Joms Vikings

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The naval battle of Svold , in which the Jomswikings fought with Denmark against Norway. Painting by Otto Sinding .
The Jomswikings (small boat) take part in said battle. Painting by Nils Bergslien .

The Jomswikings were a legendary Viking mercenary union in the area of ​​the southern (possibly the now part of Poland ) Baltic coast. The old Norse Jómsvíkinga saga reports on the rise and fall of the dreaded men's association with strict regulations.

“No man should be admitted here who is older than fifty and no younger than eighteen years. Everyone should be in between. Consanguinity should not play a compensatory role if men were to be accepted who did not comply with the law. No man should flee from someone equally armed and equally armed. Each should avenge the other like his brother. No one should speak a word of fear or despair in any situation, however hopeless it may seem. Everything they captured on the military expeditions they should bring to the bar, lesser or greater goods, the value of money. And if someone hadn't done that, he should have to go. Nobody should slur a slander. But when news comes out, no one should be so cheeky as to communicate it publicly; for Palnatoki was supposed to announce all the news there. Nobody should have a wife in the castle and nobody should be away for more than three nights. And if a man were admitted who had killed the father or brother of a man who had been there before, or some other related man, and who came out later after he was admitted, Palnatoki should decide all that, and so also with everyone else Disagreement that would arise among them. "

- Walter Baetke : Jómsvíkinga saga

Its seat is said to have been the Jomsburg , the location of which is assumed either on the island of Wollin or at the mouth of the Peene on the island of Usedom . The port at that time was said to be able to accommodate 300 longships. The square is also known as the “ Atlantis of the North”, where the sunken city of Vineta was located. According to Old Norse sources, a large part of the Yomswikings followed the Swedish heir to the throne Styrbjörn and fell together with Styrbjörn in 983 or 986 in the battle of Fýrisvellir against the Swedes. Against the Norwegians, the Jomswikings lost the battle at Hjørungavåg in 994 , which is said to have sealed their doom. Nevertheless, they are said to have participated in the naval battle of Svold in the year 1000 .

The Jomsvikinga saga is believed to be largely fiction . However, it can be assumed that the mercenary association described actually existed, since other sagas and documents of the time refer to it.

During the time of National Socialism , the saga was received and translated very often because of its content-related references to the men's society theory . Between 1934 and 1939, no fewer than eight translations from Old Icelandic into German were submitted.

Based on the historical, legendary Viking men's association, numerous living history groups have named themselves after the Jomswikings. The tenth studio album by the Swedish music group Amon Amarth is called Jomsviking .

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