New exhibition claims there was more to Vikings than death and destruction
Norse raiders often regarded as fearsome savages were also shrewd traders with interest in personal grooming and jewellery design
They are generally thought of as fearsome, unkempt, bloodthirsty raiders who caused mayhem wherever they went. But in fact, the Vikings were also skilled traders who loved jewellery, personal grooming - and even had a soft spot for cuddly bears, a major exhibition argues.
Opened at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall on Saturday, 'Viking Voyagers' has brought together artefacts from Denmark, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the British Museum to humanise a people often associated with death and destruction.
Gareth Williams, co-curator of the exhibition and a leading expert in Viking culture, conceded the warriors were guilty of some pretty reprehensible behaviour - after all, 'Vikingr' is old Norse for pirate or raider.
"The criticism is justified, but their society was so much more than murder and violence," he said. "Those are just the headlines. It's a bit like the English football hooligans in the 1980s.
"They attracted the headlines and some people began to think all English people were like that. Which obviously is untrue."
The centrepiece of the exhibition in Falmouth is not a dragon-headed Viking battleship but an altogether gentler looking replica of a trading ship - named Walrus - that would have plied coastal waters in the 11th century.
It could carry up to five tonnes of cargo and sailed with a small crew of between five and eight men, sustained by buttery porridge bulked out with dried meat or fish. Broad and shallow, almost barge-like, it could easily be dragged up on to beaches.