the devil was a farmer

you've probably heard that vikings didn't actually wear the horned helmets. some history teacher has probably ruined that for you. and if they haven't, i just did. i'm sorry. you are welcome. 

they were portrayed with the helmets by christians in the areas they attacked. they were pagans, and thus associated with the devil -- and if you are doing an artistic interpretation of someone running to attack you, you might see horns too. 

but not only did they not wear horned hats, they were also primarily -- get this -- farmers. that's right. good old country people. until vikings were fifteen, they worked on the family farm. at that point, fighting lessons etc would begin. but they weren't told from birth "okay lad now go kill brother jimmy." children were seen as vital to surviving -- y'know, you need a worker, just make one. 

you don't need to believe that. you can believe they wore horned helmets and trained children from the age of two to hold an axe. you can believe that every viking child's first words were "i killed my brother." go for that. you can believe that these historical records are just wrong. maybe they are. we don't know for sure. ever, really. you can believe whatever you want, but it doesn't mean it's true.