Tell us more scary stories from the deep past

mailidhonn:

Ok, I mentioned this on an earlier post so I’ll try to remember what I can about it.

Everyone’s heard of the term ‘head hunting’, but it used to be a legitimate thing in the most literal sense. A number of different cultures in Europe held the belief that an individuals power was all in their head – not because they had a better understanding of how the human body worked or how important the brain is, they just believed that all of your physical power and your magical/spiritual abilities were held there. So if you went into battle or you fought your greatest enemy, your aim was to come back with their head in your hand. I’m pretty sure I remember reading that there’s some descriptions somewhere (maybe Roman? I really gotta go read up on this stuff) of the Celts/Britons/Picts riding horses with literally bunches of heads tied behind them on their saddles. Some archaeologists think there’s evidence of displaying the heads, I remember reading somewhere that some sites have been found with skulls that have a single perforation in the top of the head (the idea being that they had a hole punctured in the top and strung up from the ceiling).

There’s a story actually about the death of Sigurd Eysteinsson (the second earl of Orkney during the 800s AD) related to this behaviour. According to the Orkneyinga Saga Sigurd challenged Máel Brigte to a small battle, 40 men to each side. Máel Brigte was a ‘native’ (read: Pictish) member of the nobility who was buck-toothed. Sigurd killed Máel Brigte, cutting off his head and riding triumphantly with it attached to his saddle. Apparently Máel Brigte’s buck-teeth scratched his thigh and caused the cut to become badly infected, killing Sigurd soon after his win. Whether or not this actually happened is pretty impossible to say, where Sigurd’s tomb is isn’t actually 100% agreed on and of course we have no idea where Máel Brigte’s remains would be.