{"id":8699,"date":"2022-06-27T14:41:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/06\/27\/meet-the-viking-merchants-of-the-internet\/"},"modified":"2022-06-27T14:41:16","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T14:41:16","slug":"meet-the-viking-merchants-of-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/06\/27\/meet-the-viking-merchants-of-the-internet\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Viking merchants of the internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/23132752\/viking-weaponry-monetize-youtube-twitch-etsy<\/a>
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The bloody battle between kings Harold and Harald at Stamford Bridge is often considered the unofficially official \u201cend\u201d of the Viking Age. By that benchmark, it has been approximately 956 years since the era of longships, warhammers (not that type), and wolfish drengs. So why, in 2022, are we witnessing such a vibrant resurgence of Viking craft? The answer, it seems, has to do with the not-very-Viking internet. <\/p>\n

To gain some much-needed insight into this phenomenon, I tracked down three blacksmiths who practice the art of Viking smithing: Joe Hallisey of Metal Abyss<\/a>, Phillip Anderson of West Wolf Renaissance<\/a>, and Faydwynn Morningstar of The Path of Fire<\/a>. All three of these modern Viking merchants predominantly focus on forging millennium-old weapons using period techniques, resurrecting and honing a skill that has been largely absent from the world for almost 1,000 years.<\/p>\n

But why now? As it turns out, thanks to ad revenue from services like YouTube and Twitch, as well as the ability to sell specialty items via trade websites like Etsy, Viking smithing has become a legitimately viable way of earning money for the first time since the 11th century. That doesn\u2019t mean operating the bellows makes for an easy life, though \u2014 the dedication required to properly make something of this vocation is immense.<\/p>\n

All three blacksmiths have been fascinated with Viking culture from a very young age. Hallisey was always interested in general \u201cwarrior culture,\u201d although gradually developed a particular affinity for all things Vikings and samurai, which he notes are \u201cboth so different in culture and beliefs, yet when boiled down very similar in ferocity and fearlessness.\u201d Anderson, meanwhile, has Scandinavian ancestry. He grew up hearing stories of Odin, Thor, Loki, and ice giants, all of whom have directly influenced his craft since. And Morningstar states that the northern Germanic cultures have always been a part of her life. When she was a child, her father would read her the sagas as she drifted into dreams of longships and Jomsvikings. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes it special to people is it harkens back to a time that is so removed from our social media and cellphone days, when our hours were focused on the basics instead of all this nonsense we deal with today,\u201d Morningstar says. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to mentally go back to when tools were not running off electricity [and] when our water was clean.\u201d This sentiment is echoed by the other blacksmiths. They firmly believe that contemporary interest in Viking culture is largely driven by a desire to be transported back in time. It\u2019s therefore somewhat ironic to see that desire being actively facilitated by the internet. <\/p>\n

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