Were there Finns among the Viking, especially during the raids? Are there any books about this?
I found a book, that discusses the Viking era in Finland. I haven't read it, but in the link there is a short introduction to it.Fibula, Fabula, FactThere is also an article based on that book and it tells that the Finns participated in Vikings' traderoutes to the east."Were the Finns Vikings ?The latest research answers: yes they were. The answer is certainly not quite so clear cut. We must first consider what it means to "be a Finnish" or "to be a Viking," and how these things fit together....Finland is usually described as a back-country in the trials, non-fiction and factual programs exclusively dealing with the Viking time along the Scandinavians' route to the east. The Finns were mainly scattered in the robbery trips, and some mentioned the Finns waged fur trade. It is claimed also that the southern coast of Finland and the Åland Islands in particular have been the Scandinavians' viking colony.In fact, in Southern Finland prevailed 800-1000 CE fairly uniform culture, which had a common language and who have already resigned from overseas neighboring cultures....The Varangians' trade route that reached to the Middle East and Asia Minor was also a trade route of the Finns', Karelians' and Alanders' who took part in the Vikings Middle East trade. Increased mobility meant influences from many cultures. Close international contacts have a lot of traces for example in archaeological discoveries, vocabulary and mythical traditions. In particular, the Åland Islands was in a central role as the crossroad of different trade routes, and Åland has left traces on the Meryan cultures way up to the North of the Russian river routes."Olivatko suomalaiset viikinkejä?That was my poor translation from the key points in the article. Those who are interested can try to translate the rest of it by some translator. My English skills are not good enough for that task.So, I am not qualified to claim anything on the subject, but that book is quite fresh (2015) and it may include interesting perspectives on the subject.___That eastern trade route went through the Southern Finnish archipelago and there is an old trading post in a narrow strait between islands Hiittinen and Rosala. The only known piece of a runestone in Finland has been found in Hiittinen. Today there is also a Viking centre in Rosala. A Path to Iron Age Finland
Why were the Vikings so brutal?
Brutality was much more common back then than it is today. When we hear terrorist acts today, everyone gets scared and hears about it. Before in time, even the British have committed terrorism against the Danes not more than 200 years ago.While it’s true the Vikings were harsh against the populace who they raided (how can you not be), they were fierce rivals, with Denmark capturing England twice, including the Duke of Normandy a third time. However this was commonplace, compared to that time they really weren’t excessively brutal in general. The problem is that they didn’t actually document much on paper, most of the sources we have today are from the victims that were raided. Obviously they’re gonna say these foreign and pagan Vikings coming to raid their lands are devilish and brutal people, right?Yet our viewpoint might change drastically if the Vikings were more literate and wrote about the daily life living side-by-side of Saxons and many other cultures in peace, their fashion, great hairstyles, hygienic acts, and their highly successful trade network. Many choose to focus on the smaller but louder minority of brutal Vikings that set out to raid however, and that’s of course understandable.In short, the Vikings that set out from Scandinavia were naturally harsh when raiding other people, and had their brutal rivalries. But then you read about other acts at the time, like the massacre of Verden, where Charlemagne led campaigns against the Saxons, massacring 4500 people and destroying their holy sites to convert them to Christianity, of course not excluding the millions of brutal acts committed by the Romans and other “Barbarians” daily before the Viking Age.
Are modern Scandinavian people aware of their past as Vikings or Norse? How do they view them?
They view them as their ancestors.
Why did the Viking age Scandinavian peoples become Christian?
For similar reasons to most other native religions dying out in the face of Christianity. It is the one true faith of course!Nah… there were a whole bunch of reasons.For one thing compared to Christianity, Nordic religions didn’t assign much importance to converting people. Notice how the vikings didn’t bother to stick around raid sites long enough to convert people. And danish men found themselves working for nations as far flung as the Byzantine Empire. Religion simply wasn’t as big a deal to them, and many who traveled abroad simply assimilated into their new homes.In a lot of Christendom though, believing something different would likely get you persecuted, force-converted or killed. And unlike the Norse, Christians were required to convert others wherever possible. You see this everywhere, from Rome adopting it to missionaries traveling the world on expeditions in the age of exploration.Also separating the two is the organisation of the religions. To my knowledge there was no supreme leader or churches organising Norse mythology. It was generally just passed down belief. Whereas Christianity was organised, with clear leadership and agendas.Christianity also offered better perks. Norse offered Valhalla for people who died in battle (so barely anyone), a few specific afterlives many wouldn’t have known about and Hel, where people generally just went about as they did in life. The gods generally didn’t care to much about people. Christianity on the other hand offered eternal paradise for being a decent person, saying sorry and paying the church. Hell wouldn’t be a concept for some time. God loves you. Jesus loves you. The church may also help you out in life from time to time.Finally, seeing as Norse mythology already had a ton of gods, it wasn’t so much of a culture shock to be told there was another one. It’s not complete acceptance like the Christians would want, but it’s definitely a foot in the door for full conversion.So you have an outside religion actively and effectively trying to convert the population, offering good benefits, while the existing religion is both tolerant of the conversion and not particularly active in sustaining itself.