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Vikings Influence On European Societies

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It is widely believed that the Vikings were little more than barbaric and brutish warriors that had little to no lasting influence on European societies. This belief, however, is wrong. The viking age lasted approximately from 800 CE - 1100 CE and created a lasting influence on things such as art, technology, cultures, trade and currency. There is still currently a firm hold of the concept of Vikings in Danish societies and there are traces of Scandinavian dialect in places like Scotland and North England. The Vikings, while they did have an excellent military system, were more than a violent society of people and they have made many last influences on modern society and were a prominent and important empire in early Europe.

While the common consensus would class Vikings as mainly warriors, the majority of Vikings were actually explorers and …show more content…

The Viking boats were the best and fastest in the world at the time and could travel at a whopping 18.5 kilometres per hour and could cover over 200 kilometres per day. They were able to reach such speeds because they were the first to master the sailing techniques of the longboat. Some of their weaponry and armour were so intricately crafted that there were very few societies that could craft things like the Vikings until many years after the Viking age. Some of the Viking building techniques were also very advanced for the time. For example, before they conquered and settled the Viking city of Jorvik (previously York), the building techniques were very rudimentary and consisted mainly of post and plank constructs. The Vikings, however, built houses out of upright posts and timbers with wattle in between. This was a very innovative idea and kept building warmer and more airtight. Amongst many things, the Vikings were most definitely some of the finest craftsmen of their

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