What did Vikings believe awaited them if they died in battle?
When Vikings died they believed they would go to Valhalla, where they would spend their afterlife. Before Christianity, Valhalla was the Viking eternal paradise, like Heaven. Valkyries were warrior-women goddesses who searched battlefields for dead heroes.
Did the Vikings want to die in battle?
The Viking old warrior wished to die in battle but always won. Wish granted, the jarl allowed him to give him a chance to fight one more time on the battlefield. And this time, he sacrificed his life for the sake of his clan and for the sake of himself as well.
What happens if a Viking didn’t go to Valhalla?
Probably, like the dead of Valhalla, they were destined to fight alongside the Norse gods during Ragnarok. According to Norse mythology, Vikings that did not fall in battle would likely find themselves in Helheim, a world beneath Midgard in the cosmology of Norse mythology, ruled over by the goddess Hel.
Is Hel a bad place?
So, in the actual contents of Norse mythology, there is little or no indication that the Hel (hall) of the goddess Hel is a bad place to be. Specifically, the reference to Hel being a bad place is in chapter 3 of Gylfaginning, which also says it is the place where evil people go after death.
Do old Vikings go to Valhalla?
According to Snorri, those who die in battle are taken to Valhalla, while those who die of sickness or old age find themselves in Hel, the underworld, after their departure from the land of the living.
Were Viking warriors afraid of death in battle?
Your comrades and friends would be proud of you, and you would have gained entry to Valhalla, the Norse stronghold in Odin’s realm that only accepted true Viking warriors. So with the constraint of fear removed, Viking warriors were capable of true freedom in battle, the fear of death was absent for them.
How did the Vikings view death?
Due in part to their pagan religion and its belief system, the Vikings and the Norse people were likely not as concerned about death as their Christian counterparts. The Norse gods smiled favorably on the brave and violent, to die in battle was just about the highest honour for a Viking warrior and therefore death was not to be feared.
What did the Norse gods think about death?
The Norse gods smiled favorably on the brave and violent, to die in battle was just about the highest honour for a Viking warrior and therefore death was not to be feared. Were a Viking to fall in battle and the gods were to favour him, then his journey would be just beginning.
What was the afterlife like for Viking warriors?
The afterlife was waiting for all the brave Viking warriors and with this belief, these ancient fighters were free in battle. A Viking warrior being burned and send out to sea in a ship, an extravagant burial for a famed Viking.