Food, Diet, and Nutrition in the Viking Age (2024)

The best available guess is that Norse people primarily ate agriculturalproducts raised on their own farms: meat from cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, goats, and poultry; cereals, such as barley, rye, oats, and (rarely)wheat; dairy produce, such as milk from cows, sheep, or goats,as well as cheese and butter; vegetables, such as peas, beans,cabbage, onions, and an assortment of herbs; and wild fruits,such as apples, pears, cherries, and berries. Many foods commonly consumed today were unknown, such as corn (maize), potatoes, and sugar; the only available sweetener was wild honey.

To these foods would be added whatever could be hunted, captured,or gathered. Along coastal regions, and near rivers and lakes, fish were a staplepart of the diet. Fish were caught with hook and line from small boats. (Two 10^th century fish hooks are shown to the left.) On lakes or streams, nets were used as well.

Saga evidence suggests the importance of fishing. Laxdæla saga (ch. 14) mentions a fishing station at Bjarneyjar, and the author says that at the time of the saga, people went there in great numbers and that some stayed year-round.

It's likely that fish was the most importantfood wherever there was a concentration of people, such as intrading towns, or at the annual Alþing assembly. The fish from Þingvallavatn (right), the lake adjacent to the Alþing site, provided the food needed for the thousand or so people who attended the assembly.

Some sources suggest thatwhales were driven ashore by Norsem*n in their ships, wherethey were killed, providing a bounteous harvest for an entiresettlement.

More probably, Norsem*n simply took advantage of dead or weakened whales thatwashed ashore. The picture to the left is an illumination that appears in the Jónsbók manuscript. It shows men flensing a whale on the shore.

Wild animals were hunted for food, using either spears,or bow and arrow. These include deer, bear, boar, and elk, aswell as smaller game such as rabbits. In the far north, sealsand walruses were hunted, not only for the meat, but also forthe skins which were especially valuable.

Sea birds (right) and their eggs (left) were also a part of the Norse diet. Norsem*n harvested both the eggs and the birds from the cliffs on whichthe birds nested by swinging down from the top of the cliff on ropes.

A variety of birds and their eggs were collected and consumed. The great auk (Pinguinus), a large, meaty, flightless bird now extinct, was an important part of the diet in Viking-age Iceland, based on excavated bones.

Somewild plants were probably consumed because of the medicinal qualities they wereknown to possess. For instance, the leaves of scurvy-grass (Cochlearia officinalis, shownleft) were known tohelp prevent one's teeth from falling out, one of the symptoms of scurvy(vitamin C deficiency). The plant is mentioned in the stories (for instance,chapter 73 of Grettis saga), but its medicinal properties are not, makingme wonder if it wasn't until later in the medieval period that the beneficialproperties became known. The stories do suggest that scurvy (skyrbjúgr) was known to sailors in the Viking age (chapter 4 of Þorsteins saga hvíta).

Dulse (Palmaria palmata) is a red alga that can be easily harvested from shore, dried, and stored for long periods (right). It's delicious and is an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals.

Meatand fish were preserved by smoking. Whilesome excavated Viking-age farms appear to have had dedicatedsmokehouses, such as the farm at Granastaðir in north Iceland, the upper reaches of the longhouse may have been smoky enough to do the job. Smoked lamb hanging from the kitchen beams in the longhouse at Eiríksstaðir is shown to the left. Despite its thoroughly unappetizing appearance, the meat is delicious.

Another methods of preservation is drying. The photo on the right shows fish dryingoutdoors in an open shed in modern Iceland. The dry, cold wind removesthe moisture and preserves the fish before it can spoil.

Cooked meats were preserved in vats of sour whey (súrr). The lactic acid in the sour liquid prevented the meat from spoiling. Large vats found in some Viking age house sites held preserved meat in sour whey, as well as other stored dairy products. The photo shows a reconstructed dairy vat at the house at Stöng in south Iceland. Comparing the size of the hand bucket on the table to the dairy vat partially set into the ground gives a sense for the size of these vats and the large quantities of stored foodstuffs they could hold.

Salting meats to preserve them was known, but appears to have been much less commonly used in the Viking age than these other methods.

The most common method for cooking food was by boiling it. Meat was sometimes prepared by boiling it in a wood-lined pit. A pit was dug and lined with wood. Meat and water were placed in the pit, and hot stones were dropped in to bring the temperature up to boiling. More hot stones could be added as needed to keep the liquid hot. The liquid was seasoned with whatever spices and herbs might be available.

Eyrbyggja saga (chapter 54) tells that the farm at Fróðá (shown to theright as it appears today) was troubled by ghosts, who came to thefire-room of the house and drove away the living residents of the house.As a result, they had neither light nor heated stones nor any of theother comforts of the fire to which they were accustomed. Hot stones were not only used for cooking, but also for drying and for warming. Thus, many longhouses had means to heat stones. The outdoor firepit at Vatnsfjörður used for heating stones is shown to the left.

Meat could also be roasted on a spit. The sketch shows a spit found in Norway, with an elaborate handle, allowing the meat to be turned as it roasted over the fire. The spit probably rested on forked sticks on either side of the fire.

[Update: These decorated iron rods, long thought to be for cooking, have been re-interpreted as being the magic wands of the völva, the Viking-age seeress.]

Morecommonly, food was boiled in soapstone or iron cauldrons. A reproduction Norse era cauldronis shown to the left. Cauldrons were constructed from a number of thin iron plates riveted together to form the pot.

The photo to the right shows a modern replica inuse, suspended from a tripod over an outdoor camp fire. The cauldron holds astew made of pork, cabbage, leeks, and spices. Underneath it, flatbread cooks on a skillet.

The iron tripod shown in the photograph was probably not a common itemin the Viking age. A tripod of that nature would only have seen usewhile traveling, since at home, other means were used to suspend thecauldron. It would not have been economical for a Viking-age family totie up that much costly iron in a tripod that only saw occasional use. More likely, wooden saplings were cut to form a tripod as needed while traveling.

At home, the cauldron was suspended over the central firepit by an ironchain or hooks that hung from one of the overhead house beams. Hangingcauldrons are shown in the hall at Eiríksstaðir (left) and at Stöng(right). At Eiríksstaðir, flatbread is being cooked on a skillet inthe fire below the cauldron.

The pot-chains and kettles had other uses, too. Reykdæla saga ogVíga-Skútu (chapter 28) says that Skúta placed a kettle and pot-chainsabove his bed. The chain was arranged so that if anyone entered hisbed-closet while he was sleeping, the chain would fall into the kettle,making enough noise to wake him. The trick saved his life, until hisenemies discovered the mechanism and silenced the pot-chains.

The medieval Icelandiclawbook Grágás (K 246) states the standard dimensions of an ironcauldron: a weight of half a load (40 pounds, or 18kg) with a capacity of eightbucketfuls (7.5 gallons, or 30 liters). The thickness of the iron required would havebeen nearly 1/4 inch (about 6mm). That much iron would have represented a smalltreasure in the Norse era, so cauldrons this large couldn't have been common.

Typical cauldrons found from theNorse era are smaller than this standard. However, in chapter 145 of Brennu-Njáls saga, Sölviwas boiling meat in a cauldron at the Alþing. The cauldron was big enough that whenHallbjörn picked him up and plunged him head first into the boiling cauldron, Sölviwas killed instantly.

Foodwas also prepared by roasting insoapstone pots. While clay pottery (left) was known in Norse lands, almost no brokenpotshards have been found, as in other parts of Europe. Pottery was probably a poorly developed craft in Norse lands, and soapstone must have been used almost exclusively. Some lands, such as Iceland, had little clay available suitable for pottery, making it even less likely that clay pottery was commonly used.

Soapstone has the advantage that it can be pierced, allowing it to suspended by iron hooks over the fire. Additionally, if broken or cracked, soapstone can be repaired with iron staples, unlike pottery.

Reproductions of two different utensils for frying food are shown in the photo to the right. The gridiron (on the right in the photo) was used for cooking meat or fish over an open fire. The pan of the griddle (on the left in the photo) is fixed to the handle with a single rivet, so it rotates at the end of the handle. At one time, it was thought that this allowed the pan to be rotated in the fire, allowing more even cooking. While the rotating pan does allow more even cooking, that suggestion has been partially discredited by finds in which the pan is fixed to the handle with two rivets, preventing the pan from rotating.

Bread was typically made from unleavened barley flour ground in stone querns (left). The handle of the quern was used to rotate the top stone over the bottom stone, grinding the grain between the stones. In Iceland, lava querns were used, which produced finer flour. Stone chips from querns have been found in recovered flour, so the bread must have madefor a gritty repast.

The bread dough shown to the right was made from stone ground wheat, barley, oat, and rye flours, mixed with whey, honey, and nuts. The dough would then be flattened and cooked on a flat pan over the coals of an open fire (left). The bread would have been eaten warm, since such loaves turn rock hard when cooled.

(Our bread recipe can be downloadedhere, in the Hurstwic on-line library.)

Norsefamilies ate two meals per day: dagverðr at mid-morning,and náttverðr in the evening. Most familieshad a table of some sort, and wealthy families used a linen tablecloth.Meats were served on wooden trenchers and eaten with one's personalknife. Stews, porridge, and similar items were served in woodenbowls and eaten with wooden or horn spoons (right). A reproduction of a wooden serving bowl is shown to the left. Shells were used for ladles and spatulas.

Coldbeverages were consumed from wooden cups or (especially for feasts) from drinking horns. Modern replicas areshown to the left. Cups made from metals such as copper or silver were also used. Evidence for the horn cups shown in the photographs is slight.

While glass drinking vessels are known to have been used, their cost must have limited them to only the wealthiest of families. The glass beaker shown to the right predates the Viking age, but resembles glass beakers from the Viking age. It was found in Valsgärde in Sweden.

Autumnwas the season when the greatest variety of foodstuffs wereavailable. It was when freshly slaughtered meat was most available, when freshvegetables and grains were available, and when imported foodstuffs were mostabundant. Feasts and celebrations were planned for the fall to take advantage ofthis abundance and variety. The image to the right depicts the variety of foodavailable in York during the Norse era and includes fish, small game, vegetables, nuts,and fruit.

There is nothing to indicate that poor quality food or cookerywas accepted in the Norse era. Spices were available and wereused, not to disguise the taste of food gone bad, as is commonlythought, but to enhance the flavor of food. Based on current knowledge, it isquite possible that a varied and nourishing diet was available. But there is insufficient data to say how much of the populationwas able to take advantage of such a diet.