When we picture Viking feasts, we imagine overflowing mugs of mead, firelight flickering on wooden beams, and warriors laughing until the walls shook. But real Norse feasts were ruled by discipline. Across the Viking world, gatherings followed strict drinking customs known as Ale Laws, or öl-lög. These weren’t simple rules about when to stop drinking. They were codes of honor. Every toast, every sip, and every cup passed around that hall meant something. The first cup was always raised to the go