A VIKING OF A DIFFERENT COLOR 3

Continuing my review of True Myth: Black Vikings of The Middle Ages by Nashid Al-Amin

It is Al-Amin’s theory that Northern Europe was settled by a black race and that the black races were still in dominance in Scandinavia during the Viking Age. He backs up that assertion by factual, but his theory is frustratingly both very thought-provoking and highly jingoistic.

This is not a perfect book. Al-Amin reiterates many theories that are out of the mainstream that are close to my own. I do not agree with all his theories, but my agreement with many disposes me to give unknown or new ones a fairer chance.

The facts cited are not generally mentioned or noted, but which were to me fairly familiar. After all, in high school, I had scandalized a teacher in biology by stating that black people were probably predecessor to the whiter races that developed later. References to Grimaldis and other physical proofs, along with some very convincing illustrations, literary accounts and ver ambiguous academic observations are very convincing and provide a suitable foundation for the entire subject.

Although the book has some very persuasive illustrations—a photo of Otzi the Iceman clearly showing African features that are usually ignored—a lot of the is largely contrary to what the reader might think. Still, an impartial reader will find it easy to give credence to more controversial assertions and interpretations.

The book has awakened an interest in the matter. And I have seen now a lot more references to dark-skinned people of the area and time. The book contains many radical, inspirational and legitimate reinterpretations.

I’ll be frank. After reading the book, I don’t know what to believe.. On the one hand, I cannot unthinkingly and enthusiastically embrace the concept, but on the other hand, Al-Amin has painted a scenario which cannot be unthinkably denied or ignored. In the end, I have to file Al-Amin with John Bosworth, a revisionist—and I know that some revisionist history a little below camphor stew—who can look at what has been generally said and believed an see a new interpretation.

In the end, I readily see how some Norse were dark complectioned—though they seemed to have valued light skin and blond hair if we look at how they attempted to artificially promote this—though I cannot believe without reservation that they all had black African features. The end result was probably somewhere in between. As adamantly Afro-centric as many authors are Euro-centric, Al-Amin and the book are not without their faults. And the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. I agreed already with much of what he says. And I cannot agree with is the notion that all Norse were pure, white Aryan images! But this is another reason I want to fund a frozen Norse Otzi from the Viking era!

For purchasing a copy of the book—both physically printed and an e-book—see this site.