This sent a clear message to his men.
Did the vikings burn their boats. What the burning of the ship did was to crystallized the moment and force the Vikings to leap into the unknown. He was expecting them due to news from France so they run away quickly towards the ships as they did. The survivors continued south to Arab lands.
Vikings Were Burned Or Buried Before the age of Christianity when Vikings still worshipped pagan gods it was common to bury a Viking along with his belongings often lying in a boat or a wagon to make the journey to the next world easier. It is also believed that the Viking Warriors who invaded Flamborough burned their boats when they arrived so that there was no way they could sail back to their homeland. Did the Vikings Really Burn Their Ships.
By burning his ships Alexander hoped to galvanize and motivate his troops. You may be confusing certain Viking funeral customs with Spanish conquistadore Hernando Cortez decision to burn his ships when they arrived in the new world as a means of reinforcing his. Similar tales are told of the Vikings and other warriors throughout the ages.
The burning of their ship clearly made the point that the only possible way home was to win the battle. Third it was a signal to the Vikings themselves. They could not timidly step into the unknown.
It reinforced their own level of commitment. But the vikings did not just explore the oceans they also sometimes went across land on their expeditions. Vikings originated from present-day Denmark Norway and Sweden and their burial customs depended on the region where they lived.
Well the ships were build for sailing - and they were very good at it too. A prominent tradition is that of the ship burial where the deceased was laid in a boat or a stone ship and given grave offerings in accordance with his earthly status and profession sometimes including sacrificed slaves. 60 to 70 viking ships with Vikings inside were burned according to Ramiro probably around 30 or 40 is more realistic.