Viking Music You Should Know
If you enjoy the epic soundtracks heard on the TV series "Vikings," you should certainly check out some of the musical groups mentioned at the bottom of this article (such as Wardruna). Have fun!
Music and Poetry
Anyone familiar with Viking lore knows how important poetry was to the Norse. Odin risked his life to receive the Mead of Poetry, and anyone with a talent for poetry was considered Odin's gift. In reality, being a true poet, or skald as the Norse referred to them, may be enough to elevate an individual to the jarl class, which includes kings and chieftains. Even as the Medieval Church regarded music as semi-divine (or semi-diabolical, depending on your perspective), Vikings regarded poetry as semi-magical. Composing love poetry to a woman who was not your wife, for example, was illegal in Icelandic law because it was considered to be a method of bewitching her. So we know that the Norse regarded poetry highly, and we also know that poetry and music are closely linked in that they both involve rhythm, memory, performance ability, and other intangible qualities.
But how much do we know about Viking-era Norse music? Regrettably, the answer is "not a lot." The developments made by an Italian monk late in the Viking Age can be traced back to our modern method of musical notation, which allows musicians to play a work perfectly even centuries after it was composed (1025, to be exact). More primitive notation systems date back far further. The Vikings, on the other hand, did not use these schemes. We do have a fragment of a song written in runes with some musical notation (called "I Dreamed a Dream"), but it dates from a few centuries back.
The Norse had an oral rather than a literary culture. Their tales, philosophies, religion, and music were passed down from teller to listener, and when the mead hall or fireside fell silent for the evening, all that remained was memory. Hundreds of years later, Viking descendants scrambled to record this great culture until it vanished altogether, but these sources were always flawed due to the passing of time or changes in perspective. As a consequence, much of what modern people believe about the Vikings is still debatable, and much of what we might know about them would necessitate reverse engineering and thorough study of the archeological record. Fortunately, many scientists have been working tirelessly for decades to get us closer to some of these responses.
Viking Musical Instruments
Given the importance of poetry in Norse culture, it's not unreasonable to believe that music was used to supplement or enhance this advanced art form. We should expect Viking music to favor the human voice if this is the case. In other words, Viking music would consist of singing (or chanting) with a rhythmic accompaniment (perhaps with frame drums or other types of percussion instruments). Few drums would have survived in the archeological record because they were made of animal hide and sometimes small pieces of wood. This may explain why archeologists have discovered tens of thousands of Viking items ranging from pins to ships but just a few musical instruments.
The bone flute discovered in Birka, Sweden, is one notable exception, as it is still playable. A pipe or canter woodwind piece discovered in Falster, Denmark, may have been a standalone instrument (similar to the Breton bombarde) or a part of a small bagpipe. In Viking York (Jorvik), a wooden, boxlike device that acts like a series of Pan pipes was discovered, and in Gotland, Sweden, a strange instrument bridge (as used in string instruments, possibly a lyre) made of pure amber was discovered.
While many people mistake the lyre for a primitive harp, it is a very flexible instrument that can be plucked, struck, strummed, and bowed, and provides a wide variety of musical possibilities. A variety of valveless trumpets known as the lur, which were invented in Denmark in ancient times and used for centuries, have also been discovered. Some lur are nearly six feet long, with different curves to make them more sonorous or compact. There are also few remaining examples of the bukkehorn, also known as the buckhorn, a ram's horn-based instrument that has been used in Scandinavia for centuries. The god Heimdall is said to have a mighty horn called Gjallarhorn, which was most likely a lur but is often pictured as a bukkehorn in Norse mythology.
Although the Norse sagas are almost as quiet about music as the archeological record is (aside from a few allusions to it as a refined and dignified skill), there are a few mentions of harps, such as in Gunner's sagas. Gunner tried to appease the serpents by playing his harp with his toes while he was bound and thrown into a snake pit (much like Ragnar Lothbrok).
Harps were, of course, common among Irish bards, and the Vikings were active in Ireland. It's likely that these people saw how the Norse and Celtic styles complimented each other, as they had in so many other places. This and other instruments found on their voyages are likely to have been adopted by the Vikings, who were quick to adapt and incorporate new items until they got used to them. Many references to musical instruments in the sagas are in the form of Vikings traveling to exotic lands, and Scandinavia and Iceland were as invested in the popular European musical tradition as anyone by the time these sagas were written down.
We also have some information about Viking music from the cultures with whom they interacted. According to Arabic texts, the Vikings enjoyed singing in a deep voice that seemed to come from their chests. If this is the case, the Vikings may have used a throat singing style similar to that found in Tibet and Mongolia (among other places). Other sources describe howling and "odious cries," but it's uncertain how much of this was intended as music versus how much was intended to scare enemies. Musical historians have concluded that the Norse sang in polyphonies, harmonizing different lines in different musical intervals, based on a number of sources.
Recreating Viking Music and Viking Musical Fusion
People are rediscovering the significance of Viking culture and heritage today. Norse confidence, Viking ethos, and history have all gotten a lot of press, and Norse influences on music are becoming more mainstream. Viking Metal is described by Viking themes and Nordic folk musical elements, with many bands such as Amon Amarth, Einherjer, Grand Magus, Falconer, and Korpiklaani proliferating in the 1990s and early 2000s. Some musicians have now taken it a step further by creating and performing more authentic Viking music re-creations. The differences between these movements can be seen in the instruments used – synthesizers and guitars versus authentic lyres, drums, and so on – as well as the use of lyrics from surviving Norse literature versus adapting Norse themes to new verse.
Norse / Viking style Musicians
The list of singers and musical groups that fall under this category is far too long to list here, but here are a few examples:
Wardruna
Wardruna is a Norwegian band that was formed in 2009. They're responsible for a lot of the music and score for the TV show Vikings. Wardruna's unworldly, eerie sound is mainly accomplished through conventional instruments, despite the fact that some of their members come from the early 2000s Black Metal scene. Their music is influenced by Norse mythology and complex thematic structures (such as basing an entire album around 24 runes). Einar Selvik (also known as Kvitrafn) is a founding member who performs solo, often singing arrangements of real Viking poems accompanied only by his lyre. Einar has also starred in the Vikings series on the History Channel.
Danheim
Danheim is a Danish band that mixes traditional Nordic instruments with electronic and ambient elements. The outcome is music that is “composed of the darker side of the Viking age... Nordic myths, Danish folklore, and a vivid imagination,” according to the band.
Heilung
Heilung is a Danish-based international experimental music collective. Heilung's vigorous throat singing and drumming are more cathartic than calming, despite the fact that the name means "healing" in German. Heilung aims to tap into universal tribalism to construct "amplified history," influenced by Viking faith and shamanism. Heilung has a dark sound that will appeal to Goth, Metal, and Industrial fans alike, while retaining a degree of folk authenticity that is truly admirable in its dedication.
Forndom
Forndom describes themselves as an artistic/atmospheric multi-project that aims to transport listeners to a time when mankind was much closer to its gods and to nature. Forndom produces calm, meditative music with traditional instruments such as the lyre, bowed instruments, and drums, as well as choirs, to invoke longing for the past and hope for the future.
Kati Ran and other female artists who are influenced by the Vikings
Currently, there tend to be more male-led Viking-inspired music groups than female-led Viking-inspired music groups, but the number of female artists is rising. Kati Ran is a Dutch musician who performs a rare and approachable version of Scandinavian folk music with shamanic overtones. Kati Ran collaborated with Norwegian folk/New Age artist Helesir in 2016 on a powerful duet that featured not only their angelic voices but also harp and lyre music. Eivr Pálsdóttir, a pop/jazz artist, and Anilah, a New Age/shamanistic artist, have both experimented with the style. Völva Kummi, Valravn, and Voluspa are three other female-led bands.
Conclusion
The range of Viking-influenced music provides a wide range of sound variety, just as we would expect not all Norse music to sound alike. While none of these artistic endeavors can claim to be exactly what the Vikings sang at the oars of their ships or in their mead halls, they do provide us with a unique way to appreciate and understand Norse culture from a new perspective. Do you like Viking music? This Lo There Do I See My Father Shirt Viking Prayer is really perfect for those who like Viking music and poetry.
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