The Vikings And The Vikings

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 are not guilty of being bloodthirsty pillagers because like any other civilization, they were just overcoming a harsh environment. First, in document 4, the ship-graves that the Vikings built show that “the Vikings were not barbarians, though they are frequently depicted that way” (Document 4). The ship-grave that was discovered contained the imprint of a huge wooden ship and a cast treasure trove, which had been buried with a king or noble warrior. The remains of the man were not there, but his belongings lay there, along with other treasures. This shows that the Vikings were not aggressive people, but instead they were innovative and cared for their dead and respected them as well. Another reason of why the Vikings were not bloodthirsty

Viking raids were not gigantic wars, they were small, lightning-quick hit and run smash and grab raids. They did not attack in the center of kingdoms, they instead attacked the outer rim of kingdoms, usually small villages or monasteries. They did this because it was simply easier. These attacks, however while looking like they only benefitted the Vikings, actually changed medieval life for hundreds of years to come. That change is feudalism. The kingdoms were very large, with the king somewhere in the middle of it. When Vikings would make these, to a king’s perspective, small attacks, it would take more than a week to

“Everywhere the Christians were the victims of massacres, burnings, plunderings: the Vikings conquer all in their path, and no one resists them” (Doc. C). This shows that when people saw the Vikings, they didn’t even bother trying to defend themselves, and instead immediately surrendered. That is how well known they were. The Vikings have also been described as devils or warriors. “The monks. . . described it often as if the devils from hell are being unleashed on them” (Doc. D). The Vikings were very similar to the Mongols, in the sense that they both were warriors who raided Central Europe, and survived off of fear, intimidation, and terrorism. The Carolingians were so scared of the Vikings raiding, that they began to pay them protection money. “And these payments were so enormous that there were years when the empire had no currency anymore” (Doc. F). Because of this, people living in Central or Western Europe had to barter for what they

The Vikings organized attacks very well, they set more and more extravagant goals, and soon met them. Their attacks on England were successful mostly because no one expected them. In May of 841, Danish Vikings led by a man named Asgeir sailed the River Seine, and they burnt the city Rouen to the ground. Next they moved into St. Denis, but decided that it was in their best interest not to provoke the passing Frankish army. But they went right back at it again in 842 they destroyed Quenstovic, the Frisian harbor town. In 845 they attacked the tri-divided Holy Roman Empire, all at the same time!

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.

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.

Have you ever wondered how the vikings became the raiders of the sea and how they lived?. They were the fiercest people to ever sail the seas. People were scared of them because of their raiding reputation. It was there means of survival. I will be talking about the ships they sailed, the armour they wore, the way they lived, different arts, and their religion.

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

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.

In Tacitus' Germania, Tacitus describes the barbarians, anyone who is not Roman, as large red headed men with Suebians knots to make them look intimidating. The Vikings are commonly described as big burly men with horned helmets which makes them seem intimidating The Vikings did not wear horned helmets as we describe them today; there is no proof of the Vikings using body armor. If they did, it was likely made of leather, not metal. There is also proof that the original archeologist miscalculated the length of the Vikings, so they were believed to be significantly taller. In reality, the Vikings were only a centimeter or two taller than the populations they attacked.

The Viking ship represented everything about the Vikings’ culture and they revered them with their artisanship, navigational skills, cunning fighting skills, and the ultimate honor of using a ship as a burial vessel for their elite. Vikings believed that when they died in a fight, “a warrior maiden called a Valkyrie escorted him to the Viking heaven” and once the man arrived, a new life began of fighting all-day and feasting all night (Winroth 231). This belief illustrates that the Vikings held fighting and feasting as extremely

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 today's pop culture, we represent Vikings as bloodthirsty warriors of great savagery, bearing horned helmets with layers of animal hides draped over their colossal bodies. Of course, they were commendable warriors but not all of these fan favorite TV shows and movies were necessarily factual in all aspects. During Viking times, hand to hand combat was the only way to achieve victory and gunpowder was just pure fiction. The weaponry used was primarily axes, bows and arrows, spears, and swords. This made substantial armour absolutely fundamental for battle successions. Their authentic armour was quite contrary to our modern beliefs. Unlike the common artistic portrayal, Vikings never wore horned helmets and instead bore coned shaped helmets made from leather. Raiders wore armour made from thick layers of animal hide which sometimes had bones sewn in for added stability. It was also believed that weapon inventory was used to base Vikings social standing.

There are not exact records about the “First Vikings Age” for that reason, is difficult to know with details all the things that happened during that Age. But, what is clear is that the Vikings killed people with no mercy. According to Somerville, Angus A., and R. Andrew McDonald, (2013) some people left written records as Anglo Saxon, who argues that the “First Viking Age” could be characterized by raids and plundering. The main goal was capture people to sell them as slaves, in order to get money. Also, to show people their power, that they were able to do whatever they wanted. In other words, the Vikings caused a lot of damage to get their principal objective which was getting richer. On the other hand, the behavior that marks the end of