Sunday 'learn something new' day

among the literate.

Sure, it describes my former boss (since fired, after I retired - he was a lunatic) It's my understanding that the term meant "Bare chested" or "without armor" in the original language. But that could be wrong.

-- John The history of things that didn't happen has never been written. . - - - Henry Kissinger

Wasn't there a regiment( in some body's army) nick named 'The Bezerkers' or was that a heavy metal group from the lost files of my memory? Mike IPMS

comic book is ringing in the black hole i use for memory.

was that a heavy metal group from the lost files of my memory?>>

Could have been a metal band as well, who knows, but you are correct about the warrior version, hence the term 'berserk'. They were quite the rowdy lot, essentially the worst thugs in existence, but loosely banded together to form an army in what is now Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I believe they were the precursors to the Vikings.

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. --Leonardo Da Vinci

i thought they were vikings, a nut cult that got high and loved to kill. like that guy they called the baby lover. loved to toss them in the air and catch them on a spear.

Proper spelling based on the root is berserk from the ON berserkr, yes it is where the modern word and meaning of berserk come from. Ignore the "without armor" comment as berserk was really more a state of mind but true berserks disdained armor when "in the fit"....thought to possibly be drug induced and of a fanatic cult of Odin, the berserks often literally foamed at the mouth, chewed their shield rims before engaging the enemy and fought with insane aggression (note with little thought given to self defense as it was believed iron would not bite them). Berserks could be as dangerous to their own side if they won the battle too quickly.

Some records say berserks often wore the Valknut and/or plaited their hair >

That is the most common declension of the word for bare but the word for bear (bjarnar) can also decline to the prefix "ber" so it is possible it means bear-shirt or bear hide cloak.

a little bird told me that was key-rect.

Nope, last period mention of a berserkr is at the battle of Stamford Bridge in September, 1066, commonly referred to as the end of the Viking Era.

dummies were over confident and didn't take armor or all the boys.

And then a Berzerker ate it... ;-)

It was more a case of expecting to take hostages from the Earls of Nothumbria and not having the intel that Harold Godwinsson had done the unthinkable and marched the main levy the length of England in so short a time. They'd still slaugtered the English the week before a Fulford Gate and might have won at Stamford Bridge had it not been for the English archers, they still gave quite a good account of themselves and one man held the bridge for a good while (killed 27 or 28 armored Englishmen before they managed to kill him from a boat with a spear). That one man was Gunnar Geirrodson, normally a cool, collected warrior who went "berserk" on the bridge.

sounds right..

A mythical ancient warrior that he caled "The Berserker" was the subject of a Frank Frazetta painting as well. ;~)

My home page:

" In walks the village idiot and his face is all aglow; he's been up all night listening to Mohammad's radio" W. Zevon

ah frank, a hero from my boyhood.

Yeah, Frank is the coolest. I've got a few prints framed; is he still in business? tia

The Keeper (of too much crap)

i think so, the furniture guys, joe and ed mentioned him a couple of years ago. stuff is damned expensive.

Ya lost me, who?

I bought these prints years ago, they were affordable. Now the originals I can imagine would be higher than giraffe balls. tia,

The Keeper (of too much crap)