The title "Viking" includes a wide range of Nordic people; Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, who lived during a period of Scandinavian expansion from 800 to 1100 AD. This word originated from Old Norse “víkingr,” or “vik” which means bay or creek and is generally associated with Scandinavian words for bays and fjords. It also corresponds with the name Wick, which is a Norwegian region. The name “Viking” which can be translated as “man of the fjord” and was used to identify the larceners, who hid in the confined bays and coves. The Saxon word “wîk” and Old High German “wîch” are considered similar to the Norse word and they both mean home. Another option for Viking is from old Norwegian word “Vike” which means leave, move away. It was to describe the people leaving their homelands in order to plunder or trade. Viking was not always used to describe a person as it was used to describe a social phenomenon, when freemen were forced to seek a better life outside the country.
The Viking Age was believed to start at the first documented overseas Viking raid in 793 AD at the Lindisfarne monastery just off the Northeast
…show more content…
shoulder of England. Around the same time, there are reports of raids elsewhere in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Caspian Sea. Kiev Norsemen even attempted an attack on the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. The world of Vikings was considered one of fission and nucleation. It has frequently been associated with piracy since pirates came from their northlands in longships to burn and pillage through civilized Europe. The Vikings are often portrayed as terrible robbers and bandits.
Most accounts in the world are from people who had poor experiences with Vikings, so it would seem their telling’s are biased. While this is most likely true, it was not the only thing they did. Trading played a very large role in the Viking world. Vikings, like many other folk, farmed, bred cattle, hunted, fished, and made their own cutlery and utensils. They had homesteads and marketplaces. Salt was one of their most acquired goods, as it was used in everyday life. It was not a good that would be imported from faraway lands, though. So the Vikings traded for it from nearby people. Their biggest trade items were iron, whetstones, and soapstone cooking pots. Iron was a vital resource in their world. They used it to make shields and weapons, which offered them a better chance when
raiding. The Vikings took pride in their ships. With the long coastlines and impenetrable interiors of Scandinavia, the sea was the preferred pathway for travelers. Clinker-built method was used for Viking ships. After the keel was fixed to the stern and stern posts, the sides were built plank by plank. Oar-power derived from pre-Viking era is what influenced the Viking ships. The most completed ship out of three discovered at the base of the Jutland peninsula dated back to 310 AD and was made of oak. It measured 70 feet 6 inches long and 11 feet 6 inches wide. It had the capacity for 45 warriors. It had a keel no bigger than a plank, which was not capable of carrying the weight and strains of a mast, and five long, sturdy but heavy, planks that were on either side of the boat. The building techniques of ships changed around 700 AD. They were now about 59 feet long and 10 feet wide with 10 pairs of oars. The keel was stronger and able to bear the weight of a mast. The steering oar, or rudder, was attached to starboard side instead of being loose, which gave greater control of the ship. Sails were generally made with different colored strips of material, and the ships’ ropes were made of walrus hide. Old Norse words “Skeid” meaning warship and “dreki” meaning dragon ship was generally carved on the ships’ stem and stern posts. The Gokstad ship, made from oak, was 76 feet 6 inches long and 17 feet 6 inches wide with 32 oars. It was better in voyages across the North Sea and the Atlantic for raiding, trading, or settlement. The Gokstad, Tune, and Oseberg ships were also used as graves, or burial ships. This was important as their burial techniques were to show their strong beliefs in an afterlife. In all 3 ships, a burial chamber was constructed behind the mast, where the deceased was placed to rest in a bed, dressed in fine clothing. Belongings, such as weapons, and nautical equipment, were placed inside along with vessels that held food and drink for the deceased, dogs and horses were sacrificed, and a large burial mound was piled on top of the vessel. Sometimes, there are even servants who sacrifice themselves and are joined on the ship with their masters. Some grave ships in Nordic countries and Western Europe were cremated, while the large graves in the Oslofjord were not. Ships were not the only way Vikings were buried. They were also buried along their countryside’s or cremated. Regardless of their burial, gifts were important. The amount of belongings the dead took with them revealed their status in life, in addition to different burial techniques. Nearly all male graves included weapons, showing the violent lifestyle of the Viking age. A warrior was buried with a sword, a wooden shield, a spear, an ax, and a bow with 24 arrows. There was a peaceful side to the belongings included in graves. Sickles, scythes, and hoes were buried with the weapons. For example; a blacksmith was buried with the hammer, anvil, tongs, and file he used in his work. A farmer was buried with his fishing tools. Women's graves often contained jewelry kitchen articles, and textile production artifacts. They were usually buried in grave ships. Many skillful chieftains established kingdoms in already populated places. Iceland, which is still a lived in country today, was one example of a conquered kingdom. Dublin and York were overtaken by the Vikings, but they did not survive very long. Kiev, another Viking kingdom, was the basis of the Roman Empire. Fortresses, which are circular and divided into quadrants, with square buildings in each of the four sections, dating to the end of the Viking age were also found in Denmark. These fortresses’ precision imply the Vikings had an advanced sense of order, surveying techniques, and knowledge of geometry in the Danish Kingdom. Raids eventually tapered off and the Vikings began colonization’s. In 1000 AD, people from Iceland or Greenland attempted to settle in Newfoundland. However, the colonists gave up and withdrew when conflicts rose between them and the indigenous Indians or the Eskimos. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway became separate kingdoms. The cause of wars now was simply driven by kings’ alliances. Trades that had been acquired during the Viking age still remained strong. At the end of the Viking age, Nordic countries turned to Christianity. Their previous pagan religion, often called the heathen religion, consisted of many gods and goddesses that they prayed to and offered sacrifices for, in contrast to the Christian belief of one God. The gods had supernatural counterparts that consisted of humans, giants, dwarves, and monsters. The center of the universe was called Yggdrasil. Midgard was called the enclosure in the middle, and was where humans lived. It was created around the sacred ash tree of Yggdrasil, and was surrounded by the ocean, where the world-encircling serpent, Jormungand lived. Asgard was close to Midgard but no humans lived here, only the gods inhabited Asgard. Giants lived in Jotunheim, which was separated from Midgard by rivers. Utgard was on the outer fringes of the cosmos and housed trolls and other horrible creatures. The world was considered to be a great void called Ginnungagap, and would be destroyed during an apocalyptic destruction at Ragnarok, where the gods would be destroyed, and a new world would rise. Viking warriors who died in battle would be chosen by Valkyries, which were female assistants to Odin, the allfather and most powerful god. If warriors were chosen, they would feast in Odin’s great hall, Valhalla, with the gods. Valhalla was the Christian equivalent of Heaven. If warriors were not chosen by the Valkyries, death would take them to Hel, Christian equivalent of Hell. There is a pagan temple in Sweden at Uppsala with statues of the three great gods, Odin, Thor, and Frey. Odin, a war-god, was the most important god to pagans. He is the god of death by violence. The Anglo-Saxons knew him as Woden, which is where the weekday Wednesday derived from. In Norse mythology, it is said that Odin traded one of his eyes in return for a drink from the well of wit and wisdom. He willingly hanged himself from the sacred ash World Tree at Yggdrasil for six days and nights in order to gain and understand the esoteric magical powers of runes. Odin kept two ravens, called Hugin and Munin, who fueled his thirst for knowledge by bringing news from all parts of the world. He was the god of battle, god of poetry and other aspects of life. He could change his shape and was a powerful deceiver. Odin was married to Frigg, who bore him the son Balder, who was unharmed by wounds from all plants, trees, and metals except mistletoe. Balder was killed by his brother, Hodr, a blind god who was tricked by Loki and given a dart laced with mistletoe. Loki is the trickster of the gods, son of the giant Farbauti and giantess, and possibly goddess, Laufey. He is father to Hel, goddess of the grave, Jormungand, the world-encircling serpent who kills Thor during Ragnarok, and Fenrir, who kills Odin during Ragnarok and bites the hand off of Tyr, a war-god. Thor, a sky-god and the second important figure in pagan religion, was the god of thunder and killer of giants with his hammer, Mjolnir. He is the son of Odin and Jord. The weekday Thursday was derived from Thor. He was straightforward and reliable. He was nowhere near as clever or deceitful as Odin was. Thor was always up for any challenge. He participated in a drinking contest with the giants. Thor was given a drinking horn that had its tip in the sea, and he still managed to swallow so much that the tide ebbed. He hooked the World Serpent, Jormungand, on a fishing trip, but was unable to reel it in because his giant companion cut his line out of fear. Thor was considered the popular god. Miniature versions of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, were made into amulets made out of silver and worn around the neck in the Viking age. Warriors wore these amulets to celebrate Thor. Frey was the third important pagan figure. He was the god of good weather needed for harvests and abundant produce. Frey was the chief of fertility gods. Freyja was his twin sister, who is the goddess of love and sex. His father was Njord, the god of wealth and seafaring. He was associated with wealth and prosperity. He was married to a giantess named Gerd and produced a child, Fjolnir, who was the first king of the Ynglinga dynasty in Uppsala.
When the Vikings reached the New World, they called the native inhabitants (American Indians or Native Americans), “Skræling.” There has been much debate as to what exactly this word or label meant. Some translate it as “skin wearers,” which may be true as to how they described them, being the Norse generally wore woolen or linen clothing and North American Natives generally wore animal skins. But there was one additional thing puzzling about the Norse and the Skræling. The Viking explorers weren't curious or baffled by these new people. As if, they'd come into contact with people like this before and their way of life. 500 years later, when other Europeans had come to the New World (The Americas), they were ultimately curious of these strange new people and their ways that they had never seen before. But not the Norse, the Norse hint that they have come into regular contact with people like this on a fairly regular basis.
All across cultures in history, varying groups of beliefs have come into contact with one another. As for early Muslims, military expansion and travel were key components for spreading the Islamic religion to foreign nations. However, not all exchanges were hostile or wholly based on the conquest of exotic lands. Some interactions solely were based on capturing lands to control, while allowing non-converters to remain in the area as the military continued forward gaining new territory. The primary sources, The Viking Rus, Peace Terms with Jerusalem, and The Pact to Be Accorded to Non-Muslim Subjects provide insight on how Muslims interacted with other religious groups. Early Muslims saw the expansion of Islam through conquest, travel, and trade with foreign cultures and beliefs, all while having unusual exchanges with each faith.
The vikings first made contact in eighth century Shetland. From there they made their way south to Orkney and Caithness, eventual...
Vikings’ settling down in Iceland and Greenland were important reflection of Viking expansion and they caused Viking civilization to extend on these two islands. Vikings were people from Scandinavia. For many reasons, such as the authoritarian policies of Harald Fairhair (Paine, 2013), the geographical features that lacking of lands for agriculture but having abundant trees for shipbuilding, Vikings were forced to expand into the sea. The two locations’ providing Vikings with lands undoubtedly provided them more chances for surviving.
The Vikings are famous for their violent ways when they pillaged and plundered villages of Northern Europe. Their dramatic exploits commenced during 800 – 1050 A.D, The first being the raid on Lindisfarne Monastery in 793, followed by a chain of attacks all over the coast of northern Europe during the next 200 years. As the years went on the frequency of Viking attacks increased as they became bolder. They were opportunists, raiding when the villages were off–guard or weak and trading when they were powerful. The speed and tactical advantage of the Viking longships allowed them to slip quietly ashore, pillage the village and make a fast getaway via water before the village can summon an army. By this time some Viking plunderers would stay over winter in a village. Soon their raiding camps became settlements and Viking control over Europe began to grow, it was not long before Vikings overran most of England.
The Vikings are had arrived in North America. The Vikings were in North America about 10 years (Weiner 4). They settled and made a life for themselves in North America. They had learned to adjust to the weather to survive for all those years. The Vikings were the first Europeans and Christians to come to North America (Steel 2). The Vikings explored North American waters for partners to trade with (Pringle 4). The Vikings wanted
Leif Erikson’s grandfather, Thorvald Asvaldsson slaughtered a man in Jæren, Norway in 960 CE. This was the age of the Vikings, but Thorvald was still banished from the land (Mandia, n.d.). So he brought his ten year old son Erik, later to be named as Erik the Red because of his scarlet hair, to Drangar in northwestern Iceland on a farm with rather appalling soil (Where is Vinland?, n.d.).
The Viking era existed from 800 AD to 1200 AD and during 1000 AD Christianity began to have major influence in the Viking culture (Roesdahl 27). A major religion that shaped the Viking culture is Nordic Paganism (Williams). According to Stephen Henkin who wrote an article called the Viking Fury, the Vikings admired and tried to live up to the character traits they saw their gods portraying(Henkin ). Stephen Henkin suggested that character traits the Vikings saw in the Nordic gods are virile qualities: brutality, anger, lust, and humor (Henkin). The Vikings attempted to try to shape their character from the character traits they saw their gods portraying believing that they should try to acquire these characteristics to make their gods happy. Nordic Paganism was polytheistic with the main gods being Odin, Thor and Frey (“The Pagan Library”).
Reasons attributing to the Viking’s success included their inability to be stopped by Western Europe and the fear that was installed into the residents of Western Europe. The viciousness of the attacks is clearly described in the Three Sources on the Ravages of the Northmen in Frankland, c. 843 – 912. The collection of these three texts describe various Viking attacks throughout Frankland, giving the reader a clear idea of the horror that the people of Frankland endured when attempting to resist the
There I was, Beowulf, standing tall and brave after the battle had ended. It was a bit strange to me seeing as I had once lived a very lonely life; I had killed other creatures before, I had fought small dragons, I had hunted wild boars, I had swam a race in the sea, but to me, this battle was much different. I had many villagers counting on me to defend their land. I prepared myself for everything, even the unthinkable, for seven days and seven nights in the halls of Hygelac the Geat. I had wished to go alone on this journey to slay Grendel and save Greatsland, but I was told to pick fourteen earls to take with me.
Beowulf is a very brave hero, he has fought and killed many creatures before, but this battle was different. He knew this battle was of great importance to everyone, and that made him that much more nervous. This creature was fierce and had been tormenting their village for as long as they could remember, so her death would be a huge victory for Beowulf and it would be an even bigger relief for the villagers. All of the people in the village were cheering for Beowulf as he walked away headed off to the greatest battle of his life.
The Norse religion is the religion of the Norse people prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia. It may seem as though the religion’s influence has died out, but it still affects our culture today. The general mythology is well known, but the details, such as how the lore was passed down from generation to generation, is obscure.
Typically, the image of a Viking is a barbaric, bearded man plundering and destroying a neighboring village. This is actually the stereotypical viewpoint. In actuality, Vikings, have a very different image. For example, Vikings did not wear furry boots or furry armor, they did not have horned helmets, they invaded Britain, and they also were the first to discover America! They were also experts in nautical technology, crafts, trading, warfare and many other skills (Jonsson 1). With all of these traits, the Vikings seem like an unstoppable force in the European continent. But, who were the Vikings? The Vikings were actually venturesome seafarers. This means that they were travelers who were constantly exploring and looking for new areas of land. There roots can be traced all the way back to 6000 B.C. were nomadic men traveled in primitive crafts up the Denmark coast. Fast forward two millennia and these nomadic people have established permanent homes, but still using the boat for food and travel. As stated before, they were not just raiders, although they did do this frequently, but they were actually expert traders, trading all around the world. It wasn’t until around 793 A.D. that a Viking explosion took place in northern Europe (Jonsson 2). Raids began to take place on neighboring villages and their places of worship. To some this is the only type of knowledge they have about Vikings. However, their culture was something to be admired. Trading, religion, and everyday life are all important parts of a Viking culture.
The beginning of the ninth century AD to the eleventh was known as the “Viking age”; during this time Iceland was settled by Scandinavians and CeltsCeltics. Some of the settlers were Christian while most were Pagan; together they created a culture
In the earliest years of the Vikings, there was little history recorded due to the polytheistic views that they followed. After the Vikings converted to Christianity, there were eventually written documents created pertaining to their existence. In Viking Warfare, I.P. Stephenson states that the Vikings “first described attack took place in AD 789”(11). The Vikings were also known as Norsemen. They were great storytellers, and that is perhaps how society knows so much about them today. The stories that the Norsemen told were called Sagas. Today, Vikings are often depicted as murderous savages, but while they were not pillaging villages they were actually quite a peaceful civilization. There were three countries that Vikings evolved from; Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Although it may seem that all Vikings were on the same side, they quarreled with each other as well. Despite the fact that Viking battles were bloody and gruesome they were also known to be the most hygienic out of many of the earlier civilizations. There was not a huge percentage of Vikings that went out and raided but when they did they made a huge impact on what Vikings are now known for. The success of Viking warfare and raids relied primarily on the uses of armor, weapons, long ships, and battle tactics.