How did viking liðs work?

¡Good evening!

When we get into the viking warfare world, we could speak for hours about the combat techniques, weapons, strategy and... about battle units!

While talking about this last subject, I realized (thanks to the guests that I had during the last centuries in Helheim) that people tend to pay more attention to big viking combat armies, (specially those that operated in the North-East of Europe during middle and the last years of IX century), than to liðs, and because of that and after talking to some relevant people who came here, I decided to take back this subject and introduce it today's post. 

First and so that you can get into the situation, I explain what a lið is: it is a group of warriors who swore under oath to a leader, who will provide them food, equipment and rewards for their services.
It was like a ancient form of an army, which was based in the temporary coalition (it depended on the length of the leader's campaign).
The size of this group is undetermined and it depended mostly on wealth and reputation of its leader (some liðs could be compounded by the crew of a pair of ships while others were bigger).  

Keeping in mind that our nordic fellows were not living in happy-go-lucky times, actually viking age (750 -1050) was really harsh, to find a loyal crew who was ready to go for dangerous raids was a great challenge for a leader. So that you can get an idea of what it felt like sailing in those days, I will show you a video of our friends Silver Wolf reenactment group from Russia, who are sailing in their own ship from Moesgard to Wolin and to whom I'll dedicate today's post:

"come to raid to England..." they said, "it will be fun..." they said... ¬¬*

To discover the secret to get lið loyal to its leader and which was united, we based our post in a study made by Ben Raffield (Simon Fraser University), Claire Greenlow (Simon Fraser University), Neil Price (Uppsala University) and Mark Collard (Aberdeen University), who provide us with anthropological and psychological point of view after consulting historical, literary, linguistic and textual sources.  

After saying this, I will start with the base of a lið's cohesion. 

Our experts mention that there are two keys to get a loyal and united group: 

1- Ingroup identification. We define as ingroup a social group that is different to other groups (outgroup) due to one or several traits, which can be genetically inherited or socially learnt (dialects, clothing, diet, skin color, music, values, beliefs and attitude). 

2- Indentity fusion. When the members of a group share those traits and can identify themselves with it, they are prone to see their colleagues as equals and feel connected to them to the point that they can establish almost kin relationships. 

Thanks to this, they will also pay attention to the way their group is dealt in comparison to other groups, make persona sacrifices for the group and be loyal when the group's integrity is in danger, that's to say, then will appear the  true cohesion.

Identity fusion can also take place when a world view is shared inside a group or when its members share experiences, specially the traumatic ones (that's why this fusion tends to take place in warfare and conflict groups). 

Silver Wolf reenactment group from Russia, "empathising and coming together" in Wolin's festival battle.  Photographer: Marcin Somerik

Identity fusion has a negative side too: the fact that its members could perceive their group as superior compared to other groups (and in extreme cases, they might think that it is invulnerable), and tis might bring them to take an extreme pro-group attitude, or don't trust or even be hostile to all those individuals who do not belong to their group (we could say that they might think: either you are IN MY GROUP or you are AGAINST MY GROUP).  

These two elements, ingroup identity and identity fusion, are crucial when creating a new group although it is not necessary that bouth take place for the sake of the group. For example, an individual could feel united to other individuals who went through the same experiences than he did, but it doesn't mean that he feels identified with them.

We believe that there two elements were also crucial in viking liðs, due to its members spend long periods living, traveling and fighting together, and this might contribute to develop a group identity through shared experiences. 

Kin bonds and pre-established social relationships were important to the formation of the lið. The reason is simple: kin groups were highly influential in Scandinavian social structures, not only as economic units but also as a unit skilled to manipulate loyalty networks and obligations to get their own goals. 

We can find an evindence that those bonds were there in rune stones like U209 and Sö 338 in Sweden (middle IX century), which make reference to individuals who served to the same retinue and also find more references in Egil Skallagrimssonar's saga, when Þórólfr goes to raid, and the sons of a friend of his father (Kari of Berdla) join him. 

Silver Wolf reenactment group from Russia

in Wolin's Festivalla battle. Photographer: Marcin Somerik

Nevertheless a lið's membership did not depend on the kin's bond or pre-established social relationships. 

In an excavation in Dublin, Ireland, they made  an isotope analysis of the bodies of four young males, who probably operated in the outskirts of Dublin before or during the foundation of a permanent settlement for ships in the middle of IX century. 

This analysis proved that two of those young males came from the North of Scandinavia, while the other two were from the North or West of Scotland. 

We can also find in historical sources like Sernu Lupi ad anlos (Wulfstan, XI century), that some Slav who were in England, escaped from their masters to join the viking war bands. 

This would also mean that lið's individuals came from different countries and because of that they might use a lingua france to communicate. 

Thanks to Wulfstan record, we can also see how inside the liðs there were people from different social position.

The fact that some Slavs who escaped from their masters joined the viking war bans proves that those groups accepted individuals who came from low classes. 

In Egil Skallagrimssonar's sage it is said that there was a high born man called Arinbjörn who provided with three ships for a raid expedition and took not only household members but also the sons of several local farmers. 

In a nutshell, we would say that heterogeneity in liðs was due to language, social and nationality matters. 

Silver Wolf reenactment group from Rusia. 

Photographer: Hammerheartart

Despite the travel and the warfare activities were associated mainly to men, there are evidences that sometimes women (it was not very usual) also collaborated in war, like the historician John Skylitzes indicates that women fought as a part of Rus' forces in 970. The Irish source Cogadh Gaedhel re Gallaibh mentions that a "fleet of Inghen Ruaidh" (red girl) operated against Munster in X century.  

Despite of this, it is still a very ambiguous subject due to the available evidences that we can find nowadays, do not allow us to conclude that women participated on a daily basis on raids and warfare, which would have increased the heterogeneity of liðs.

Previously when I mentioned briefly the ingroup identity inside those processes we could include the adoption of specific cultural material like, for example, the liðs equipment. 

Besides finding archeological records and writing sources that can prove this fact, we must keep in mind that generally it was the elite groups who provided the members of the liðs with equipment (clothing, shields, weapons,...) so that they could distinguish they colleagues and promote the cohesion in the group and its unit. 

An homogeneous equipment is crucial

Silver Wolf reenactment group from Russia

Photographer: Millarca

Sometimes the standard and the artifacts employed in the battlefield, besides contributing in the identification and cooperation of the group, also promoted pro-group behaviors during the conflict, or even were perceived as talismans that might bring luck to the group. For example, it was said that the carrier of Haraldr Sigurðarson's standard “Land Waster”, will always be victorious in the battlefield.

Probably, before joining to a lið, an individual had to present certain conditions like taking an oath.

Keeping in mind that a lið's structure was determined by the direct master relationship between servants and their masters, it is probable that the oath taking might take place during the group formation and the initiation of new members. 

Those oaths were useful to create strong obligation and loyalty bonds between individuals, who without it might not be bond and the cohesion of the group might not be so strong.

Silver Wolf group from Russia

This oath was made with a big ring which was taken with one hand by the master and the servant or by taking the sword handle of the leader. 

Another kind of oath might also be required. There are references of blood oaths, for example, which can be found in Gísla saga Súrssonar and in Gesta Danorum of Saxo Gramático.

Despite oaths might have created and kept powerful bonds between the members of a lið, there were other features that were also influential. For example, it is possible that the members of the group might have to take certain ideology, including religion and belief rituals. For example it was suggested that Odin's cult, a got strongly associated with shape-changing, shamanic skills and war, was linked to the identity of certain groups of warriors during viking age. At least, some of those groups seem to belong to the warrior class depicted in sources as Berserkers (berserkir and ulhednar - “bare shirt” and “wolf pelt”). 

In the case of berserkir and ulfhednar it is suggested that the idetification with an ingroup warrior might have depended on certain physical and psychological traits. Either it was or not, they were associated to Odin, we must not take out the possibility that those groups really believed that they had the ability to change their shape or the possibility that others saw them visually as if they were in a transformation process in the battleship. If this was the case, to have this "ability" might have contributed to a well-defined ingroup identity and presumably with strict limits when it comes to be part of this group.
Any ideological aspect or identity ritual of the ingroup might contribute to a potencial bigger to the identity fusion, which at the same time, might have been strengthened by the combat experiences shared and the participation in common rituals. If it was so, then those norms of mutual strengthening might have created the invulnerability perceptions and the pro-group attitudes and behavior.

After showing you the main ideas of the article, "Ingroup identification, identity fusion and the formation of Viking war bands" de Ben Raffield, Claire Greenlow, Neil Price and Mark Collard, I hope that I have contributed to provide you with a better understanding of the key points that contributed to keep a lið together and how were the individuals that composed it. 

"Ingroup identification, identity fusion and the formatiion of Viking war bands" of Ben Raffield, Claire Greenlow, Neil Price y Mark Collard

 Silver Wolf   reenactment group.

Marcin Somerik Photography

Millarca and Hammerheartart photos.