Throughout much of the Viking Age, political power in Norse society was primarily concentrated in the hands of chieftains, who were essentially warlords ruling over relatively small groups of people. These chieftains led bands of raiding warriors, whose exploits across Europe defined the Viking Age. At this point, the kings who would later unify Denmark, Norway, and Sweden into cohesive countries had not yet come to power. Instead, Scandinavia was a patchwork of chieftains' territories, varying in size.
As warlords, Norse chieftains engaged in continuous competition with other chieftains to consolidate and maintain their power. To gain an advantage over their rivals, a chieftain required a loyal group of warriors who would fight by his side. The more warriors he could command, the more formidable he tended to be. To secure and retain such loyal warriors, as historian Anders Winroth explains:
"A chieftain needed to be generous to his men, achieve victory in battles – described as 'feeding carrion to the ravens' in the poetic language of the time – and cultivate fame and a positive reputation. Without success in these endeavors, he could not achieve any of them. Winning battles was how he acquired the wealth necessary for generosity, and his generosity inspired poets... to enhance his reputation by composing and reciting poetry. This, in turn, encouraged warriors to seek out the renowned chieftain, thus attracting more warriors and making battle victories more likely. This cycle led to a positive reputation and increased wealth to distribute to his followers."
Traditional Norse poetry featured a vast array of recurring phrases and expressions centered around wealthy chieftains bestowing their riches upon their followers. This concept was deeply ingrained in Norse culture, particularly in the minds of poets who composed for specific chieftains and had an economic incentive to bolster their patrons' reputations.
Since true currency did not exist in Viking Age Scandinavia, chieftains dispensed wealth primarily in the form of precisely-weighted arm rings crafted from gold and silver. These arm rings could be relatively simple or intricately designed, but their value was essentially based on the weight of the metals used. Additionally, wealth was granted in the form of land and the produce it yielded.
Chieftains also demonstrated generosity toward their followers by hosting grand feasts. These feasts often incorporated elements of religious ritual, imbuing the relationship between the chieftain and his followers with a sense of sacredness.
Of course, the generosity of chieftains was no mere charity. Their gifts were given to their warriors in exchange for the warriors’ gift of their loyalty, which couldn’t be taken for granted. The bonds of fealty had to be continually renewed if they were to remain intact.
But this wasn’t only a calculated economic transaction. Honor, pride, and belongingness were also at stake. While fighting and economic reward were the concrete means of maintaining the relationship between chieftain and warrior, the relationship was what really mattered. An extreme – but common – example of this is that, in the eyes of Viking society, one of the noblest deeds a warrior could perform was to fall in battle alongside his leader – proving loyal even to the point of death, forsaking not only his wealth, but his very life.