Viking words of wisdom — or folly

There is much to admire about the Vikings, my ancestors — and very, very much not to admire.  One valuable text from the Viking age is a collection of gnomic sayings in verse called the Hávamál.  Here’s one specimen:

Cattle die.

Kinsmen die.

All men are mortal.

Words of praise

will never perish,

nor a noble name.

It’s inspiring, and it almost sounds true.

Consider, though:  If you can name five actual historical Vikings from the period of the Hávamál, you’re probably ahead of 99.999999% of the people alive on Earth today.

Under the best of circumstances, fame and good reputation are a very poor substitute for actual personal immortality.  And, anyway, most people are essentially forgotten within two generations or so.

Viking humanism fares no better on this score than other humanisms do.

Posted from Oslo, Norway