Although the seminomadic barbarians raised herds of livestock, and sometimes stayed in one place long enough to till the soil, wild animals were still essential as sources of food and clothing. Thus the creatures of the field and forest, which both sustained life and threatened it, quite naturally became part of the barbarians' religion. Animals, such as bears and wolves, were used to symbolize deities, and warriors often dressed as animals for ritual dances—as in the small bronze plaque above, which shows one spear-bearing warrior wearing a helmet decorated with horns, and the other a wolfskin. Another recurrent theme, that of man triumphing over beast, is illustrated in the plaque at the right, in which a hunter manages to hold his own against two fierce bears at once.
VIKING PLAQUE, SEVENTH CENTURY
ANGLO-SAXON BOX UD. SEVENTH CENTURY
A Passion For Warfare
The life of a barbarian, whether he was resisting inroads from other tribes or seeking new lands of his own, involved almost constant fighting. Virtually from the time a boy was born he was groomed to become a warrior. While Roman youths achieving manhood were given togas—symbols of citizenship in an orderly empire—barbarian boys, on coming of age.
Received their first weapons. This reliance on the force of arms left its mark on the face of Europe; it led to the fragmentation of the continent into hundreds of small, independent states, which were transformed into compact, self-sufficient strongholds that could be defended against conquest.
One such tribal skirmish is illustrated on the whalebone
Carving above, from the lid of a casket from Northumbria (the round object at center is part of the handle). Egill, a Norse folk hero known as the "master bowman of the North," defends his castle, showering arrows on attackers (left), who advance with shields and spears. One warrior has fallen (bottom, center), and over him a distraught woman weeps.
World History
