Germanic People: Clothing In The Viking Age

Viking history and culture have been depicted in many movies, television series, and stories. Vikings are commonly known as barbarians that raid villages and intimidate others with huge ships with dragon heads, and horned helmets. This information is based on facts, but has been distorted and exaggerated over many years and tales. Viking history spans from the years 780 until 1100, which is the time span of the Viking raids. Not every Scandinavian was a Viking; Vikings were known as the men that conducted raids and bloody battles. The old definition of Viking was synonymous with the term pirate. The modern definition is relevant to the Scandinavian medieval culture, to include farming, crafting and trading.

Neanderthals were hunter-gatherers who moved across Europe with the advance and retreat of the Ice Age glaciers. Their total population probably never exceeded 100,000. From 180,000 to 130,000years ago large glaciers covered much of Europe and Neanderthal remains are scarce. After 130,000years ago, tool technology developed rapidly to become the classic Neanderthal technology called the

The Angles were a Germanic tribe that occupied the region which is now Scleswig-Holstein, Germany. With their fellow ethnic groups, they formed the people who came to be known as the English. The Saxons were a Germanic people

The Norse people were a very complex group who were portrayed as savages and killers, but instead were an advanced group, skilled workers and very democratic and this can be seen through their gods, goddesses, and rituals. Could it be that the way that people describe a civilization for so long change the way that people see them? Throughout history the Norse people have been portrayed poorly while in reality they are not completely the way that they are described to be. Not only are they polytheism, believing in multiple gods, but they act very much like their gods.

Although their roles were mostly domestic, women were very skilled and capable in other aspects of daily life. Their jobs and skills included:

burn and pillage their way across civilized Europe. During this period much progress was achieved in terms of Scandinavian art and craftsmanship, marine technology, exploration, and the development of commerce. It seems the Vikings did as much trading as they did

Clothing was also an important part in men's lives. The Sumptuary laws implied to not only the women, but to the men too. Men also wore many layers, some similar to the women. According to Linda Alchin, "The fashions were designed to give the impression of a small waist-especially desired by the women but also emulated by men" (Elizabethan Upper Class Fashion). They wore most of the following under layers: a shirt, stockings, a codpiece, and a corset. Then, most of the following over layers: a doublet, separate sleeves, breeches, a belt, a ruff, a cloak, and boots or flat shoes. Men's clothing fashions were related to those of women's due to the similar, and many layers.

From about 2000 BC people speaking Indo-European languages began to spread through Europe, eventually reaching the Atlantic coast and the northern shores of the Mediterranean. They also spread

The Paleo-Indian Tradition was considered the first humans to come to Wisconsin. Through the Bering Land Bridge, these people came into North America. They inhabited Wisconsin from 10,000-8,500 BC according to the Milwaukee Public Museum website.

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)

Clothing: The clothes that men wore consisted of breechcloths, buckskin tunics, and leggings. Warm buffalo fur cloaks and blankets were also worn to protect them against the rain and cold. They also wore soft soled moccasins to cover their feet.

The Germanic tribe, the Vandals, were known for behaving like “barbarians”. Supposedly they migrated south to the point where they made contact with the Roman Empire. The Vandals attacked Rome although Rome had bigger problems to handle. They later established a kingdom in North Africa.

Socks leveled the knee with an affixed tassel. Robbed in custom made cloaks and capes that drape the body, men’s fashion marked a powerful statement. Designed differently quickly identified position, kings, lords, nobles, knights and peasants. Nonetheless, clothing was warm and comfortable and always suited for battle. It appears the fashion design switched because currently lady’s garments resemble the men of the medieval era. Yet during that period, lady’s gothic robes swept the floor surrounded with a matching scarf and cape. The chosen cloth, whether for men or women, usually radiant in color, portrayed the crafty work prepared by selected seamstress (Bednarz, Miyares, Schug, & White, 2006). My love, words are too vague to put into picture the beauty of these incredible clothing.

In Ancient Rome men generally dressed in two garments, the tunic and the toga. The tunic consists of a short woolen undergarment with short sleeves. In contrast, to wear a long tunic with long sleeves was considered feminine and avoided by the society as a whole. The tunic worn by wealthy men was made from white wool or expensive linen, while the poor would wear any fabric they could get. Like the tunic, the toga was worn to signify one’s title. Women would wear a belt around the waist to hold the waist of the garment snug. A woman’s wardrobe was much like a man but with a long tunica. The more common tunic worn by women was similar to the Greek chiton. Married women were required