Victory or Death
In battle, only two outcomes are acceptable: victory or death fighting; retreat is unthinkable.
Norse warriors fought with total commitment because the only acceptable outcomes were victory or death in battle. This wasn't fatalism but strategic: an army that won't retreat fights more fiercely and often achieves victory against longer odds.
No retreat, no surrender - we go forward or we go to Valhalla.
Total commitment in battle was both religious belief and practical strategy.
Norse Oral Tradition
Written about in
- What Norse tradition says about courage
Refusing to retreat is presented as practical as well as proud. An army that will not run is genuinely harder to beat than one that might.