The Viking Research Paper

Vikings, also known as Norsemen or Northmen, were a group of people from the Scandinavian warriors that existed from the 9th century until the 11th century. They were seafaring warriors that raided and claimed their areas in Europe. Their disruptive influence affected the European history. The pagan vikings, which were Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, were prompted to take their raids caused by overpopulation or helplessness of their victims.

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 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 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)

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.

Beginning in about A.D. 800, many Scandinavians sailed south from their homelands to seek their fortunes. These seafaring warriors began by raiding coastal sites of the British Isles but soon grew more ambitious. During the next three centuries, they left their mark as traders, pirates and settlers on much of Britain and the European continent. These raiders became known collectively as Norsemen, or “Northmen,” though they are better remembered by another name: Vikings.

The Viking community is significant due to the fact they manage to be very popular today. In the book, The Vikings, Else Roasdahl concludes, “The Viking Age has sent waves of people across many parts of Europe… inspired… literature, history and politics, and… identity.” (297) This means that, during the time of the Viking community’s expeditions toward new territories, civilized people wrote stories, legends and sagas of their voyages. Even today, the summary may be true due to the ongoing popularity of fictional characters like Thor, a Norse god, from the Avengers and video games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Therefore, Else Roesdahl’s conclusion dictates how the Viking community still inspired people to write about their adventures and

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 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

In the year 793 AD began the greatest reign of terror ever spawned in Europe. The Vikings ruled Northern Europe until 1066 AD and managed to pillage forth into Asia, Southern Europe, and further westward where they’d eventually find the Americas. Vikings were the most brutal of people; however, they were also very loving to their families, especially their wives. They were also brave and creative. They had a culture much more interesting than our own today. The Vikings were better than people are today because they are known for being strong and wise, but the greatest thing the Vikings are known for is the fear they placed among even the great nations of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire.

Vikings throughout history have created a false sense of identity over time. Usually in medias and stories the Vikings are depicted as savage barbarians bent on destruction, but never as structured civilized people who had a well formed and organized military. The Vikings were a collective clan of people, that stemmed from northern europe during the middle ages. They engaged in many activities that were propounded in other countries, those being trade, exploration, and colonization. They founded many cities on three different continents, several of which are still occupied.

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.

From the ninth century to the eleventh century, the Vikings ruled the seas. They were best known for their invasion of the British Isles and a small portion of North America. The Scandinavian raiders of the Viking Age were some of the most fierce maritime warriors in history.

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