I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blonde and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Beards and mustaches were very common in Vikings according to archeological findings and written records. So what did the Vikings actually look like? Culture The Nordic countries share a history that goes back hundreds of years. The amount of curly-haired people in the Nordics is furthermore a much lesser part of the population compared to the rest of Europe. High cheekbones werent always seen as a positive trait in the Nordic region though, as it was fairly common for the Germanic Scandinavians to look down upon the Finno-Ugric Samis as less civilized, at least up until the late 20th century. They built powerful cultures and countries. What are typical Swedish features? It should be noted that human length, in general, is determined by a mixture of nature (genes) and nurture (diet), and there are also regions of the world that are believed to have a taller or shorter average height due to primarily genetic reasonssuch as the short Pygmee people of central Africa, and the tall Dinka people of South Sudan. While this is somewhat a result of natural selection that has allowed for adaptation to an environment with very low ultraviolet radiation, light pigments, like the Y chromosomal polymorphisms, are a result of a founding effect, not sexual selection, as it was once thought of in the past. Editor's Choice As regards the body, these ladies are usually tall and moderately curvy. As far as I know, the advanced DNA analysis of skeletal remains scientists can do today has proven to be very reliable (the same scientific method has been used to establish the physical traits of Vikings also, and they seem to agree with written records), and its not so hard to imagine Scandinavians skin adapting from dark to light over a long period of time due to changing sunlight exposure, as we are all descendants of dark-skinned Africans (if we go even further back in time) no matter how light our skin color is today. Vikings were often described and depicted with well-groomed and sometimes elaborate facial hair, ranging from full and long beards to more practical Viking-style mutton chops and mustaches. All living humans who descended from Africa have about 2% Neanderthal DNA, and this includes Scandinavians. So we can safely assume that there were Vikings who shaved their heads. This mystery still remains to this day and may possibly never be uncovered, but one must not forget how historically wrong science had been about the history of the Smi. Both groups speak a Finno-Ugric language that causes them to be singled out among their Indo-European neighbors and associated historically with each other. That particular haircut has just never been described or documented in any way as far as we know. Its of course enough to at least give a slight chance for the stereotypical metal Viking with tribal tattoos to actually be a thing, especially to fans of shows like Vikings and The Last Kingdom. On the other hand, many Swedes had contact with people residing in present-day Russia or in the Baltics. Historians believe that most Norse men had facial hair, and those who didnt were even mocked for it according to the sagas. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a3d130deea91a297e34a58becbda175b" );document.getElementById("j39e62affa").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Darkening the areas around the eyes would also help against sunlight reflections at sea and on snow, so there are likely practical as well as cosmetic elements behind this custom. Finnish Genes. Virtual Finland. It makes sense that the Smi should be closely tied to the Finns, if at one time they were the same group, even if this did take place many thousands of years ago. Lets take a more detailed look at how the Nordic peopleboth male and femalestack up against each other and the world when it comes to height: The Danish are the tallest people in the Nordics, with the average male Dane reaching 182 cm / 512, followed by the Icelandic men at 181 cm, and finally the Swedes, Norwegians, and Finns at 180 cm. They have been affiliated with being people of great courage and also with being countries that invaded other countries. Finland Up to 78% of the Swedish population has some kind of blonde or light brown shade of hair [6]. In life Swedish people can generally act calm and reserved, seem a bit cold, like to keep things professional, prefer a well-planned approach, and believe maybe is a conflict-free way to say no. A survey by Hotels.com and Match.com asked 5000 Nordic singles in 2014 which Nordic country has the most attractive people, and here are the results: Singles in Norway, Denmark, and Finland all voted for Swedes as the most attractive (you could not vote for your own country), while the Swedes overwhelmingly seem to prefer Norwegian women and men. Required fields are marked *. Comparisons For more information on what we actually know about Viking hairstyles, Id recommend listening to Dr. Jackson Crawford who specializes in Old Norse (he teaches Scandinavian Studies at my Alma Mater UC Berkeley, on top of talking about Norse mythology on YouTube): We do not have as many archeological findings of different female hairstyles as we have for male cuts, but nonetheless here are some that are fairly historically accurate: The hairstyles come from artifacts, sculptures, engravings and similar left behind in Viking graves, so they are likely to have been at least somewhat popular during the Viking Age. So what do the rest of the Nordics look like? Denmark Language They originated from Europe but spoke a Uralic language among themselves. (Niskanen 122), [15] Read more about that in my article about Viking Looks! in order to trick the giants to give back his lost hammer. Throughout Scandinavian history the people in the region have had a diet very high in Vitamin D due to a high amount of fish present in the diet. WebMajority are brunettes, the rest are fake blondes. This is assuming Viking Age Scandinavians had a similar genetical makeup for certain markers related to beard growth, which the same study supports, mentioning that Vikings largely had similar genetic markers as modern-day Scandis when it comes to hair growth. [5]. Oslo How Nordics and Scandinavians see each other, an article where I go into detail about Viking traits and looks, which languages each Nordic nationality actually uses when communicating with fellow Nordics, how Vikings actually looked (how big they were, how they wore their hair, where they came from, their hair and eye color, etc. Though differences in size are generally bigger between men and women than between different ethnicities. Pelvis width can be very useful in this respect., Your email address will not be published. Thanks Jonna for your comment, and Im happy to hear you enjoyed the article! For example, many female skeletons from Viking graves generally had stronger jawlines than modern Scandinavian women, while many men generally had slimmer faces that the Scandinavian men of today. So its not entirely out of this world to assume that they could also decorate their bodies by other means, just not very likely with the evidence we have available. Niskanen, Markku. He left Sweden at 19 to explore the world, and stayed abroad for almost 8 yearsduring which he backpacked, worked every job there was, earned a degree from UC Berkeley, and met the future mother of his children. [10] The Smi, as well of the Finns, are a very heterogeneous group of people who display a wide range of physical features. Though it is likelier that it was used for the cosmetic effect since most Vikings had light hair, and it was likely seen as a sought-after trait for some. WebFor example, dimensions can be mapped to the following facial characteristics: eye size, eye spacing, nose length, nose width, mouth curvature, mouth width, mouth openness, pupil size, eyebrow slant, eye eccentricity, and head eccentricity. Can You Get By With English Only In the Nordic Countries? A young serving girl comes every morning with breakfast and with it a great basin of water. Popular Post High levels of Vitamin D produces more melanin, which in simple terms enables skin to tan instead of burn. This wave of primarily herders eventually fused with the current habitants (I see a pattern here) to produce the so-called Battle Axe culture group in Scandinavia, establishing themselves and flourishing in modern-day Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Although light features are standard, some swedes have darker hair and eyes. [8] Enjoy your visit! Some scientists give quite a bit of weight to the genetics of personality and it would stand to reason that at the very least some of personality is genetic which would lead to the idea that if you are Nordic or from Northern Europe than you are going to share some of that dog eat dog personality of your ancestors. (Examples), https://nordicperspective.com/history/vikings/how-vikings-actually-looked-complete-guide#index2, Northern Europeans Average (R Steckel 2004), Anglo-Saxons, England (G Galofr-Vil 2017), Global Average (based on archeological findings), Romans 500 BCE500CE, Italy (G Kron 2005). WebSwedish people often look pale due to a lack of melanin. These individuals have a higher percentage of their head than other Scandinavians. (Julku 183), Origin and Genetic Background of the Smi. [15], Sajantilas ten-year old theory, though empowering to the Smi, has been suggested to be somewhat false in many of its aspects, as recently as 2002. Still this does not answer the underlying question of where the Smi originally came from. There is argument as to whether the Finns and the Smi arrived in their present day locations either as a still undifferentiated ethnolinguistic group or as linguistically and ethnically separate people. Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Ive noticed that surgeons in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark all offer surgery to counteract this condition in case it disrupts your eyesight, or as an elective procedure for cosmetic reasons, and this procedure isnt as commonly seen in other areas of the world. Vikings were often described and depicted with well-groomed and sometimes elaborate facial hair, ranging from full and long beards to more practical Viking-style It should also be added that the countries around the Dinaric Alps in Western Balkans would place in the top if S.E. height of adult males during the Viking Age (in cm). http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/geeneng.html (accessed February 26, 2005). Still, genealogists from Stockholm university believe modern Swedes are most closely related to the hunter-gatherers from the so-called Pitted Ware culture when it comes to physical appearance. Do Scandinavians have a lot of facial hair? So, if a person ever decides to visit Sweden, they should be prepared to see lots of blue eyes! Movies One of the few written accounts we have on specific Viking hairstyles is an Old English text where an Anglo-Saxon man is angry at his brother for adopting a heathen haircut and forgetting his own customs. The prevalence of this gene on the Norwegian west coast is thought to be linked to slaves from Ireland and Scotland being brought to Scandinavia. He ultimately returned to his native Malm with his love, where they now have 3 Swedish-American boys eager to explore the world. Gedde-Dahl, Issel-Tarver, DiRienzo, Pbo. Winter, Get in touch with your inner Scandinavian. Chinese people tend to have wider faces, while Japanese people usually have narrower faces. Swedes are not only known for having light eyes and pale skin but also for their fair hair. These average heights can be compared to the current average male height of 175.3 cm (5 ft 8 in) in both the US and England, which means most Vikings were likely quite tall even by modern standards. Ive compared them thoroughly in different categories and analyzed what online critics on IMDb and other sites think, in order to answer which show is the best of the three. [16]. This procreation keeps these genetics alive. 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