Quote:
Originally posted by lincolnnellie:
Kids...huh???

Whatever the causes (which we are not going to examine here), the Vikings descended upon Europe like a black plague. Once popular middle age prayer of the time reads: "From the fury of the Norsemen, good Lord deliver us." While history has a way of creating larger-than-life legends, the Viking practices of human sacrifice, battle-enhancing drugs (they were particularly fond of a blood-red psychedelic mushroom that gave them superhuman power and, presumably, wicked-ass visions), pagan rituals and wanton acts of violence and terror were very real. Scandinavian accounts describe the Viking practice of the "blood eagle", where a victim's ribs were hacked on both sides of his spine and his lungs torn out so that he resembled an eagle. This sacrifice to Odin, the one-eyed god of the warriors, was designed to inspire soldiers and terrorize victims and it demonstrates the sophisticated and systematic methods used by these warriors.
Well so? Every culture that had/has god/goddes of war (not all cultures did have them. Most of slavic for example - didnt) had quite horrible sacrifices rituals (by modern view). Crusifiction isnt much prettier, as well as what inquisition done across europe, as well as what galls (pardon me, french actually by then) done to tampliers....

As of mushrooms and stuff - most of South/North American cultures had that thing.. Eating, hallucinating and doing crazy things 8) Altough i havent heard about "berserker potion" from any other kind of culture, here you are right for sure 8). Then again - vikings were born not only in norwegian, but in most of northern Europe lands... Even oddly looking Estonia did have them 8)

Its all relevant i guess 8) I mean making "chineese pig" (no offense, that is how it called for real) of people in medieval europe , when person got their limbs and tongue cut off looks not much better for me, than ripping ribs cage.. And tearing someone apart(as mongols did ocasionally (spelling?)) with horses aint very pretty...
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“Yay! I’m gonna be sick!” –GIR