Viking childhood

This chapter focuses on three types of representations of childhood that can be regarded as fairly common in the sagas that originated in Iceland from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. The first is the motif of the "coal-biter", the unpromising youth who eventually matures and becomes a hero. The second is the endangered child who is threatened during childhood, usually as a reaction to the threat posed by its own superiority. The third is the subversive and disruptive child who in some way causes chaos in society. The chapter mines these social myths for information about the general perceptions about children in society, an approach that can be termed both psychological and sociohistorical. It also offers a detailed examination of one specific narrative which focuses on a child. Finally, the chapter discusses the relationship between these mythical forms and the "social reality" of thirteenth- to fifteenth-century Scandinavia, using the contemporary narrative the Saga of King Hákon, Hákonar saga.