Vikings were Germanic people from Scandinavia, who traded and explored Northern Europe from the 8th to the 11th century. They were and certainly still are considered relentless warriors and nowadays, their quotes, sayings and proverbs are still powerful and they inspire us. Recent TV shows such as "Vikings", have made us idolize and immortalize them even more.
Some prose narratives, known as Sagas of Icelanders (or family sagas) explain some historical events that occurred in Iceland from the 9th to the 11th century. Most of these quotes you are going to find in the list are part of these sagas.
Read and get the inspiration you need for life from these ancient Viking quotes that we have listed for you below.
1"Better to fight and fall than to live without hope."
Volsunga, c.12
2"To take up great resolutions, and then to lay them aside, only ends in dishonor."
King Olaf Trygvisson’s Saga, c.9
3"Stand by your own trial and not by what others say."
Gudmundur Jonsson
4"Fight your foes in the field, nor be burnt in your house."
Volsunga Saga, c.21
5"The thrall alone takes instant vengeance; the coward never."
Grettir Saga, c.15
6"There are more things to be thought of by men than money alone."
Grettir Saga, c. 47
7"A tale is but half told when only one person tells it."
Grettir Saga, c. 46
8"Old friends are the last to break away."
Grettir Saga, c. 82
9"Do well by your kinsmen and take little revenge for their wrongdoings. Endure patience and you will win long-lasting praise."
Brynhild
10"Push away pride! Your strength, your power, are yours for how many years? Death comes faster than you think, no one can flee it."
Beowulf
11"Never stop because you are afraid – you are never so likely to be wrong."
Fridtjof Nansen
12"Do not dispute with those who are drunk on wine and have lost their wits."
Volsunga saga
13"Few are bold in old age that are cowardly in childhood."
Volsunga Saga, c.18
14"Likely is ill the result when words of slander fly."
Heitharvega, c. 35
15"Only a coward waits to be taken like a lamb from the fold or a fox from a trap."
Laxdaela Saga, c. 40
16"Not every cloud which darkens the day brings rain."
Heitharvega Saga, c. 7
17"Ill it is to abandon honor and integrity in exchange for injustice and greed."
Bandamanna Saga, c. 10
18"There is more honor in accumulating little by little than in reaching for the sky and ending up flat on your face."
Vatnsdæla Saga, c. 7
19"Stubbornness brings either greater humiliation or greater honor."
The Saga of Hrafnkel Freysgothi, c. 10
20"When truth and fairness are different from what is law, better it is to follow truth and fairness."
Bandamanna Saga, c. 6
21"A person should not agree today to what they’ll regret tomorrow."
Bandamanna Saga, c. 10
22"Gold is little comfort for the kinsman dead."
Örvar Odd’s Saga, c. 11
23"Never cheat your master."
Njal’s Saga, c. 86
24"Better to die with honor than live with shame."
The Saga of the Jomsvikings, c. 23
25"That which has a bad beginning, is likely to have a bad ending."
Hen-Thorir’s Saga, c. 4
26"Often it is that what happens to most others will happen to you."
Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 32
27"Better a brief spell of honour than a long rule of shame."
Laxdaela Saga, c. 29
29"Let another’s wounds be your warning."
Njal’s Saga, c. 37
30"Many are wise after the event."
Fljotsdale Saga, c. 19
31"A man should have his plans worked out before he enters into great undertakings or incites others to them."
The Saga of Ref the Sly, c. 8
32"The fool is busy in everyone’s business but his own."
Kormak’s Saga, c. 14
33"Often it is that anger is blind to the truth."
The Foster-brother’s Saga, c. 22
34"The king’s palace is an easy place to enter but hard to leave."
Egil’s Saga, c. 69
35"For with law shall our land be built up and settled, and with lawlessness wasted and spoiled."
Njal’s Saga, c. 69
36"Beware of those who speak fairly but think falsely."
The Saga of Bjarn of the Hitdoela Champions, c. 7
37"There’s no excusing the man who rejects the truth once it’s proven."
Fóstbrœðra saga, c. 23
38"There is a time for everything."
Grettir’s Saga, c. 73
39"It takes time to know people."
Grettir’s Saga, c. 20
40"It is best not to believe what no one else believes."
Fljotsdale Saga, c. 25
