The Vikings
Viking History
The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian raiders that were around from about the 8th century to the 11th. They mainly attacked the British Islands , the Frankish empire, England, but they also plundered places such as the Iberian peninsula and northern Africa. Vikings did not always settle into the places that they found, for instance after exploring North America they left the place never to return again. Even so, after landing on Greenland they colonized themselves there, and ancestors of the Vikings still live there today. So now that you know a little about the history of the Vikings lets go into detail about the specifics of the Viking age. (Peter Sawyer, Oxford Ill. History of the Vikings p. 1-19)
On the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, which is located between England and Scotland Irish monks had built a monastery; there they wrote many holy and beautiful books, called the Lindisfarne Gospels. These monks were peaceful people, wouldn’t hurt a fly, pity they were chosen by the Vikings, on the 8th of June in 793 to be the first major victim of one of their raids. Their arrival was seen first far off, they could see dragon head carvings on their well crafted ships slowly coming closer and closer to the shore. As soon as they got out of their boats the Vikings poured onto land ripping off the monk’s clothing and tearing their bodies apart with their sharp swords, and sometimes drowned them. Viking raiders tipped over the cross of Bishop Ethelwold, which was built out of stone. Before they left that hot day the Vikings had taken all of the monk’s treasure, set each building aflame, and killed the monk’s cattle to feed themselves on. Then, in an instant they got into their ships and left.
This was the first major Viking attack, as you can see it was pretty gruesome, but they were just getting started. The next summer there were several places on the British North Sea coast attacked. After 799 the Vikings managed some raids on Friskan-Frankish coast, forcing them to set up a coastal watch to warn citizens of the area. (Oxenstierna, Eric, The Norsemen p. 49-74)
The Vikings in the 8th century mainly centered in places along the Dutch coast, but the Norwegian Vikings were settled in the Orkney and Shetland islands. Throughout the 9th century the Viking’s expanded their empire to engulf Ireland, and Northwestern England. In t...
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... a mixture of clay and dug them to make them draff and weatherproof. Vikings lived with their animals, the animals kept their houses warm, and it secured them from being stolen, because cattle was very valuable. Women did all the work around the house while men worked in the fields, and on the farms, of coarse they also fished and hunted when that was needed.
There was not much wood in Sweden and Norway, except in the south where softwoods like conifers were used for building. They also provided for the long straight horizontal timbers that served as the joints.
Viking Relationships
The military leaders of the Vikings were Earls (called Jarls) and sometimes even priests. The freeman (bonds) were the farmers and merchants. The slaves (thralls) worked on other people’s farms to pay for their share in profits from raids. (Purves, pg. 10)
Viking family life did not include much free time for personal enjoyment. They ate slept and worked in one room of their house. The 2 most important objects in the room were the firepit and the weaving loom. There were no cupboards, tier belongings were hung on the wall or in chests that were at the edge of the room. (Gibson, Michael pg. 18)
The vikings first made contact in eighth century Shetland. From there they made their way south to Orkney and Caithness, eventual...
When we hears the term Viking an immediate image of bloodthirsty men with long beards and horned helmets is conjured up in our minds. This is the image the historical sources have given us, and it is partly true. Vikings were merciless when raiding, but they were peaceful when they traded. Their navigational technology was exceptional, and the ones who settled in foreign lands contributed greatly to the lands’ culture.
TheVikings have been sailing for thousands of years (Steel 1). The Vikings traveled for 2 years this was called a Vikings trial (Steel 1). They would go out in search for land and new wonders in life. They would build their own boats out of wood and hides of animals. They were known as the best sailors of their time.
The statement “The Vikings are deserving of their bad reputation” is a deeply inaccurate statement. The bad reputation of being primitive, lawless, bloodthirsty pirates of the dark ages can be challenged by a consideration of the perspectives and motivations of written records such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, as well as archaeological evidence that reveal the Vikings as a technologically developed people whose advanced longboats were used to surpass geographical disadvantage to trade their intricate cultural productions. Furthermore, Viking contributions to British law and linguistics is further evidence that the “heathen Northmen” were multifaceted
This book is a very important primary source for historians because it contains the only primary source concerning the Vikings before they converted to Islam, and many other accounts of important information including Viking raids. The book shows how the Eastern Vikings lived and how the Muslim world interacted with them. It also gives insight into the state of Islam in the tenth through twelfth century. Almost all of the information is this book is relevant to historians and the eye witness accounts are very useful concerning the people and places in this time period.
This made their clothing unique to other tribes. They used bring colour that were dipped in different liquids and even sometimes blood from animals that were usually killed for a specific need. Wood and bark was super important to help build houses but also have enough to make a fire when the weather started to get colder. The men would use stones and wood to make bows and arrows and different weapons. The women would make the clothing and blankets for the winter time made of elk or deer skin. The Dakota Sioux were very big hunters. The men hunted deer, elk, bear, wild turkey and the most popular buffalo. They didn 't fish a lot because of the fact that it was against their religion to kill fish for food because of the fact that they saw it as an offering that a young child will give up to the gods to become a man. The women would mainly gather berries and roots for heavier alternatives to the meat. They also had their children help out because of the fact that they didn 't want the children to hunt at a young age. The roots were also used for medicine along with foot. Since the Dakota were nomadic, they would move and migrate where ever the buffalo went and when food was scare they would have their meat dried and take around with them so they were never hungry. Since they were nomadic their housing needed to be easy to
Research and archeological evidence have revealed the Vikings were a race of tall, blonde, imposing figures that lived predominantly in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway before the Middle Ages. The Vikings were a race of war mongering peoples. They conquered and then conquered each other to gain more victory and prowess in battle. On page forty, we can find King Volsung himself offering: “I have fought a hundred times… it will not be reported that I either fled or asked for peace.” (Saga, 40.) Their society was based in monarchs and Vikings lived in kingdoms rules over by many different kings, all fighting for dominance and resources. As these resources depleted over the years, along with the available land, the Vikings pushed each other south and out of the Nordic
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.
Viking raids and expansion enabled them to gain power over others. The Vikings were skilled warriors and knew exactly what places to target for maximum effect. Places such as “abbeys, monasteries, and churches were regular Viking targets because they were defended lightly, if at all, and contained large amounts of wealth” (Davis). Vikings wanted to acquire the items that could be found in places of worship in order to become wealthier. This would advance their nation over all the others, enabling them to achieve complete control. The Viking’s lust for power and wealth pulled them out of Scandinavia. As the Vikings became stronger and more powerful, they were also able to colonize different areas and expand. The Vikings were able to successfully colonize parts of England, Europe, and Greenland (“Viking Age”). Conquering nearby lands enabled the Vikings to gain rule over other nations. The Vikings wanted to gain more land and power than other civilizations, so that they could prosper. This led to them setting off on long journeys across the sea in search of new land. Their determination to secure power led them to expand into territories all over Europe and Asia. The Vikings soon became highly successful, due to their skilled warriors, allowing them to conquer and gain the most wealth possible. Their lust for power inspired them to travel in search of new
The Vikings precious weapon was there sword. The Vikings would like to raid other people also.
They had a substantial amount of wealth from their raids, and this wealth allowed them to build infrastructure such as buildings and ports in their towns and maintain strong and well-armed raiders. They had arguably the best navy in the world with very sophisticated ship designs that were able to make long voyages. The Viking ships were faster, stronger and more effective than those of other parts of the world and had two different types of ships which were used. They had “Langskip”, which were used primarily for war and battle, and “Knörr”, which emphasized a large cargo for carrying goods to be sold and traded. With profits from the raids, they were able to trade with neighboring countries, and even those faraway. Places such as Arabia, Spain and Russia engaged in trading and many other forms of interaction with the Vikings in result of their conquests, voyages and expeditions. These engagements were sometimes peaceful, but most of the time the warrior mentality of the Vikings would take over. Many Viking settlements began to pop up all around eastern Europe around Russia (Abram), due to a group of Swedes who were on a journey eastward and got forced to settle in the mid-European woods on their way, the group of people were called the Rus. These peoples mixed their ideologies and abilities with the native people to their regions, and brought them back to
In the 14th century, war, and violence were prevalent. The Canterbury Tales were written during the Hundred Years War, when the Catholic Church was dealing with the Western schism, and “Against the darkest period of his life…” (Bloom 14). The story is centered on a group of thirty pilgrims who are traveling to the shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury (Bloom 14). The pilgrims are all focused on a theme which is backed by the story’s underlying tone of religion.
793, the Vikings revealed their true strength during the attack of Lindisfarne monastery, located in northeastern England. The monks and small force of soldiers were overwhelmed by the sheer power of the mysterious invaders. Marking the beginning of the Viking Age, the ferocious attack shook the religious world, striking fear into the hearts of Europeans across the continent. While the Europeans cowered in fear in the presence of the Vikings, they never expected them to have a religion.
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.