Question and Answer Session with C.J. Adrien
Thank you to all who participated in the question and answer session.
James Dixon asked: “If you were transported, as you stand, back to those times and knowing what you know, would you embrace it or would you want to come back. (you can take loved ones and teabags).”
I would want to come back for two major reasons:
The bacteria and diseases of today have evolved to be more ferocious than 1000 years ago. Our present day immune systems can resist infection, but as a denizen of the present, I carry pathogens that would have a devastating effect on the population of Viking Age Europe. In essence, by simply showing up, I would bring about a new plague whose consequences would have dire implications for the present. That is my pseudo-scientific response to the question. This is all assuming of course that the Grandfather Paradox is not applied.
Assuming that none of what was stated above were true, I would certainly enjoy exploring Viking Age Europe. However, seeing as my modern sensibilities make me avert to the act of killing, I would certainly be rapidly introduced to a way of life unfamiliar to me. It is easy to read of the killings of people in books, but to witness them in person is an entirely different affair. We must remember that the Dark Ages were an age of violence and the value of human life was much less than what we give it today. There was also much less stringent concepts of law and right and wrong. Safety was a major issue back then that we take for granted today. Therefore, it would be interesting to visit, see how how they lived, but I certainly would want a way home to the present.
Acorn Everhart asked: “Was Oak the only type of wood Vikings used to make Dragonships and Knarrs? Greenlanders would have had to switched to pine from Markland at some point not being able to rely on oak shipments from Norway.”
The tradition of seafaring in Scandinavia began with the Franks of the 4th century who left their homes to raid west. Think of it as a Viking Age before the Viking Age. They harassed the Romans to no end in ships that closely resembled the long ships of the Vikings. That seafaring tradition was transferred across the baltic to become the engineering pride of the Dark Ages. The wood they used varied greatly depending on location and availability. One of the great wonders of the long ship was the design was simple enough that they could be built out of anything. During the Viking Age, ships were primarily built from ash, birch, spruce, pine, oak, and alder. An archeological find on the island of Groix in the Bay of Biscay (France) determined a Viking ship to be made of a combination of oak, ash, and even some aspen! Needless to say, the Vikings were very resourceful.
Many thanks again to all the participants. I hope you enjoyed the session, and watch for the next question and answer submissions!
