Bente’s morning began bright and early, as she rose with the sun. After a brisk shower, she returned to her room and dressed. She pulled a bright pink turtleneck over her head, followed by her favorite gray knotted-wool ski sweater. Its thick, coarse hairs did itch at her neck, but it always kept her warm and toasty.
When she arrived downstairs, she found her mother and father sitting at the kitchen table. Father was getting ready for work while mother was eating toast and purple jam. Bente toasted a few pieces of bread and joined them.
“May I have the grape jelly?”
“It’s juniper berry jam,” said her mother.
“Oh. Do we have any grape jelly?”
Mrs. Larsen shook her head. Bente reluctantly spread the jam on her her toast. Unlike the sweetness of grape jelly, juniper berry jam was tart.. Even after a few bites, the sharp taste stung the tip of her tongue. On the second piece, she opted only for butter, sprinkling it lightly with sugar and cinnamon.
“Do you need a ride to school?” asked father.
“It all depends on Erik. Where is he?”
“I hear the shower. He should be down at any time.”
At twenty ‘til, Bente toasted two pieces of bread and prepared them with cinnamon and sugar. At fifteen ‘til, Erik rumbled downstairs. He pulled on his galoshes and tugged on his slicker, a waterproof, weatherproof raincoat. Bente picked up his backpack and handed him his breakfast.
“I need something to drink.”
“Here,” said mother as she handed him her glass of milk.
“I can still take you to school,” offered father.
“We’ll be fine,” said Bente.
Erik quickly ate and drank before they rushed out the door. He ran along as Bente strode quickly down the city sidewalks, through the village, and up to the playground behind the Barneskole.
The old building was three stories high. It had a cottage-style roof with four chimneys evenly spaced over four bay windows that overlooked the playground.
Bente shooed Erik along, handing him his backpack as he went. Chilren were lined up by their grade. Erik went to the first grade line. Bente joined her classmates in the fourth grade line. Just as she did, the school bell rang. They all filed in, youngest to oldest. Erik waved to his sister as he disappeared into the large red building. Soon, Bente followed.
Mr. Hagen, Bente’s fourth grade teacher, waited at his desk while the children filed in. They took off their hats and coats and placed them upon the coat hooks at the back of the room. There were twelve large lab tables sitting in four files of three. Bente sat in the back row, directly in front of Mr. Hagen’s desk.
“Alright, children, quiet down. We have a lot to discuss today. Let’s start with the Goths.”
A collective groan came from the class.
“This is one of the most important parts of Norwegian history.”
The children obediently opened their textbooks while he went to the chalkboard. He pulled down the map of Europe and then pulled down the plastic overlay.
Meanwhile, Bente daydreamed. She looked at images of Vikings and longboats across the top of Mr. Hagen’s chalkboard. The Vikings had horned helmets and wolf-pelt vests, just like the ones her father had talked about the Vikings not having them.
Bente raised her hand.
“Yes, Bente?”
“I have a question about Vikings.”
“Yes?”
“Your pictures…my father says those are true the true Vikings. The true Vikings were farmers and fishermen. Is that true?”
“It is and it isn’t. Farmers played a very important part in all of Europe’s changing landscape. As people’s learned to farm, they became settlers. At the same time, they were discovering metalwork. They created tools like metal shoves and rakes.”
“If they were farmers, why did they become raiders?”
“As with all things involving money, people don’t always play by the same rules. Some Vikings became raiders and invaders. These invaders, of course, became more famous than the hundreds of trading farmers of their day.”
Mrs Hagen went over to the bookshelf and picked up a crucifix – the common Christian cross and twisted it in her hand.
“This is when it all happened.”
“What?”
“Late in the Eighth Century of the Common Era, in 793, the Vikings arrived at a monastery in the British Isles. They arrived on a longboat called a ‘Man o’ War’. The monks were in awe of these great sea vessels.”
“What did the monks do?”
“What could the monks do? They didn’t have weapons of any kind. They were a quiet people, like the most peaceful of priests – devoted only to their God.”
“Did the Vikings trade with them?”
“Not at all. They raided the island, taking everything they could. They also massacred the monks and ransacked their monastery, taking everything of any value. Before that, very few people knew the Vikings.”
“And after that?”
“After that, everyone knew about the Vikings. Back then, there were very little people who could read or write. The monks, on the other hand, were the ones who wrote books. The monks thought it was an outrage to have their monastery plundered and burnt to the ground.”
“They were awful.”
“Some were awful, but there are also some Vikings that did good, too. The ancient explorers like Eric the Red and Leif Ericson took their Viking ships across the Atlantic to the New World – discovering Vinland, which is now part of North America.”
“Weren’t they Vikings, too?”
“Of course they were. The word has become associated with one people, but they were an advanced society. Those longboats used ideas that shipbuilders still use and marvel at today.”
“Like?”
“Like the way it was constructed. The Norse laid out a keel – that’s this bottom rib of the ship. Then they added clinkers. That’s the long planks that run along beside the keel, from bow to stern.”
“What’s so special about that?”
“The keel helped the ship go in a straight line. This was all fastened together with rivets instead of nails. The rivets, tiny metal bolts, were inserted into the joints while still hot. Then, the ends were struck with a sledge. This created a molded nail that was secure on both sides of the ship.”
Mr. Hagen sketched three views of a longboat on the chalkboard: one from above and one from the side.”
“See the shape of longboats? They’re long and narrow,. That allows the boat skim over the water. That also allowed the boats to go right up to the shore, just like a canoe. They’re magnificent things, really, these wave-walkers.”
The children, including the always-inquisitive Bente, were left speechless. Mr. Hagen looked down at his textbook. He’d spend well over an hour talking about Vikings and longboats. He had fallen further behind in his lesson. He picked up an eraser and wiped the board clean.
“Let’s get back to the Goths. Their rise in historical importance came seventeen centuries ago, around 244 of the Common Era. A horde of barbarians called the Huns, came from China and Mongolia in the east. Led by a warrior named Atilla, the Huns plundered the Goth villages, just like the attacks in Viking tales.”
“China? Isn’t that far away for Norwegian history?”
“Bente, you have to learn that all things are connected, especially when it comes to history. At that time, the Goths were simple peasant farmers. They fled west into the Roman Empire. When they crossed the Danube River, the Emperor Valens allowed them safe passage. The Goths thought they were saved. However, the Emperor had different plans. He put the Goths in Roman farming prison camps. The Goths thought that they were farming for themselves. The Romans, however, took all the crops for themselves. Goths were forced to eat their hunting dogs and watch the old, young, and weak die.”
“That’s awful.”
“The Goths thought so, too. They became raiders, just like some of the barbaric Vikings did 400 years later. The Goths finally attacked the Romans near a city called Adrianople, in present day Turkey. The Goths overwhelmed the Romans, massacring them. After that decisive battle, many of the former farmers were now barbarians. There was a migration period – where these different barbaric tribes fought for territory and loot.”
Bente raised her hand.
“Yes, dear?”
What does this have to do with the Vikings?”
“Even though the Goths beat the Roman Army, they had no land. The new Roman emperor knew this, so he promised land in exchange for their military services. Unfortunately, this was another lie. Eventually, the Goths rose again against Rome. Meanwhile, the Huns who had devastated the Goths were now attacking the Romans, too. Eventually, the Goths split into two large tribes. One of those tribes invaded Italy. The other tribe, known as the Ostrogoths, migrated north and west, into Scandinavia. There are even thoughts that the Goths originated in Denmark, where I grew up.”
”So, maybe you’re an Ostrogoth,” suggested Bente.
“Who knows? Maybe I am. Like I said, when it comes to history, we’re all related.”
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