The Vikings Research Paper

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The Vikings The Vikings were and still are a very important part of history. The Vikings were known to trade, explore, raid, and settle across Europe and Asia. However, Vikings are thought of as barbaric raiders, ravaging, looting, and terrorizing the coasts of Northern Europe during their time. This may be true, but not completely. Although they were thought of as larger than life figures, they were an important part of history in shipbuilding, navigation, language, and several things in modern life. Perhaps the most evident of Viking achievements was their state-of-the-art shipbuilding technology. This technology allowed them to travel greater distances than anyone before their time. The most well known ship built by the Vikings was called …show more content…

Doing so left an enduring impact on the land, culture, and language. As the Vikings started to interact with their English companions through farming, trading, and intermarriage, their languages, Old Norse and Old English, began to mix as well. As a result, many words in our English vocabulary comes from the Vikings. For example, we get the words they, there, then, skirt, sky, ski, sled, sleet, flow, fog, and many more words from the Vikings. There are several other things the Vikings have contributed to modern society. For example, we can thank the Vikings for introducing the Western tradition of skiing. Ancient Norsemen skied across their snowy homelands for entertainment and transportational purposes. Although they were thought of as scruffy barbarians, they actually bathed more frequently than other Europeans of the day. They developed bristled combs, which were made of antlers from the animals they killed. The Vikings are given credit for inventing the comb as the Western world knows it today. They also developed sagas with graphic depictions of deeds of powerful rulers and ordinary people. This paved the way for best-selling books and blockbuster movies. The Vikings were and are currently a very important part of history. Although they were thought of as barbaric raiders, they were very advanced for their time. They had developed a sophisticated shipbuilding technology. They had thrived in navigation to other lands. They had also contributed to the English language. Finally, they contributed several things to modern society, such as skis, combs, and sagas. In conclusion, the Vikings were an important part of history in shipbuilding, navigation, language, and several things in modern

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