Norse People Research Paper

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

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 analyzing Norse mythology and other religions like Christianity, There is a high proof that the ending of norse started the beginning of Christianity and therefore the two are related.

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 people from the north, Norsemen, lived in villages and on dispersed farms in various regions. The Norwegian Vikings were from Iceland and Ireland. The Danish Vikings were from France and Britain. The Swedish Vikings were from Russia. Regardless of region, Vikings are addressed as one group of people. Written documentation from this era, sagas specify the region of Vikings being recorded.

This age lasted from the late eighth century to the late eleventh century. When thinking about Vikings, the word ruthless and fierce may come to mind, but this isn't necessarily true.They were farmers and just wanted to make a living. Outside of raiding other towns and countries, the Vikings lived in an organized society. In their culture, the women had a strong say in everything and had a very big image. They were the main help on the farm and around the house, they were not forced into marriages, and if they were in a marriage they didn't like, they had the right to leave; which was very different from other cultures back then.

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,

The Vikings roamed the seas between the early ninth century and the early eleventh century. They were from the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It is believed that the Vikings “...were probably prompted to undertake their raids by a combination of factors ranging from overpopulation at home to the relative helplessness of victims abroad” (“Viking (people)”). During their raids, the Vikings also established settlements in Newfoundland,

Vikings were a group of people from Scandanavia (modern-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden) who navigated the North Atlantic and Baltic Regions, sailing to destinations in the south to North Africa, and east to Russia, Constantinople (“Istanbul”) and the Middle East, as ‘hit-and-run’ looters, traders and colonists. Notably, the Vikings were seen as a barbaric clan by their victims, especially to those in Europe with whom they had an imposing influence. Equally, as the Old Norse (the language of the Norsemen) translation of the word ‘Viking’ signifies, the Vikings were feared as fierce and ruthless pirates. However, most of these people may not have called themselves Vikings since only a few engaged in raiding and pillaging, which was seen as a

All in all, much like Minnesota, the geography were the Vikings resided shaped their vivid culture. Scandinavian civilization is home to very well renowned art and accomplishments. For example, Iceland according to The Penguin Atlas is home to some of the richest medieval literature. Stories, legends, and myths have endured the test of time. Poetry in Skaldic and Eddic verse are still preserved and feature a copious amount of pagan gods and valued Scandinavian characters.

Their society did not revolve or rely on a central government. According to the secondary source 2.3, historians know that at the very top of the social hierarchy is the King who had a lot of authority. Viking kings were powerful leaders who ruled Scandinavian lands. In order to maintain this power, a chieftain had to gain followers who agreed to support him. Below the king was a small aristocratic group called the Jarls. They lived an ‘upper-class life’. Below the Jarls were a group called the Karls. They formed the majority of the population. They were considered ‘freemen’, meaning they were allowed to own land, slaves to work for them, build property, and start a family and/or a business. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the slaves called thralls who were either captured in raids or purchased from traders in the marketplace. They were considered the property of their owners. The Norse had an oral culture and therefore had both law and government without written law. All free men (Karls) would gather in their communities in a meeting called a Thing. Rather than have all disputes settled by duel or family feuds, the Thing was established to both make laws and to decide cases of disputes within the law. The Thing met at specific and regular times. Each Thing had a law speaker who would recite the law from memory. The law speaker and the local chieftain would judge and settle the cases of

In researching the life and times of women from the Norse mythology, I came to realize they were not only the ones running the home. There were women who worked, those who wielding power along with the boys, and some who would get together with friends, the way we might today. I suppose when reading mythology, which is often centered on male characters, I came to see female roles in ancient times to be on the periphery of what was going on. After completing my research, I can see that perhaps Viking women had more in common with me and the women I know than I ever thought. While they weren’t getting together for Sex in the City marathons, there were many strong females in Viking times, who deserve to have their stories told.

The Vikings were Norse people from Scandinavia who lived during the Viking Age from eighth century to the twelfth century. The first arrival of the Vikings in Ireland was in 795. But at that time the Vikings used the strategy hit and run until the 9th century they began to settle with the Irish. The Vikings were successful around the world because they were very skilled in navigation and very powerful they reached China, Russia, and the Middle East. The Vikings had a great impact on the Irish society in many aspects, for example, trade, art, military, and technology.