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The Viking way of life was not for the faint of heart.

Previously, scholars had presumed that the rate of violence in the Viking Age in Denmark and Norway was pretty similar, according to the Independent.

But a recent study found that Vikings in Norway were more likely to die violent deaths compared with their counterparts in Denmark.

University of South Florida researcher David Jacobson and his colleagues analyzed 30 skeletons from Norway and 82 from Denmark, as well as studied runestones to understand the societal structures and prominence of violence within them.

The team found that 37 percent of the Norwegian skeletons revealed individuals who had died brutal deaths, from bladed or pointed weapons.

However, this figure was around seven percent in Denmark, most of which appeared to be from executions – such as hangings or decapitations – rather than the result of individual combat or personal conflicts.

Researchers also noticed that the Norwegian Vikings were more likely to be buried with their weapons, particularly swords, highlighting the culture’s association with violence and status. The study said that more than 3,000 swords from the Viking and Late Iron Age periods were found in Norway, while only a few dozen were discovered in Denmark.

The authors suggested that the type of society also contributed to the prevalence of violence: Norwegian Vikings lived in more decentralized societies that experienced more interpersonal violence.

In contrast, Denmark experienced less peer-to-peer violence because of its centralized society, which included defined social hierarchies and a stronger central authority: This was illustrated in its larger fortifications and also runestones that featured titles like “king.”

Scientists suggested that this centralization meant that the violence was controlled and organized, likely displayed in the form of official executions.

“This is quite striking, as the assumption has been that socially Viking Scandinavia was largely a singular space,” said Jacobson in a statement.

While the paper is based on some of the largest bone collections from the Viking Age, the sample size is relatively small and limits the certainty of conclusions, Live Science explained.

The authors caution that these skeletons may not fully represent the broader populations they were drawn from, as Vikings killed during raids abroad were likely buried in those lands, not at home.