Víkingr is an old Norse word for a seafarer, whether engaged in trade, exploration, war, or simply travel, one who went to sea was víkingr. The term has no meaning beyond that of the terms, “woodcutter”, or “farmer”, or “herdsman”. Viking is an anglicized form of that word, created and used by the Christian Church to label and vilify the Norse who resisted submission to the Church and retaliated against oppression by the Church. My ancestors were not Vikings, though some were víkingr, just as some were woodcutters, farmers and herdsmen. Some were, perhaps, the villains of Christian stories, just as the Christians were the villains of their stories. The Church wrote the history of Europe, but the story they wrote is not the only story. The word “Viking” is a flag created by the Church and placed over my ancestor’s heads a thousand years past, and it is not a flag that I will wave. I am a Northern Tradition Pagan, I am Asatruar, I am not a Viking. I am not even a víkingr, I’ve only been to sea once in my life, on a ferry to Vancouver Island. If you are true to the Gods of your Norse/Germanic Ancestors, why wear a Christian label, why take up the yoke of vilification that was placed on our ancestors by a relatively new foreign cult? A Viking is a Christian boogyman, inspired by the Norse, yes, but it is not who they were.
~Goði Sam 14.11.2016
“Ásatrú is often called the religion of the ancient Vikings, however, while this is true, Ásatrú/Odinism has an organized history of about 8,000 years (confirmed by archeological findings). Its beginnings go far back into pre-history with evidence dating to 42,000 years ago, while the Vikings only lasted about 500 years.” - http://odin.org/intro.html