"He laughed then, as they cut to the heart" : ethos of Viking's heroic death and emotions

Bibliogr. s. 314-315

In the war-centered culture of the Vikings, the ethos of heroic death occupied a special place. The measure of a warrior's worth was not his victory, but his final defeat and the way he left this world, showing no fear or regret, presenting an attitude of cold contempt of pain. The source material shows, however, that although the characters, being under the pressure of cultural pattern, do not openly reveal their emotions accompanying death, they betray them through somatic symptoms that are beyond their conscious control, theatrical gestures or surprising behavior. Feelings such as joy at the upcoming revenge, surprise, grief, anger and envy for the survivors unexpectedly show the ethos of heroic death and the people of the Viking Age in a slightly different light than they are usually perceived in.