The Viking Society and Why Its Better Than Today: A Personal Opinion Essay

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

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.

It was once reported that there was up to 25,000 Vikings living in Iceland in the mid 900’s. The Norse did not have books, but they did have an alphabet, so they passed on history by stories and poems. Their alphabet was made up runes, are the letters in a set of related alphabets. There are still remains of the runes in some parts of Europe like Iceland and Normandy. It was customary for men to wear long

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.

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

Vikings were just brutal raiders all they did was kill and steal I mean try being the people who got raided you would get killed of torched for a long time I mean stuff that. “This Viking raid on the island of Lindisfarne, just off the Northumbrian coast, was not the first in England. A few years before, in 789, ‘three ships of northmen’ had landed on the coast of Wessex, and killed the king’s reeve who had been sent to bring the strangers to the West Saxon court.” http://www.english-heritage.org.uk. In Lindisfarne, the Viking barged

Ermentarius, a Frankish writer comments that “Everywhere [Christians] are the victims of massacre, burning and plunder. The Vikings overrun all that lies before them…” (Source 2, Viking raids in France.) The Vikings were known for their barbaric reputation however they were also sophisticated and technologically advanced. The Viking reputation is one of bloodthirsty seafaring warriors, repeatedly plundering the Christian monasteries throughout the Middle Ages. Nevertheless examples of advanced Viking civilization was their seafaring skills and their complex social hierarchy. ) Thesis statement. This essay will discuss the Viking trading methods and their social hierarchy.

The whole world benefited from the Vikings even if they were barbarian raiders, they explored and discovered a number of new lands. In this essay I will talk about the impact or

In popular media today, the Vikings are remembered as a race of barbarians. They are depicted as warriors, wearing horned helmets and carrying swords, ransacking and burning villages to the ground. Admittedly, there is some historical precedent for their aggressive reputation. Between 793 AD and 1066 AD, the Vikings expanded their territory from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, into neighboring regions, including Eastern and Western Europe, the British Isles, and Greenland. The Vikings were indeed a hard people. However, this was not due to their culture or character, but rather the difficult environment they lived in. Although Vikings are remembered as aggressive expansionists, the factors that led to their voyaging to new lands were competition

It is widely believed that the Vikings were little more than barbaric and brutish warriors that had little to no lasting influence on European societies. This belief, however, is wrong. The viking age lasted approximately from 800 CE - 1100 CE and created a lasting influence on things such as art, technology, cultures, trade and currency. There is still currently a firm hold of the concept of Vikings in Danish societies and there are traces of Scandinavian dialect in places like Scotland and North England. The Vikings, while they did have an excellent military system, were more than a violent society of people and they have made many last influences on modern society and were a prominent and important empire in early Europe.

The Vikings are often represented in modern culture as burly, horn-helm wearing savages, who ruthlessly plunder and destroy towns and countrysides, and while this might be an exaggeration, it is not completely untrue. In the 9th century, the Vikings from Scandinavia exposed the weakness of Charlemagne’s self-confident regime, they sought to loot the now-wealthy Franks and replace them as the dominant warrior class of northern Europe. It was their turn to extract plunder and to sell off slaves across the water. They succeeded because of a deadly technological advantage, ships of unparalleled sophistication, developed by Scandinavian sailors in the Baltic Sea. They were light and agile, with a shallow draft, which allowed them to penetrate

The Vikings are known for being some of history’s most ruthless invaders. Norseman who pillaged every town they came upon and destroyed any military resistance to their extensive raids. Starting in the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark the seafarers began extending the scope of their raids and influence, eventually wintering overseas. Two modern day countries England and France, once empires and kingdoms, were particularly targeted throughout the Vikings long history. Viking raids happened fast and were effective, often leaving villages in ruins, having been pillaged by the fearless warriors.

Kate Dwyer 8H, History : Mr Lawrence : Viking panel discussion: were the Vikings just brutal barbarians?

Today’s ideas about vikings are not accurate, and they make Vikings seem more intimidating than they actually were.