Whether the berserker is beneath humanity as an animal, above it as a god, or both, he is cut off from all human community when he is in this state.”
― Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character
Berserkers are described in my novel, Roman Tribute. But who were these terrifying warriors?
Berserker, from the Old Norse berserkr, means bear shirt or bear skin. Male fighters who became berserkers (there's not yet any evidence for female berserkers) worked themselves into a state of rage before battle. Some claim this was self-induced hysteria. Other say it was done with the assistance of hallucinogens such as Amanita mushrooms or henbane seeds.* Berserker men typically didn't wear much in the way of clothing, other than their signature bear skin. When in a berserker rage, it was said that these warriors went into a crazed fury, immune to the effects of fire and metal. They would scream, howl, drool, and gnaw on the edge of their shields. In battle
they were invincible, possessing the strength of several men.
Although bear berserkers were the most common, there were also wolf berserkers and wild boar berserkers. Berserkers were best described during the Viking era, but they did exist within Germanic warrior culture during the Roman era. The strongest evidence of this is on Trajan's column, erected in 113 AD by the Emperor Trajan, which shows scenes from Roman soldiers and Germanic warriors on the imperial border. The Germanic warriors are depicted bare-chested, barefoot, and wearing bear or wolf skins, which is in keeping with how berserkers are historically described. Although we know of berserkers in Germanic and Viking culture, there's evidence this tradition is much older and may have originated among Indo-Europeans.
Interesting note: curiously, the fellow's bearskin in the photo of a German reenactor is made from an American black bear, not the Eurasian brown bear that's native to the European continent and (I'm guessing) much fiercer. Although the Eurasian brown bear is currently not listed as endangered, perhaps it's harder to get brown bear skins than black bear ones.
*Don't try this at home. Both henbane and amanitas can be deadly.
Images:
(top) A berserker is depicted on the right, from the Swedish Torslunda Plates, dating to the 6th century. Illustration via Wikimedia Commons; in the public domain.
(middle) Modern German reenactor of a berserker warrior. Photo by Frank Schwichtenberg via Wikimedia Commons.
(bottom) Rook chess piece of a berserker biting his shield dating from 12th century Scotland. Via Wikimedia Commons; in the public domain.
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