BERSERKER (from the "Sark" or shirt of the "bear" or other
animal-skins worn by them), in Scandinavian mythology, the name of the
twelve sons of the hero Berserk, grandson of the eight-handed Starkadder
and Alfhilde. Berserk was famed for the reckless fury with which he
fought, always going into battle without armour. By the daughter of King
Swafurlam, whom he had killed, he had the twelve sons who were his
equals in bravery. In Old Norse the term
berserker thus became
synonymous with reckless courage, and was later applied to the
bodyguards of several of the Scandinavian heroes.
This article is from the 1911 edition of an
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