Reasons Why The Vikings Were Not Bloodthirsty

The strengths of the Vikings surely was the most significant factor in enabling them to be successful in terms of their strategies and tactics. Their strategies for example included the ‘Great Army’ which consisted of small forces therefore allowing them to use the element of surprise to their advantage and so raid completely undetected. They first gathered in East Anglia (866/7) and were skillfully able to live of this land by taking horses and supplies from the locals. The success of these Great Armies is clearly represented by their ability to destroy 3 kingdoms including Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. The Great Army was certainly key as it was believed to have been able to ‘dramatically change the political and demographic

The title "Viking" includes a wide description of Nordic people; Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, who lived during a period of

The Vikings were a very successful group of warriors from Scandinavia. They started raiding and violently attacking other places because of their lack of resources. The Viking homeland was rural and people worked as fishers or farmers. Scandinavian people got their fish from the sea, but because the soil in that area was not very fertile, there wasn’t enough grain being grown to feed the rising population. “As Scandinavia's population grew, food shortage became a common problem. Looking for new sources of food and wealth, some Viking leaders decided to take what they needed from other people” (Doc. A). When the Vikings attacked cities, they took everything they could and then burned what was left of the destroyed city. “And the Vikings came on them just like a storm and cut them down, carried off everything, and burned the place” (Doc. B). Because of this, there was no one left to come after them, or anyone to avenge

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.

The records in the mid 9th century talks of destruction, war, criminals, and poverty. This Document also supports my claim that there were dark times during this time periods that were devastating. Travel was difficult there were negative experiences going on. However, this happens during many if not all time periods because we are all humans attempting to figure things out. This document might also have a bit of a religious bias because they are referring to the Vikings north as “Heathens”. They wouldn’t even refer to them as a tribe, but a group that is not in their

The Vikings lived about one thousand years ago in the lands that we now call Iceland, Lapland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. To most people the Vikings were raiders that got in their longboats and sailed somewhere and then went from town to town killing and pillaging. This is not completely true, because the Vikings were also

The ships were massive and wait for it... long. They were slim, durable, and flexible. This allowed the ships to steer through fjords, streams, and the ocean. They only thing they lacked (of which they added later) was a mast and sail. (Only in the 15th century did Europeans create a ship that surpassed the longboat.) Vikings, known for their raiding and pillage, were driven to these acts by overpopulation and poverty. A contrasting image of their big and brute reputation, they were made up of "landless sons, social outcasts, and political refugees." Their later divisions spread even further. Their beginning expeditions were small and mostly unrecognized, but as people started to "recognize" them (not collectively) they were dubbed an assortment of names and were even hired as mercenaries by Byzantian Greeks. They remained mostly in the northern north of the equator, but they were still expansive people considering. They "fell" to their expansion, assimilation, and loss of Scandinavian

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.

So, even though the legacy of the Vikings are true and they built legends destruction and strength. They lived lives of normal people with represented values.

When most people hear the word Vikings, they immediately think of them being fierce and savage beings with no sense of humanity. Vikings are believed to be a bunch of people killing everyone and stealing their belongings, but this was not the case and that stereotype is far from the truth. They were more advanced than people imagine and there was much more to them. The Vikings were a very complex and advanced society due to their laws, social classes, and religion.

We all think of Vikings as pirates who sail around slaughtering people, but there is more to it than just smashing and killing. The Vikings actually caused the Charlemagne Empire to break-up faster, they caused Europeans to have a society based off of Feudalism, and they changed the English language.

I believe that Vikings weren’t just brutal raiders. Instead of raiding they sometimes liked to spend time with their family, manage their farms and learn poetry. But when the Vikings were raiding they were so brutal and absolutely terrifying. When Vikings came people were helpless, they couldn’t do anything. They would have to just run around and hope for the best. Not many people survived Viking raids, but if you did there must have been a miracle. However, despite the fact that Vikings liked to raid and kill there were some good in them.

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.

While both blood feuds and wergild deal with murder, a blood feud requires a death for a death, while wergild uses gold to make amends. When looking at this in a biblical perspective, it is important to understand how these relate to justice. Biblical justice is a far cry from revenge. Vengeance, however, takes the shape of both blood feuds and wergild, and while blood feuds are fueled by revenge, wergild is important to bring justice in Beowulf’s society. Vengeance in Beowulf takes two main forms: the blood feuds, such as that of Grendel’s mother, and the concept of wergild; only wergild, however, conforms to the biblical definition of justice.