When the weather gets cold enough and the sky clears, the Northern Lights often shine throughout the night.
The first snow of winter fell not long ago, but the snow did not melt after it fell. More snow awaits the Rus in the fjords in the foreseeable future, as winter has begun.
This winter is no longer boring, and everyone is full of hope for the future.
Now, the people of the tribe are eagerly looking forward to the mass wedding expected on Frige Day.
Before that day comes, many newcomers are already making preparations.
For Arik, marriage to Peravina represents a new beginning!
After his father died in the war, Arik moved to his uncle's house, but the old wooden house where he lived for many years was still maintained by Xiu Shan. The wooden house has long been used as a warehouse, but now it is regaining its popularity.
In a sense, the houses of various Viking tribes have great similarities. A house is a place to sleep, it is also a kitchen, and it is also a warehouse for storing messy daily necessities. Every family, especially women, makes a lot of smoked fish, bacon, and pickles all kinds of food, and all the food is piled in their longhouses. Therefore, don't expect fresh air in a house.
They can completely tolerate the smell of food, but they cannot tolerate the stench of feces.
They are a group of people who love cleanliness more than Western Europeans, so when London, Paris and other "big cities" developed due to the active Germanic people in this time and space, residents were still defecating in the open. , the Vikings had built independent toilets beside the longhouse!
The Rus, who also belong to a branch of the Vikings, also follow this hygiene tradition.
They are better at maintaining hygiene, but they never realize that human and animal excrement, and even rotting fish, can nourish crops and make fertilizer.
Not to mention making farmyard manure, the Danes, who control the richest land in Northern Europe, do not know how to use fertilizers or water conservancy and irrigation technology.
But they still built family toilets. The origin is still their warrior culture.
If a warrior is dirty, dirty and smelly, no matter how brave he is, he will not be chosen by the wandering Valkyrie in winter.
Aric quickly took care of his hometown, and spent his first night back in Fort Ross with his wife as he set up his own business.
Arik lit the oil lamp, then used a large amount of deerskin to build a bed on the floor, and waved to his stunned wife: "Come on, we will sleep here tonight."
< p>Peravina did not resist, her hands were naturally drooped, watching all her husband's actions"Do I want to sleep on the ground like a beast? Can't it be like my hometown?" "Pelavina questioned very boldly.
"Sleeping on those wooden boards?" Arik also asked strangely.
"Why not?"
Arik shrugged, then sat on the deerskin, patted the furry skins with a smile: "Sit down, like me . You will get used to it! If you don't like it, after a while, we can make some wooden boards like your hometown."
The people of the tribe are used to sleeping on the ground. They have been since ancient times. Living like this, it wasn't until I met people from Novgorod in a distant place that I realized that there were actually people sleeping on wooden boards.
Aric's current mentality has changed very drastically. He left his uncle to start his own business, and he will need to work hard on his own in the future. Fortunately, I still have my newlywed wife by my side. When a smart man faces such a situation, he will certainly listen to his wife's advice and meet her reasonable requests.
According to the rules of the Ross tribe, there is no possibility of divorce here, and the lightest punishment for betrayal of marriage is banishment. People simply think that these situations are incredible, so it is part of the rules for women to take care of their husband's wealth. But women also have a major obligation to take good care of the family's wealth, especially the family's food. The husband is responsible for fishing, hunting, and even manning the longboat to plunder other tribes. Women must process and store food obtained from all sources properly so that the whole family does not go hungry.
It was getting cold, but his old house still had drafts. In order to get more warmth, Arik lit some charcoal fires.
Charcoal fire may cause carbon monoxide poisoning, but people today have no concept of this. It is rare for people in the Ross tribe to die mysteriously in their sleep. Because, nowadays, there are really very few longhouses that can be sealed as much as possible. They are houses made of piles, planks and animal skins, with at most some earth and straw mats attached.
The fighting prowess of the Russian warriors was incredible, but in terms of the quality of their houses, they were simply not as good as the Novgorodians who paid tribute to them.
Even with the charcoal fire, it was still relatively cool in the room. Peravina wore her own cloth and a fur coat made of a whole animal skin, thus keeping enough warmth.
Pelavina has made mental preparations tonight, and she understands her responsibilities as a married woman very well.
But everything is calm tonight!
Maybe the newlywed husband is too tired? Or for other reasons.
She did not feel the cold at all, and because the animal skin was very thick, she felt very comfortable sleeping on the ground. This was an experience she had never had in her hometown of Novgorod.
The basis of the city of Novgorod is small families in various family estates. The small families also live in a wooden house that is very cold-proof, but there is only one piece of wood in the wooden house. The whole family sleeps on a wooden bed.
The wooden boards are hard, with some thatch added at most. People with some wealth will buy a piece of linen to use as a mattress.
But they only have wealthy households like the clan leader, who have money.Use animal skins for mattresses.
"They are not barbarians! They Varyags are very good at living..."
For the first time, Peravina had a new understanding of "barbarians".
The entire Rosburg fell into silence. Even the tribal boys who returned with the Sveg girls from Novgorod had great urgency to become the father of their children, but the tribal rules Excellent restraint is made here.
Because before the wedding ceremony, the female priest Vilia and her female assistants will check the purity of the bride. If it is found that the bride's fiancé has done something in advance, it will be regarded as shameful and blasphemous by the entire tribe, and may even be exiled.
Aric felt itchy in his heart. He knew that what he wanted to do was only legal after passing Frigg Day.
It was dawn, and to Arik’s disbelief, it was Peravina who raised the question.
"Arik, why? I thought I was going to be a woman."
Her expression did not change at all when she asked. On the contrary, Arik became quite embarrassed.
Eric held it back for a while before asking: "Are you so eager to be a mother?"
"Isn't this what it should be?"
< p>Arik was choked up for a moment. He really didn't expect that he originally longed for marriage, but now after completing the local wedding ceremony at his wife's natal home, he suddenly felt that marriage brought happiness and a huge test. For the first time, he felt To the heavy pressure that a tribe leader needs to bear.I never thought that my wife, who was far away from her hometown in Novgorod, would immediately accept her new life.
While Arik was hesitating, tears actually appeared in the corners of his eyes.
"You...are you crying?"
When Peravina asked, Arik could no longer control his emotions. What made a young warrior cry? It's touching!
Aric wiped away his tears with his sleeves. He first explained to his wife, and then stood up: "I'm going to cut some bacon and cook it first. After we finish eating, we have to go to my father's grave."
"Is it a sacrificial sweep?"
"It is a ritual that must be done." After saying that, he pulled his wife up and solemnly asked: "You are already the same as us. Yes, the next step is to follow the Russian ritual. After a while, I will dig a hole in front of my father's grave, put my sword in it, and cover it with soil. After I finish this, you will dig the sword yourself. Come out."
"Okay. Can I ask why?"
"My father is your father. At the wedding, you also know that I will hand the sword you dug out into your hands, which means that only the son you give birth to will inherit the sword from his grandfather."
Hearing all this, Peravina took a breath: "You Varangians really cherish your swords."
"Hey." Ali took his wife's hand, "It's us! You are already a Varyag."