“But the attitude that Viking society held up as the ideal one was a heroic stoicism. In the words of archaeologist Neil Price, "The outcome of our actions, our fate, is already decided and therefore does not matter. What is important is the manner of our conduct as we go to meet it." You couldn't change what was going to happen to you, but you could at least face it with honor and dignity. The best death was to go down fighting, preferably with a smile on your lips. Life is precarious by nature, but this was especially true in the Viking Age, which made this fatalism, and stoicism in the face of it, especially poignant. The model of this ideal was Odin's amassing an army in Valhalla in preparation for Ragnarok. He knew that Fenrir, "the wolf", was going to murder him one way or another. Perhaps on some level he hoped that by gathering all of the best warriors to fight alongside him, he could prevent the inevitable. But deep down he knew that his struggle was hopeless - yet he determined to struggle just the same, and to die in the most radiant blaze of glory he could muster.” FatePaganFatalismVikingHeathenryAsatru Book:The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion Source: The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion
“The idea of fate permeated the religion of the Vikings at every turn. Everything in the universe, even the Gods, was subject to it.” FateGodsHeathenVikingAsatruWyrdOrlog Book:The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion Source: The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion