Ancient Solar Flare Sheds Light On How Nordic Seafarers Became The Vikings

PUBLISHED
8 hours ago

Evidence from historical solar storms and flares is now being used to improve radiocarbon dating analysis and its having a huge impact on our understanding of the past.

Russell is a Science Writer with IFLScience and has a PhD in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology
DR. RUSSELL MOUL

As much as they are a staple feature of modern pop culture, there is still much we do not know about the Northern European travelers who became known as the Vikings. In particular, until recently, scholars have struggled to identify a reason why a disparate bunch of Scandinavian farmers transformed into fierce raiders and extensive travelers in the space of a few decades.

What caused these famed people to set out on a life of exploration and occasional violence? To answer this question, archaeologists and medieval scholars have started turning to an unlikely source for additional information – the Sun.

The birth of the Viking Age?
The Vikings are a tricky subject for historical analysis. There is no denying the impact they had on the early medieval world – but because of centuries of storytelling, misconceptions, mythology, and political appropriation, the idea of the Vikings as hypermasculine blood thirsty raiders has become the predominant image we have today. The situation is not helped by the fact that the Vikings themselves – defined here as scattered groups of people from Scandinavia – were largely illiterate, so left few written records related to their early activities.

As such, much of what we do know comes from second-hand reports, most of which were produced by Christians who benefited from portraying them as violent pagans. But this idea is inaccurate. Instead, scholars believe the impetus for Viking expansion and exploration was initiated by the need for trade, especially for silver. According to this explanation, the Vikings took part in the growing trade networks that expanded from the Middle East through Russia.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/ancient-solar-flare-sheds-light-on-how-nordic-seafarers-became-the-vikings-70552