If you read what I wrote you should realize that it's not self-praise.
I'm not saying Scandinavians where smarter then any other people - I'm saying our physical situation forced us to avoid violence for conflict resolution and taught us to value all individuals more then in parts of the world where resources and people where more abundant.
If your society is short of people it doesn't make any sense in killing the few who are left.
From historical records we can see the same logic play out all over Europe during the plague - executions almost ceased completely because so many people died society couldn't afford to put anyone alive to death.
Also wages increased and taxes where lowered as there was a massive manpower shortage.
With fewer people around each individuals value increases - it's basic economics.
And using a saga to interpret true Viking life is like trying to use The Sopranos to interpret contemporary life in the US.
The sagas contain historical details yes, but they where primarily action filled stories told over the camp fire - they are not true depictions of every day life in Viking society.
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@extrablue
If you read what I wrote you should realize that it's not self-praise.
I'm not saying Scandinavians where smarter then any other people - I'm saying our physical situation forced us to avoid violence for conflict resolution and taught us to value all individuals more then in parts of the world where resources and people where more abundant.
If your society is short of people it doesn't make any sense in killing the few who are left.
From historical records we can see the same logic play out all over Europe during the plague - executions almost ceased completely because so many people died society couldn't afford to put anyone alive to death.
Also wages increased and taxes where lowered as there was a massive manpower shortage.
With fewer people around each individuals value increases - it's basic economics.
And using a saga to interpret true Viking life is like trying to use The Sopranos to interpret contemporary life in the US.
The sagas contain historical details yes, but they where primarily action filled stories told over the camp fire - they are not true depictions of every day life in Viking society.