Living In The Viking Era

Coming from Scandinavian countries, predominantly Denmark and Norway, the Vikings began raiding the British Isles in the late 700s (James). The Vikings primarily targeted monasteries, because that is where most of the wealth was concentrated (Loughrey). These raids were very violent, people were killed, and the survivors were sold into slavery (Loughrey). These violent raids earned the Vikings the reputation of barbarians, much like the Mongols a few centuries later in Asia. After some time, once the Vikings exhausted most of the wealth in the monasteries, they turned their interest into settling the British Isles (James). By the late 9th century the Vikings had conquered most of England (James). However, even though these Viking kingdoms did not last very long, the Scandinavians who resided there stayed. These Scandinavians would go on to change the British Isles in many ways. Despite the violent and negative impacts of Viking raids on the British Isles, once the Vikings settled down, they had a significant and positive peaceful impact on the British Isles culturally, politically, and economically.

The Vikings were Norse seafarers, who mainly spoke the Old Norse language. They raided and traded from their Northern European homelands across wide areas of northern, central and eastern Europe, during the 9th to 11th century. The Vikings originated from Scandinavia, and the beginning of the Vikings expansion often originates from the raid of the Lindisfarne Monetary on 8 June 793. The Vikings were the first Westerners to sail to Iceland, Greenland, and over to the New World. However, the story of the Vikings is also an important story for the development of the Christian world in the West. Throughout this essay, I will explain the importance of Viking religion, Viking trade, and how the Viking age had an impact on the way Western and

It was a normal day in the castle of Goranson. All the townspeople were tending to their work when an explosion made a loud sound that ran throughout the castle. Townspeople stood there shocked as the castle stood in silence. After the seconds of silence another loud explosion shook the castle followed by arrows flying throughout the castle and vikings screaming as they charge in. Everyone ran to get to safety and the vikings never followed. They only had one mission, to get the king and destroy the castle. When all the noise had stopped and all the screams were silenced the townspeople went to look outside to see that the castle was all burnt down. One farmer had said “Quick find the king”. They all rushed into various buildings only to find the king was not there.

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)

When one sees the word Viking, the mind firstly shifts to men who are uncivilized and unprincipled. Using evidence of achievements and victories will not only show how much they impacted Europe, but how sophisticated Vikings actually were. As Charlemagne’s empire ended, the people of Europe showed extraordinary resilience toward the new movements of the era. From 800 to 1200 CE, Vikings ruled medieval Europe. These Vikings, along with thick soil, are credited with shifting Europe from endemic violence toward cooperation and legal order. An attack on the Lindisfarne monastery off the coast of Northumberland in northeastern England marked the beginning of the Viking Age. Vikings began to appear in Europe due to Scandinavian raiders repeatedly visiting the Christian countries of Europe. At first they were content with just raiding lands, but soon they began to seize land and proclaim rule. They sought riches, not land. With this established rule, Vikings promised safety and began to reform the lands they had acquired. The people agreed due to starvation and possible attacks from eneimes. The new lands had a need for settled agriculture, defensive warfare and commerce. As the Vikings began to fulfill these needs they saw an expansion in cooperation and rule of law among the villagers.

Traditional historiographies and archaeological research perceived the Viking world as being dominated by men with the majority of studies being concerned with exploring the life and material culture of the male part of the society. There is no denying that archaeology is a discipline which has traditionally been deeply colored by a predominantly male bias, and the historical dominance of men over women had been accepted to such a degree that it appeared to be the natural order of things . Popular imagination was of male Viking warriors with their long beards, large axes, colorful shields, and bloodied swords. The presence of women was limited within the scope of early works. The historiographical study of women’s rights within the Viking Age is in its early stages. The academic fields of gender and women’s studies gained greater prominence beginning in the 1970’s, coinciding with the feminist movement. Early gender archaeology can be said to have been a search for women in the past, which was closely tied with the second wave feminism of the 60s and 70s . It is not surprising that the earliest practitioners in gender archaeology wanted to show that there were in fact women in the past, and that these women were not just important, they were just as important and integral to the development of cultures as their contemporary men.

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.

Denmark, Norway, and Sweden are three countries from Scandinavia in which the Vikings came from. They were mainly farmers, fishermen and traders. Most Vikings had more than one son and it was tradition for the eldest to inherit and take over the farm. Since there was more than one son a lot of men had to choose between working for their brother or leaving to go find their own wealth and land.

Vikings came from three countries of scandinavia; Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. The term Vikings literally means ‘a pirate raid’, they get their name from a scandinavian language called “Old Norse”(BBC-primary history). People who go off raiding in ships were called vikings. Because of the raids and constant battles in many places they were often also called savages, traders, and explorers. In scandinavia they were also called Norsemen. During the time A.D. 700 to 1100(BBC-primary history),

From the late eighth to the late eleventh century, the Vikings dominated Europe and sailed across the world, far from the reach of Russia to the eastern coast of North America. During the Viking raids, Vikings often had religious targets due to churches being very wealthy. Many Vikings also traded, farmed, settled, and manufactured items, making their mark on nearly every region and civilization they touched.

During the Viking Age, Scandinavian men and women had already travelled to many regions of Europe and beyond Europe as well, in a cultural diaspora witch has left its touches from Newfoundland to Byzantium. By the late 11th century, royal families had been legitimized by the Catholic Church and begun asserting their prowess and might with of course extreme authority and determination, and the three famous empires of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden had already got into shape. Towns seemed functioning as both secular and religious administrative centers and market places, and even the monetary economies had begun to arise being influenced upon the English and German prototypes. Christianity had occupied in the roots of Denmark and Norway with the

When you think of the Vikings, chances are you think of horned helmets, raids, and bloody battles. But on the other side of the spectrum, there are the women of Nordic culture. Women are mostly thought of as looking like Viking warriors fighting alongside their men. But that was hardly the case. In reality, women were important in many other ways. They were treated very differently than other women in different European cultures at that time.

The term Viking commonly relinquishes thoughts of ship-born warriors and pillagers known as the Norsemen, or men from the north, who originated in Scandinavia and raided the coasts of Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe as far east as the Volga River in Russia from the late 8th to 11th century. The terminology of the Viking has also been denoted by historians as entire populations of Viking Age Scandinavia and their settlements. Although the Norsemen are infamous for their pillaging and plundering they were also intensely focused on establishing sufficient trade routes throughout Europe and implementing economically sustainable villages with functional currency. Although the barbarian invasions undoubtedly deepened the initial economic crisis and the emergence of the barbarian kingdoms made traveling less safe which accelerated the collapse of long distance trade. At the same time also declining the importance of the cities as cultural and trade centers. The claim that the barbarian invasions resulted in a long tenured period of general economic and cultural decline can be argued against with sufficient evidence. Considering the economic crisis started much earlier and could not be reversed neither by the reforms of Diocletian nor of Constantine. It was not until after this initial depression that the extensive trade routes of the Norsemen were able to redefine Europe economically and culturally.

The Viking Age is considered to have begun in the late eighth century, when the Scandinavian raids in Western Europe started (Somerville &

James Graham-Campbell’s Viking Art is an illustrated study of Viking art from the Scandinavian world from AD 800 to around AD 1100. Graham-Campbell chose not to focus on one particular style or one specific location, but instead paints a vivid picture of Viking art all over the Scandinavian world and how it changed and was adapted in various time periods of the Viking Age. The study explores the art styles of Oseberg c. 775- c. 875, Borre c.850- c. 950, Jellinge c. 900 - c. 975, Mammen c. 960’s - c. 1000/1025, Ringerike c. 1000 - c. 1075, and Urnes c. 1050 - c. 1125 (Graham-Campbell 2013). The study takes a broad approach and covers a wide range of artistic means including grave markers, carved wooden boats,