Norse Religion

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

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

Most Vikings came from the regions of Scandinavia now known as Denmark, Norway and Sweden. However, they were not united by race or nationality. To the people they raided, the Vikings shared several common features. They were great sailors, ferocious fighters, and hailed from

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)

There was a misleading image of the Vikings that made them be known as pagans with a hatred of the Christian Church. What some people failed to realize was that the Vikings had many gods and found it to be no problem accepting Christian god alongside their own. The Vikings encountered with Christianity through their raids, and as they began to settle in lands with a Christian population, they also could adapt to Christianity much quicker. The Vikings had 14 major Gods. Their appreciation is the cosmos is divided into three main levels which are, Asgard, Aesir, which is also the upper level where the major gods such as Odin, along with the fertility gods, and the light levels lived. Midgard was known to be the middle level where dwarves, giants, men, and even the dark elves lived. Niflheim was known to be the lower level, and well known as the underworld. They called Niflheim the world of the evil dead because this was where the evil dead died the second death in the fortress city of Hel. Yggdrasil was known to be above

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.

Still other Vikings worked as merchants, traveling far and wide to trade their goods. Some were even specialized craftsmen such as silversmiths, blacksmiths, and woodcarvers. But the most famous of all the skilled Viking workers was the master shipbuilders and excellent sailors.

The Vikings lived in Scandinavia and they worshiped many gods. The Vikings believed that different gods were responsible for different areas of daily life. There were gods for harvests, love, family and war, and that they don’t just have to rely on one god. It is thought that the Vikings made animal or human sacrifices to the gods to get something they needed, such as a good harvest or success in a battle. For example if they needed

They first survived by hunting and fishing, but gradually began to farm the land and raised livestock. The first farms were created around 500 BC. This period is known as the Bronze Age, since bronze was the metal used to create weapons, jewelry and tools. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age, which lasted until around 1000 AD. During this time, better tools were made and trade grew. The Viking Age lasted from around 800 to 1030 AD and was certainly an eventful chapter in Norwegian history. The Vikings built fast, ocean-going ships and travelled across the world raiding countries for their treasures and resources. However, many Vikings settled abroad, and as well as being skilled sailors and explorers, they became traders who set up communities in foreign lands. Around the year 1030, the lands of Norway were made into one kingdom and Christianity was introduced. By the 13th century, Norway ruled over other countries including Iceland, Greenland, Shetland, the Faeroes and the Orkney Islands. This rule, known as the Norwegian empire, lasted until around 1350 when the plague known as the Black Death wiped out more than half of Norway’s population. From 1380 until 1814 Norway was in a union with Denmark. When the union ended, it wrote its own national constitution. Later that year, Norway entered into a new union with Sweden which lasted until 1905. Norway was then able to choose its own king, and Prince Carl of Denmark, who became known as King Haakon VII, became the first ruler of an independent Norway for 525 years. During World War II, Norway was under German occupation. Britain was one of Norway’s allies and King Haakon and his family lived in exile in the UK until the war was over. Norway is a peace-loving nation and is a member of the United Nations (UN) and NATO. Norway’s belief in negotiation as a way of settling conflict makes them the ideal country to award the Nobel Peace Prize each year. In

2.4 Belief and Ritual During the Viking period the Vikings believed in something called Norse paganism. There is very little known about what exactly their religion was called because the Vikings did not write down what they practiced or believed in. What we do know is rather more concerning the stories connected with the pagan gods. Other sources say the Norse religion was called Asatru but there is no way of knowing what their religion was called. The Vikings believed in many different gods and goddesses which are linked to Norse mythology.

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.

The Vikings were very civilized and had a very unique way of life. They were travelers and settlers, traders and conquerors. Over the span of about 400 years, the Vikings explored and discovered many places. Among these places are Greenland, Iceland and even North America.They were master shipbuilders and built ships superior to any other ships of that day.Their ships were built of planks of timber, usually oak, overlapped and nailed together. The ships were made watertight by filling the spaces between the planks with wool,

Asatru is a religion that has close ties with Norse mythology. The name of the religion, Asatru, is a twofold word that gets it’s meaning from Old Norse. The first half of the word, Asa, means Gods and Goddesses and the second half Tru, means to have faith or belief in. Altogether Asatru means to have faith in the gods. Asatru can be considered part of the Neo-pagan family of religion since it has to do with Norse Heathenism.

Most of the Danish people did not even know who was more important Odin or Thor. I researched into the Danes religion in the middle ages more. The research proved that the Danes were Christians. Old architecture shows that there are remains from old synagogues and churches (“Danes

The Vikings spent most of their time raiding villages and killing people. They sailed very far distances in their longships to find land to raid. The Vikings mostly raided western and eastern parts of Europe. They also raided places like Greenland and Canada. While raiding the Vikings would basically kill anyone that got in their way and they would destroy villages completely. If you survived a Viking raid, you were extremely lucky. When the Vikings raided they would steal anything they could, including money, food, cattle and loot from churches. The Vikings would usually not leave places alone. Once they had raided them one time, they would do it again and keep stealing and killing. One famous raid that the Vikings did was in Northumbria, North-east England. Here the Vikings arrived in their longships and burned down buildings, murdered monks, stole things and frightened everyone. Apparently some of the Christian church leaders said