The Viking Age

Anglo-Saxons and Vikings

The history of the Germanic influence in English is somewhat complicated by imprecise terminology. For
instance, given that the Angles and the Jutes came from Denmark, and the Saxons from the northern part of
Germany adjacent to Denmark, the difference between the Danish Vikings – of Danelaw fame – and the
Anglo-Saxons is not an ethnic distinction as they belong to the same Scandinavian ethnic world.

In his description of Scandza (from the 6th-century work, Getica), the ancient writer Jordanes says that the
Dani were of the same stock as the Suetidi (Swedes, Suithiod?) and expelled the Heruli and took their lands.
[12] The Old English poems Widsith and Beowulf, as well as works by later Scandinavian writers
— notably by Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200) — provide some of the earliest references to Danes.

During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (from the 4th to the 1st century BC), the climate in Denmark and southern
Scandinavia became cooler and wetter, limiting agriculture and setting the stage for local groups to migrate
southward into Germania. At around this time people began to extract iron from the ore in peat bogs.
Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark, and in much of northwest
Europe, and survives in some of the older place names.
From the first to the fifth century, the Roman Empire interacted with Jutland and the Danish isles in
many ways, ranging from commerce to a possible "client state" relationship.[10] This period is
therefore referred to as the Roman Iron Age.
The Roman provinces, whose frontiers stopped short of Denmark, nevertheless maintained trade
routes and relations with Danish or proto-Danish peoples, as attested by finds of Roman coins. The
earliest known runic inscription dates back to c. 200 AD. Depletion of cultivated land in the last
century BC seems to have contributed to increasing migrations in northern Europe and increasing
conflict between Teutonic tribes and Roman settlements in Gaul. Roman artifacts are especially
common in finds from the 1st century. It seems clear that some part of the Danish warrior
aristocracy served in the Roman army.[11]
Occasionally during this time, both animal and human sacrifice occurred and bodies were immersed
in bogs. In recent times some of these bog bodies have emerged very well-preserved, providing
valuable information about the religion and people who lived in Denmark during this period. Some
of the most well-preserved bog bodies from the Nordic Iron Age are the Tollund Man and the
Grauballe Man.
From around the 5th to the 7th century, Northern Europe experienced mass migrations. This period
and its material culture are referred to as the Germanic Iron Age.
Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings
‘Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings' is the longest British period in the primary history
curriculum, lasting a thousand years – a millennium. It is also the most formative period in
British history, when the country experienced several waves of invasion, including the last invasion
to have been successful, in 1066. It both begins and ends with an invasion: the first Roman invasion
in 55 BC and the Norman invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. Add ‘in between were the
Anglo-Saxons and then the Vikings'.
There is overlap between the various invaders, and through it all, the Celtic British population
remained largely in place. In some areas, such as Wales and Cornwall, the invaders hardly changed
the language or way of life of the people. In others, the British Celts learnt the language of the
invaders, and adapted to their way of life. After 400 years of Roman rule, Romanised Britons tried
to defend the religion and civilisation of Roman Britain against the Anglo-Saxon invaders.
During this 1000-year period there was constant shifting of boundaries, boundaries both on the map
and in the minds of the people living then. Different cultures met and clashed time after time.
Spiritually, the British moved from a people worshipping Celtic pagan gods at the start of the period
to a nation of Christians at its end.

Terminology and names
At the start of the period, Britain was inhabited by Celtic peoples. The Romans called them
Brittones, so they named the areas they conquered Britannia. Caledonians, Irish and Picts lived in
what is now Scotland. Scotti lived in Ireland – all very confusing. (The Scotti later settled in
Scotland, giving it its modern name by the 10th century.) The point is that we have to be careful
about names during this period.
When the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians invaded Britain, during the 5th and 6th centuries AD,
the area they conquered slowly became known as England (from Angle-land). Before this we
cannot accurately use the term ‘England'.
By the end of the millennium, 1000 AD, the island was divided into the three recognisable countries
of England, Scotland and Wales. Christianity was the established religion. In England, Celtic,
Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Viking place-names reflected the mixture of peoples now living there,
and the main places where they had settled.

Teaching about the invaders

Even though you need only focus on one set of invaders, you will need to give the children an
overview of the whole millennium. It is best to emphasise the differences between the invaders and
to do a lot of (pictorial) timeline work.

Key questions
 Why did the Romans invade Britain?
 Why did the Anglo-Saxons invade Britain?
 Why did the Vikings invade Britain?
(The answers to these three questions are different)
  What made the Romans so powerful?
 How and when did the invaders become Christians? (There will be different answers for
each set of invaders)
 Were there any major differences between the Anglo-Saxon and Viking invaders?
 What can archaeology tell us about the invaders?
 How are we to interpret the surviving primary sources? (They are written by one side)

The Viking Age

The Vikings' homeland was Scandinavia: modern Norway, Sweden and Denmark. From here they
travelled great distances, mainly by sea and river – as far as North America to the west, Russia to
the east, Lapland to the north and the Mediterranean World (Constantinople) and Iraq (Baghdad) to
the south.
We know about them through archaeology, poetry, sagas and proverbs, treaties, and the writings of
people in Europe and Asia whom they encountered. They left very little written evidence
themselves. As well as warriors, they were skilled craftsmen and boat-builders, adventurous
explorers and wide-ranging traders. See Viking trade and Viking travel.
What we call the Viking Age, and their relationship with England, lasted from approximately 800 to
1150 AD – though Scandinavian adventurers, merchants and mercenaries were of course active
before and after this period. Their expansion during the Viking Age took the form of warfare,
exploration, settlement and trade.
During this period, around 200,000 people left Scandinavia to settle in other lands, mainly
Newfoundland (Canada), Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, England, Scotland, the islands around
Britain, France (where they became the Normans), Russia and Sicily. They traded extensively with
the Muslim world and fought as mercenaries for the Byzantine emperors of Constantinople
(Istanbul). However, by the end of the 11th century the great days of Viking expansion were over.

Vikings in Britain: background and legacy

Historians disagree about the origin of the word Viking. In Old Norse the word means a pirate raid,
from either vikja (to move swiftly) or vik (an inlet). This captures the essence of the Vikings, fast-
moving sailors who used the water as their highway to take them across the northern Atlantic,
around the coasts of Europe and up its rivers to trade, raid or settle. In their poetry they call the sea
'the whale road'.
Anglo-Saxon writers called them Danes, Norsemen, Northmen, the Great Army, sea rovers, sea
wolves, or the heathen.
From around 860AD onwards, Vikings stayed, settled and prospered in Britain, becoming part of
the mix of people who today make up the British nation. Our names for days of the week come
mainly from Norse gods – Tuesday from Tiw or Týr, Wednesday from Woden (Odin), Thursday
from Thor and so on. Many of their other words have also become part of English, for example egg,
steak, law, die, bread, down, fog, muck, lump and scrawny.
To see questions children have asked about the Vikings, see our Viking starter lesson.
A short history of the Vikings in Britain
In 793 came the first recorded Viking raid, where 'on the Ides of June the harrying of the heathen
destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne, bringing ruin and slaughter' (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).
These ruthless pirates continued to make regular raids around the coasts of England, looting
treasure and other goods, and capturing people as slaves. Monasteries were often targeted, for their
precious silver or gold chalices, plates, bowls and crucifixes.
Gradually, the Viking raiders began to stay, first in winter camps, then settling in land they had
seized, mainly in the east and north of England. See The Vikings settle down.
Outside Anglo-Saxon England, to the north of Britain, the Vikings took over and settled Iceland, the
Faroes and Orkney, becoming farmers and fishermen, and sometimes going on summer trading or
raiding voyages. Orkney became powerful, and from there the Earls of Orkney ruled most of
Scotland. To this day, especially on the north-east coast, many Scots still bear Viking names.
To the west of Britain, the Isle of Man became a Viking kingdom. The island still has its Tynwald,
or ting-vollr (assembly field), a reminder of Viking rule - see The Viking Thing. In Ireland, the
Vikings raided around the coasts and up the rivers. They founded the cities of Dublin, Cork and
Limerick as Viking strongholds.
Meanwhile, back in England, the Vikings took over Northumbria, East Anglia and parts of Mercia.
In 866 they captured modern York (Viking name: Jorvik) and made it their capital. They continued
to press south and west. The kings of Mercia and Wessex resisted as best they could, but with little
success until the time of Alfred of Wessex, the only king of England to be called ‘the Great'.

King Alfred and the Danes

King Alfred ruled from 871-899 and after many trials and tribulations (including the famous story
of the burning of the cakes!) he defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the
battle the Viking leader Guthrum converted to Christianity. In 886 Alfred took London from the
Vikings and fortified it. The same year he signed a treaty with Guthrum. The treaty partitioned
England between Vikings and English. The Viking territory became known as the Danelaw. It
comprised the north-west, the north-east and east of England. Here, people would be subject to
Danish laws. Alfred became king of the rest.
Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, became the first true King of England. He led an English victory over
the Vikings at the Battle of Brunaburh in 937, and his kingdom for the first time included the
Danelaw. In 954, Eirik Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of York, was killed and his kingdom was
taken over by English earls. See Egils Saga.

Later Viking raids and rulers

However, the Viking raiding did not stop – different Viking bands made regular raiding voyages
around the coasts of Britain for over 300 years after 793. In 991, during the reign of Æthelred 'the
Unready' ('ill-advised'), Olaf Tryggvason's Viking raiding party defeated the Anglo-Saxon defenders
(recorded in the poem The Battle of Maldon), with Æthelred responding by paying 'Danegeld' in an
attempt to buy off the Vikings.
So the Vikings were not permanently defeated – England was to have four Viking kings between
1013 and 1042. The greatest of these was King Cnut, who was king of Denmark as well as of
England. A Christian, he did not force the English to obey Danish law; instead he recognised Anglo-
Saxon law and customs. He worked to create a north Atlantic empire that united Scandinavia and
Britain. Unfortunately, he died at the age of 39, and his sons had short, troubled reigns.
The final Viking invasion of England came in 1066, when Harald Hardrada sailed up the River
Humber and marched to Stamford Bridge with his men. His battle banner was called Land-waster.
The English king, Harold Godwinson, marched north with his army and defeated Hardrada in a long
and bloody battle. The English had repelled the last invasion from Scandinavia.
However, immediately after the battle, King Harold heard that William of Normandy had landed in
Kent with yet another invading army. With no time to rest, Harold's army marched swiftly back
south to meet this new threat. The exhausted English army fought the Normans at the Battle of
Hastings on 14th October, 1066. At the end of a long day's fighting the Normans had won, King
Harold was dead, and William was the new king of England.
The irony is that William was of Viking descent: his great-great-great-grandfather Rollo was a
Viking who in 911 had invaded Normandy in northern France. His people had become French over
time, but in one sense this final successful invasion of England was another Viking one.

Vikings: key concepts

 Viking
 Raiding
 Invasion
 Settlement
 Danelaw

No difference between them - one and the same in as much as ‘Vikings’ was a term for seafaring northmen
and what we call ‘Saxons’ were groups, or tribes of people from the region of these seafarers, or if you like
‘Vikings.’ The etymoly of the word Viking is contested and complex, in its most simplistic interpretation it
seems that in old Norse the word roughly means freebooter, or pirate. it probably originates in some way
from the word ‘vik’ which means bay, or fjord.

The tribes in Northern Europe of the time used this as a term for their summer ‘trade’ travels - “to go on
viking” meant to go on a freebooting trip… thus these fearsome brutes became known by their occupation
throughout western Eurasia and North Africa. But a ‘people’ they were not.

In Old English they were not referred to as Vikings, but by their place of origin. Thus they would have said
Saxons (from today's north western Germany) Jutes, (from today's northern Denmark amd Friesland in
Germany) and Angles (from today’s eastern Denmark and Schleswig Holstein in Germany). Later, when
tribes from these areas had settled in the British Isles their invading relatives were referred to as ‘Danes.’ In
fact they were all more, or less tribes within the same cultural sphere and closely related to each other.
After the end of the ‘Dark Ages’ the word Viking fell out of use for many hundreds of years and it was only
in the 19th century with the romantic historical revival of Viking ‘history’ that it came back into use.
The idea that this was a people has since been abused for political purposes by Northern European
nationalists and Nazis to justify the idea of a Germanic master race, so reminding ourselves that they were
not a people, not even a tribe is a good idea.

Around the end of the 8th century, Anglo-Saxon history tells of many Viking raids. These marked the start of
a long struggle between the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings for control of Britain.
In the 9th century, the English king Alfred the Great stopped the Vikings taking over all of
England. He agreed to peace with them and some Vikings settled down to live in their own area of
eastern England, called theDanelaw.
The Anglo-Saxons and Vikings became neighbours in Britain, but they didn’t always get along
peacefully.

The Anglo-Saxons take control

After Alfred the Great, English kings gradually recaptured more and more land from the Vikings.
Alfred's son Edward fought for control of the Danelaw and Alfred's grandson, Athelstan, pushed
English power north as far as Scotland.
In 954, the Anglo-Saxons drove out Eric Bloodaxe, the last Viking king of Jorvik. Later, when Eric
was killed in battle, the Vikings agreed to be ruled by England's king.
The most powerful Anglo-Saxon king was Edgar. Welsh and Scottish rulers obeyed him as well as
the English, and his court at Winchester was one of the most splendid in Europe. Anglo-Saxon
England reached its peak during Edgar's reign.

Eric Bloodaxe was Jorvik's last king. He ruled the Viking Kingdom of Northumbria.

Who was King Cnut?

In Viking times, a king had to be strong to fight and keep his land. In the early 11th century,
England had a weak king. His name was Ethelred the Unready.
Ethelred tried to stop the Vikings from invading by giving them gold and land. This money was
called Danegeld. But it didn’t work – the Vikings took the gold and attacked anyway.
In 1002, Ethelred's soldiers killed many Viking families in the Danelaw. This made King Sweyn of
Denmark angry. He invaded England and Ethelred had to flee to France.
In 1016 Sweyn's son Cnut became king of England. Cnut (also known as Canute) was a Christian
and a strong ruler. For the next few years England was part of his Viking empire, along with
Denmark and Norway.
He ruled well, but left much of the government in England to noblemen, now called earls (from the
Danish word "jarl").

The Anglo-Saxon period

The Anglo-Saxon period in Britain spans approximately the six centuries from 410-1066AD. The
period used to be known as the Dark Ages, mainly because written sources for the early years of
Saxon invasion are scarce. However, most historians now prefer the terms 'early middle ages' or
'early medieval period'. 
It was a time of war, of the breaking up of Roman Britannia into several separate kingdoms, of
religious conversion and, after the 790s, of continual battles against a new set of invaders: the
Vikings.
Climate change had an influence on the movement of the Anglo-Saxon invaders to Britain: in the
centuries after 400 AD Europe's average temperature was 1°C warmer than we have today, and in
Britain grapes could be grown as far north as Tyneside. Warmer summers meant better crops and a
rise in population in the countries of northern Europe.
At the same time melting polar ice caused more flooding in low areas, particularly in what is now
Denmark, Holland and Belgium. These people eventually began looking for lands to settle in that
were not so likely to flood. After the departure of the Roman legions, Britain was a defenceless and
inviting prospect.

A short history of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain

Anglo-Saxon mercenaries had for many years fought in the Roman army in Britain, so they were
not total strangers to the island. Their invasions were slow and piecemeal, and began even before
the Roman legions departed. There is even some evidence to suggest that, initially, some Saxons
were invited to help protect the country from invasion.
When the Roman legions left Britain, the Germanic-speaking Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians
began to arrive – at first in small invading parties, but soon in increasing numbers. Initially they met
little firm resistance from the relatively defenceless inhabitants of Britannia. Around 500 AD,
however, the invaders were resisted fiercely by the Romano-British, who might have been led by
King Arthur, if he existed – and there is no hard evidence that he did. However, the monk Gildas,
writing in the mid-6th century, talks about a British Christian leader called Ambrosius who rallied
the Romano-British against the invaders and won twelve battles. Later accounts call this leader
Arthur. See 'Saxon Settler' lesson plan.
The Celtic areas of Britain regarded the Saxons as enemies and foreigners on their borders: their
name became Sassenachs to the Scottish and Saesneg to the Welsh.
The various Anglo-Saxon groups settled in different areas of the country. They formed several
kingdoms, often changing, and constantly at war with one another. These kingdoms sometimes
acknowledged one of their rulers as a ‘High King', the Bretwalda. By 650 AD there were seven
separate kingdoms, as follows:

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, c. 650-800AD

1. Kent, settled by the Jutes. Ethelbert of Kent was the first Anglo-Saxon king to be converted to
Christianity, by St Augustine around 595 AD.
2. Mercia, whose best-known ruler, Offa, built Offa's Dyke along the border between Wales and
England. This large kingdom stretched over the Midlands.
3. Northumbria, where the monk Bede (c. 670-735) lived and wrote his Ecclesiastical History of
Britain.
4. East Anglia, made up of Angles: the North Folk (living in modern Norfolk) and the South Folk
(living in Suffolk). The Sutton Hoo ship burial was found in East Anglia (see below).
5. Essex (East Saxons). Here the famous Battle of Maldon was fought against the Vikings in 991.
6. Sussex: the South Saxons settled here.
7. Wessex (West Saxons), later the kingdom of King Alfred, the only English king ever to have
been called ‘the Great', and his equally impressive grandson, Athelstan, the first who could truly
call himself ‘King of the English'.
By 850 AD the seven kingdoms had been consolidated into three large Anglo-Saxon kingdoms:
Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. The Anglo-Saxons had become a Christian people.

Areas worth examining

Poetry 
Three poems give excellent insights into the Anglo-Saxons:
  The Ruin, an anonymous poem written about the ruin and decay of a Roman town (see
lesson plan and resources on The end of Roman Britain - the poem text is available via the
'resources' attachment)
 Beowulf, about the great hero who fought and killed the monster Grendel and his mother,
became a great king and met his death fighting an enraged dragon. There are several
versions of the poem for children, as well as a cartoon film. Rosemary Sutcliff's version is
excellent.
 The Battle of Maldon, about the Saxons' heroic defence against a force of raiding Vikings in
Essex.

Sutton Hoo ship burial

This burial of an East Anglian king provides a rich case study from which we can draw inferences
about kingship, religion, warfare, trade, craftsmanship.
See the Saxon Ship Burial and Sutton Hoo lessons, and the Sutton Hoo objects exemplar.

Daily life
 'Saxon farming year' trading exemplar
 Anglo-Saxon house and daily life posters

Alfred the Great

King Alfred, called ‘the Great' because he:
 defeated the Vikings in the Battle of Edington in 878, then converted their leader Guthrum to
Christianity;
 recaptured London from the Vikings and established a boundary between the Saxons and the
Vikings - the area ruled by the Vikings was known as the Danelaw;
 strengthened his kingdom's defences by creating a series of fortresses (burhs) and a decent
army;
 built ships against Viking sea attacks, so beginning the English navy;
 had books translated into English and promoted learning;
 founded monasteries;
 commissioned the writing of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record of the Anglo-
Saxons in Britain.
After 793, when the Vikings raided Lindisfarne Monastery, the history of the Anglo-Saxons
becomes entangled with that of the Vikings. In many ways they were similar: in language,
religion and Northern European origins, yet they are not the same. The very fact that they invaded
Britain at different times makes them two very distinct peoples in our history.

The intention is not to adopt a primordialist approach, which might best be seen as an aberrant effect of
nineteenth century imperialist ethnography (as this then descended into ethnic hierarchies as an
“explanation” for the remarkable achievement of European world hegemony during the same period.
However, the primordialist hypothesis cannot be simply discarded as if a sense of English or British
nationhood simply sprang into existence somewhere in the course of the eighteenth century. People
that spoke English inevitably had a sense of belonging to the same linguistic community – if not
nation – and, in the process as sharing a common sense of historical origin and a common set of
metaphysical beliefs.

In seeking to clarify the promordialist notion of the nation – the bottom-up conception of the nation – there
is, almost from the very outset, a familiar difficulty with determining quite whom is whom amongst the
ancient peoples. It is not all that difficult to see why this should be the case. The original categorisation of
ethnic groups was most usually undertaken within the Roman Empire – and hence written down and
communicable – and was based on highly approximate ethnic categorisation.

The following takes the British and Irish Isles as its object – given that the object of study is the English
language – and hence concentrates on those elements of archaeological and genetic information that can be
gleaned in order to shed light on these origins. For instance, it is of particular interest that English should be
an admixture of Germanic and French roots and that the languages of the Celtic population – understood to
be present in the British Isles before foreign invasion by ethnically distinct peoples from the north-West coast
of Europe – is not grafted into English.

The Viking Age and Relations between Germanic and Celtic Peoples

Against this background, one of the first difficulties is in distinguishing Celtic from Germanic ethnic groups.
Part of the problem is that the territory unconquered by the Romans constituted, to use a popular term, a
trans-border otherness. In this space of “otherness”, it would appear that Germanic and Celtic groupings are
insufficiently distinguished or at least the nature of their relationship in a common territory, beyond direct
control from Rome, is inadequately described.
The lighter colours correspond to higher incidence of red hair and map well with the presence of
Scandinavian invaders across Western Europe. Interestingly, the Normans represent a smaller incidence of
red hair, however, than west coasts of Belgium and Holland or Brittany. There is also a patch of red hair in
proximity to Switzerland suggesting a link between the Celtic regions of Europe with Switzerland being
traditionally thought of as the ancestral origin of the Celtic peoples.

By contrast, theories that place the origins of the Celts in the Basque country – as this would suggest a
movement along coastal routes rather than land routes – is not reinforced by this map.

History has dealt a mixed hand to the redhead. Alternatively admired or derided for the color of their
crowning glory, attitudes to those with red hair have always been polarized. Throughout time, redheads have
been portrayed as beautiful and brave or else promiscuous, wild, hot-tempered, violent or immoral.
Gingernut, carrot top, flame-haired, copper head and rusty just some of the nicknames for red hair. The
modern mind also associates the hair color with individual countries such as Scotland and Ireland or
cultures such as the Vikings.
The reason for these attitudes and associations is complicated and lies partly in the origins of red hair and the
human reaction to things that are different. For although 40% of people carry the gene for red hair, real
redheads are rare, amounting to no more than 1% of the population. It requires two carriers to make a red
headed child. So why is red hair so rare and unique? What is its history, and is it fair to assigned heads such a
turbulent reputation?

All in the Genes

 Red hair has always been a question of genes. Clues suggested that red hair could have evolved in
Paleolithic Europe amongst the Neanderthals. Scientists analyzed Neanderthal remains from Croatia and
found a gene that resulted in red hair. However, the gene that causes red hair in modern humans is not the
same as that in Neanderthals. Nor is the red-haired gene of either race found in any of the peoples who are
descended from Paleolithic humans, namely the Finnish and most of Eastern Europe. This fact not only rules
out interbreeding as a route for Homo sapiens red hair, but it also rules out early Europe, as it’s the
birthplace.
 Instead, the origins of red hair have been traced back to the Steppes of Central Asia as much as 100,000
years ago. The haplogroup of modern redheads indicates that their earliest ancestors migrated to the steppes
from the Middle East because of the rise of herding during the Neolithic revolution. The Steppes were the
perfect grazing lands for the herds of the agriculturists. Unfortunately, however, the lower UV levels of the
area limited their bodies’ ability to synthesize vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiencies bring about weak bones,
muscle pain and rickets in children. So the migrants had to change.
To survive their environment, people living in northern regions, in general, had begun to evolve to suit their
environment and to allow their bodies more access to the limited light. As a consequence, their skin and hair
started to become much lighter. In the eastern steppes, however, things occurred slightly differently. A
mutation occurred in a gene known as M1CR which caused hair color not merely to lighten but to change
entirely- to red. The skin of these new redhead people was well adapted to absorbing the much-needed UV
light. It was, however, a little too sensitive to the sun- which is why redheads often sunburn and are more
prone to skin cancer.

These pioneers of red hair then began to spread to the Balkans and central and Western Europe in the
Bronze Age as they migrated once again, this time in search of metal. The majority of the migrants remained
in these regions, although some spread further west to the Atlantic seaboard, and fewer still moved
eastwards into Siberia and some as far south as India. However, these latter migrations were scant- which
explains the rarity of red hair in these areas.
The Balkans and Western Europe now became established as the geographical and historical homeland of
red-haired culture. It was one that was observed by ancient writers who began to form their conclusions
about the red-haired peoples they encountered.
Culturally Red
 The accounts of classical writers are quick to highlight red hair amongst the tribes they encountered in
central and Western Europe. As early as the fifth century BC, Herodotus described the Budini, a Scythian
tribe from the central western Eurasian steppes as having ”grey eyes and red hair,” as were the Thracians
whose lands covered parts of modern Turkey, southeastern Bulgaria, and northeast Greece. These tribes were
regarded barbarian by the Greeks, despite their military prowess and sophisticated art. However, this was
most likely because they were non-Hellenic than because of their hair color.
Meanwhile, the Romans were also noticing the abundance of red hair amongst the tribes they were
encountering as their empire progressed ever westwards. Seneca noted that “The color of the Ethiopian is
not singular among his countrymen, nor is red hair tied up in a knot a peculiarity among the Germans.”Livy
in his History of Rome describes the Gaul’s as of “tall stature” and having“Long red hair.” These physical
characteristics married with their behavior in battle which was to “terrify and appall.” (38.17.4).
 Tacitus also noticed the prevalence of red hair amongst the Germans. “For my own part, I agree with those
who think that the tribes of Germany are free from all taint of intermarriages with foreign nations and that
they appear as a distinct, unmixed race, like none but themselves, “ he noted in his Germania. “Hence, too,
the same physical peculiarities throughout so vast a population. All have fierce blue eyes, red hair, huge
frames”.

 He also noticed that many of the Celtic tribes of Britain also had red hair- and concluded- correctly- that this
pointed to an interrelationship between the Celts, Germans and Gauls who all unbeknown to him originated
from the central Asian migrations into Europe. In particular, Tacitus noted the Caledonians had “red hair
and large limbs” which he felt pointed to a “Germanic origin.”
 All of these red-haired tribes match the genetic makeup of the current inhabitants of the lands they
occupied. Scotland, Wales and Ireland respectively– the British Celtic nations- all having the high level of
red gene carriers and manifestations. On mainland Europe, Brittany, the border between France and Belgium,
Switzerland, and Jutland – the ancestral lands of the Gaulish and Germanic tribes- also carry high levels of
the red-haired gene. Southwest Norway is unique amongst the Scandinavian countries for the emergence of
red hair which some feel justifies the portrayal of Viking as red-haired. However, genetic analysis suggests
that the genes dictating red hair in Norway was brought back there from Ireland and Scotland by Viking
raiders.
However, not everyone in these areas would have had red hair. So why was it standing out as such a
prominent feature to these southern observers?

A Rare and Suspect Color

 Both Greek and Roman culture were astute in noticing red hair was more prevalent in certain climates. The
philosopher Aristotle noted that those living in northerly climes, as well as fishermen and divers usually had
red hair. He reasoned this was because the moist environment both parties frequented made them chilly
individuals but that their outer parts became red when they dried off in the sun! Vitruvius also made a similar
but less fanciful observation, attributing red hair to the dampness of the climate because this made
individuals living there more ‘moist.”
However, despite these rare attempts to rationalize red hair, ancient accounts emphasis certain traits as
prevalent in redheads. As well as describing the Gauls, Germans, and Celts as predominantly red headed-
something that wasn’t true for everyone- the ancient writers portrayed them as warlike and uncivilized.
These portrayals were reflections of inbuilt classical preconception of redheads. Aristotle, while
acknowledging the bravery of tawny headed individuals because the color of their hair matched that of the
pelt of a lion, also believed they were evil characters- because their hair color also matched that of a fox. The
Romans also had quite a contradictory attitude to fiery hair. Once again, they regarded redheads, as
untrustworthy- yet red hair was also desirable, as many Roman ladies aspired to it, prompting Roman wig
makers to import quantities of red hair from northern Europe.

The Classical suspicion of redheads probably derived from the fact red hair was so rare in the Mediterranean
regions. Although Archaic Greek texts like the Iliad refer to Greek heroes such as Achilles and Menelaus as
red-headed, less than 1% of the Mediterranean population carry the red-haired gene-despite the descent of
some Italians from a portion of the steppe migrants who crossed the Alps in around 1300BC. Intermarriage
with other peoples with more dominant genes meant that the recessive red gene rarely had a chance to
express itself and so was incredibly rare.
However, this suspicion of red hair continued and evolved with time. In the Middle Ages and beyond,
redheads acquired even more negative connotations. Red hair became an almost demonic badge, associated
with witches, vampires, and werewolves. By the Renaissance, the Spanish Inquisition was using red hair as a
way of identifying Jews- despite the low prevalence of red hair in Jewish people. This badge stuck. Artists
began to portray dubious Jewish characters as redheads, such as the treacherous Judas Iscariot and Mary
Magdalene before her repentance. This prejudiced tendency was carried into literature, with both
Shakespeare and Dickens portraying their Jewish characters of Shylock and Fagin as red-haired.
Redheads were certainly rare. However, perhaps there is something more than a fear of the ‘other’ at work
here. Reactions against redheads could be a reaction against the color red itself, as,  in nature, red is often a
symbol of danger. In 2011, a study of Rhesus monkeys was carried out. Keepers in red, green and blue shirts
delivered food to the monkeys. While the monkeys readily accepted the food from the blue and green shirts,
they universally rejected food brought by the red shirts.
Perhaps like the color of our hair, the suspicion of red is in our genes.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Neoptolemus, Encyclopedia Brittanica
Red-haired genes 100,000 years old, Blueprint (The Newsletter of Oxford University) 31 May 2001
The Violent History of Red Hair, K Thor Jenson, OMG facts,
The Genetic Causes, Ethic Origins, and History of Red Hair, Maciamo Hay, Eupedia,
BritainsDNA Announces the Results of the Red-Head Project, BritainsDNA.com, 2012
Livy, The History of Rome,
Seneca, On the Germans
Tacitus, Agricola
Tacitus, Germania