1) From “Disorder and Destruction: The Annals of Xanten” (in the Week 12 Charlemagne source you used last week) and from the other sources you have read, what is your impression of the Norse? How are they described? Please answer this question in your own words, but with quotations from the text to support your answer.
The Vikings were a ruthless people. A historian by the name of Sherma tells the story of the ruthlessness of the Vikings, “The mother of all churches, . . . was taken and plundered by the Moors . . . moreover, [the Vikings] slaughtered all the Christians whom they found” (87). The Vikings were a fearsome people who made plundering and killing a way of life. The Norse were also heavily feared by the Christians. “The heathen from the North wrought havoc in Christendom as usual and grew greater in strength” (Sherma 87).
2) Were all Vikings ‘pagans’ or were some of the Vikings Christians? Explain your answer.
Not all Viking were pagans; some Vikings were even Christians. At the beginning of the time, most all of the Vikings were pagan, but as time went on, and the vikings traded and settled with the Christians, the religions mixed. Not all of the Vikings became Christians, and the Vikings accepted both paganism and Christianity as acceptable religions. Williams, a historian, talks about the coins the Vikings used, “One coin type carries the name of St. Peter, rather than the ruler. This seems very obviously Christian, but on many of the coins, the final 'I' of 'PETRI' takes the form of Thor's hammer, and some of these coins also have a hammer on the reverse. These coins seem to carry a deliberate message that both paganism and Christianity were acceptable” (Williams). Not all Vikings were pagan or Christian; the viki...
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... savage barbarians.” Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
I both agree and disagree with this statement. The Vikings were a savage people who raided and plundered all over Europe. However, the Vikings were not barbarians. They converted to Christianity, traded with the Europeans, and eventually made peace. They intermarried with the natives of the towns they settled. Barbarians are people who do not live in the country, so at this point the Vikings are no longer barbarians. I would agree that the Vikings were a savage people who over time converted to Christianity and settled down into a more peaceful life, but the vikings were not barbarians.
Works Cited
Sherma, Denise. Western Civilization: Sources, Images, and Illustrations. Boston: McGraw, 2004. Print.
Williams, Gareth. "Viking Religion." History - BBC. BBC, 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
During the medieval warm period the spread of the Norse occurred. The Norse raided, traded, ventured from Scandinavia across the North Sea into France along with the Low Countries. The Norse was known as peaceful traders who kept their knowledge close on a personal level. They kept their knowledge from generations to generations. Their knowledge was always in constant use. “Nose navigators lived in intimate association with winds and waves, watching sea and sky, sighting high glaciers from afar by the characteristics ice-blink that reflects from them, predicting ice conditions from years of experience navigating near the pack” (Fagan, 5). The climate
When the Vikings first attacked England many of the Anglo-Saxons viewed them as people who don’t claim a religion. The thought of the Vikings not claiming a religion horrified the people of England because of many reasons. The main reason was because the Vikings didn’t worship the same God as the people of England and the Vikings also didn’t have any respect to the symbols that connected the people of England together (Gunnell 351). Another reason is that the Vikings had been trying to teach a different view of the world to the English people; which furiated the church because the church had been trying to throws out these beliefs. This view of the world seemed to anger the English people because these beliefs wasn’t written down in a book, it was always told orally which meant
The primary source, The Viking Rus, provides a unique perspective on how early Muslims viewed the Vikings. The author, Ibn Fadlan, was sent to interact with the Muslim king of the Bulgars to attempt to develop an alliance. Through Fadlan, the reader see how early Muslims’ would have viewed the Vikings’ habits. As Fadlan writes, “he goes to each statue in turn, invokes it, beseeches its intercession, and bows humbly before it.”1 Watching this spiritual ritual appears insane to Islamic believers who are taught not to worship statues or pictures of Allah. While Fadlan watches the Vikings converse, trade, and preform ceremonies, he develops a bias against their behaviors. He looks down upon the ceremony with condescending eyes, however, the interpreter informs Fadlan that the Vikings view the Muslims similarly. “I asked the interpreter what the Northman had said, and received this answer: ‘You Arabs…must be...
In his translation of The Saga of the Volsungs: the Norse Epic of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer, Jesse L. Byock compiles many versions of this famous Norse epic and creates a very important scholarly work. Of special importance is the introduction, which provides a central working background to base readings upon. There are several themes echoed throughout the translation that reflect accurately on this portion of history. Byock does a superb job of illustrating these important aspects in his work. While the tale Byock tells is a fairy-tale handed down by generations of families, within the reader can find tell-tale signs of important aspects of Norse culture. For instance, important aspects of family life and the role of men and women surface. Likewise, the importance of wealth and material possessions on the power and prestige of a king is also evident.
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 question provokes three clear debates, whether the Vikings did achieve dominance, what methods were employed to achieve this and the motivation behind doing so. To form an effective analysis it is imperative to ascertain an appropriate time period to assess. Appropriately, E. Roesdahl has suggested that ‘just before AD 800’ and ‘well into the eleventh century’ the Vikings played a ‘decisive role in many parts of Europe’. While it is important to examine the opposition that the Vikings would have faced, the evidence that they did achieve dominance of the seas is incontrovertible. The manner in which the Vikings established this dominance is subject to debate, whether it was the Viking accomplishments in naval technology, or the failures of their opposition to effectively deal counter the Viking threat. The motivation behind establishing dominance of the seas has often been debated. R. Hall has offered an explanation, stating that they ‘set out simply to better their standard of living, through harvesting the riches of foreign lands’ and thus allow individuals to bolster their reputations. Alternatively M. Magnusson has suggested that a ‘population explosion and the consequent need for more land’ stimulated technological advances, therefore making their foreign exploits both possible and necessary.
...tory over Satan to play a central part in the spread of Christianity among the Vikings, whom looked to Odin and Thor for such attributes.
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.
Through the writing on Rune Stones Viking women appeared to have followed paganism before the Viking men did.(The Viking woman are thought to have mixed views on Nordic
This would prove fatal to the Vikings fundamental way of life, replacing nomadic behaviours and small communities with settled kingdoms. Norse paganism was undoubtedly the most unique thing about Vikings and their culture, but that all changed when Christianity took Scandinavia by storm. Much of northern Europe is covered in rocky surfaces and mountain ranges, because of this Vikings found it difficult to be self-reliant economically, and so trade became the centre of their economy. But when trade became less profitable and travel ground to a halt, Vikings saw an early version of an economic depression. The great beast of the north, Scandinavia, was brought to her knees as royal authority replaced individually ruled fiefdoms, as Christianity dominated Norse paganism, and as its trade-reliant economy fell vulnerable to mass climate change. The once mighty nation now remains only an extension of
...ught could be seen as arrogant, and had a condescending attitude as they thought the Inuit were “skraelings (a sick, weak person)” (McAnany and Yoffee, p. 56), all their encounters may not have been confrontational. They believe that their attitude simply could have come from a religious factor that it was the difference in being Christian compared to non-Christian. Though artifacts were scarcely found from the Norse in the Thule Inuit ruins and vice versa, the artifacts that were found could represent an encounter, but could as well have been from plundering abandoned homes. Also, when searching Norse settlements, no weapons were found, thus making them powerless against the Inuits if it had come down to a conflict between them. A scene on a small piece of bone did depict a battle, however it is important to note that it did not depict a Norseman against an Inuit.
The Norse had a structure to their society. They had kings and priests, Jarls and lords, freemen and slaves (thralls). Before the formal organization of the Scandinavian countries, the Norse were considered a single people that consisted of family clans. Nordic society was set and organized with a deliberate means to the ends.
The peninsula in the northwest corner of Europe known as Jutland has been inhabited by Scandinavians for centuries. Ptolmey writes about the area and Roman artifacts have been found during excavations of Norway and Sweeden demonstrating considerable contact with southern Europe (Wilson 21-23) Literacy is indicated by the Runes which first appeared at the beginning of the third century. The Runic alphabet has changed and evolved through the years, and claims of inscriprions dot the United States and are largey the basis on knowledge of Viking presence (Wilson 27). During the first century, Europeans embarked on a period of great migration, a time of great wealth and prosperity for the Scandinavians. One cause was the settlement of a new territory on the basis of "an eco...
The Vikings have garnered attention over the years not only for their raiding and trading, but also for the Paganist gods and religion. Similar to many other ancient civilizations, the Vikings leave behind many myths containing tales of their gods and their beliefs. Marvel’s 2011 film Thor serves as an introduction to Norse gods and mythology, but it does fall flat in term of accuracy and detail in certain areas. Despite various large and small-scale changes to its overall plot and characters, Thor has been well-adapted to portray Norse myths as best as possible within an existing Marvel franchise.
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.