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　To　William　Howells
　
　
　〃Praise　not　the　day　until　evening　has　e；　a　woman　until　she　is　burnt；　a　sword　until　it　is　tried；　a　maiden　until　she　is　married；　ice　until　it　has　been　crossed；　beer　until　it　has　been　drunk。〃
　VIKING　PROVERB
　
　〃Evil　is　of　old　date。〃
　ARAB　PROVERB
　
　INTRODUCTION

　THE　IBN　FADLAN　MANUSCRIPT　REPRESENTS　THE　earliest　known　eyewitness　account　of　Viking　life　and　society。　It　is　an　extraordinary　document；　describing　in　vivid　detail　events　which　occurred　more　than　a　thousand　years　ago。　The　manuscript　has　not；　of　course；　survived　intact　over　that　enormous　span　of　time。　It　has　a　peculiar　history　of　its　own；　and　one　no　less　remarkable　than　the　text　itself。
　
　PROVENANCE　OF　THE　MANUSCRIPT

　In　June；　A。D。　921；　the　Caliph　of　Bagdad　sent　a　member　of　his　court；　Ahmad　Ibn　Fadlan；　as　ambassador　to　the　King　of　the　Bulgars。　Ibn　Fadlan　was　gone　three　years　on　his　journey　and　never　actually　acplished　his　mission；　for　along　the　way　he　encountered　a　pany　of　Norsemen　and　had　many　adventures　among　them。
　When　he　finally　returned　to　Bagdad；　Ibn　Fadlan　recorded　his　experiences　in　the　form　of　an　official　report　to　the　court。　That　original　manuscript　has　long　since　disappeared；　and　to　reconstruct　it　we　must　rely　on　partial　fragments　preserved　in　later　sources。
　The　best…known　of　these　is　an　Arabic　geographical　lexicon　written　by　Yakut　ibn…Abdallah　sometime　in　the　thirteenth　century。　Yakut　includes　a　dozen　verbatim　passages　from　Ibn　Fadlan's　account；　which　was　then　three　hundred　years　old。　One　must　presume　Yakut　worked　from　a　copy　of　the　original。　Nevertheless　these　few　paragraphs　have　been　endlessly　translated　and　retranslated　by　later　scholars。
　Another　fragment　was　discovered　in　Russia　in　1817　and　was　published　in　German　by　the　St。　Petersburg　Academy　in　1823。　This　material　includes　certain　passages　previously　published　by　J。　L。　Rasmussen　in　1814。　Rasmussen　worked　from　a　manuscript　he　found　in　Copenhagen；　since　lost；　and　of　dubious　origins。　There　were　also　Swedish；　French；　and　English　translations　at　this　time；　but　they　are　all　notoriously　inaccurate　and　apparently　do　not　include　any　new　material。
　In　1878；　two　new　manuscripts　were　discovered　in　the　private　antiquities　collection　of　Sir　John　Emerson；　the　British　Ambassador　in　Constantinople。　Sir　John　was　apparently　one　of　those　avid　collectors　whose　zeal　for　acquisition　exceeded　his　interest　in　the　particular　item　acquired。　The　manuscripts　were　found　after　his　death；　no　one　knows　where　he　obtained　them；　or　when。
　One　is　a　geography　in　Arabic　by　Ahmad　Tusi；　reliably　dated　at　A。D。　1047。　This　makes　the　Tusi　manuscript　chronologically　closer　than　any　other　to　the　original　of　Ibn　Fadlan；　which　was　presumably　written　around　A。D。　924…926。　Yet　scholars　regard　the　Tusi　manuscript　as　the　least　trustworthy　of　all　the　sources；　the　text　is　full　of　obvious　errors　and　internal　inconsistencies；　and　although　it　quotes　at　length　from　one　〃Ibn　Faqih〃　who　visited　the　North　country；　many　authorities　hesitate　to　accept　this　material。
　The　second　manuscript　is　that　of　Amin　Razi；　dating　roughly　from　A。D。　1585…1595。　It　is　written　in　Latin　and　according　to　its　author　is　translated　directly　from　the　Arabic　text　of　Ibn　Fadlan。　The　Razi　manuscript　contains　some　material　about　the　Oguz　Turks；　and　several　passages　concerning　battles　with　the　mist　monsters；　not　found　in　other　sources。
　In　1934；　a　final　text　in　Medieval　Latin　was　found　in　the　monastery　of　Xymos；　near　Thessalonika　in　northeastern　Greece。　The　Xymos　manuscript　contains　further　mentary　on　Ibn　Fadlan's　relations　with　the　Caliph；　and　his　experiences　with　the　creatures　of　the　North　country。　The　author　and　date　of　the　Xymos　manuscript　are　both　uncertain。
　The　task　of　collating　these　many　versions　and　translations；　ranging　over　more　than　a　thousand　years；　appearing　in　Arabic；　Latin；　German；　French；　Danish；　Swedish；　and　English；　is　an　undertaking　of　formidable　proportions。　Only　a　person　of　great　erudition　and　energy　would　attempt　it；　and　in　1951　such　a　person　did。　Per　Fraus…Dolos；　Professor　emeritus　of　parative　literature　at　the　University　of　Oslo；　Norway；　piled　all　the　known　sources　and　began　the　massive　task　of　translation　which　occupied　him　until　his　death　in　1957。　Portions　of　his　new　translation　were　published　in　the　Proceedings　of　the　National　Museum　of　Oslo：　1959…1960；　but　they　did　not　arouse　much　scholarly　interest；　perhaps　because　the　journal　has　a　limited　circulation。
　The　Fraus…Dolos　translation　was　absolutely　literal；　in　his　own　introduction　to　the　material；　Fraus…Dolos　remarked　that　〃it　is　in　the　nature　of　languages　that　a　pretty　translation　is　not　accurate；　and　an　accurate　translation　finds　its　own　beauty　without　help。〃
　In　preparing　this　full　and　annotated　version　of　the　Fraus…Dolos　translation；　I　have　made　few　alterations。　I　deleted　some　repetitive　passages；　these　are　indicated　in　the　text。　I　changed　paragraph　structure；　starting　each　directly　quoted　speaker　with　a　new　paragraph；　according　to　modern　convention。　I　have　omitted　the　diacritical　marks　on　Arabic　names。　Finally；　I　have　occasionally　altered　the　original　syntax；　usually　by　transposing　subordinate　clauses　so　that　the　meaning　is　more　readily　grasped。
　
　THE　VIKINGS

　Ibn　Fadlan's　portrait　of　the　Vikings　differs　markedly　from　the　traditional　European　view　of　these　people。　The　first　European　descriptions　of　the　Vikings　were　recorded　by　the　clergy；　they　were　the　only　observers　of　the　time　who　could　write；　and　they　viewed　the　pagan　Northmen　with　special　horror。　Here　is　a　typically　hyperbolic　passage；　cited　by　D。　M。　Wilson；　from　a　twelfth…century　Irish　writer：
　
　In　a　word；　although　there　were　an　hundred　hard…steeled　iron　heads　on　one　neck；　and　an　hundred　sharp；　ready；　cool；　never　rusting；　brazen　tongues　in　each　head；　and　an　hundred　garrulous；　loud；　unceasing　voices　from　each　tongue；　they　could　not　recount　or　narrate；　enumerate　or　tell；　what　all　the　Irish　suffered　in　mon；　both　men　and　women；　laity　and　clergy；　old　and　young；　noble　and　ignoble；　of　the　hardships　and　of　injuring　and　of　oppression；　in　every　house；　from　those　valiant；　wrathful；　purely　pagan　people。
　
　Modern　scholars　recognize　that　such　bloodcurdling　accounts　of　Viking　raids　are　vastly　exaggerated。　Yet　European　writers　still　tend　to　dismiss　the　Scandinavians　as　bloody　barbarians；　irrelevant　to　the　main　flow　of　Western　culture　and　ideas。　Often　this　has　been　done　at　the　expense　of　a　certain　logic。　For　example；　David　Talbot　Rice　writes：
　
　From　the　eighth　to　the　eleventh　centuries　indeed　the　role　of　the　Vikings　was　perhaps　more　influential　than　that　of　any　other　single　ethnic　group　in　Western　Europe。　。。。　The　Vikings　were　thus　great　travellers　and　they　performed　outstanding　feats　of　navigation；　their　cities　were　great　centres　of　trade；　their　art　was　original；　creative　and　influential；　they　boasted　a　fine　literature　and　a　developed　culture。　Was　it　truly　a　civilization？　It　must；　I　think；　be　admitted　that　it　was　not。　。。。　The　touch　of　humanism　which　is　the　hallmark　of　civilization　was　absent。
　
　This　same　attitude　is　reflected　in　the　opinion　of　Lord　Clark：
　
　When　one　considers　the　Icelandic　sagas；　which　are　among　the　great　books　of　the　world；　one　must　admit　that　the　Norsemen　produced　a　culture。　But　was　it　civilization？　。。。　Civilization　means　something　more　than　energy　and　will　and　creative　power：　something　the　early　Norsemen　hadn't　got；　but　which；　even　in　their　time；　was　beginning　to　reappear　in　Western　Europe。　How　can　I　define　it。？　Well；　very　shortly；　a　sense　of　permanence。　The　wanderers　and　invaders　were　in　a　continual　state　of　flux。　They　didn't　feel　the　need　to　look　forward　beyond　the　next　March　or　the　next　voyage　or　the　next　battle。　And　for　that　reason　it　didn't　occur　to　them　to　build　stone　houses；　or　to　write　books。
　
　The　more　carefully　one　reads　these　views；　the　more　illogical　they　appear。　Indeed；　one　must　wonder　why　highly　educated　and　intelligent　European　scholars　feel　so　free　to　dismiss　the　Vikings　with　no　more　than　a　passing　nod。　And　why　the　preoccupation　with　the　semantic　question　of　whether　the　Vikings　had　a　〃civilization〃？　The　situation　is　explicable　only　if　one　recognizes　a　long…standing　European　bias；　springing　from　traditional　views　of　European　prehistory。
　Every　Western　schoolchild　is　dutifully　taught　that　the　Near　East　is　〃the　cradle　of　civilization；〃　and　that　the　first　civilizations　arose　in　Egypt　and　Mesopotamia；　nourished　by　the　Nile　and　the　Tigris…Euphrates　river　basins。　From　here　civilization　spread　to　Crete　and　Greece；　and　then　to　Rome；　and　eventually　to　the　barbarians　of　northern　Europe。
　What　these　barbarians　were　doing　while　they　waited　for　the　arrival　of　civilization　was　not　known；　nor　was　the　question　often　raised。　The　emphasis　lay　on　the　process　of　dissemination；　which　the　late　Gordon　Childe　summarized　as　〃the　irradiation　of　European　barbarism　by　Oriental　civilization。〃　Modern　scholars　held　this　view；　as　did　Roman　and　Greek　scholars　before　them。　Geoffrey　Bibby　says：　〃The　history　of　northern　and　eastern　Europe　is　viewed　from　the　West　and　South；　with　all　the　preconceptions　of　men　who　considered　themselves　civilized　looking　upon　men　whom　they　considered　barbarians。〃
　From　this　standpoint；　the　Scandinavians　are　obviously　the　farthest　from