re: #570 LudwigVanQuixote

An abundance of lice combs can be as easily interpreted as a sign of hygiene as lack of hygiene.

A lot of the history of the Vikings was told by Christianized Norse who had a very dim view of the old Pagan ways.

They certainly pillaged, they certainly sacked, especially the rich monasteries and churches. But armies sacking and pillaging was the norm; Charlemagne was doing it under the Christian flag at the same time, in a society that in some ways was even more barbarous.

They also were some of the more mathematically advanced, though no one quite understands exactly how; they were very, very good at composing distance tables, which is some heavy-ass math.

Anyway, my main point is just that the world is rife with insane barbarism up until the Enlightenment. There are few places that rise above this— and those are often the home fronts of otherwise barbarous groups, like the Mongols, who as they despoil and destroy on the exterior, build up a strong, law-abiding kingdom within.