Viking practices

method of execution

thumb|200px|The Stentoften Stone, bearing a runic inscription that likely describes a of nine bucks and nine stallions bringing fertility to the land. ' (Old Norse and Old English) or ' (Old English) are religious ceremonies in Germanic paganism that centred on the killing and offering of an animal to a particular being, typically followed by the communal cooking and eating of its meat. Old Norse sources present it as a central ritual in Old Nordic religion that was intimately connected with many wider aspects of life. Large are often described as taking place in halls, organised by the rulers

300px|right|thumb|Egill Skallagrímsson engaging in holmgang with Berg-Önundr, painting by [[Johannes Flintoe]] Holmgang (, , Danish and , ) is a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a legally recognized way to settle disputes.

thumb|right|DR 270 in Scania, modern [[Sweden, is one of several runestones that were raised in commemoration of someone's '.]] ''' (Old Norse, meaning "fellowship, partnership") was a joint financial venture between partners in Viking Age society.

thumb|Sketch of the Svinfylking. The Svinfylking (Old Norse for "swine array" or "boar snout") was a formation used in battle. Related to the wedge formation, it was used in Iron Age Scandinavia and later by the Vikings. It was also used by Germanic peoples during the Germanic Iron Age and was known as the Schweinskopf or "swine's head". Its invention was attributed to the god Odin.

Öndvegissúlur (), or high-seat pillars, were a pair of wooden poles placed on each side of the high-seat—the place where the head of household would have sat—in a Viking-period Scandinavian house.

traditional religious rituals practiced by Norse pagans in Scandinavia