[Berserker|Berserkergang|Society]

The etymology of the term *berserk* is disputed. It may mean "*bare*-sark," as in "bare of shirt" and refer to the berserker's
habit of going unarmored into battle. Ynglingasaga records this tradition, saying of the warriors of Odhinn that "they went
without coats of mail, and acted like mad dogs and wolves". Others have contended that the term should be read
"*bear*-sark," and describes the animal-skin garb of ther berserker.

The berserker is closely associated in many respects with the god Odhinn.  The name Odhinn derives from the Old Norse *odur*. This is related to the German *wut*, "rage, fury," and to the Gothic *wods*, "possessed" (Georges Dumezil. The Destiny of the Warrior.
This certainly brings to mind the madness associated with the berserker, and other Odhinnic qualities are seen to be possessed by the berserk. Ynglingasaga recounts that Odhinn could shape-shift into the form of a bird, fish, or wild animal .
The berserker, too, was often said to change into bestial form, or at least
to assume the ferocious qualities of the wolf or bear.
 
 

Dumezil refers to this phenomenon as the *hamingja* ("spirit" or "soul") or *fylgja* ("spirit form") of the berserker, which may
appear in animal form in dreams or in visions, as well as in reality

Another Odhinnic quality possessed by the berserk is a magical immunity to weapons. In Havamal, Odhinn speaks of spells
used to induce this immunity:
 
 
 
 

The berserk was sometimes inherently possessed of this immunity, or performed spells to induce it, or even had special powers to blunt weapons by his gaze. Many tales say of their berserkers, "no weapon could bite them" or "iron could not bite into him." This immunity to weapons may also have been connected with the animal-skin garments worn by the berserk. As we saw above, while in animal form, "blades and weapons glanced off" Bodvar Bjarki. Similarly, Vatnsdoela Saga says that "those ebrserks who were called *ulfhednar* had wolf shirts for mail-coats"
This concept of immunity may have evolved from the berserker's rage, during which the berserk might receive wounds, but due to his state of frenzy take no note of them until the madness passed from him. A warrior who continued fighting while bearing mortal wounds would surely have been a terrifying opponent.

It is likely that the berserk was actually a member of the cult of Odhinn. The practices of such a cult would have been a secret
of the group's initiates, although the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII refers in his Book of Ceremonies to a "Gothic Dance"
performed by members of his Varangian guard, who took part wearing animal skins and masks. This type of costumed dance is also seen in figures from Swedish helmet plates and scabbard ornaments, which depict human figures with the heads of bears or wolves, dressed in animal skins but having human hands and feet. These figures often carry spears or swords, and are depicted as running or dancing. One plate from Torslunda, Sweden, may show the figure of Odhinn dancing with such a bear figure.

Other ritual practices attributed to berserks may represent the initiation of the young warrior into a band of berserkers. Such
bands are mentioned in the sagas, oftentimes numbering twelve warriors. Another commin feature of these bands is the name of
the leaser, which is often "Bjorn" or a variant, meaning 'bear." The form of this initiation is a battle, either real or simulated, with
a bear or other fearsome adversary. Grettirs Saga tells of a situation of this sort, when a man named Bjorn throws Grettir's
cloak into the den of a bear. Grettir slays the bear, recovers his claok, and returns with the bear's paw as a token of his victory Bodvar Bjarki has a protege, Hjalti, who undergoes a simulated encounter as his initiation in
Hrolf's Saga. Bodvar first slays a dragon-like beast, then sets its skin up on a frame. Hjalti then "attacks" the beast and
symbolically kills it before witnesses, earning his place among the warriors .
Bronze helmet plates from locations in Sweden and designs upon the Sutton Hoo pyrse lid seem to show examples of these initiatory encounters, where a human figure is seen grappling with one, or often two, bear-like animals .

The Modern scholars believe that certain examples of berserker rage to have been induced coluntarily by the consumption of drugs such as the hallucinogenic mushroom *Amanita muscaria* , or massive quantities of alcohol

While such practices would fit in with ritual usages, other explanations for the berserker's
madness have been put forward, including self-induced hysteria, epilepsy, mental illness or genetic flaws

The physical appearance of the berserk was one calculated to present an image of terror. Dumezil draws parallels between the
berserk and the tribe of Harii mentioned in Tacitus's Germania who used not only "natural ferocity" but also dyed their bodues
to cause panic and terror in their enemies, just as the berserk combined his fearsome reputation with animal skin dress to
suggest the terrifying metamorphosis of the shape changer .

Indeed, berserkers had much in common with those thought to be werewolves. Ulf, a retired berserker, is mentioned in this light in Egils saga Skallagrimsonar:
 
 
 

In the sagas, berserks are often described as being fantastically ugly, often being mistaken for trolls, as were Skallagrim and his
kinsmen in Egils saga Skallagrimsonar. Egil himself is described as being "black-haired and as ugly as his father" , and at a feast in the court of the English king Athelstan, Egil is said to have made such terrible faces that Athelstan was forced to give him a gold ring to make him stop:
 
 
 

Berserkergang
 
 

The actual fit or madness the berserk experienced was known as *berserkergang*. This condition is described as follows:
 
 

Egils saga Skallagrimssonar says:

What peoplke say about shape-changers or those who go into berserk fits is this:  that as long as they're in the frenzy        they're so strong that nothing is too much for them, but as soon as they're out of it they become much weaker than normal.  That's how it was with Kveldulf; as soon as the frenzy left him he felt so worn out by the battle he'd been fighting, and grew so weak as a result of it all that he had to take to his bed.

A common technique used by saga heroes to overcome berserks was to catch them after their madness had left them, as
Hjalmar and Arrow-Odd do in Herverar Saga, and slay the berserkers while they lay in their enfeebled state after their fury

(Christopher Tolkein  The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise.)
 
 

The Role of the Berserker in Viking Society
 

The berserker's place in society was limited by the terror and violence that was associated with berserkergang. As superb
warriors, they were due admiration. However, their tendency to turn indicriminately upon their friends while the madness was
upon them went squarely against the heroic ethic, which demanded loyalty and fidelity to one's friends. The berserk skirted the
classification of *ni(dh)ingr*, one who was the lowest of men and the object of hate and scorn.
 
 

The primary role of the berserk was as a warrior attacked to a king's army. Both King Harald and King Halfdan had berserker
shock-troops. Aside from their military value, the berserker's ties to Odhinn would have been welcome in a royal army, since
Odhinn also had a particular association with rulership, being venerated in Anglo-Saxon England as the ancestor of chieftains,
and throughout the North as god of kings and protector of their royal power.
Outside of this role, however, the berserker became the stock villain of the sagas, typified as murderous, stupid brutes, or as
one modern critic has it, "a predatory group of brawlers and killers who disrupted the peace of the Viking community
repeatedly" .

Saxo Grammaticus speaks of such a band in his Gesta Danorum:
 

        The young warriors would harry and pillage the neighborhood,
        and frequently spilt great quantities of blood.  They considered
        it manly and proper to devastate homes, cut down cattle, rifle
        everything and take away vast hauls of booty, burn to the ground
        houses they had sacked, and butcher men and women
        indicriminately"

        So outrageous and unrestrained were their ways that they
        ravished other men's wives and daughters; they seemed to
        have outlawed chastity and driven it to the brothel.  Nor did
        they stop at married women but also debauched the beds
        of virgins.  No man's bridal-chamber was safe;  scarcely
        any place in the land was free from the imprints of their lust"

It was no doubt due to these excesses of the berserker that resulted in their demise. In 1015 King Erik outlawed berserks, along with *holmganga* or duels.

It had become a common practice for a berserker to challenge men of property to holmgang, and upon slaying the unfortunate victim, to take possession of his goods, wealth, and women. This was a difficult tactic to counter, since a man so challenged had to appear, have a champion fight for him, or else be named *ni(dh)ingr* and coward.
 

In 1123, the Icelandic Christian Law stated, "If someone goes berserk, he is punished with lesser outlawry and the men who are
present are also banished if they do not bind him." Lesser outlawry (*fjorbaugsgard*) was a sentence of three years' banishment
from the country.