The process of identity formation during the central Middle Ages [10th-12th centuries] among the warrior aristocracy was fundamentally centered on the paired practices of gift giving and violent ...

The term eventually gained strong aristocratic overtones and brought great prestige to the samurai's lineage—so much so that warriors would recite their ancestry on the battlefield. By the 11th ...

Valhalla was run by Odin, a god favoured by aristocratic warriors. Norse sagas reveal that while many people worshipped other gods such as Thor to ensure the fertility of their land, warriors and ...