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Touchline • Issue 15 • 21
Wrestling in the
sagas had a fairly
Viking twist: the
ring was fitted with
a large stone over
which the victor was
encouraged to break
his adversary’s back.”
or many adversaries being beaten and
humiliated at best, or killed at worst.
Wrestling in the sagas had a fairly
Viking twist: the ring was fitted with a
large stone over which the victor was
encouraged to break his adversary’s back.
They would wear specially padded jackets
which protected them to an extent, but
there are a few accounts of the loser
being draped over the rock, whereupon
the winner would bring his weight down
to snap the loser’s spine.
They also had a variety of ball and stick
games, the rules of which have been lost
in the mists of Norwegian legend. That,
or there were no rules to these games
in the first place. Deaths in Knattleikr
(or “ball game”) were not formalized, but
occurred nonetheless. In one account, a
Viking was so incensed by a mis-placed
pass –that he assumed was misplaced
on purpose to embarrass him- that it
erupted in a bloody feud, which resulted
in death-by-axe.
Naturally, there were a range of strength
based games. Weight lifting involved,
well, lifting weights. The man who lifted
the heaviest rock was declared the
winner. It is unknown whether this sport
resulted in deaths, but it can be assumed
that plenty of medieval hernias got
their starts during these competitions.
Vikings also enjoyed horse fighting
and swimming competitions when the
weather was fine.
In a typically Viking twist, the swimming
competition involved pairs trying to hold
each other under water.
During the long Scandinavian winters,
the population would stay in communal
long houses, but that in no way prevented
them from participating in sports.
They developed a form of piggy-in-the-
middle, but instead of a ball, a rolled up
bear-skin was tossed between players.
The added spice to this sport was the
involvement of the audience, who would
heckle, trip and generally interfere with
the players.
Two person tug-of-war had men sitting
with the soles of their feet touching. They
then grappled a rope between them until
one pulled the other over.
These games might be conducted before
or after dinner, but one of the centre-
pieces of indoor Viking entertainment
was the drinking game. There were many
variants, but one of the most popular
versions involved a man pairing up
with a woman. They would not only be
required to drink, but would have to
punctuate each draught with a toast that
questioned the manliness of one of their
competitors and boasted about their own
skills. Add to this that the toast should be
poetic, and you have perhaps the most
Viking of all games.
After the meal, a game that has been
attested to was Bones. This game
required Vikings to throw the bones from
their meal at each other. It is unknown
what the object of the game was, or
how it was won. Possibly the mere act
of throwing bones was a reward in itself.
It is also unknown whether anyone died
from this game, but given the body count
in other sports, it is safe to guess that a
few Vikings died ignominiously with a
broken femur in the eye.
In their quieter moments, Vikings played
board games. Chess was imported from
the Middle East via Russian rivers, and
other ethic board games have been
discovered in archeological digs.
To this day, the people of Scandinavia
have a healthy love of sport. Though their
past times are thankfully less dangerous
these days, it is easy to see where they got
their passion for healthy competition.
The Vikings had their
own form of tug-of-war