Vikings Advantages

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.

The usual perception of Vikings plays reference to their role mainly as raiders, being disruptive and destructive. However conquerors and colonists made a more positive contribution by encouraging commerce, the growth of towns and re-shaping political structures. We can see this by the fact that much of North England had been

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

They were a great form of transportation and they were fast, light and sturdy. The ships permitted the Vikings to embark on their voyages of trading, commerce, warfare, raiding and of exploration. The Vikings also built small boats for fishing or short trips. Their long ships could sail in shallow water so they could travel up rivers as well as across the sea. These ships were considered highly valued possessions and they were owned by coastal farmers and commissioned by

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

The advances in shipbuilding was one of the innovations of the Vikings that allowed people to travel more efficiently on water. The Vikings also advanced in navigation, as they used sun compasses which would show the location of the sun, even when it has set. The Vikings also impacted language, skis, combs, and

The Vikings were the courageous masters of the sea, and thus the main reason for the success of the their raids was their fast and easy to maneuver dragon ships, as they often called them, and exceptional navigational skills in the shallow rivers of Europe and open ocean. Their 70 foot wooden long ships, equipped with the both sails and oars, allowed them to pursue their piratical raids on the vulnerable costal monasteries and settlements of the British Isles. The shallow structure of their ships enabled them to reach far inland through the rivers, allowing them to attack their enemies without warning them, moving silently from the sea to the shore towards the smaller towns with the large number of warriors while killing everything that would step in front of them. The average crew numbers of the ship were raging anywhere from 23 to 60 men, with the crew members sitting on the open decks, with the exception to the largest ships who could accommodate as many as 100 people or more. Actual sea battles were really rare, and if they happened they were fought close to the shore. The aim of these sea battles was not to destroy enemy ships, but instead to capture them. Moreover, the reason why Vikings were tehe masters of the sea was because they knew how to navigate their ships in the open waters by using sun and stars, putting them in advantageous position from their neighbors who were not familiar with the technique. Furthermore, the successful raids were granted by their charismatic leaders, superior weapon, and well-trained warriors. Throughout the eleventh century Viking leaders showed that they are capable and aggressive enough to accomplish their missions. Most of them had sturdy personalities that enabled them to have complete control over their troops on the

Whether you're a student, athlete, lawyer, celebrity, or even the President of the United States – no one is exempt from discrimination. African Americans were rated second class citizens because of their skin color, just as women weren't allowed to vote or get a job because they were supposed to cook and do housework. The LGBT population faces discrimination that isn’t based on appearance, but by sexual orientation. Unconstitutional acts like the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) and Don't ask Don't Tell Policy (1993-2011) specifically target the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, forcing them to either lie about their sexuality or face harassment and prejudice. However, over the course of nearly 100

As quoted from “A Traveller’s History of England”, “The Vikings were Scandinavian people who, because of population increase and political instability, sought their fortune throughout Europe.” The Vikings were often found invading and raiding other kingdoms, including Wessex and East Anglia. “The Vikings…were portrayed as ruthless raiders and pillagers who came, slaughtered, and left”, “A Traveller’s History of England” writes. In the thirteen century, this community became known as “Danes” because of the involvement of the Danish king. The Viking society was structured around their infamous attacks and intrusions on many of the other kingdoms. Usually, when the Vikings invaded other kingdoms, they eventually became integrated into the kingdoms’

     As the digging continued Prof. Gustafson and Mr. Shetelig began to unearth what they believed was a Viking longship.  Instead, what they found was a class of Viking ship called a karv.  A karv is shorter than a longship and unlike the naval longship, is used in everyday life to transport people or goods. They were mostly used in shallow waters. This was further supported by the fact that the discovery was close to an ancient riverbed. (Brøgger, 1921) Like many other Viking ships it was clinker built.  This means each board of the hull overlaps the one below and is attached with iron rivets.

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.

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