Norse 'Berserker' warriors

[zerozero]

Berserker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berserkers (or berserks) were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested to in numerous Old Norse sources. Most historians believe that berserkers worked themselves into a rage before battle, but some think that they might have consumed drugged foods.

This fury, which was called berserkergang, occurred not only in the heat of battle, but also during laborious work. Men who were thus seized performed things which otherwise seemed impossible for human power. This condition is said to have begun with shivering, chattering of the teeth, and chill in the body, and then the face swelled and changed its colour. With this was connected a great hot-headedness, which at last gave over into a great rage, under which they howled as wild animals, bit the edge of their shields, and cut down everything they met without discriminating between friend or foe. When this condition ceased, a great dulling of the mind and feebleness followed, which could last for one or several days.[8]

Some scholars believe certain examples of berserker rage to have been induced voluntarily by the consumption of drugs such as the hallucinogenic mushroom Amanita muscaria.[9] or massive amounts of alcohol.[10] 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 genetics.[11]
Jonathan Shay, MD, makes an explicit connection between the berserker rage of soldiers and the hyperarousal of post-traumatic stress disorder. In Achilles in Vietnam he writes:
If a soldier survives the berserk state, it imparts emotional deadness and vulnerability to explosive rage to his psychology and permanent hyperarousal to his physiology — hallmarks of post-traumatic stress disorder in combat veterans. My clinical experience with Vietnam combat veterans prompts me to place the berserk state at the heart of their most severe psychological and psychophysiological injuries.[12]

 

[Shogun]

 

[dennis roadman]

beat me to it

 

[Mowgli]

Bezerk on this.

 

[zerozero]

do you guys think they were on drugs or just adrenaline? I guess they had some sort of religious rituals going on and the costumes and screaming and sh1t that kinda made them think a bit differently

 

[dennis roadman]

do you guys think they were on drugs or just adrenaline? I guess they had some sort of religious rituals going on and the costumes and screaming and sh1t that kinda made them think a bit differently

pure speculation obviously, but there's a lotta ways to get that amped

imagine ray lewis, but instead of going to play a violent game, he's going to fight for his life

some dudes are just built for that.

i had a roommate in college who was one of those wrestling, rowing, rugby playing dudes. one time he was so frustrated because his girl kept hiding the puss from him that he went into the bathroom and started going off in a gorilla-like rage full of hysterical laughing and screaming. he ran outta the apt and ran thru the woods for about 3 miles. he came back with thorns and sticks all in his hair and shyt and was just like a robot. didn't even really recall it either, my other roommate was filming and dude was when he saw himself on film.

 

[The Real]

Bezerk on this.

They probably would have. With two axes.

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

Wouldn't surprise me if they were on Amanita Muscaria. If you're an expert fighter/warrior/murderer shrooms increase visual acuity and a bunch of other shyt and could allow you to focus in and enter bullet time.

 

[Mowgli]

They probably would have. With two axes.

They're alot more dangerous when they're urban legends.

 

[The Real]

They're alot more dangerous when they're urban legends.

Berserkers were real. We just don't know the specific mechanism behind them. Regardless, vikings had the entirety of Europe shook when they were at their peak and conquered most of it, too.

 

[dennis roadman]

 

[The Real]

Valhalla Rising Trailer - YouTube

This movie could have been way better, but that dude Mads Mikkelsen is a beast.

 

[Dirty_Jerz]

do you guys think they were on drugs or just adrenaline? I guess they had some sort of religious rituals going on and the costumes and screaming and sh1t that kinda made them think a bit differently

edit: nm

 

[Mowgli]

Berserkers were real. We just don't know the specific mechanism behind them. Regardless, vikings had the entirety of Europe shook when they were at their peak and conquered most of it, too.

That wasnt hard in those times. Everyone took a piece out of them.

 

[Shogun]

if I'm not mistaken the only accounts we have of these dudes is from their enemies. Not the most trustworthy source