The Truth about the Vikings

Most people think of the Vikings as rude, rough, mean people who simply wanted to destroy and steal everything. But is that really true? Was there a reason behind the Vikings rage and destructive mentality? Their way of life was different from most of the people at the time. But they were very skilled at many things. They had different beliefs and that may have impacted their way of thinking about things compared to other people. As well as the leaders they may have had at different times and where they lived. What happened to the Vikings in the end? If they were so powerful, why didn’t their population last longer? There are many interesting topics on the Vikings; but these are the most important.

Most Vikings lived in Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden. But also started settling in, in other countries such as Iceland; the Vikings discovered Iceland in the ninth century, a country with volcanoes and lots of snow. They also settled in Russia, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Normandy, England, Scotland, Iceland and Canada. Normandy was one of the largest and main settlements for the Vikings and was founded by Rollo, a Viking leader after conquering England in 1066. In the tenth century the Vikings founded the first European settlement in Greenland. The Vikings also destroyed France in 855. Just recently, archeologists and historians discovered that from 989 to 1020 Vikings lived in Newfoundland Canada and had huts for different activities such as weaving, ironworking and ship repair. This is the first evidence of Viking existence in North America. Since the Vikings attacked and plundered so many countries, they had the option of settling into those countries.

The life of the Vikings wasn’t easy. They we...

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...ed to survive. Without this people couldn’t live and then either died or became villagers in Normandy or other countries. So yes, there was a reason behind their way of living. But it was a reason that most people now a days would understand. Everybody wants to live and care for their families. At the time, becoming a Viking was the only choice. Also, most parts of Scandinavia were bad for growing crops so they needed to steal it from other countries and villages. Vikings had a good, legitimate reason for stealing and the way they are for the most part. Perhaps there could have been a better way of finding food and caring for their families; but medieval times were violent and it may have seemed as a good way to do it. But was it really? No one really knows what could have been done instead and if it was really necessary to do. At the time it seemed to be correct.