The Vikings Research Paper

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

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.

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

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.

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 were very civilized and had a very unique way of life. They were travelers and settlers, traders and conquerors. Over the span of about 400 years, the Vikings explored and discovered many places. Among these places are Greenland, Iceland and even North America.They were master shipbuilders and built ships superior to any other ships of that day.Their ships were built of planks of timber, usually oak, overlapped and nailed together. The ships were made watertight by filling the spaces between the planks with wool,

They are usually between 20 and 35 m long. They would fit around 20 and 60 Viking warriors with each their own weapon and shield, and they were made strong and light to be able to sail faster through the waters. The long ship was extremely important to the Vikings. It is said that when a chef dies the ship is sometimes buried in the grave, they thought it would help the dead person to sail quickly to Valhalla; and when a important warrior died they would be placed in their ships and set on fire while the ship sailed

They opened up trade routes, which helped start a revival of Europe's economy. The Vikings also founded some of the best-organized and most dynamic states in Western Europe. For example, the Vikings contributed substantially to the making of the medieval kingdoms of England and Scotland. They founded Normandy as a virtually independent state in western France. Having established a well-run government there, they spread out to conquer England in 1066, laying the foundations for that modern nation.

The definition of a Viking is any of the Scandinavian pirates who plundered the coasts of Europe from the 8th to 10th centuries. The Vikings made their impact in parts of modern day Russia, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, Britain, and the majority of the European continent. They were first known as Norsemen and Northmen before they got the name that people know them for today. When conquering these lands, Vikings opted for naval battles as they succeeded at these were what they excelled at; some of the ships the Vikings used held more than three hundred men. Vikings built an extensive network of trade links that stretched all over modern Europe and continued into Russia, the Middle East, and Africa.

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

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

The longship represented the pinnacle of Norse shipbuilding techniques in the Viking Age and contributed immeasurably to the success of raiding and Viking expansion

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

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