Viking Stereotypes

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

Another example of weapons in Beowulf references to arms and armor, very accurate to the Anglo-Saxons’ traditional shields and weapons. “Then Hrothgar's thane leaped onto his horse and, brandishing a spear, galloped down to the shore; there, he asked at once: 'Warriors! Who are you, in your coats of mail, who have steered your tall ship over the sea-lanes to these shores? .... Never have warriors, carrying their shields, come to this country in a more open manner. Nor were you assured of my leader's approval, my kinsmen's consent. I've never set eyes on a more noble man, a warrior in armour, than one among your band; he's no mere retainer, so ennobled by his weapons.’... The boar crest, brightly gleaming, stood over their helmets: superbly tempered, plated with glowing gold, it guarded the lives of those grim warriors. ... Their byrnies were gleaming, the strong links of shining chain-mail chinked together. When the sea-stained travelers had reached the hall itself in their fearsome armour, they placed their broad shields (worked so skillfully) against Heorot's wall. Then they sat on a bench; the brave men's armour sang. The seafarer's gear stood all together, a grey tipped forest of ash spears; that armed troop was well equipped with weapons. .... in common we all share sword, helmet, byrnie, the trappings of war.” (Levick, 1)

The strengths of the Vikings surely was the most significant factor in enabling them to be successful in terms of their strategies and tactics. Their strategies for example included the ‘Great Army’ which consisted of small forces therefore allowing them to use the element of surprise to their advantage and so raid completely undetected. They first gathered in East Anglia (866/7) and were skillfully able to live of this land by taking horses and supplies from the locals. The success of these Great Armies is clearly represented by their ability to destroy 3 kingdoms including Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia. The Great Army was certainly key as it was believed to have been able to ‘dramatically change the political and demographic

You can see the Viking characters looking very similar to that of Norse Gods very early in the film. They wear horned helmets, body armor and carry around round shields. Both men and women are fighting. Their weaponry are axes, swords, spears and hammers, are used by Norse gods. There hair is long and the men have grown long breads as well. Their form of transportation from their island were that of long and slender viking ships. Vikings based their fashion choice around their own beliefs of Norse Gods, so naturally the characters who are Vikings also look much like them.

The title "Viking" includes a wide description of Nordic people; Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, who lived during a period of

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 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)

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 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.

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.

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 Viking Age was from 800 to 1050 AD ("Where Did They Come From?”). During that time the Vikings attacked, plundered, and created their own culture in Scandinavia and other islands. The very first Vikings were from Scandinavia and most of them left their homeland to seek freedoms and fortunes elsewhere (History.com Staff.). There are many famous viking leaders, explorers, and gods. Many people think of Vikings as uncivilized and bloodthirsty, but many of the things that people think about the Vikings are not true.

Of course the Vikings wore horns on their helmets, and the reason they did was to play bullfighter on long campaigns. No, that's not right; that was a moment of levity. I hope you don't mind. Fact is. . . there were no horns on Viking helmets at all; it is a complete myth, fabricated, and going completely viral, at the time of Wagner's great opera, the Ring of the Nibelung. There hasn't been any evidence found that substantiates the notion that massive numbers of Vikings went marching through the countryside decked out in helmets with horns sticking out of them. It would be extremely impractical, we can surmise. Well, there is that one tiny bit of evidence; if you look in the upper far left corner of a reproduction

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

The common weapon in war was the spear. Conventional spears were seven feet long with a iron head and was used to be thrown and also to jab. Shields were plain and round, made of wood with an iron center. Only the rich and noble used swords, which were made of iron with steel edges. The Vikings were more heavily armed than the Anglo-Saxons, and they relied on chain mail and helmets as protection, and most people used a short stabbing swords as protection, although some used either a lance or a double-edged sword. (Ross, http://www.britainexpress.com).