Uppsala: Racist History in Asatru

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Racist History in Asatru

by Svartorm

There is an abundance of misinformation in Asatru, especially where racism is concerned. Much like parrots, the ignorant simply repeat whatever they've heard, so long as it coincides with their own agenda, which creates another generation of fools. Rarely is any research or thinking done to get to the bottom of the matter of our actual racial history. Were the ancient Norse a racist people? Did they interbreed with other peoples? Were they concerned with their blood ties and skin color? Most people can only guess, and will give the answer that best suits their own beliefs, unwilling to peer into the looking glass for fear of what they may find. One of the most important elements of our people is our past though, and there is so little of it left, that I feel it can't be overlooked, even if the truth is painful for some. We simply can't afford to not learn from our mistakes and move on, and the first step to our growth as a people and faith is to shed the blanket we've all been put under. The neo-nazis, hammerskins and folkists have tainted our good name with their false words, even if we do not subscribe to their flawed logic, and something needs to be done. I have complied a brief history of our people and their involvement with outside influences, from the earliest recorded history to Leif Erikssons voyage to America. I will not include every land battle in our time, and every instance of inter-racial wars, trading and habitation, as it would be a very large and redundant list. The Norse did fight, kill, and enslave people of other races, as well as people of their own races. This was simply part of their culture, but as this brief history shows, racism was not.

600 BC: Avars in Northern Europe

The Avars, a people from central Asia who were closely related to the Mongolians, invaded the Hungarian plains at this time and spread around Central and Northern Europe. The Avars were possibly the most widely traveled people in ancient history, and their mixed blood would find its way into the Germanic peoples again over a millennium later. For now though, this would be the first large scale interaction between Germanics and a people of a truly different race.

500 BC: Greek and Northern Europe begin trade relations

In ca. 600 BC, the Phocaean Greeks founded Massalia, a port near the Rhone Delta in Southern France on the Mediterranean. This port was an important part of Mediterranean trade, but by 500 BC, it was being used to trade with the peoples of Northern Europe. These two cultures enjoyed peaceful trade relations and had a large scale effect on each others culture, in everything from metallurgy to mythology. Greek coins and artifacts are very commonly found in Northern European grave sites, showing the Norse cared enough about these objects to be buried with them.

113 BC-174 AD: The Roman expansion

The battle at Noreia, Carinthia (Southern Austria) marked the beginning of the war between Rome and the Northern European peoples, such as the Teutones, Quadi and other groups. This is the first recorded war with Northern Europeans fighting another race of peoples, although the Romans weren't as dark skinned in this age as they are now. They did employ soldiers taken from all over their conquered lands though, so its very likely a number of soldiers encountered were of Middle Eastern decent.

Around 102 BC, the Teutones and Cimbri were pressing into Southern Gaul and Northern Italy to push back Roman forces on a counter invasion, so these wars resulted in Germanic armies leaving their homes en mass for war for the first time as well. These battles went back and forth until around 174 AD, where the Germanic tribes were ultimately defeated. Although this wasn't a total loss for the Germanic people, as these wars resulted in expanded trade through the roads the Romans built, and also permanent settlements, such as Colonia Agrippinensis, known today as Cologne.

Its very likely that some children of mixed race occurred from these battles on both sides, as stand-offs were common in the think woodlands of Germania, and in the mountainous regions of Italy.

276 AD - 332 AD: The Alans and Sarmatians

The Alans were a group of people descended from Germanics and Scythians, a swarthy skinned Slavic people, and they raided, along with Goths, in the Anatolia region. This would be the first example of a large inter-racial tribe involving Germanics. The Samartians, another Scythian/Germanic people, allied with their off and on enemies, the Romans to defeat the Goths in 332 AD.

405 AD: A great migration to Germany

With the Huns invading from the East, a large migration of Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Goths, Alans, and other peoples migrated into Southern Germany and into the Po Valley. These people, who were primarily Slavic, didn't invade Germany, but simply took up residence there, with no large scale conflicts.

430 AD - 439 AD: The Vandals and Alans battle in Africa

The Vandals and Alans invaded Africa and defeated Roman forces near Hippo, Algeria. From here, they traveled to and conquered Northwest Africa as far as Carthage and eastern Numidia. This is the first time a large group of Northern Europeans had come in contact with Africans. Although they waged war, its almost certain that couplings would have occurred over the nine years of off and on battle, meaning there very well could have been children with Germanic blood in Africa, and vice versa.

ca 530 AD - 796 AD :The return of the Avars

Having warred and conquered everywhere from China and Mongolia to the Byzantine Empire, the Avars once again pushed their way into Europe, forcing an immigration of Slavs and Bulgars. In 626, after moving about Southern Europe and warring with Bulgars and Croats, the Avars amassed a huge army of Germans, Slavs, and Bulgars to attack Constantinople, in a joint effort with the Persians. Although they were repelled, this could possibly be the most diverse army in ancient history. They remained in Slavic lands, raiding all over Europe up until being cast out by Charlemagne in 796.

On a side note, around 920, the honor guard of Constantine VII of the Byzantine Empire was made up entirely of Swedish Berserkers known as the Varangian Guard.

789 AD - ca. 1000 AD : The Viking Age

This is when the Vikings first set sail to raid and conquer, and to eventually settle and trade with other people and cultures. They started with England, Scotland and Ireland, and continued to travel all over Europe, as far south as Constantinople, as far East as Russia, and as far West as America. In their travels, they came into contact with nearly every race on Earth with the exception of the Orientals. Europeans, Africans, Mediterraneans, Arabs and Slavs were all treated the same. Either met with spear point or with an open hand and smile. The vikings were found buried with war trophies and trade goods from all cultures and many set up settlements in England, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, France, Greece, Spain and America. The Viking age came to an end when our people were converted to Christianity, but not before Thorvald, his son Erik the Red and later his son, Leif Eriksson could make their way West and come into contact with Native Americans. Their involvement with the Native Americans was a rocky one, although they traded with some tribes, while fighting with others. The Vikings called the Native Americans "skraelings" which, contrary to popular belief by hammerskins and the like, does NOT mean "inferiors". Anyone with an Icelandic dictionary can look up the word and see that it actually translates to "screamers" which would be an apt name due to the war calls the Native Americans were known for using.

Although this record is far from complete, I think it adequately shows how our people handled relations with other races. They treated everyone the same, based on actions, and not on skin color, even going so far as to accept other races living in their homelands. At no point has anything occurred in our history that justifies bigotry towards other races, and its a disgrace to our ancestors to ignore their involvement with others. We should take into account and be proud of everything noteworthy our people have done, not twist their history to suit an ill-conceived notion of "Pure Norse heritage".

I've made this list not for the folkists, so much as those among us that are unsure of their stance on racism in our religion. Doesn't our religion encourage taking action when action is demanded? This poison MUST be purged from our religion, before it does even more harm than it already has. The folkists have no legs left to stand on, as neither history, nor religion are on their side, and they can and will be toppled. Stand up and be heard people, for Valhalla isn't a home for the meek or cowardly.