Theres descriptions of "swarthy" Vikings that some claim to mean black or tanned, but this description is often used to refer to the Rus or Sami peoples who lived the East and sometimes integrated with the Norsemen and Danes. It just means they have a ruddy complexion compared to the super pale Northmen
Swarthy just means darker. And in a region where parts of the country dont experience daylight for a month every year people are going to be very white, so anyone slightly darker than them will be 'swarthy'. The vikings also raided as far as the Mediterranean and even Greenland, so they would come home pretty tanned.
Theres descriptions of "swarthy" Vikings that some claim to mean black or tanned, but this description is often used to refer to the Rus or Sami peoples who lived the East and sometimes integrated with the Norsemen and Danes. It just means they have a ruddy complexion compared to the super pale Northmen
I always associated swarthy with eastern or southern European.
Swarthy just means darker. And in a region where parts of the country dont experience daylight for a month every year people are going to be very white, so anyone slightly darker than them will be 'swarthy'. The vikings also raided as far as the Mediterranean and even Greenland, so they would come home pretty tanned.
Swarthy means currynig or zulu.