>>24209314
>The Day the Muslims Finally Realized What a Viking Truly Was
Here is an account by Ahmad ibn Fadlฤn when he encountered Rus Vikings:
They are the filthiest creatures that God ever created. They do not wipe themselves after defecating or urinating, nor do they bathe after sexual relations or after eating. They are like wild asses.
Every morning a woman comes and brings a tub of water and places it before her master. He proceeds to wash his face and hands in this and then his hair, combing it out over the tub. Then he blows his nose and spits into the tub, and leaving no dirt behind, conveys it all into this water. When he has finished, the girl carries the tub to the man next to him, who does the same. And so she continues carrying the tub from one to another, until each of those in the house has blown his nose and spit into the tub, and has washed his face and hair.
If they catch a thief or robber, they lead him to a thick and tall tree, fasten a strong rope around his neck, string him up, and let him hang until he drops to pieces by the action of the wind and rain.
When one of their great men dies, his family asks his slave girls and slave boys: "Which one of you will die with him?" Then one of them answers, "I." From the time that word is spoken, they are no longer free: even if they wish to change their minds, they are not allowed to. For the most part, however, it is the girls who offer themselves. And so, when the man I mentioned above had died, they asked his slave girls, "Who will die with him?" On of them answered, "I." She was then entrusted to two female slaves, who were to keep watch over her, accompany her wherever she went, and even, on occasion, wash her feet.
An old woman, whom they call the "Angel of Death," came and spread the articles mentioned on the couch. It was she who attended to the sewing of the garments and to all the necessary items; it was she, also, who was to kill the slave girl. I saw her; she was dark, thick-set, with a sinister expression.
Then they brought a dog, which they cut in half and threw into the ship. They placed all his weapons next to him and then led up two horses, which they chased until they were dripping with sweat, at which point they cut them into pieces with their swords and threw their flesh into the ship. Two oxen were then brought forward, cut into pieces, and flung into the ship. Finally they brought a rooster and a hen, killed them, and threw them [into the ship] as well.
The slave girl who had devoted herself to death meanwhile went back and forth, entering one after another of the tents which they had there. The occupant of each tent had sex with her, saying, "Tell your master, 'I did this only for love of you.'"
https://human.libretexts.org/Courses/Saint_Mary's_College_(Notre_Dame_IN)/Humanistic_Studies/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan_and_the_Rus_(Vikings)