If the Viking expansion was due to famine in Scandinavia, how come the Vikings are invariably described (ibn Fadlan et al) as taller and more well-built than other men?

by Urabutbl
y_sengaku

Sorry, what is the main source on OP's hypothetical premise (the famine in Scandinavia triggered the Viking expansion)?

AFAIK the overpopulation and the colder climate as primary incentives of the Vikingshad been based on the classical/ medieval literary cliche, and has been refuted in any serious academic literature on the Vikings for long (at least for about half a century).

As for the latter part of OP's question, the osteological research of skeletons across medieval Europe seems not to show any noticeable difference between Scandinavians and non-Scandinavians (Cf. Steckel 2004).

Reference:

  • Steckel, Richard H. "New Light on the "Dark Ages": The Remarkably Tall Stature of Northern European Men during the Medieval Era." Social Science History 28, no. 2 (2004): 211-29. Accessed May 19, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40267840.