"Vikings Fought Barefoot to Avoid Slipping on the Battlefield"

Lush with an impressive mane and a thick beard that lends him an air of mystery and strength, Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen (Oslo, 52) appears dressed as a true 10th-century Viking, with a Thor's hammer pendant around his neck and holding an iron-forged knife, a replica of the legendary saxes his ancestors wielded. "I like to dress this way for photos and to illustrate the Viking era," reassures the Norwegian writer, who has come to Madrid in peace to present 'Vikings' (Espasa), the first Spanish edition of his historical novel saga (he has six other books), which narrates the fascinating Viking era through the life and adventures of Torstein Tordmodson.

In Norway in the year 993, at just 12 years old, Torstein witnesses the brutal murder of his father by foreigners who capture him and make him a slave until he escapes their yoke and is accepted by the Jomsvikings, a brotherhood of mercenaries with strict codes of honor. He lives and trains with them until he becomes their best warrior and the most feared man across all seas.

Translated into 13 languages (surprisingly not yet in English), the series has sold half a million copies, turning Bull-Hansen into a literary phenomenon in the Nordic countries, further fueled by his Viking history YouTube channel (with over 700,000 subscribers) and his status as a former Norwegian weightlifting champion.

The author, who lives with his wife and two children in a fjord in Fredrikstad, southern Norway, is a lover of Viking culture, which he has been researching for 30 years (he studied Economics but has always dedicated himself to literature). This has allowed him to document his novels extensively and debunk some beliefs that have reached us through popular series like 'Vikings' (Netflix). For instance, that women fought alongside men. "They were not warriors. Girls were taught fighting skills, but only as a sport; Vikings did not want to risk the next generation by placing women in combat. Men are expendable, women are not. Moreover, they were significantly shorter, measuring between 1.52 and 1.55 meters in height compared to the men's 1.70," he specifies.

According to Bull-Hansen, Vikings did not have tattoos on their bodies and faces (like the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok from 'Vikings' and his warriors), "nor were they as cruel as portrayed." They often fought barefoot to avoid slipping on the northern European battlefields, usually filled with water, snow, and ice. "Footwear lacked proper soles and they would slip, falling to the ground," he explains, showing the boots he wears, a replica of Viking ones, covered at the base with very thin leather.

Regarding the Blood Eagle, the ritual by which ancient Norse executed their worst enemies by opening their backs while still alive, separating their ribs, and pulling out their lungs, the author confesses he has "no historical evidence" that it was practiced, but admits it appears in one of his saga's novels. "There are things we don't know for sure and I've had to imagine them, which is why I've written a novel and not a historical essay," he indicates. He does confirm the natural relationship women had with sex, a practice they did not feel was taboo "or shameful" until the advent of Christianity.

Bull-Hansen maintains that Vikings not only reached America before Columbus, specifically Newfoundland, relatively close to Greenland, from where they set sail in search of wood and "iron stones," but also explored further south on the continent. "They had the best ships, they could do it and I am convinced they did, but I cannot prove it," he states. Although Spain does not appear in his saga, he assures there is Viking DNA "in many Spaniards" because the Norse sailed the Mediterranean.

Proud of his ancestors, passionate about their history, and a collector of Viking relics (he brought to Madrid a brooch used in dresses and a small tool for making fire), the author published in 2017 the book now released in Spain amidst the interest in an ancient culture and all the Norse mythology with its Valkyries, Valhalla, Freya, and Odin, which continues to fascinate today. Bull-Hansen attributes this attraction to the "deep" connection Vikings had with nature and the untamed "and authentic" character of their men and women.

"People see so many regulations and restrictions in today's society that I believe they identify with the Vikings because they rebelled against the rules imposed on them," the author points out, explicitly citing Christianity, to which many Vikings converted either forcibly or voluntarily. "Christianity spread by the sword and was used as a political weapon to centralize power and forge alliances through marriages between different royal houses," he says.

Bull-Hansen does not take a stance when choosing between the original paganism of his ancestors and Christianity ("I only believe in nature") and emphasizes that, from the beginning, his idea with 'Vikings' was to tell a story from the other side, "from people who are always characterized as cruel and villains." Throughout the 628 pages of the book, the author challenges the reader to travel back to the Viking Age. "I want you to see it, smell it, feel it; in many ways, it was a brutal world, but it was also a world of unimaginable beauty, close friendship, love, and passion," describes the narrator, who admits that the characters in his novel have become so real to him that there are days when "I can hardly distinguish where Torstein ends and I begin." Especially when dressed in his Viking attire.