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The Nordic Times

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/vikings-gave-expensive-fines/

The Nordics

Vikings gave expensive fines

Published August 19, 2024 – By Editorial staff
The Forsaring was found in Hälsingland.
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Researchers at Stockholm University have reinterpreted the runic inscription found on Forsaringen. According to the new interpretation of the old legal text, it can be concluded that the Vikings had a very pragmatic approach to fines, which were also relatively high.

The Forsaring is an iron ring found in the medieval church of Forsa in Hälsingland. The ring was riveted to a door between the porch and the nave, but was recovered when the church was demolished in 1840. The ring is dated to the 8th or 9th century, and the runic inscription describes a fine for an offense, to be paid in oxen and silver. It is the oldest surviving legal text in the Nordic countries today.

The inscription on the ring "uksa ... auk aura tua" was previously interpreted to mean that the fine was to be paid with both an ox and two coins of silver.

– This would have meant that the offender would have had to pay with two different means of payment, which would have been both impractical and time-consuming, said Rodney Edvinsson, professor of economic history at Stockholm University, in a press release.

The word "auk" was previously interpreted as the word "and", but by changing the translation to the word "also", the text takes on a different meaning. Instead, the new interpretation means that fines could be paid with either an ox or two pennies of silver. A penny was about 25 grams of silver. This system would mean that the Vikings had a flexible payment system.

– If a person had easier access to oxen than to silver, they could pay their fine with an ox. If someone had silver but no ox, they could pay with two coins of silver, says Edvinsson.

Oxen were valuable and were sometimes considered particularly sacred animals, which is reflected in the rune for U - Uruz - which symbolizes the aurochs in the older Futhark

Edvinsson has previously helped develop a consumer price index dating back to the 13th century, but the reinterpretation of the runic script provides more insight into price levels earlier in history. According to the reinterpretation, an ox would cost 2 coins of silver, which was about 50 grams in Viking times. This is equivalent to about SEK 100,000 in today's Swedish kronor (€8 700) , when compared to the value of an hour's work.

A servant cost about 12 coins, which is about 600,000 kronor (€52 000) today. The man's fine for a free man, i.e. the fine paid to the family of the person killed by the murderer's family to avoid blood revenge, was higher and usually amounted to about five kilos of silver - about 10 million SEK (€870 000).

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-mayor-raises-alarm-over-refugee-policy/

Norway

Norwegian mayor raises alarm over refugee policy

Migration crisis in Europe

Published yesterday 7:28 am – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Four out of five kroner in social assistance goes to refugees in the Norwegian city of Sarpsborg. Now the municipality's mayor is criticizing Norway's integration policy and calling it a failure, citing a new municipal report.

In the Norwegian city of Sarpsborg, with approximately 60,000 inhabitants, a new municipal report has revealed figures sparking debate. A full 79.1 percent of the financial social assistance paid out during 2024 went to refugees.

Mayor Magnus Arnesen from the Conservative Party (Høyre) is now taking a strong stance against the Norwegian state's integration policy.

— The municipal director presents figures that I believe show that integration policy in Norway is not working. It is inadequate, the mayor tells Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

The report also shows that half of the immigrants in the municipality have a refugee background, compared to one-third at the national level. Over the past 15 years, the number of immigrants in Sarpsborg has increased by 132 percent, from 6,115 to 15,140 people.

According to Arnesen, the problems are partly due to how the Norwegian refugee reception system is designed. Refugees granted residence permits are initially settled in a municipality but are free to move after five years without losing their introduction benefits.

Many then choose to move to larger cities like Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad, or Drammen – so-called secondary settlement. The problem is that they arrive without work and without the state funding that municipalities receive for primary settlement.

Disagrees

This week, Labor and Integration Minister Kjersti Stenseng from the Labor Party (Arbeiderpartiet) met with the mayors of Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad to discuss the problems.

But she disagrees with Arnesen that integration policy has failed.

— No, I don't agree with that. We have many good examples of people who come to this country, learn the language, and find work, says Stenseng.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/finland/concerns-about-childrens-safety-at-finnish-daycare-centers/

Finland

Concerns about children’s safety at Finnish daycare centers

Welfare collapse

Published November 19, 2025 – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

A large proportion of staff at Finnish Swedish-speaking daycare centers feel that the environment is unsafe for children. Staff shortages are identified as the main issue.

In April 2025, Finnish public broadcaster Yle sent out a survey to over a thousand employees in early childhood education in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kyrkslätt, and Kauniainen. A total of 324 people responded to the survey.

The results show that six out of ten employees feel that the environment is physically or emotionally unsafe for children. Staff shortages are identified as the recurring problem. Nearly 200 people describe in their open-ended responses situations where too few adults are responsible for too many children.

— Staff have been replaced in quite a short time, in several groups. It affects the children's safety and well-being greatly, says Marika, who works at a daycare center, to Yle.

Early morning hours and late afternoons are particularly critical. Marika reports that on one occasion she was solely responsible for thirteen children under three years old. According to Finnish law, there must be at least one qualified person per maximum of four children under three years old. However, by calculating an average for the entire day, daycare centers can meet the requirement statistically.

Only one-third of all respondents believe they will still be working at the same daycare center in five years.

Jenni Tirronen, head of early childhood education in Helsinki, confirms that burnout is a major problem.

— We are naturally very concerned about the burnout. Our own staff survey shows that approximately 60 percent of our employees feel that they do not recover sufficiently after the workday, says Tirronen.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norwegian-experts-sound-alarm-over-weight-loss-medication/

Norway

Norwegian experts sound alarm over weight-loss medication

Published November 18, 2025 – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

More and more people are using weight-loss medications to lose weight. Now Norwegian experts are sounding the alarm that these drugs may trigger a new form of eating disorder – a so-called "dieting disorder" where patients become trapped in destructive behavior.

The use of various weight-loss medications has increased in many countries recently, with drugs like Wegovy and the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic increasingly being used for weight loss. These drugs have gained traction because they contain semaglutide, which increases the feeling of satiety.

Danish experts have previously warned that this type of medication can worsen and even trigger various types of eating disorders, with a larger proportion of patients taking the medication in a destructive manner. Now Norwegian experts in the field are also stepping forward, noting that there is an entirely new patient group – those who cannot stop taking weight-loss medications.

— We're getting quite a few people coming to us after having taken weight-loss medication for a while who say they can no longer control it themselves, but they don't dare stop taking the medication because they will then gain weight, says psychologist Bente Sommerfeldt to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

"Dieting disorder"

Sommerfeldt specializes in eating disorders and says that more and more people in the field are talking about how the growing market for obesity medications has triggered what may become a new diagnosis.

— We are on the verge of getting yet another eating disorder, which we might call dieting disorder.

General practitioners also see risks with the use of weight-loss medication and believe that there is currently no good method for actually stopping it once you've started.

— At present, we have no good method for stopping this medication. The most important thing is therefore that we speak clearly with patients, says Torgeir Hoff Skavøy, who is chairman of the Norwegian Association of General Practitioners.

Cathrine M Lofthu, who heads the Norwegian Directorate of Health, says they take the experts' warnings very seriously and that we must recognize this is a social problem.

— We have created a society where it is difficult to make good choices, she says.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/norway/norway-fails-to-eradicate-wild-boar/

Norway

Norway fails to eradicate wild boar

Published November 18, 2025 – By Editorial staff
2 minute read
Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Despite Norwegian authorities wanting to eliminate all wild boar in the country, the population remains stable. According to new figures from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), between 450 and 700 wild boar live in the border areas with Sweden – and migration from Swedish forests makes it nearly impossible to reach zero.

The figures come from NINA's latest monitoring of the wild boar population during the 2024/2025 hunting season. Norway has been trying to reduce the population for some time, primarily due to the damage that wild boar can cause. But the population remains stable at the same level each year.

— Wild boar can damage crops and spread diseases to domestic pigs, which can harm the industry. That's why Norway wants to eradicate the species, says Inger Maren Rivrud, researcher at NINA, to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK.

Behind Norway's difficulties in eliminating the wild boar is primarily the large population on the other side of the border. In Sweden, there are over 300,000 wild boar, and nearly 120,000 animals are shot each year without the population decreasing significantly.

Swedish biologist Marcus Öhman has previously proposed that wild boar meat should be served in public institutions as part of the solution. For Norway, the Swedish population means that animals constantly migrate across the border.

— Even if we eliminate all of them in Norway, wild boar will still come from Sweden. Keeping the population at zero will be nearly impossible, says Rivrud.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Environment Agency have previously proposed that a fence should be built along the border in areas where most wild boar migrate. But according to Rivrud, extensive hunting efforts are also required for the population to decrease.

Editorial staff
editorial@nordictimes.com