Did Vikings have tattoos? There's no hard evidence that tattoos were commonplace in the Viking age. Because skin is so fragile, it almost never survives in burials.
The travel and seafaring of Vikings across Europe dates back to the eighth century and it's known that Viking tattoos appeared at least in the 10th century. In addition, since tattoos in this period were considered mainly for warriors, it's likely that Vikings got them before battles and after their wins.
The tattoos were dark green figures of trees and symbols. It is likely, however, that the tattoos were probably dark blue, a color that comes from using wood ash to dye the skin.
Did they actually have tattoos though? It is widely considered fact that the Vikings and Northmen in general, were heavily tattooed. However, historically, there is only one piece of evidence that mentions them actually being covered in ink.
Julius Caesar reports, in his account of the Gallic Wars from 54BC, that the Picts – a people with whom the Vikings would have come into contact – wore elaborate designs on their skin. They could have been paintings or tattoos but the visual effect would have been the same.
The bras were often made of metal and until now scientists had thought they were used as collar-bone protection. But it is now clear these pads were worn much further down by female Vikings, according to the work in Birka, Sweden's oldest Viking centre.
To date, the earliest-known tattoos are on the body of Otzi the Iceman, dating to around 3370–3100 BCE, and depict geometric shapes.
Other early examples of tattoos can be traced back to the Middle Kingdom period of ancient Egypt. Several mummies exhibiting tattoos have been recovered that date to around that time (2160–1994 BCE). In early Greek and Roman times (eighth to sixth century BCE) tattooing was associated with barbarians.
"The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in.
The oldest documented tattoos belong to Otzi the Iceman, whose preserved body was discovered in the Alps between Austria and Italy in 1991. He died around 3300 B.C., says Jablonski, but the practice of inserting pigment under the skin's surface originated long before Otzi.
On the left side, he had various symbols that represented his warrior spirit and the interdependence of all things in life. He also had a Viking ship head, representing the Vikings' spirit of adventure, and a Yggdrasil, a mythical tree in Norse cosmology that connects the Nine Worlds (also known as the tree of life).
Similar knotwork designs are also featured in Celtic tattoos. Since the Norwegian Vikings established significant settlements and then Kingdoms in Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man, it makes sense that their art should feature similar patterns. These days, Norse and Celtic tattoos are almost interchangeable.
The hair also had to be styled right. “From picture sources we know that the Vikings had well-groomed beards and hair. The men had long fringes and short hair on the back of the head," she says, adding that the beard could be short or long, but it was always well-groomed. Further down on the neck, the skin was shaved.
There is very little evidence that Norsemen ever shaved any part of their heads. One early 11th century Anglo-Saxon letter that says the Danes wore their hair “with bared necks and blinded eyes”, which suggests long in the front and either braided or shaved in back.
In Viking society, women wore their hair long as a sign of status and to be appreciated for its beauty. Naturally, these hard-working women tied their hair back, braided it, or wore it up to keep it out of their way while they worked the loom or performed their other daily tasks.
The events of 1066 in England effectively marked the end of the Viking Age. By that time, all of the Scandinavian kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe.
It turns out most Vikings weren't as fair-haired and blue-eyed as legend and pop culture have led people to believe. According to a new study on the DNA of over 400 Viking remains, most Vikings had dark hair and dark eyes.
The Viking trained their what Shaul calls their “tactical or combat chassis”—legs, hips, and core—daily. They did this by farming (lifting heavy stuff), shipbuilding (chopping trees), and rowing (strengthening legs, arms, and lungs).
Vikings worked long hours, carrying, and using heavy equipment which contributed to the formation of muscles, even from an early age. Another reason for the significant strength of the Vikings was their diet. Vikings were mostly hunters, not gatherers, due to their cold, harsh environment.
Today they're common everywhere from Maori communities in New Zealand to office parks in Ohio. But in the ancient Middle East, the writers of the Hebrew Bible forbade tattooing. Per Leviticus 19:28, “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves.”
There's actually no evidence of Celtic tattooing, according to Anna Felicity Friedman, a tattoo historian who runs a blog called TattooHistorian. In fact, while people in other parts of the world have been tattooing themselves for thousands of years, the practice only came to Ireland in the last century.
Typically, tattooing was associated with lower classes (criminals, slaves and gladiators) as well as Thracian (Southeastern Indo-European tribe) infantry. Additionally, tribal warriors of the British Isles embraced the practice of tattooing.
The first tattoos ever produced were simply in black ink, as they were made from ash and soot being placed under the skin. The first colour tattoos didn't actually come around until after the ancient Egyptians were tattooing.
Zilhao explains that "age, sex, family, clan affiliation, status" and more can all be communicated by things like jewelry and tattoos, which Neanderthals are also believed to have sported.