In Viking days, men were real men. And you could smell it a mile off.
Mead, gore, sweat, animal meat, seawater and smoke were the typical odours of a 10th century warrior.
And now you can smell just like that, thanks to Norse Power – a deodorant for men launched by Visit York today.
Created in the 30th anniversary year of the Jorvik Viking Centre, the body spray was commissioned by the tourism agency to give the modern metrosexual male an idea of the aromas that abounded in the days of longships, long swords and even longer beards.
“Historical research indicates that the Vikings were quite particular about personal hygiene, especially when compared to the Anglo Saxons,” said Michelle Brown, Visit York’s marketing manager
“But even so, this only meant washing once a week, which by today’s standards isn’t exactly the height of cleanliness!
“And for a Viking raider, who’d travelled hundreds of miles over land and sea, and spent their days fighting bloody skirmishes, it’s fair to say they wouldn’t always have carried the most alluring aromas around with them.”
Norse Power body spray was developed by a team of scent scientists in consultation with Viking experts at Jorvik, renowned for its accurate research of smells of the period.
Those smells in full
Here’s what you get when you inhale Norse Power…
- Mead (imbibed generously by Viking warriors after a hard day’s raiding)
- Blood and gore (spilled on the battlefields as the marauding Vikings conquered all in their path)
- Smoke (from the settlements razed by Vikings during raids)
- Seawater (From the journey by longship to British shores)
- Mud (Vikings often travelled by foot over the sodden terrain)
- Human sweat (which would have been deep soaked into a warrior’s clothes after a hard day’s raiding)
- Animal meat, fruits and nuts (the essential ingredients of a hearty Viking feast)
- Fresh pine (from traversing the many forests of Britain in search of places to conquer)
To get a sniff of Norse Power, head to the Visit York Visitor Centre on Museum Street on either Saturday May 17th or Sunday May 18th.
Couples will be encouraged to test the body spray out on their partners to see which they prefer: their usual 21st century aftershave aromas or the smells of the Viking era.
The deodorant follows the launch of Visit York’s Smell York scented guidebook.
It is part of a new marketing campaign, promoting York through the five senses: smell, touch, see, hear and taste.