The Vikings were a group of people that originated from the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. During the 8th to 11th centuries AD, the Vikings sailed across the oceans to reach Europe, Africa, and even to North America, for trade, expansion, and raiding. This period is often called the 'Viking Age', and it was typified by violent clashes between the Vikings and the people they met on their travels. The Viking Age The beginning of the Viking Age is usually assigned to the Viking attack on a religious monastery in northern England in AD 793. On the island of Lindisfarne, which was only inhabited by monks, the Vikings attacked suddenly and left with anything of value that they could find. To Christian Europe, …show more content…
However, at some time in the 8th century AD, the act of raiding began. Once it started, the new idea took on quite quickly and many Scandinavian ships began sailing out to attack. Therefore, modern scholars are trying to work out what motivated these cultures to begin raiding in the first place. There is no simple answer as to why this began, but here are some of the most popular theories. Climate change has caused a series of bad crops, and starvation has forced the Vikings to look for new ways of making money. There was a lack of land in Scandinavia and young men were encouraged to find new homes by invading other countries. The Viking cultures began meeting rich people from other lands through trade and, when they learnt that churches were undefended and very wealthy, they took advantage of the situation for their own gain. History Skills Longships When the Vikings began raiding, they developed a sophisticated kind of ship unique to their culture. Most ocean-going ships had to sit deep in the water to avoid sinking in rough seas. What was remarkable about Viking longships is that they were very …show more content…
With these clever longboats, the Vikings were even able to sail from Europe to North America safely. They managed this by settling at two key locations along the way: Iceland and Greenland. They used these sites as resting places on the long journey. As a result, the Vikings were the first Europeans to reach the Americas, five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. The Vikings were the first Europeans to settle in North America, around 1000 AD. They set up a short-lived settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in present-day Newfoundland, Canada. However, this settlement was eventually abandoned, and the Vikings did not set up a permanent presence in North America. The exact reasons for the abandonment of the settlement are unknown, but it is thought to be due to a combination of factors, such as the harsh climate, conflicts with indigenous populations, and the limited resources available to sustain a settlement. End of the Viking Age Most historians date the end of the Viking age to AD 1066. One group of Vikings, called the Normans, settled in
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.
The vikings first made contact in eighth century Shetland. From there they made their way south to Orkney and Caithness, eventual...
Iceland and Greenland are located at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere and they face each other across the sea. Though Iceland is considered one of the five Nordic countries while Greenland belongs to North America, both of them were once colonies of Vikings and played important roles in Viking age. Viking civilization experienced from prosperity to decline during 8CE to 14CE on these two islands. It is very possible to find out the reasons for Viking’s ups and downs through studying the histories of Iceland and Greenland’s development.
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.
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 Vikings were people that raided many towns and monasteries for silver and other precious items. They mostly raided monasteries because they were the places with the most silver and expensive items. The Vikings were at first mysterious worriers and them became well known. So where did these mysterious warriors come from? They came from a place called Scandinavia. Scandinavia was built up of multiple countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. The word Viking means sea-raiders in scandinavian and they didn’t actually wear horns on their head, their helmet was round.
In that same year on July 17th, 924 AD, King Edward the Elder died while leading an army against a Welsh-Mercian rebellion at Farndon-Upon-Dee and was suceeded by his son Æthelstan (Athelstan). King Æthelstan was King of the Anglo-Saxons from the time of his father's death to 927 AD when he conquered the remaining Viking hold in York, making him King of all of England.
How do you know the Vikings thousands of years later? Well armour and weapons right that's because the main reason the Vikings are known today is because of their armour and weapons. Vikings used weapons when fighting,such as swords, knives and spears to attack their enemies in close and far range fighting.Vikings wore armour made of chainmail over their daily clothes, they also wore leather helmets with metal strips down them to protect their face.Viking armour and weapons are why the vikings are important and well known today
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.
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.
Mythology was used by the ancient worlds to tell their civilizations past and explain the unexplainable. The highly known and studied mythologies include Greek, Roman and Egyptian. However, there is another mythology that is lesser known in terms of popularity, Norse mythology, it is known to date back just as far and even farther in some cases than the more popular mythologies. Even though it is not widely known about, it still contains a vast and detailed history.
In most cases, the Norse Viking Age is recorded to have officially began in 793 AD with the first recorded raid through to 1066 AD, ending with the Battle of Hastings. However, these dates vary upon scholars. The Battle of Hastings wasn't exactly the end of the Viking Age, because the Norse were spread out across Europe and Viking raids continued to take place in other locations. With that said, dating the conclusion of the Viking Age is fairly generic because Viking raids were sporadic in many locations and when one area was under control, another area was being raided. Additionally, because Viking raiders weren't unified efforts and most Norsemen tended to 'vikingr' (raid) at their own whim. This places the conclusion of the Viking Age at approximately the beginning of the 12th Century-ish. This is also about the time when Norse and other Kingdoms were becoming increasingly solidified and more able to repel Viking incursions. This was also around the time when the Christianization of Northern Europe and Norse dominated lands began to take a firmer hold. So dating the exact end of the Viking Age is vague at best.
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.
In the play An Enemy of the People we see how each characters shows their feelings differently. Each character is motivated by different things which causes them to act in that way. All the characters end up in conflicts because of their different views about the real truth of the Baths. For example, the Mayor acts the way he does because he’s motivated by money. And all he cares about is money and not about the wellbeing of others. Doctor Stockmann on the other hand is trying to expose the truth because of his concern of the public’s health he doesn’t take anything else into consideration when wanting to reveal the truth behind the baths. His wife supports Doctor Stockmann because she’s motivated by family and loyalty towards her husband.