Heathens were known for high grooming standards, in comparison to other European peoples. They even had a day of the week set aside for ritual bathing, Laugrdagr, which later became Saturday. How much this custom was influenced by Rome and Byzantium is an open question, but the question that intrigues me right now is: what did they use for fragrances? Or did they not use them?
My new fascination with perfumes and my lifelong study of heathen history intersect here. I didn't recall ever seeing any mention of what perfumes the ancient heathens made or wore, either in the Viking Age or before. But I thought that possibly it was because I was not seeking that information when I read about those times.
When Germanic mercenaries served the Emperor of Byzantium, they lived among his courtiers in Constantinople, and were seen at his palace enough for historical accounts of their doings to have been written by Emperors and Imperial courtiers. They were effectively a mercenary royal guard, not front line troops. They would surely have had access to the same grooming and luxury items as other senior servants and hired courtiers.
The court of the Byzantine Empire, also called the Eastern Roman Empire, had access to an amazing variety of luxury goods. They had perfumes from Cypress, Egypt, and India. We don't know if the Germanic people at the Byzantine court used them or not.
The later Viking obsession with wearing silk may have started with an association between being a successful mercenary and wearing Byzantine luxuries. By the Viking Age, cloth was the major export of the northern countries. Yet, wearing cloth of obvious foreign make was a status item.
And of course the Vikings raided all over Europe and traded much farther. Silk Road type items appeared in the far north. I'm familiar with the cloth and jewelry finds, because I studied that intentionally.
Were there perfumes found? Either of foreign manufacture or local? No, it appears that none have been found. They did have ritualized bathing and could have used soap or locally sourced materials, possibly even fragrant herbs, but if they did, we don't know what it was. Since grooming objects such as combs are common finds, it seems likely that if they did regularly use something for bathing that needed to be manufactured and stored in containers, some would have been found.
Perhaps they were minimalist about their ritual bathing. They may have used local materials that dissolved such as salt or clay, but it's possible they used nothing at all. The goal of a ritual bath is to be both physically and spiritually clean. They may have considered adding things to be bath to be counter to the goal of becoming as pure and clean as possible.
It's an interesting question. Like so many other questions, it is something we can only speculate about. The written materials we have on historical heathenry was largely about the concerns of the writers' patrons, who were kings. So we have tales about great deeds of arms. Stories about adventures, and conquering heroes. The small details of everyday life like bathing were things no one bothered to record because everyone knew.
I have one final thought on this subject. One of the great attractions in the capitol of Iceland is a natural hot springs which feeds a large pool. It was undoubtedly one of the things that attracted people to settle there. When supplied with such a wonderful natural hot bath, perhaps historical heathens felt they did not need to add anything to the experience. Just go right in the way it came from nature. Using perfumes or bath products may have seemed unnecessary when supplied with such perfection.
