From the Old Norse, vikingr means pirate. Many today still think of past Vikings as fierce raiders. Perhaps but they were also remarkable explorers, conquerors, settlers, traders and craftsmen. By the 8th century they even developed a form of democracy and extensive trade links.

Vikings spoke a language similar to Norse and shared a cultural heritage but they were never one nation. At the beginning of the Viking era their first loyalty was to their clan, a group of related families. There were many clans, each with its own ruler. It was only gradually that the three kingdoms were formed--Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

In Norse mythology, the father of their gods was Odin who brought war into the world. The mark of Odin was his spear. Teutonic (ancient German tribes) believed that the first drawing of blood was sacred so battles were begun by hurling a spear dedicated to Odin into the enemy's lines.

Norway and Denmark were divided into skipreita (ship districts), each with its own thegn (war leader). To raise an army Viking kings sent out an envoy with an iron arrow. Every man who saw the arrow was obliged to join the war leader's ship within five days or be outlawed.

Etymology, surname distribution studies and now DNA all show that Hodgson is of Norse origin. Its word for point of spear or arrowhead is Odd. The name can be either 'son of Oddr' or 'son of Oddgeir' meaning 'son of arrowhead' or 'son of leader spear'. Norse is a Teutonic language, as is German or Danish where we find similar elements and meanings from which Hodgson is derived. In Old German or Anglo-Saxon we have 'Hrodgar' meaning 'fame spear'. In Norman French this becomes Roger.

In Danish the equivalent of Odd is Udd making Hudson the possible Danish equivalent but it is a different surname. The variant Hrodgar may have come from two Danish syllables 'hroi' and 'gar', meaning 'glorious spear carrier'.

Were our forebears the 'leader spears'? Perhaps our Viking antecedents were the war leaders or thegn. Hodgson is certainly an old name with many hundreds of documented variants, with the spelling of Hodgson widespread and prolific. The science of genetics may reveal its precise roots.