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Ibn Fadlan also offers a disturbing yet enlightening view of one specific funeral that involved human sacrifice—an enslaved girl who willingly chose to die alongside her master. This event sheds light on the intense beliefs surrounding honor and the afterlife in Nordic culture. As dramatic as it sounds, this type of practice was part of a systemic view of life and death intertwined with the values held by the Viking community.
A Complex Legacy
The traditional narrative surrounding Viking funerals emphasizes honor, grandeur, and, at times, brutal practices—all tied together by the essential role of food. Bread, not only a staple of survival, symbolizes nourishment for the journey ahead, acting as a historical thread linking modern humans to those long-deceased Nordic warriors.