The Vikings Research Paper

The Vikings were a very successful group of warriors from Scandinavia. They started raiding and violently attacking other places because of their lack of resources. The Viking homeland was rural and people worked as fishers or farmers. Scandinavian people got their fish from the sea, but because the soil in that area was not very fertile, there wasn’t enough grain being grown to feed the rising population. “As Scandinavia's population grew, food shortage became a common problem. Looking for new sources of food and wealth, some Viking leaders decided to take what they needed from other people” (Doc. A). When the Vikings attacked cities, they took everything they could and then burned what was left of the destroyed city. “And the Vikings came on them just like a storm and cut them down, carried off everything, and burned the place” (Doc. B). Because of this, there was no one left to come after them, or anyone to avenge

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

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.

The vikings had their own groups of people which included landowning chieftains, freeman, and also young clan members who seeked over sea adventures. While the viking members were at home, they can be described as independent farmers, but at sea the vikings became raiders. During viking period it seemed as if the Scandinavians had a surplus amount of manpower that seems practically inexhaustible, who could organize warriors into conquering armies and bands. The bands negotiated the seas in their longships,also known as a viking ship, and mount raids on nearby cities and towns that were along the coast of Europe. Their brutal way of living and manpower earned them the name vikingr, or viking in old english, which was the name for a pirate in early Scandinavian language.

In Western, Europe Vikings were known as fearsome warriors that took whatever they wanted. Arab had trading sites that Vikings used. Vikings would trade honey and fur for silver that they

In fact, agriculture engrained itself into Scandinavian society; every Viking family owned a farm (Godfrey). Despite their love for agriculture, they proved to tremendously mobile people often venturing across the ocean. The iconic and elegantly carved boats they traveled by were known as longboats. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, they were "independent farmers" on their private land but "at sea they

Introduction During The Viking Age, Vikings had the better of England for a long time, and had almost beaten England many times during this era. There were three different kings that ruled at different times during this span, and they were critical

The way the Vikings built and used homes, tools and crafts to sell, links to my thesis. Viking craftsmen used bone, antler and ivory to make tools for a wide range of practical uses. “Each material had it’s own distinct properties”, in which these innovative craftsmen understood well (Lore&Saga, ND). “Besides raiding and farming, Vikings were exceptional craftsmen”. Trading centres began to appear in the Scandinavian countries. They now “specialised in jewellery making, bone carving, weapon making” and etc. (historyonthenet, ND). “Vikings lived in longhouses, rectangular buildings with thatched roofs”. They were built from turf, wood or stone. Families shared the one room, which was also used for cooking and crafting (OxfordUniversity, ND). In conclusion Viking behaviour, in the way they lived shows us that they were domesticated, civilised and innovative

No other ruling power could match in number or tactical effectiveness the unstoppable tide of Viking ships that flooded Europe after the attack on Lindisfarne. (Jones 1984) Saint Alcuin himself expressed his surprise that “such an inroad from the sea could be made” and no one at the time could fully comprehend just how devastating Viking attacks would prove to be. Early warbands consisting of one to five ships limited their expeditions to swift hit-and-run strikes on coastal settlements and religious centers of Britain, Ireland, and France that came with little to no warning. (Carroll 2014) The longship’s contoured hull and shallow draught made it the perfect landing craft since Vikings could sail straight into low-lying harbors and onto beaches for immediate disembarking, taking inhabitants by surprise and minimizing the chance of armed resistance. (Marsden 1995) Inland areas were not safe either; Viking ships traveled extensively up the navigable rivers and estuaries of Europe to attack unguarded towns and villages and make off with captured plunder before any force could be raised to stop them. The success of these small Viking parties lay in their speed of movement and the surprise of their onslaught against larger numbers, advantages they owed to the superior versatility of the longship. (Anderson

The Vikings held both these characteristics thanks to the remarkable technology they used. The first out of the two were the long shallow ships they used. These ships were powered by sails and rowers and were able to be used at sea or navigate through rivers. The double purpose ships were the reasons Scandinavians were able to reach deep inside of countries. Like most sailors, the Vikings relied on sundials to aid them in finding their needed direction.

The Vikings’ use of the longship provided a dependable means of transportation to allow the quickest and most steady trips along the waterways. The ship was big

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

For those voyages they built ships to travel in, these ships helped shape the Viking age and were called “long ships” and often nicknamed “dragon-ships” due to their carvings, these boats used for their long voyages. Unbeknown to most people they also built smaller boats called knorrs for carrying goods, people, and livestock. “Viking long ships could sail in shallow water. So they could travel up rivers as well as across the sea. In a raid, a ship could be hauled up on a beach” (BBC). Once the Vikings had travelled across England continuously attacking other monasteries they attacked the city of York in hopes of gaining land there. They had to attack twice to successfully conquer York because their first attempt failed due to the King and the Earl of York not being captured. “This was a more violent clash. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles recorded that there was ‘an excessive slaughter made of the Northumbrians’. Among those killed were Aelle and Osbert.” (History of York). The excessive slaughter included the Vikings preforming a blood eagle on King Aelle, this is when your rib cage is torn out and folded back to form the shape of an eagle’s wing. The gory practice of blood eagles was a common tradition to be done to the murderers of Viking warriors. They did this to the King for the alleged killing of Ragnor Lodbrook a great Viking leader, legend says he was killed by being thrown into a snake pit to die during the first attempt to conquer York. Two years after the capture of York a treaty between the king of Wessex and the Viking king was agreed upon and they would call it the Treaty of

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.

Ragnar Lodbrok, a legendary Viking hero and his army sailed up the Loire River and conquered Paris by defeating half of Charles the Bald’s army. The other half were on the other side of the river and watched as Ragnar hung 111 of Charles’s men as a sacrifice the