The Vikings
The word Viking in the Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language says that the word Viking means the following. “Vi•king 1. any of the Scandinavian pirates who plunder the coasts of Europe from the 8th to 10th centuries. 2. a sea-roving bandit: pirate. 3. a Scandinavian. 4. U.S. Aerospace. One of a series of space probes that obtained scientific information about Mars.” (1)
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
…show more content…
Still other Vikings worked as merchants, traveling far and wide to trade their goods. Some were even specialized craftsmen such as silversmiths, blacksmiths, and woodcarvers. But the most famous of all the skilled Viking workers was the master shipbuilders and excellent sailors.
Viking Lifestyle
The growing population of Vikings in towns such as Birka in Sweden, Ribe and Hedeby in Denmark, and Kaupang in Norway prospered for the trading that took place along this string of cities. The trading flourished even though Danish and the Norwegian Vikings were raiding all the cities over in Europe. The Scandinavian towns were built on major waterways that were easy to reach by ship which in turn made trading much easier. The Viking houses were built on or near a water source for obvious reasons and also had access to their ships much faster being so close to the water. When there was no water source nearby they would dig wells and reinforce them with stones or wood that was sealed with a pitch. There were no sewers in Viking towns, but instead each house had a garbage heap. The larger towns produced their own goods such as pottery, products made out of iron, ships, glassworks, and leather products. Towards the end of the Viking age, as power became more concentrated, the Viking towns became large prosperous cities. The biggest city of the Viking time was Hedeby; it
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
After 830, though, the Vikings took advantage of conflicts in Europe to extend their activity further inland. In some cases, rulers were willing to pay off the Norsemen in exchange for being left alone. Viking leaders soon realized they could make deals with kingdoms seeking to be left alone or even desperate for protection.
“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 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)
Primarily, Vikings changed Europe from atrocity to pleasantry through the use of commerce and trade. Europe’s economy was transformed from an exchange system into a commercial trade economy. During the Viking Age, the Scandinavian economy was primarily a subsistence economy. Many families lived on small farmsteads, producing only enough to sustain that one family’s needs. The average citizens owned little to any luxury items. Men were usually in charge of the trading and marketing. Trading could be perilous due to the sea or vast land along with interactions with people whom are aliens, one must always be cautious. It is key to be agreeable to maintain friendship with all merchant men. Many use witnesses during purchases in case something goes wrong. It was ordinary for the men to occupy their merchant areas until about lunch, keeping all prices reasonable so they would be valued in the market. Learning laws came in handy when
They had trade route practically everywhere places like Russia, The Middle East, Northern India, China. The result of having such luxurious and flowing and well developed trade routes were that very expensive income came in. that kept Viking controlled places going and flowing. Without the use of trade the Vikings and their territory would have or could have stumbled and then crumbled and just fell apart. They developed market towns that needed people to work in them. So, jobs came into play along with the concept of currency. With invasions and war in or near the towns; the language was affected like the American language
Vikings come from their own country, and they anchor their ships on the River Volga where they build large wooden houses. In every house lives ten to twenty people, give or take. When a poor Viking dies, they build him a boat, place him in it, and consume
They typically grew crops and cattle and there were also many skilful craft workers who would make wooden carvings and long ships
The Vikings invading eastern Britain and northwest France, and eventually settling in both regions, come mainly from Denmark. The Swedes raid across the Baltic and penetrate deep into Russia as traders.
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.
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,
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.
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