Michael Crichton - Eaters of the Dead

Cantrell also notes that “in practice, we know that divination, spellcasting, and other shamanistic functions were reserved to elderly women in Norse society. Furthermore, popular ideas of women contained a heavy element of suspicion. According to the Harvamal , ‘No one should trust the words of a girl or a married woman, for their hearts have been shaped on a turning wheel and they are inconstant by nature.’ ”

Bendixon says, “Among the early Scandinavians there was a kind of division of power according to sex. Men ruled physical affairs; women, psychological matters.”

[40]This is a paraphrase of a sentiment among the Northmen, expressed fully as: “Praise not the day until evening has come; a woman until she is burnt; a sword until it is tried; a maiden until she is married; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk.” This prudent, realistic, and somewhat cynical view of human nature and the world was something the Scandinavians and the Arabs shared. And like the Scandinavians, the Arabs often express it in mundane or satiric terms. There is a Sufi story about a man who asked a sage: “Suppose I am traveling in the countryside and must make ablutions in the stream. Which direction do I face while performing the ritual?” To this the sage replies: “In the direction of your clothes, so they won’t be stolen.”

[41]In the Faeroe Islands of Denmark, a similar method of scaling cliffs is still practiced to gather bird eggs, an important source of food to the islanders.

[42]This description of the physical features of the wendol has sparked a predictable debate. See Appendix .

[43] Lectulus .

[44] Fenestra porcus : literally, “pig window.” The Norsemen used stretched membranes instead of glass to cover narrow windows; these membranes were translucent. One could not see much through them, but light would be admitted into houses.

[45]This section of the manuscript is pieced together from the manuscript of Razi, whose chief interest was military techniques. Whether or not Ibn Fadlan knew, or recorded, the significance of Buliwyf’s reappearance is unknown. Certainly Razi did not include it, although the significance is obvious enough. In Norse mythology, Odin is popularly represented as bearing a raven on each shoulder. These birds bring him all the news of the world. Odin was the principal deity of the Norse pantheon and was considered the Universal Father. He ruled especially in matters of warfare; it was believed that from time to time he would appear among men, although rarely in his godlike form, preferring to assume the appearance of a simple traveler. It was said that an enemy would be scared away simply by his presence.

Interestingly, there is a story about Odin in which he is killed and resurrected after nine days; most authorities believe this idea antedates any Christian influence. In any case, the resurrected Odin was still mortal, and it was believed that he would someday finally die.

[46]The classic popular account of Evans and Schliemann is C. W. Ceram (Kurt W. Marek), Gods, Graves, and Scholars , Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1967.

[47]M. I. Finley, The World of Odysseus , Viking Press, New York, 1965.

[48]Lionel Casson, The Ancient Mariners, Sea Farers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times , Macmillan, New York, 1959.

[49]Among the many discussions of Viking society for the general reader, see: D. M. Wilson, The Vikings , London, 1970; J. Brondsted, The Vikings , London, 1965; P. Sawyer, The Age of the Vikings , London, 1962; P. G. Foote and D. M. Wilson, The Viking Achievement , London, 1970. Some of these references quote passages from Ibn Fadlan’s manuscript.

[50]To my knowledge there are still only two principal sources in English. The first is the text fragments I read as an undergraduate: Robert Blake and Richard Frye, “The Vikings Abroad and at Home,” in Carleton S. Coon, A Reader in General Anthropology , Henry Holt and Co., New York, 1952, pp. 410-416. The second source is Robert P. Blake and Richard N. Frye, “Notes on the Risala of Ibn-Fadlan,” Byzantina Metabyzantina , 1949, v.1 part 2, New York, pp. 7-37. I am grateful to Professor Frye for his assistance during the first publication of this book, and this recent revision.

[51]For trends in post-modern academic thought, see, for example, Pauline Marie Rosenau, Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads, and Intrusions , Princeton, New Jersey, 1992; and H. Aram Veser, ed., The New Historicism , Routledge, New York, 1989.