: As far as I know, the berserks were freemen, not slaves.
: They killed for the honor and the glory--waiting to
: fight, they'd gnaw on the edge of their shields (which
: Myth berserks don't have) and literally go mad with
: killing rage. The word "berserk" means
: "bear skin;" the berserks wore only the
: skins of beasts when in battle. In most Norse myth,
: taking the shape of an animal requires the wearing of
: its skin, and many berserks (as well as their
: terrified opponents) believed that they became bears
: or wolves during their fits of madness.
Berserk is "bärsärk" in Swedish. "Bär" is another version of "björn" (modern-day Swedish for bear and a fairly common male name) and "särk" is the newer version of "serkr", translated as "chemise" or "shift" in English. Basically an old type of rough shirt.
Whether this means "bearshirt" or "bear wearing shirt" or whatever the Hell it might be, I think these berserk were common only in myth or legends. I doubt that many Vikings (who's most important contributions were in fact peaceful ones) were actually this ferocious as individuals.
Peter Isotalo
