearhoods and some wearing wolfhoods. Nowhere else in history are Germanic bear-warriors and wolf-warriors fighting together recorded until 872 AD with Thórbiörn Hornklofi's description of the battle of
Hafrsfjord Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of Stavanger and Sola. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of Tananger, on ...
when they fought together for King
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
of Norway. In the spring of 1870, four cast-bronze dies, the
Torslunda plates The Torslunda plates are four cast bronze dies found in the Torslunda parish on the Swedish island Öland. They display figures in relief, representing what are presumed to be traditional scenes from Germanic mythology. The plates are moulds des ...
, were found by Erik Gustaf Pettersson and Anders Petter Nilsson in a
cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
on the lands of the farm No 5 Björnhovda in Torslunda parish, Öland, Sweden, one of them showing what appears to be a berserker ritual.


Berserkers – bear warriors

It is proposed by some authors that the berserkers drew their power from the bear and were devoted to the
bear cult Bear worship (also known as the bear cult or arctolatry) is the religious practice of the worshipping of bears found in many North Eurasian ethnic religions such as among the Sami, Nivkh, Ainu, Basques, Germanic peoples, Slavs and Finns. There a ...
, which was once widespread across the northern hemisphere. The berserkers maintained their religious observances despite their fighting prowess, as the
Svarfdæla saga ''Svarfdæla saga'' () is one of the sagas of Icelanders. It was first recorded in the first half of the 14th century. It describes disputes which arise during the early settlement of Svarfaðardalur, a valley in central north Iceland. The saga ...
tells of a challenge to single-combat that was postponed by a berserker until three days after Yule. The bodies of dead berserkers were laid out in bearskins prior to their funeral rites. The bear-warrior symbolism survives to this day in the form of the bearskin caps worn by the guards of the Danish monarchs. In battle, the berserkers were subject to fits of frenzy. They would howl like wild beasts, foam at the mouth, and gnaw the rims of their shields. According to belief, during these fits, they were immune to steel and fire, and made great havoc in the ranks of the enemy. When this fever abated, they were weak and tame. Accounts can be found in the sagas. To "go berserk" was to "hamask", which translates as "change form", in this case, as with the sense "enter a state of wild fury". Some scholars have interpreted those who could transform as a berserker as "hamrammr" or "shapestrong" – literally able to shapeshift into a bear's form. For example, the band of men who go with Skallagrim in
Egil's Saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the yea ...
to see King Harald about his brother Thorolf's murder are described as "the hardest of men, with a touch of the uncanny about a number of them ... they erebuilt and shaped more like trolls than human beings." This has sometimes been interpreted as the band of men being "hamrammr", though there is no major consensus. Another example of "hamrammr" comes from the '' Saga of Hrólf Kraki''. One tale within tells the story of
Bödvar Bjarki Bödvar Bjarki ( non, Bǫðvarr Bjarki ), meaning 'Warlike Little-Bear', is the hero appearing in tales of Hrólfr Kraki in the '' Hrólfs saga kraka'', in the Latin epitome to the lost '' Skjöldunga saga'', and as ''Biarco'' in Saxo Grammatic ...
, a berserker who is able to shapeshift into a bear and uses this ability to fight for king
Hrólfr Kraki Hrólfr Kraki (Old Norse: ), ''Hroðulf'', ''Rolfo'', ''Roluo'', ''Rolf Krage'' (early 6th century) was a semi-legendary Danish king who appears in both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition. Both traditions describe him as a Danish Scylding, ...
. "Men saw that a great bear went before King Hrolf's men, keeping always near the king. He slew more men with his fore paws than any five of the king's champions."


Ulfheðnar – wolf warriors

Wolf warriors appear among the legends of the Indo-Europeans, Turks, Mongols, and Native American cultures. The Germanic wolf-warriors have left their trace through shields and standards that were captured by the Romans and displayed in the ''
armilustrium In ancient Roman religion, the Armilustrium was a festival in honor of Mars, the god of war, celebrated on October 19.H.H. Scullard, ''Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic'' (Cornell University Press, 1981), p. 195. On this day the weapo ...
'' in Rome. Frenzy warriors wearing the skins of wolves called ''Ulfheðnar'' ("Wolf-Coats"; singular ''Ulfheðinn''), are mentioned in the ''
Vatnsdæla saga ''Vatnsdæla saga'' ( Icelandic: ; ; Old Norse: ''Vatnsdœla saga'') is one of the sagas of Icelanders. The saga remains in manuscriptsAM 559 4to an138 fol ''Vatnsdæla Saga'' is essentially a family chronicle probably written just after the m ...
'', the '' Haraldskvæði'' and the ''
Grettis saga ''Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar'' (modern , reconstructed ), also known as ''Grettla'', ''Grettir's Saga'' or ''The Saga of Grettir the Strong'', is one of the Icelanders' sagas. It details the life of Grettir Ásmundarson, a bellicose Icelandic ou ...
'' and are consistently referred to in the sagas as a group of berserkers, always presented as the elite following of the first Norwegian king
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
. They were said to wear the pelt of a wolf over their chainmail when they entered battle. Unlike berserkers, direct references to ulfheðnar are scant. ''
Egil's Saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the yea ...
'' features a man called Kveldulf (''Evening-Wolf'') who is said to have transformed into a wolf at night. This Kveldulf is described as a berserker, as opposed to an ulfheðinn. Ulfheðnar are sometimes described as
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
's special warriors: " din'smen went without their mailcoats and were mad as hounds or wolves, bit their shields...they slew men, but neither fire nor iron had effect upon them. This is called 'going berserk'." In addition, the helm-plate press from Torslunda depicts a scene of Odin with a berserker with a wolf pelt and a
spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
as distinguishing features: "a wolf-skinned warrior with the apparently one-eyed dancer in the bird-horned helm, which is generally interpreted as showing a scene indicative of a relationship between berserkgang ... and the god Odin".


"Jöfurr" – proposed boar warriors

Swine played a central role in
Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the British Isles, modern Germ ...
, featuring in both
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
and religious practice, particularly in association with the
Vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse: , singular Vanr ) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
,
Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...
and
Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...
. It has been proposed that similar to berserkers, warriors could ritually transform into boars so as to gain strength, bravery and protection in battle. It has been theorised that this process was linked to the wearing of boar helmets as a ritual costume.Beck, H. 1965 Das Ebersignum im Germanischen. Ein Beitrag zur germanischen TierSymbolik. Berlin: W. de Gruyter.


Attestations

Berserkers appear prominently in a multitude of other
saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...
s and
poems Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in a ...
. Many earlier sagas portrayed berserkers as bodyguards, elite soldiers, and champions of kings. This image would change as time passed and sagas would begin to describe berserkers as boasters rather than heroes, and as ravenous men who loot, plunder, and kill indiscriminately. Within the sagas, Berserkers can be narrowed down to four different types. The King's ''Berserkr,'' the Hall-Challenging ''Berserkr'', the ''Hólmgangumaðr'', and the Viking ''Berserkr''. Later, by Christian interpreters, the berserker was viewed as a "heathen devil". The earliest surviving reference to the term "berserker" is in '' Haraldskvæði'', a
skaldic poem A skald, or skáld ( Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditional ...
composed by Thórbiörn Hornklofi in the late 9th century in honor of King
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
, as ''ulfheðnar'' ("men clad in wolf skins"). This translation from the Haraldskvæði saga describes Harald's berserkers: The "tasters of blood" (a
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...
) in this passage are thought to be ravens, which feasted on the slain. The Icelandic historian and poet
Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...
(1179–1241) wrote the following description of berserkers in his ''
Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...
'': King Harald Fairhair's use of berserkers as "
shock troops Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations. "Shock troop" is a calque, a loose tra ...
" broadened his sphere of influence. Other
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n kings used berserkers as part of their
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
of
hirdmen The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), in Scandinavian history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also d ...
and sometimes ranked them as equivalent to a royal
bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
. It may be that some of those warriors only adopted the organization or
ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
s of berserk Männerbünde, or used the name as a deterrent or claim of their ferocity. Emphasis has been placed on the frenzied nature of the berserkers, hence the modern sense of the word "berserk". However, the sources describe several other characteristics that have been ignored or neglected by modern commentators. Snorri's assertion that "neither fire nor iron told upon them" is reiterated time after time. The sources frequently state that neither edged weapons nor fire affected the berserks, although they were not immune to clubs or other blunt instruments. For example: Similarly,
Hrolf Kraki Rolf is a male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other member ...
's champions refuse to retreat "from fire or iron". Another frequent motif refers to berserkers blunting their enemy's blades with spells or a glance from their evil eyes. This appears as early as
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
where it is a characteristic attributed to
Grendel Grendel is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem '' Beowulf'' (700–1000). He is one of the poem's three antagonists (along with his mother and the dragon), all aligned in opposition against the protagonist Beowulf. Grendel is feared by a ...
. Both the
fire eating Fire eating is the act of putting a flaming object into the mouth and extinguishing it. A fire eater can be an entertainer, a street performer, part of a sideshow or a circus act but has also been part of spiritual tradition in India. Physi ...
and the immunity to edged weapons are reminiscent of tricks popularly ascribed to
fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...
s. In 1015,
Jarl Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...
Eiríkr Hákonarson Erik Hakonsson, also known as Eric of Hlathir or Eric of Norway, (, 960s – 1020s) was Earl of Lade, Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. He was the son of Earl Hákon Sigurðarson and brother of the legendary Aud Haakonsdottir of Lade. He ...
of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
outlawed berserkers.
Grágás The Gray (Grey) Goose Laws ( is, Grágás {{IPA-is, ˈkrauːˌkauːs}) are a collection of laws from the Icelandic Commonwealth period. The term ''Grágás'' was originally used in a medieval source to refer to a collection of Norwegian laws an ...
, the
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic
law code A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
, sentenced berserker warriors to
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
ry. By the 12th century, organised berserker war-bands had disappeared. The
Lewis Chessmen The Lewis chessmen ( no, Lewisbrikkene; gd, Fir-Tàilisg; sco, Lewis chesmen) or Uig chessmen, named after the island or the bay where they were found, are a group of distinctive 12th-century chess pieces, along with other game pieces, most o ...
, found on the
Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...
(
Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
) but thought to be of Norse manufacture, include berserkers depicted biting their shields.


Theories

Scholar Hilda Ellis-Davidson draws a parallel between berserkers and the mention by the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...
(CE 905–959) in his book '' De cerimoniis aulae byzantinae'' ("Book of Ceremonies of the Byzantine court") of a "
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
Dance" performed by members of his
Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...
(Norse warriors in the service of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
), who took part wearing animal skins and masks: she believes this may have been connected with berserker rites. Ellis-Davidson, Hilda R. (1967) ''Pagan Scandinavia'', p. 100. Frederick A. Praeger Publishers ASIN B0000CNQ6I The rage the berserker experienced was referred to as ''berserkergang'' (Berserk Fit/Frenzy or The Berserk movement). This condition has been described as follows: When
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
villages went to war in unison, the berserkers often wore special clothing, for instance furs of a wolf or bear, to indicate that this person was a berserker, and would not be able to tell friend from foe when in "bersærkergang". In this way, other allies would know to keep their distance. Some scholars propose that certain examples of berserker rage had been induced voluntarily by the consumption of
drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
s such as the
hallucinogen Hallucinogens are a large, diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mood, and perception as well as other changes. Most hallucinogens can be categorized ...
ic
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...
or massive amounts of
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
. This is much debated but the theory is further supported by the discovery of seeds belonging to the plant henbane ''
Hyoscyamus niger ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. Histor ...
'' in a Viking grave that was unearthed near Fyrkat, Denmark in 1977. An analysis of the symptoms caused by ''Hyoscyamus niger'' are also similar to the symptoms ascribed to the berserker state, which suggest it may have been used to generate their warlike mood. Other explanations for the berserker's madness that have been put forward include self-induced
hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
,
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
, or
mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, among other causes. One theory of the berserkers suggests that the physical manifestations of the berserker alongside their rage was a form of self-induced hysteria. Initiated before battle through a ritualistic process, also known as ''effektnummer'', which included actions such as shield-biting and animalistic howling.
Jonathan Shay Jonathan Shay (born 1941) is an American doctor and clinical psychiatrist. He holds a B.A from Harvard (1963), and an M.D. (1971) and a Ph.D. (1972) from the University of Pennsylvania. He is best known for his publications comparing the expe ...
makes an explicit connection between the berserker rage of soldiers and the
hyperarousal The fight-or-flight or the fight-flight-or-freeze response (also called hyperarousal or the acute stress response) is a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival. It was first des ...
of
posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
. In ''Achilles in Vietnam'', he writes: It has been suggested that the berserkers' behavior inspired the legend of the
werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
.


In popular culture

*At one point in the popular manga series ''
Berserk (manga) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura. Set in a medieval Europe-inspired dark fantasy world, the story centers on the characters of Guts, a lone swordsman, and Griffith, the leader of a mercenary band called t ...
'' by
Kentaro Miura was a Japanese manga artist. He was best known for his acclaimed dark fantasy series '' Berserk'', which began serialization in 1989 and continued until his death. As of 2021, ''Berserk'' had more than 50 million copies in circulation, making i ...
, the protagonist obtains a magical weapon called "the berserker armor" that gives him super-human strength when experiencing rage, with the inconvenience of entering a sort of trance in which he cannot feel pain, thus endangering himself while in that state. *
John Nord John Eric Nord (born October 18, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s as Nord the Barbarian and Yukon ...
wrestled in the WWE as the "Berzerker". *In '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'', berserkers appear as humans that have transformed into bears. Berserkers also appear as cards in the in-game side game Gwent. *In ''
Assassin's Creed Valhalla ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed ...
'', berserkers are mentioned throughout the game and the pre-order bonus quest "The Way of the Berserker" is centered around a berserker named Bjorn. * The berserker is often used in many different forms of media as an archetype, such as in video games, with some examples being ''
Path of Exile ''Path of Exile'' is a free-to-play action role-playing video game developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. Following an open beta phase, the game was released for Microsoft Windows in October 2013. A version for Xbox One was released i ...
'', ''
TERA TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104. The ...
'', and '' MapleStory 2''. * ''
Gears of War ''Gears of War'' is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter vide ...
'' features an enemy known as the Locust. Within the Locust caste are drones, with the females named berserkers. * ''
For Honor ''For Honor'' is an action game developed and published by Ubisoft. The game allows players to play the roles of historical forms of soldiers and warriors such as knights, samurai, vikings, controlled using a third-person perspective. The game ...
'' features a playable character named Berserker. *
Thor Odinson Thor Odinson is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is based on the Thor, Norse mythological god of the same name, the Asgard (comics), Asgardian List of thunder god ...
has been depicted with a berserker rage like state called “Warrior's Madness” which enhances his strength, speed, durability and stamina for months though Thor has very little control in this state. *''
Falling Skies ''Falling Skies'' is an American science fiction television series set in a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic era, created by Robert Rodat and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, executive produced by Steve ...
'' is a science fiction series produced by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
where a post-massacre remnant society of humans offers armed resistance to an alien invasion. A small faction of mercenary fighters within the human cohort that is at the center of the series' action is known as The Berzerkers. *In the 2022 film ''
The Northman ''The Northman'' is a 2022 American Epic film, epic Historical fiction, historical action thriller film directed by Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sjón. Based on the legend of Amleth, the film stars Alexander Skarsgård (who ...
'', the main character
Amleth Amleth (; Latinized as ''Amlethus'') is a figure in a medieval Scandinavian legend, the direct inspiration of the character of Prince Hamlet, the hero of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet, Prince of Denmark''. The chief authority for the l ...
(
Alexander Skarsgård Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. Born in Stockholm, he began acting at age seven but quit at 13. After serving in the Swedish military, Skarsgård returned to acting and gained his first role in th ...
) is raised as part of a group of berserkers. A berserker ritual is also featured in the film.


See also

*
Barbarian A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either Civilization, uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by som ...
*
Kóryos The ''kóryos'' (Proto-Indo-European: "army, people under arms" or "detachment, war party") refers to the theoretical Proto-Indo-European brotherhood of warriors in which unmarried young males served for several years, as a rite of passage into ma ...
*
Furor Teutonicus {{refimprove, date=September 2014 ''Furor Teutonicus'' ("Teutonic Fury") is a Latin phrase referring to the proverbial ferocity of the Teutons, or more generally, of the Germanic tribes of the Roman Empire period. Generally, the original expres ...
* ''
Hyoscyamus niger ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. Histor ...
'' *
Hysterical strength Hysterical strength is a display of extreme physical strength by humans, beyond what is believed to be normal, usually occurring when people are in; or perceive themselves to be in life-or-death situations. The extra strength is commonly attribut ...
*
Excited delirium Excited delirium (ExDS), also known as agitated delirium (AgDS), is a controversial diagnosis sometimes characterized as a potentially fatal state of extreme agitation and delirium. It is typically diagnosed postmortem in young adult males, dispr ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * Merkelbach, Rebecca. 2018. Eigi í mannligu eðli: Shape, Monstrosity and Berserkism in the Sagas of Icelanders. ''Shapeshifters in Medieval North Atlantic Literature'', Santiago Francisco Barreiro and Luciana Mabel Cordo Russo, eds., 83–106. Amsterdam University Press.


External links


Vandle helmet with bronze plates depicting wild Boar warriors, the Svinfylking 8th Century CE. Valsgarde, Sweden''Berserkene – hva gikk det av dem?'' (Jon Geir Høyersten: Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association)
*
Berserkers-wolf-people
{{Authority control Animal festival or ritual Bears in human culture Bears in religion Fantasy tropes Legendary Norsemen Norse paganism Rage (emotion) Stock characters Therianthropy Viking warfare Viking warriors Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology Wolves in human culture